10
Cooper felt like he had déjà vu.
He sat in his cubicle after classes the following Monday afternoon and waited for the other shoe to drop. He was certain Marty had told the partners about Andi and what he’d witnessed both at Coeur and that night at the Sabertooths game.
When Cooper had arrived, he’d stopped in as usual to let his boss know he was on the clock. The man wouldn’t even meet his gaze and had barely responded. Instead of the usual pile of cases he’d hand off for research or whatever else he needed done, he hadn’t had a single bit of work to give Cooper.
So there he was, twiddling his thumbs, spinning back and forth in his desk chair, trying not to go absolutely insane as he waited for someone from HR to can him.
It was even worse than he expected. Before too long, one of the partners’ personal secretaries came to fetch him, not the woman who’d hired him or even one of her teammates. This went straight to the top level. Shit, he was really about to get his ass handed to him.
He braced himself, certain of how he had to respond.
This job meant a lot to him, but his relationship meant more. After the weekend he’d spent with Andi, Reed, and Simon, he knew for sure that whatever happened here today wasn’t going to break them. He refused to let it.
Maybe he’d switch his law focus to unjust terminations or some kind of human rights work. This was discrimination. Complete and utter bullshit. As a fairly average white male, he couldn’t say he’d ever felt this sort of helplessness before, because of something that was simply part of who he was. And no one else should have to either.
Cooper had worked himself into a righteous mental frenzy by the time they approached the conference room. Behind the thick tinted glass, the three partners waited for him, wearing super-serious expressions instead of the easy smiles they usually had for him when they passed each other in the halls.
A light pressure on Cooper’s elbow caused him to flinch.
“Sorry, trying to help.” His escort smiled warmly up at him. “Relax. They’re not that scary, I promise.”
While he appreciated the reassurance, Cooper had observed the three men at work both in the courtroom and in negotiations outside of it. They were intelligent, direct, cunning, and cutthroat when they needed to be. He’d admired them. And now he was sure he’d disappointed them.
It sucked having his role models turn on him.
He couldn’t put off the confrontation any longer when Ford Westbrook—the partner everyone knew was the unofficial head of the firm—lifted his head and met Cooper’s stare. He held his hand out over the boardroom table and curled his fingers toward his palm, beckoning Cooper inside.
Mr. Westbrook’s assistant opened the door. Cooper wasn’t sure if he could find the courage to walk through it. And then he imagined Andi’s face when she’d flown back to the stands after her run-in with Marty. Maybe he could make them see that it wasn’t right, wasn’t fair, for someone to fear the repercussions of loving someone.
These men specialized in justice. That couldn’t sit right with them. Could it?
“Good afternoon, Cooper.” Mr. Westbrook stood and shook Cooper’s hand.
Cooper found it hard to imagine the man would do that to someone he was about to fire, whose dreams he was about to crush. Then again, he was utterly professional and had fulfilled the rights of criminals at times, treating them with respect as he provided the defense they were entitled to under the law.
Hopefully, the partners didn’t see him in the same light.
“Thank you, sir. But I’m not sure that it is. Can we skip the formalities and talk frankly about why you’ve called me here today?” Otherwise, he wasn’t sure he could endure the acid churning in his gut long enough to maintain decorum and walk out of their office with his head held high.
“Of course,” Mr. Westbrook said as the man beside him smiled.
“He’s a lot like you, Ford,” Brady Arman, the second partner in the firm, said. Was that a good thing or a jab among friends? Cooper couldn’t tell.
Mr. Westbrook held his hand out to shush Mr. Arman, but never took his focus off Cooper. “Obviously, we heard from Marty about the arrangement you have at home.”
Cooper nodded.
“I’d like to hear more about it directly from you. I’m afraid Marty inserted too much color commentary for me to be sure about the accuracy of what I heard.” Mr. Westbrook ignored his third partner—Josh King—when he snorted. He disguised the sound, badly, behind a cough.
“I’m in a loving relationship with a woman, who also openly loves my two best friends. We live together and support each other. Everything we do together is utterly consensual.” Cooper stuck to the facts. Lawyers, especially ones as good as these three, should appreciate that.
“I see.” Mr. Westbrook plopped into his chair then as Mr. King ran his hand through his blond hair and whistled softly. “Would you please take a seat?”
“Wouldn’t it be easier for you to simply send me on my way now?” Cooper sighed. “Marty made it clear to me that the firm has a code of ethics that is strictly enforced.”
“We do.” Mr. Westbrook nodded.