Chapter 7 #2
“He’s young, so he’s still hungry. Some of us don’t need to hunt anymore.
We can sit back and reap the fruits of our labor,” Dick said, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
He’d never been an impressive trial attorney.
He’d had one really strong gift, and that was to surround himself with the right people.
He’d latched onto Charles, and I’d credit him for recognizing talent there.
Charles Holloway was one of the best I’d ever met.
I’d seen him in action when I first graduated law school, and I’d made a conscious decision that I wanted to be just like him.
“I think that if you love the law, you don’t ever want to sit back and be lazy, Dick,” I said, purposely accentuating the name.
I knew it bugged him, but he was pretentious and demeaning to others, so I liked to kick him down a few notches when I could.
He’d been the one who fought me on taking this case for Sadie Walker.
He didn’t like to take on anything that didn’t bring in the big bucks.
A pro bono case had been risky, and he never did anything that was for the greater good.
Hence the reason I called him Dick.
He paused, his rocks glass at his lips, and he stared at me. “I’ve told you multiple times that Rick is short for Richard.”
“Oh, my apologies. I guess you’d have to take that up with medieval England. That’s where I must be getting it,” I said, and Henley chuckled, which caused Dick to shoot her a warning look.
“Luckily, we aren’t living in medieval times, Easton. So, I’d prefer we go with Rick moving forward.”
I nodded, even though we’d had this conversation multiple times over the years, and we both knew I wasn’t going to listen to anything that he said.
“Anyway, court went great, and Henley did a lot of the research for this case. So she deserves a big pat on the back.”
She raised a brow as if she were surprised. “Thank you. But that was all you today.”
“It’s good you recognize the strengths you each bring to the table. I definitely teamed you up with the right mentor,” Charles said. “You can’t work at this firm if you aren’t winning cases, Henley. So, learn from the best, and be the best.”
This was fucking lunch; he needed to relax.
“Agreed. And you are the youngest female that we’ve hired at the firm,” Dick added, giving her a pointed look as if he’d done her a huge favor.
Like I said, he just rubbed me wrong every time he spoke.
“She’s the youngest attorney at our firm. Male or female. Not sure why you left the attorney part out of your statement, Dick.”
The asshole just glared at me and ordered another cocktail.
“Being my daughter means that you’ve got a lot to prove. And I’m counting on you to help her get there, Easton.” Charles paused when the waiter set our food down.
“I’m happy to prove myself. I’ve made that clear.” Henley reached for her fork and started eating her salad.
“I believe Henley is the only one at this table who got a perfect score on her LSAT, and I’m fairly certain that the only person with a higher score on their bar exam at this table is me.
And it was by only one point. Not to mention the fact that she graduated number one in her Harvard Law class.
So, I think you gentlemen can relax. She’s way ahead of where you were when you first started, isn’t she? ”
Charles barked out a laugh. He was a brilliant guy, and he pushed those who worked for him hard, but he never minded when you argued with him, as long as you made your point.
Especially if you were right.
“Yes, my girl is a superstar.” He popped a scallop into his mouth and then winked at her.
“She really is,” Dick said, setting his glass down on the table.
“The only time I ever saw Charles disappointed in her was at the NCAA tennis championships. He’d flown us all out to that tournament, bragging about how he was sure you would win.
We tried reminding your father that you can’t win them all. ”
“That’s true.” Henley reached for her water and took a sip. “However, my team won. It was still a win.”
“Yes, sweetheart. And you did your best. You know I feel badly that I was hard on you about that. It’s that Holloway spirit in me.” Charles looked at his daughter, and she forced a smile and nodded.
I looked between them, unsure what the fuck was going on.
“Henley was favored to win the individual title, and she took second. It was still a very good showing,” Dick said, as he forked a piece of steak. “You almost pulled it off.”
Henley sighed. “I was pleased with how I finished, considering the fact that I had a 102 degree fever.”
Charles winced. “You showed a lot of fight that day. Your coach wasn’t too happy with me pushing you to play.”
“Yeah. He wanted to pull me, but you wanted me to play. I don’t regret finishing, Dad. I had to really dig deep, and I did. So, I think that speaks to my point that I don’t back down from a challenge, and I’m willing to do the work.”
“I was very proud of you that you didn’t let him pull you, and you finished your last tournament like a champion.” Charles smiled at his daughter.
“Well, you sure weren’t acting like that on the plane ride home.” Dick barked out a laugh, and I had the sudden urge to put my fist through his face. “Your dad is a competitive guy, Henley. He wanted that win.”
“Thank you for the reminder.” Henley oozed sarcasm. “Anyway, it was a long time ago, so let’s celebrate the win we got today in the courtroom.”
But I could feel her shutting down beside me.
A maniacal chuckle left my mouth unexpectedly, and everyone turned to look at me. “I’m just picturing either one of you on the court with her. I’m guessing she’d smoke both of you easily, even in your prime. So, glass fucking houses, gentlemen.”
How fucking dare they call her out.
And why did I feel this intense need to defend her?
It didn’t really matter why I felt this way. I always trusted my gut.
And my gut wanted to burn these bastards to the ground right now.