Inside, Nicolla was welcomed with impatient stares from three meticulously dressed men. Kelly had briefed her earlier about her bosses. The short one with the ridiculously stupid hair and beaky nose would be Alan Rush, the founder of the firm. And his partner, Donald Kaplan, would be the tall gangly one who was wrapped in a Kendrick Bros suit.
The third man, a few decades younger than Rush and Kaplan, sat in a chair in front of the fireplace. He wore a navy suit with a sissy-looking tie. His face was a mask of impatience, lips stretched into a perpetual sneer. His name was Hank Zachary Durbo, Kelly’s arch enemy in the firm. Rush and Kaplan had made him a partner because Durbo was the most efficient, cutthroat, son of a bitch lawyer and had accumulated huge billing hours for the firm two years ago from a mass action lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies.
Nicolla had a hunch Kelly hated Durbo. She’d told her Rush and Kaplan had passed up Kelly’s chance of becoming a partner last year because Durbo had played nasty office politics against her. Now that Nicolla was in Kelly’s shoes, she sympathised with Ms Prissy. All of a sudden, Nicolla had a terrible urge to grab her shoe and give Durbo a nice whack just to wipe that smugness off his face.
“You’re late, Ms White,” Dur
bo greeted her.
Nicolla clenched her teeth. God, his voice was as annoying as his sneer. “I’m sorry, Hank. I had car trouble this morning.”
Durbo looked annoyed when Nicolla called him by his first name. Kelly had specifically told her to do so. Ms Prissy thought since she’d now been made a partner, she was entitled to treat Durbo as an equal. Nicolla took her seat on the sofa.
Rush regarded her kindly, like a proud man to his protégé. “You know this meeting is just a formality, Kelly. I have Sigler’s vote to welcome you as a partner in the firm.”
Nicolla nodded, plastering a wide smile across her face just as Kelly had told her. She’d also told her that Nicolla should only speak when necessary, so they could keep their deception nice and clean.
Kaplan voiced the same agreement as Rush. He ended his boring lecture saying that he’d voted for Kelly’s partnership in the firm.
“Thank you, Mr Kaplan,” Nicolla echoed as she’d been instructed. Her heart thundered and a funny feeling fluttered at the pit of her stomach. Kelly said that when Sigler, Kaplan and Rush cast their votes, Durbo would have no choice but to agree to the other partners’ decision. And in this confirmation meeting, Durbo was required to play nice. But after meeting Durbo in the flesh, Nicolla had a hunch this nasty man would do something to sabotage this meeting, ruining Kelly’s chance to be a partner.
And her hunch came true when Durbo said he had some questions. Nicolla’s hands turned cold.
“As much as I’d like to give my vote for Ms White’s partnership, I’d like to clear up some nagging matters that I’m certain you all wouldn’t object to.” Durbo straightened his posture in his chair.
Shit, this man was slick. Nicolla schooled her face blank. “What matters did you have in mind, Hank? I thought my creds were satisfactory.”
“It’s about the Berkman account.” Durbo watched her with a cool, accusing stare. “I’m questioning your decision to settle out of court. I found your conduct in blatant disregard of our ethics.”
Double shit. Kelly hadn’t told her anything about the Berkman account. Nicolla cleared her throat, forcing another smile on her face. “I did what was necessary, Hank, for the sake of our client and for us. And you know it.” She threw the question back at Durbo, hoping she could pull off a believable fib.
“I understand your intention was noble.” Durbo leered. “But one fact that I’m uncomfortable with is when you decided to bypass the city regulators and go straight to the commissioner. From my standpoint, what you’ve done is highly unethical.”
What the fuck is he talking about? Nicolla became more nervous by the second. She knew nothing about this. If she kept playing as Kelly, she was going to make a fool of herself. She couldn’t do it. She had to get out of there. Fast.
“I just—” Nicolla paused, feigning she was dizzy. “Oh.”
“Kelly, are you all right?” Rush looked alarmed.
“I’m…fine, sir. It’s just this morning. I’m not feeling well… I just—” Nicolla rolled her eyes and pretended to faint. She let herself sprawl on the sofa. The men around her jumped from their seats.
“Kelly!” Kaplan’s voice sounded panicky. He was shaking her shoulders to wake her. “What’s going on? Kelly!”
“Call an ambulance,” Rush announced in an urgent tone to someone, maybe Durbo. “Hurry!”
Nicolla heard Durbo’s nervous mumbles and footsteps frantically echoing in the room. The door opened and closed and more voices came by. A woman’s voice, she noted. Nicolla kept her act up until she heard the sound of metal wheels screeching against the marble floor and hurried steps coming to where she was slumped. Some hands checked her vitals.
“Miss White, can you hear me?” a male voice asked her.
Nicolla answered with a quiet, incoherent slur. She had years of experience as an actress, and she was really good at faking things.
The medic said something to his partner, then to one of Kelly’s bosses. “We have to take her to the hospital, sir.”
“What are you waiting for? Damn it. I have to let Andrew know about this,” Rush answered.
Two pairs of strong arms hoisted her onto the stretcher. The medics strapped her onto it and draped a heavy blanket over her. As the paramedics wheeled her out of the office, she heard Kaplan bark at Durbo, “You just can’t let it go, can you?”
Nicolla almost couldn’t resist smiling.