“Haven’t you heard? We’re Looking Glass Falls’ favorite odd couple. Serena would never betray us.”
“It never entered my mind that she would, but you might want to level with her before you pop the question as opposed to after you initiate your claiming bite.”
Chapter 2
Two Years Previously
Seattle, Washington
Serena Clarke walked into the offices of Dempsey, Gallagher, and Greyson, one of the Pacific Northwest’s most prestigious law firms.
“Hey, Darla,” she said to the receptionist but stopped when she realized that not only had Darla not responded but she’d pointedly looked the other way. Serena walked over to her desk. “Are you okay?”
“Not really. Mr. Dempsey wants to see you in his office.”
“Okay. Did he say it was urgent? I had a brief I wanted to finish...”
“You need to go straight to his office.”
Serena looked at Darla, who refused to meet her eyes, then turned away from her small, interior office.
In his large corner office with floor-to-ceiling windows on two walls and a commanding view of both the city and the water, John Dempsey was an imposing character. At well over six and a half feet and close to four hundred pounds, many were intimidated by the managing partner’s size, and impressed when they first saw his keen intellect. Serena had worked as his paralegal for the past four years and wondered what might be up. No one seemed to want to look at her, and no one called out a greeting. She knew there had been some discussion about her freelance work as a cover designer for fiction books, but surely they couldn’t force her to stop. Her work at the firm paid the bills, but it was the graphic design she loved.
When she’d first started, the covers she’d done were for what the industry called “clean” or “sweet” romances, but little by little, the powerhouses of the erotic romance writer world had found her, and her covers had become far more sensual, overtly sexual even.
Her direct boss and the attorneys she worked with often found it amusing, but she knew some of the more conservative attorneys, including one of the named partners, had objected, saying it made the firm look bad.
“Hey John, what’s up?” she said as she walked through the open door into his office.
John got to his feet, trudged over to the door, and closed it. After moving back to his desk, he took a seat behind it. “There’s no easy way to say this, but we had a firm meeting last night. In a close vote decided by the narrowest margin, the decision was made to ask for your resignation.”
“What? Have I done something wrong?”
He shook his head. “No. Your work is exceptional. You have a sharp mind, and I really would urge you to think about going to law school. Because of that, we’re asking for your resignation and I, for one, will be happy to provide you with an excellent reference.”
“I… I don’t understand. My last review was glowing, and I got a larger than normal raise.”
“I know. As I said, it was a close vote, but the decision has been made. Anita came in early this morning and packed your office. She’s got everything loaded on a dolly and building security will walk you to your car. I’ll need your keys and your parking pass.” He handed her a file. “Your final check and all of the information you need for unemployment and COBRA benefits is enclosed. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m trying to wrap my head around this. Isn’t there some kind of appeal?”
“I’m afraid not. Please don’t make this more difficult than it has to be, Serena. We’re breaking with our normal discharge procedure...”
“I just don’t… Wait, is this about the book covers?”
“I’m afraid so. Several of the attorneys think we lost out on that class-action suit because someone saw one of your steamier covers and didn’t want to be associated with the firm because of it.”
“Wow. I guess I should have kept my mouth shut, but I had no idea it would be a problem. I guess it’s a good thing for you that Washington is an at-will employment state.”
Serena stood and placed the file in her oversized messenger bag. Dempsey put out his hand. Serena looked down at the offered palm, ignored it, and turned to walk away. As she stepped into the hall, she was greeted by a familiar face in building security.
“I’m sorry about this Serena.”
“Don’t speak to me, Charlie. Forget you ever knew my name.”
“Hey Serena, don’t be like that,” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
“Get your hand off me or I’ll go to the firm downstairs and sue you and this building for unwanted sexual advances. And to think that I’d actually considered agreeing to a date with you. Thank God I didn’t. I’m heading downstairs. Get my things and I’ll meet you on the first floor to hand over my keys and parking pass.”
Determined not to let them see her cry, Serena turned and headed down the hall to the elevators.
“Serena,” called Anita, the firm’s administrator.
Serena held up her hand and kept on walking, giving the woman a one fingered salute. She was quite sure Anita had used her considerable influence to get her fired. Bitch. Luckily, she caught an open car going down as soon as she walked in front of the bank of elevators.
Fifteen minutes later, she was driving out of the building’s parking lot for the last time. The entire end of her legal career had taken no more than forty-five minutes. She didn’t doubt Dempsey and several others would give her a good reference, but she also knew how quickly rumors circulated amongst the best firms.
She drove straight to her studio apartment on Queen Anne Hill, parked in her spot, and lugged her box of personal belongings upstairs. Opening her door, she walked in, brewed a cup of dark roast coffee, and looked at the notice from the owners of the building. The place was turning into condos. She’d considered buying her place, or perhaps even looking at one of the other larger flats, but with no job, that opportunity would evaporate as well.
She watched the Seattle rain drizzle down her living room windows, knowing all of her plans would have to shift.
The past eighteen months had been grueling. Being fired from the law firm had been a hard blow and had left her reeling. Knowing she would have to move, she had found the thought of actually doing so almost unbearable. Wanting to make a clean break from the life she had loved, but felt had been ripped away from her, Serena had sold off most of her belongings, packed the rest into a storage unit and headed south.
She drove with no real goal in mind, just letting the miles and the solitude apply a balm to her soul. Serena wasn’t sure how long she might have drifted had her car not given up the ghost and refused to go further. Needing money to fix it and to do something physical and relatively mindless, she’d taken a job at a small, boutique winery in Monterey to pick grapes. The long hours had given her time to think about her options and what she wanted from this new life that had been thrust upon her.
The graphic design business had yet to become a viable form of self-employment and the thought of returning to her former profession as a paralegal held no allure. She found she didn’t miss the corporate grind, but more and more came to miss the creativity involved in putting together an enticing book cover. One night, in a flight of fancy, Serena had entered a contest put on by the owner of the vineyard and had won the grand prize of ten thousand dollars for designing a new label.