Epilogue
Nikki Quinn unlocked the door to the offices of her firm, then quickly adjusted the thermostat. Today was going to be a nonstarter. So much snow. She’d be lucky if one, or possibly two, lawyers would make it in. Only those who lived within walking distance, the way she did, might give it a try. She shed her coat and headed for her office.
She didn’t want to be here, but she’d told Jack last night that she needed to walk through these doors one more time before she kept the promise to herself that she was taking a year off and possibly selling the firm.
She couldn’t do this anymore. She just couldn’t. “I’m not doing it anymore,” she muttered to herself as she picked through the mail, leaving a messenger-delivered envelope for last.
She ripped at a plain white business envelope that bore the name of the Stayman Pet Food Company, the firm’s other class-action suit. The single sheet of paper held only two short paragraphs.
Nikki blinked, then blinked again, just as the buzzer at the front door sounded. She didn’t know how she knew, but she knew it was Alexis. Then she let out a whoop of pure joy just as Alexis appeared in the doorway. “They caved!” she said, waving the single sheet of paper under Alexis’s nose. “Do you believe that? They aren’t going to fight anymore. They’re going to settle with us for the full amount. I can’t believe this!”
Alexis sat down, shock written all over her face. “Why? Two weeks ago, they were going to go the distance and fight us till hell froze over. Such a stupid question; who cares why? We won! Oh, my God! We won!”
“You are so right, who cares why? Listen, Alexis, I need to talk to you about something. We talked about it while we were out west, and we talked about it ad nauseam while we were stuck in those airports for days, but I’m really serious now. I can’t do this anymore. At least for now. I’m going to take a year off and do absolutely nothing. At the end of the year, I might even sell the firm. I am so burned-out, I can’t see straight. I was so blinded by our cause, I could have lost Jack.”
Alexis started to laugh and couldn’t stop. “Now why do you think I braved all that snow out there this morning? I came here to tell you the same thing. If you weren’t here, I was going to leave a letter on your desk. Like you, I realized people like Joseph only come along once in a lifetime. I love him. I hope he still loves me. I will grovel if I have to when I ask him to take me back. No damn career in the whole world is worth the misery I’ve been going through. I’ve saved some money, and I’m going to ask him to go with me to some sunny island where we can get our lives back on track. Please say you aren’t upset with me, Nikki.”
“I am not upset. I want you to do it. I’m doing it. The firm can carry on without us. The one thing you don’t have to worry about is the cost of your getaway. The firm will pay for that. And if you need more than a year, take the time. Your pay will be deposited automatically in your account. You earned it. We were crazy, you know that, right? We thought we could take on Andover and make those skunks pay, and bring some closure to all those parents. We made a dent. There is nothing more we can do. Let the second string fight it now. We did the hard part, laid down all the groundwork. Whatever happens, happens. So, let’s get through all this”—Nikki motioned to the pile of mail and the Georgetown Messenger Service envelope—“then we can go home and veg out. You okay with that, girl?”
Alexis nodded as she tapped out a text to Joseph Espinosa. “You don’t think he’ll tell me to go fly a kite, do you, Nikki?”
“If he does, I’ll kill him. The short answer is no.”
Nikki ripped at the sealed envelope and withdrew another envelope. “Hey, look at this, Alexis! It’s from Andover Pharmaceuticals. Sent by messenger.” She ripped at the smaller envelope and the single sheet of paper that bore the Andover letterhead. Still inside the bigger envelope was a thick packet of papers. But it was the small blue-and-yellow check with butterflies on it that left her fighting for air. Alexis craned her neck to see what Nikki was holding in her hand while she gulped air like a caught fish.
“Oh, sweet Jesus. Am I seeing what I’m seeing?” Alexis practically screamed.
“If you mean a check that has butterflies on it and is written for $650 million, then yeah, you’re seeing what I’m seeing. Maybe we went snow blind on the walk here. This is real, Alexis. Look, here are the signoff contracts, signed by all three Andovers. We won! My God, we won! Alexis, we won!” Nikki whooped.
“Call the brokerage house to make sure it’s good! Do it now, Nikki, before I explode.”
Five minutes later, Nikki’s fist shot in the air. “It’s real! We have to get this to the bank! We need to call all of our people. All the names on the lawsuit. Every single one of them deserves a personal phone call. But first, we’re going to have a drink. I have a bottle of two-hundred-year-old brandy I’ve been saving like forever. A gift from a grateful client years ago.”
“It’s only nine o’clock in the morning!”
“I don’t care! Do you care?”
“I. Do. Not.”
While Nikki dusted off the brandy bottle, Alexis made a fire in Nikki’s fireplace. She set out crystal snifters from Nikki’s private bar and sat down, her head reeling. She was elated, over the moon about the class-action suits, but it was Joseph Espinosa who was on her mind. She said a little prayer that she wasn’t too late, that Joseph would forgive her for choosing her career over him.
The two women sipped. Then they gulped. Then they guzzled, and, finally, by ten-thirty, the two-hundred-year-old brandy bottle was empty. Sitting Indian style in front of the fire, the women looked at each other and said in unison, “We are soooo drunk!”
Neither Nikki nor Alexis heard the buzzer at the front door. They were so cockeyed drunk, they saw three of Jack Emery standing in the doorway. They saw three of him send off a text to Espinosa that said, Get your ass over here to the Quinn offices. Your woman needs you. Fly if you have to, but get over here.
Jack walked back to the kitchen, a grin as wide as the Grand Canyon on his face. He made coffee, knowing full well that it wouldn’t do all that much good. The kind of drunk the ladies were on was going to have to run its course.
The phone rang at that moment. Jack picked up the extension on the first ring. It was Myra. He quickly explained the situation.
“Just like that! Amazing,” he could hear Annie drawl in the background. A shiver ran up Jack’s spine.
“Uh-huh. Just like that. So, where are you two, and what are you doing?” Jack asked, hoping to divert the conversation.
“We’re on our way home, dear. Annie got a brainstorm and wants to invest in something she said is going to make us millions.”
“Really! What is it?”
“Elastic!” Myra laughed. She couldn’t button her slacks this morning. Jack laughed right along with her. They talked for a few more minutes, then ended the call.
Carrying the tray with the coffee, Jack made his way back to Nikki’s office, only to find two sleeping beauties dead to the world. He smiled.
He did love it when a plan came together.