I click a button on the laptop in front of me, which starts a slideshow on the projector above my head.
“Welcome to the law firm of Marks, Sanchez & Reed,” I begin. “Here on the screen you can see our first office. We set up shop in the Northeast Heights when we couldn’t afford downtown real estate and when Albuquerque was only half the size it is now.”
I click a button, and our current building appears on the screen. It’s the tallest one in Albuquerque, and the firm name appears across the top of it.
“While this firm bears my name as first and foremost on its letterhead, I couldn’t have gotten here without— as the Beatles say— a little help from my friends.”
I click forward to a photo of me and Ron Sanchez and Jim— whose full name is Jameson— Reed, at a black tie fundraising gala last year. And then to a photo of the three of us twenty years ago, toasting to the news that we had settled a big case and had enough money to move to a new and better office.
“Since childhood I’ve had the knack for entrepreneurship and for making money. This story ages me— if the Beatles reference and talk about historical Albuquerque hasn’t already—”
Everyone laughs. The three female associates at the side table try to sound sexy with their rather obviously forced laughter, while Madilyn sincerely lets loose a good belly chuckle.
“But I started my neighborhood’s first marble ring at age eight,” I continue. “If you wanted a better marble, you traded yours in to the kid who had the one you wanted, and paid him ten cents. Five of it went to him, and five to the ringleaders.”
The laughs continue.
“When times were good— whenever a kid had gotten paid extra for doing an errand around the house, or Grandma came to visit and gave him a quarter— kids improved their marble collection. And when times were bad— when a kid wanted the latest comic book but didn’t have the money, or he was being bullied by some other kid at lunch who required a pay- off to leave him alone— kids sold their marbles to make a little cash. But the house always won. And the ring wouldn’t have been the ring without my other ringleaders.”
I nod at Ron, my closest friend and business partner.
“The rest moved on, moved out of the neighborhood, disappeared. But one of them was Cameron Sanchez. We’re still leading the ring today.”
Everyone claps.
“Thank you for the applause.” I acknowledge. “But my point is that it takes a team of hard working, intelligent and— most of all— trustworthy people to build any organization that’s worthwhile. We find you trustworthy and loyal, and that was one reason that each of you were chosen as associates.”
I look directly at Madilyn. She returns my stare for a second, and then looks down at her laptop. Her cheeks redden slightly. I want her ass cheeks to match them after I get done spanking her.
“There’s a meaning to the fact that all of you are here today. The firm believes in you, and wants you as part of the team. The firm has a very special purpose for each of you.”
Again I look at Madilyn.
I can tell, even with the lights dimmed for the projector presentation and even with her face downcast, that she’s blushing even more now.
She knows I want her. I’ve never been one to hide my desires. And I know she wants me too. She just has to give into her own desire. I have ways to make that happen.
I click a button, and a photo appears on the screen of five guys— one of them being me— on top of a mountain.
“This is my climbing team on top of Mount Everest last summer.”
The crowd gasps. It’s a breathtaking view.
“We got there not right away but little by little, working together and as a team. It’s why I wasn’t here to meet any of you who were clerks last summer. But I did learn valuable lessons to bring back to you. We are all on the same team. We all must do our part. We each must do what is asked of us.”
I stare straight at Madilyn, who shifts her eyes up at me and then back down.
She’s acknowledging that I want her, and silently confirming that she wants me too.
“The concept of teamwork, of working together and helping each other, is why I started the associate mentoring program,” I continue.
I can see the three women sitting at the end of the table straighten up. Undoubtedly, they’ve heard of this program. They know that that whichever associate is my mentor also becomes my lover. And they all want to be that associate.
And that’s why they won’t be. Because they’re too fucking eager. I hate easy targets. I like a challenge.
I look at Madilyn and continue.
“Your mentors will find you later this afternoon and set up an initial appointment,” I tell the room. “The rest of today’s orientation will be about office procedures such as billing, using the brief bank, working on assignments, using the firm software and computers and the like.”
Everyone continues taking notes even though the meeting is over. Everyone hangs on my every word. Especially the girls who think I’m going to choose one of them as my mentee. But they’re wrong. Because I only want Madilyn.
“There are a lot of useful practical things you’ll be learning in these first few days and weeks,” I continue. “But your meetings with your mentors will be where you get into the heart and soul of practicing law, so make this first one count. Your mentor will be your coach, your guide, and your guru. It is my hope that these relationships will serve you well throughout your associateship here at Marks, Sanchez & Reed.”
Everyone waits with baited breath. They want to find out who their mentors are. And, perhaps even more importantly to some of them, who my mentee is.
I smile, knowing that I’ve teased them long enough.
“Monique has a list of mentors matched with mentees that she will pass out now before starting the portion of orientation that deals with payroll and benefits. There isn’t much rhyme or reason to why mentors were paired with mentees, since we don’t know much about you yet, and we only hope to be able to make some good guesses based on stated interests and goals.”
The three women in the front are whispering to each other, and it’s obvious they don’t believe me. They know that my mentee is carefully chosen ahead of time, as are many of the others. But some are assigned randomly, and it’s best to stress that part so that there are no accusations of favoritism or unfairness.
“Without further ado, I’ll leave you in the good hands of Monique.”
Everyone looks disappointed, but I couldn’t help one last tease, before I make my big announcement. Here it comes, and only one person is going to like it.
At least, she better like it. And if she doesn’t now, she will come to like it. Because I’ll be very good at persuading her.
“I’ll be leaving for the rest of the day. I’ve got client business to attend to and you’ll soon learn that the practice of law never stops. But before I go, I’m pleased to announce that my mentee this year is Madilyn St. Clair. I’m happy with the assignment, and I hope that all of you will be just as pleased with yours.”
I can hear Tara Mason’s gasp as I walk towards the exit. She covers her mouth, but whispers to Mandy. Annoying tendencies such as these are one of the many reasons I would never choose her as my mentee.
I look at Madilyn and raise my eyebrows. She’s staring straight back at me, as if taking me up on the challenge.
There’s nothing I like better a challenge. It’s why I’d chose a Madilyn over a Tara— or anyone in her crew— a thousand times over. And as if showing me just how much of a challenge she’s going to be, Madilyn lowers her eyes once again.
But I know she’s heard my message loud and clear— I’ve made sure of it, by delivering it in front of a room full of her peers— and now it’s up to her to respond to my cues.
For extra affect, I drop a folded piece of stationery paper in front of her before leaving the room.
If she is the woman I think she is, then she will be mine for the taking.
And I have never been wrong about this sort of thing.
My knack for women is as good as my knack for entrepreneurialism and money making. It hasn’t always been this way— my knowledge for what women want wasn’t as ingrained in me since childhood like the marble ring or other business ventures I started at a young age.
I had to learn the hard way, to move from what I know I didn’t want to what I know I do want. But once I realized it, I’ve been as right about women as I have been about business and the law.
And I know enough about women to know that, one way or another, Madilyn St. Clair is going to be mine.