“That food smelling good and them shorties out there is looking delicious. When you coming out? You should get the first pick since you graduated and all. After you, I’m finding somebody that can handle business tonight.”
“I’m coming out in a few minutes,” I grabbed my brush and brushed my hair.
“Nigga them waves got me seasick! You good. C’mon so we can eat and change this music!”
Frankie Beverly and Maze’sBefore I Let Gowas playing now. Since being released from jail, my brother Roc and I had continued to grow our relationship. He was raised by his maternal grandmother since his mother and father were serving time. His mother went up on a drug charge several years after our father went up. His path has been different than mine. He’s seventeen and is barely making it through high school, and he is earning money by hustling. I don’t judge him. He is a product of his environment. He has promised me he will graduate from high school. We are moving in together, so I can make sure he keeps his promise.
“Alright, I’m ready but don’t try to do too much tonight. We are getting up early to get the keys to our place and then driving to see Reggie.”
“Aye, man. On err’ thang, I’m proud of you.”
“Whatever man,” I grabbed him by his neck. “Let’s eat.”
Averie
~Present day~
“I will beout of the loop for the next couple of days. Moving day is finally here! I will be moving into my condo after weeks of waiting for the completion of the renovations.” Everyone at the table cheered.
I sat at the small oval table in the conference room of my law office, Patterson Law Firm. I left my position at one of the top law firms in the country to start my own firm. Three other women came with me for the journey and are my senior associates. When I asked the women to join me at my firm, I guaranteed a faster track to becoming a partner. Becoming partner would eventually give them the opportunity to add their name to the door. At the larger law firms, it can take decades for the partners to notice you, then another decade to become a partner. It may take even longer as a female because law is a male-dominated profession. With our own firm, we have set our own track and our own pace. We don’t have to follow the boy’s rules; the girls can make their own.
I rented a suite in a building in downtown Saint Louis. My associates and I started working together three years ago and have experienced steady growth. We focused mostly on female discrimination cases. We had been labeled the feminist law firm by some of the other firms we’d destroyed in court. The title fits because I am a feminist. I am an advocate of women’s rights. I believe women should be treated fairly in all aspects of life to include business. So, I fight for women and when I fight, I win.
“Ahhh, come on guys!” I laughed. “Was I that bad?”
“If I had to give my opinion on one more tile color,” Ruth, one of my senior associates said.
“Or…or hear about how long it was taking the cabinet guy to install the custom cabinets that he was making on the spot!” Shelly another senior associate added.
“Wait, this was the best one: ‘my interior designer wants to put my originalLois Mailou Jonespainting near the door to my dressing room!’” Caroline laughed. “Such a rich person’s problem!”
I hadn’t realized that I complained so much about the renovation process. I knew that Kerem and Keeva were tired of hearing about it. It felt like all my concerns were valid at the time.
“Okay! I’m sorry! I didn’t realize I was giving everyone heartburn,” I smiled. “And Caroline, you know I’m not rich, yet!”
Everyone laughed again. The room died down, and we continued on with our meeting.
“Let’s talk about what we have coming up,” Caroline said.
Everyone spoke about the cases they were currently working on or meetings they were taking.
“I have a meeting with the Valentine Law Group next week. They contacted me about possibly partnering with them on a case,” I said after everyone else completed their briefings.
“The entire firm?” Caroline questioned.
“No, me.”
“What kind of case?” Caroline responded.
“They didn’t give a lot of details, but it was enough to intrigue me.”
“Valentine Law is a force in this country. It would work well for us to add them to our resume of clients or at least partners,” Shelley said.
“I know. That was my thought when I agreed to take the meeting. It’s scheduled for Monday morning. I will let you know how it goes when I return Monday afternoon. If that’s it, I have a ton of boxes to pack and some movers to harass about being on time tomorrow.”
“Poor movers,” Ruth laughed as she stood to leave the room.
“Can I speak with you, Averie?” Caroline said while the other ladies were leaving the room.