Chapter One
"Well?" Easton asked. "What do you think?"
Hannah Donovan turned a slow circle in the sunlit reception area that took up one corner of the seventeenth floor of the Bank of America tower at the corner of Sixth and Congress. Her soon-to-be law partner, Easton Wallace, stood in front of her, a wide grin playing across his classically handsome face. Behind him, Selma Herrington, Easton's girlfriend who had fast become a close friend of Hannah's, stood with her back to them in cut-off shorts and spiky blue hair, her hands pressed to the glass overlooking Austin's famous Sixth Street.
"It's amazing," Hannah said, still having a hard time believing this was real. Were they actually looking at property to lease? For that matter, were they actually opening their own law firm?
She grimaced. Apparently they were. After all, she'd already given notice at Brandywine Consulting where, until yesterday, she'd been gainfully employed as in-house counsel. But as soon as she gave notice, her prick of a boss had suggested that she go ahead and take her accrued vacation. Basically kicking her out the door without even time for cupcakes in the break room.
But that was okay. Because now she was free as a bird. A somewhat terrified bird, facing a brand new adventure.
A bird who didn't have the money she'd counted on to fund this little venture. Because her pig of a former boss had managed to trigger a clause in her retirement plan, leaving Hannah with a retirement nest egg that she was absolutely forbidden to borrow from. And if she closed it out completely and took the money, the penalty was so stiff that she'd barely have enough to buy the whiskey in which to drown her sorrows.
Which meant she was looking at this fabulous office space without her share of the money for their new law firm's start-up capital. Which, of course, included the down payment for this lease.
And that was a fact she hadn't yet shared with Easton.
Now his brow furrowed as he peered at her. "You're way too quiet. Do you not like it?"
Selma turned, her eyes wide. "Of course she likes it. She'd be an idiot not to like it."
"If I didn't, I'd hardly admit it now," Hannah said, amusement overcoming her worries. Selma--in typical Selma fashion--merely shrugged. "And to be clear," Hannah continued, "I do love it. I was--" She cut herself off with a shrug. "I just can't believe it's happening so fast."
That, of course, was the understatement of the year. And she didn't have a clue how to tell Easton that she had to scrape up another source of funds. How horrible to disappoint him that way, especially since she was the one who'd had the original idea for the two of them to form a partnership.
Not only that, but she knew him well, and it was obvious that he'd fallen in love with this space. Hell, she had, too. Just this quick look around and she was convinced that this suite was as perfect for their venture as they'd ever find.
A truly breathtaking space, the suite formed a U that took up half of the east wall, all of the north wall, and the entire west wall. The tiny bit of remaining space was used as storage for the bank that owned the building--which meant that only the employees and clients of Wallace & Donovan, Attorneys At Law, needed to get off at this floor.
A set of double glass doors opened onto the luxurious reception area that faced east and looked out over Sixth Street. But right beside reception was a large conference room--also with glass walls--that faced north and looked down on the historic Driskill Hotel and a tiny hint of the Texas Capitol building. Because of the glass, the room was bright and airy and full of light. But the conference room was designed with automatic blinds, so clients and counsel could work in privacy if necessary.
Offices for associate attorneys--when they hired some--lined the north and west walls, and would also be used for the legal assistants. The northwest corner office boasted a stunning view straight down Congress Avenue, and the southwest corner had a view of the river in the distance. All in all, the space was incredible.
"Nothing wrong with fast when it's right," Easton said to her, though he added a wink to Selma, obviously in honor of their whirlwind romance. "And I really do think it's right. This whole idea is right. This space. Our firm. You and me as partners." He crossed to her and gave her a one-armed hug, th
e same way he used to congratulate her in law school whenever she got an A or nailed a particularly tricky concept during one of their study sessions. "I've had a good feeling since we took the leap and agreed to do this. Even my crazy notoriety has played into our favor. I'm getting all sorts of calls about folks wanting to talk about representation."
Easton and Selma had been caught with their pants down--or, more specifically, Selma had been caught with her skirt up--not too long ago. The scandal had cost Easton his chance at a judgeship, but as it turned out, he was okay with that. What he really wanted was to practice law--and he'd pulled his name from the race and taken Hannah up on her suggestion that they both quit and open a firm. A suggestion that had been absolutely seaworthy at the time she'd made it, but which had recently begun to spring a few leaks.
"I have a good feeling, too," she assured him. "I swear, I'm not bailing." She wouldn't do that to him. This was too important to them both. This firm was their future. And it represented the kind of law career she wanted. A vibrant practice doing interesting work with a partner she trusted. She'd loved the people at her old job, and she was going to miss seeing her friends everyday. But she'd been about to rot in that environment and had been bored to tears with the actual work.
The in-house job at Brandywine Finance and Consulting had been her second law job. The first had been at a giant law firm where she'd worked for years on cases so huge that she was often only aware of one legal issue--the big picture of the overall litigation wasn't even shared with her.
Some of the work was interesting, but she'd had little client contact, and even less contact with the overall battle plan. She knew she was paying her dues, but after a while she couldn't take it anymore, and she'd accepted the in-house position at Brandywine.