The World According to Vince - Jane Harvey-Berrick Page 0,15
then! The Canine Crusader is on the case!” and I stepped back outside. “Right! Everyone here, give us five bucks for the shelter. Yeah, and you journalists! It’s the price of a coffee and a muffin—you’ll hardly miss it. Come on, hand it over!”
Twenty minutes later, I had a fistful of money, hundreds of dollars, which I gave it to the shelter’s director who just stared at me.
“There’ll be more where that came from,” I assured him.
Then it was time for me to go home and take care of my own pack of hounds. Plus, I had some thinking to do. I knew I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the toy box, but I needed to come up with a plan to raise more money.
My phone rang again but I ignored it. I might remember to check my messages when I got home, or I might not. I worked on the principle that if anything was important, they’d call back.
Which turned out to be a tactical error if I was trying to win Gracie over, but I didn’t know that at the time.
Grace
I wanted to kill Vincent Azzo as slowly and painfully as possible, but right now I was too busy answering phone calls for him. Naturally, Vince wasn’t answering his phone, messages or emails—the knob-head was driving me insane.
His little stunt outside the Supreme Court had gone viral and everyone wanted to know more. And since he’d named me as his lawyer, the press had hunted me down at work and had even gotten hold of my personal cell phone number.
All three of my assistants were answering one call after another, and I had to give them something to say other than ‘my client has no further comment’.
I’d drafted a statement on Vince’s behalf and emailed it to him but the asshole hadn’t even looked at it or replied to the half-dozen texts I’d sent him. How was I supposed to represent him when he wouldn’t answer his damn phone?
Although to be fair, I’d never have guessed that social media would jump on this so quickly. I’d been blindsided and I guessed Vince had, too. So I fobbed off everyone by saying that Mr. Azzo would be releasing a statement later in the day.
Everyone wanted to know if the dogs had been saved. I’d like to know the answer to that, too, and had tried calling the shelter but their line was constantly busy. I didn’t know what to make of it.
I’d just finished up on yet another call, this time from a West Coast TV station wanting to know if my client would fly out for an interview, when senior partner Carl McCray knocked on my door and walked in before I could say anything.
I sat up straight. Visits from one of the upper echelons to one of the minions was unheard of. Usually, you were summoned to the fifteenth floor by the assistant to the senior partner’s assistant.
“Ms. Cooper, I’ve heard you’re much in demand today. An unusual client.”
“Yes, sir. He’s … my pro bono work for the ABA. I like to keep up my hours.”
“Good to hear but we’re closing on the Rogers & Cranston deal this week. We need you up to speed.”
Stung, I carefully straightened my legal pad in front of me. “I’ve already emailed the third draft to be disseminated to all parties. There was an error in the covenant regarding future income tax filings. I’ve now rectified that. The project is up to speed at my end.”
He gave a cool smile and nodded. “I know we can count on you, Grace. Now … your pro bono work is bringing our little company some publicity. I hope that will continue to be positive?”
It was easy to read between the lines: your pro bono case is on TV, which means Kryll Group is on TV—don’t do anything that will reflect badly on the company: don’t fuck up.
“It’s an interesting case,” I said, my answer deliberately noncommittal.
He rapped his knuckles on my desk. “Bring your client to the staff party on Friday—I’d like to meet him.”
My mouth dropped open. “The staff party?” I said faintly and utterly horrified.
“Yes, the senior partners would like to meet the man who’s making the news.”
He gave me a chilly smile and sauntered from my office.
I rubbed my face twice before I remembered that I was wearing makeup. Today was turning out to be a complete nightmare. My phone rang again before I had time to think any further.