Legally Addicted (4 page)

Watch it, Spencer.

Having gone where he shouldn’t have with Georgia, this merger was now an operation that had to be handled with care. One false move and the partnership could be blown apart, or worse, he could find himself slapped with a sexual harassment suit.

Now that he had entered into a binding partnership agreement with Dayton Llewellyn, conventional wisdom dictated that he and Georgia should remain just colleagues. While there was no clause against it in the agreement he had signed, and no law society rule prohibiting intimate relations between partners of a firm, there was still ample reason not to get involved with a colleague. Plenty of good law firms had busted up after two of the partners got together and then found they couldn’t make the relationship work.

On top of the professional conventions requiring they keep their distance from each other, he was also fairly sure Georgia would be wary about risking a repeat performance of the night before. As a non-equity partner, she would be the one who would have to leave the partnership if they got over-friendly and then things went bad. His fee generating abilities and client list made him much too valuable an asset to Dayton Llewellyn for the firm to voluntarily let him go.

From what he had seen, Georgia was far too level-headed to jump in and get involved in a romantic office entanglement that could be detrimental to her career. She had more than sufficient cause to go off at him for not telling her about the merger before he took her upstairs to his penthouse, but in the circumstances she had been fairly reasonable. If truth be told, she had been significantly more reasonable than he might have been if the tables had been reversed. He should have told her he was planning to join the firm right from the get-go. But then, he was a red-blooded male, she was hot, and quite willing as it happened, and in all likelihood it had been his one and only chance.

And he had made the most of it.

He also predicted that Georgia would be too professional to allow what had happened to stand in the way of their working together. You didn’t make partner at her age by being prone to letting emotion cloud your judgement.

No, the only potential issue he could see preventing their establishing a positive working relationship was that she obviously had a chip on her shoulder about his money. She had revealed that much with her snarky silver spoon comment. He didn’t know much about her background, but clearly, she didn’t come from wealth. If she had, he would have run into her before now at the yacht club, or some fundraiser or other, but apart from the odd glimpse around and about the family court, they had never met before. But, then being wealthy wasn’t something he could change, and if Georgia couldn’t handle it, that was her problem.

The next morning, after locating her desk out among the multitudes, and trying to be appropriately sympathetic as Miriam struggled with towers of packing crates, Georgia grabbed the file for her first meeting.

She was acting for the wife, Ruby Walsh, her first real high-value client, and the husband’s solicitor had agreed to a conference before matters escalated to the filing of applications. She expected to secure a generous settlement for her client, and due to the complicated nature of Douglas Walsh’s business affairs, bill a good number of chargeable hours, which would keep Dayton and Llewellyn happy.

Georgia flicked through the file, scanning the background information in chronological order, refreshing her memory with the details of the couple’s separation. Miriam had been the one to set up the meeting, so it wasn’t until Georgia came to the final document on the file, an email from the opposing firm confirming the appointment, that she noticed the name.

Spencer Law.

Damn.

The Walsh split would have been a lucrative file, except now that their respective firms had merged she and Brad couldn’t act for both clients. One of the Walsh’s would have to be dispatched to another firm. With Douglas Walsh the wealthier of the two by far, it didn’t take too much guessing to work out whose client that was going to be.

Miriam, who had been speaking into her headset, got up and walked the short two steps from her own desk to Georgia’s.

‘Sorry to interrupt, but Ruby and Douglas Walsh are already here. The receptionist has put them in the conference room. Should I bring tea and coffee in later?’

‘No, you can forget that, Miriam, this is likely to be the shortest conference in the history of the firm.’

Miriam covered her mouth with her hand.

‘Shoot, sorry. I should have thought and cancelled. We can’t represent Ruby now, can we?’

Georgia shook her head.

‘That’s okay. It’s probably best one of the partners tells Ruby in person anyway, but can you remind Brad about the meeting?’

If Brad was going to be the cause of her losing a lucrative client, the least he could do was be there when she delivered the news, and help her smooth things over.

Georgia took the file and strode down to the far end of the floor, stepping into the conference room that opened out through double doors into reception. She found the estranged couple sitting in silence on opposite sides of the conference table. Georgia hadn’t met Douglas Walsh previously, but before Georgia could introduce herself, Ruby spoke.

‘I hope you’re up to dealing with Brad Spencer, Georgia. They do say he’s the best in the city. He’s been our family lawyer for years, but Douglas got to him first, and so I had to come to you.’ Ruby said, appearing not the least bit embarrassed at having just told her solicitor she considered her second best and a poor substitute for the services of the legendary Brad Spencer.

Immaculately turned out, but overdone in heavy gold jewellery, patent leather shoes and a designer business suit, Georgia doubted Mrs Douglas Walsh had ever done a day’s work in her life, let alone anything in business. The ensemble was the sort of thing found on the higher floors of Castlereagh’s Department Store, floors Georgia rarely dared to visit. Not because she couldn’t face the additional escalators, but because the prices were well beyond what, even on a lawyer’s salary, she could afford.

‘Dealing with both of you now that you are separated would have been a conflict of interest. Brad has no choice,’ Georgia responded, referring to the relevant legal principle in an effort to avoid any of her rapidly rising irritation showing.

Now that she had made partner, Georgia knew she would be seeing a lot more of the firm’s wealthier clientele. She didn’t relish having to suffer the offensive superior attitudes and condescension that it would inevitably involve, but she had dealt with much worse as the poor scholarship kid at an exclusive private school, and she backed herself to be able to handle it.

‘Yes, conflict of interest — that’s what Brad said.’

‘I can assure you that Dayton Llewellyn Murray’s services are top rate,’ Georgia said, emphasising the ‘Murray’ then immediately regretting it, wishing she hadn’t tried to justify herself to this stupid shallow woman.

‘Good morning, Ruby.’

Brad strode into the conference room and leaned across the table to shake her client’s hand. Georgia caught a whiff of his cologne, all deep forest and evergreen, which rattled her. It made it difficult to concentrate on her main priority — making sure Brad helped her deliver the bad news, and hopefully doled out some of his charm.

‘Douglas.’

Brad acknowledged his own client with a nod before taking a seat in one of the leather and chrome swivel chairs beside him.

Previously feeling reasonably relaxed — well, apart from Ruby’s annoying comment about ‘having’ to come to her, as if she were a poor second best alternative to the amazing Brad Spencer — Georgia’s nerves were now on high alert. Brad had all his attention trained on her. While intellectually she knew he was only waiting for her to summarise any discussion that had occurred between their clients before he arrived, it raised disconcerting memories of the powerful weight his concentration had brought to bear on her at the cocktail party, and later, up in his penthouse apartment.

Without realising what she was doing, Georgia closed her eyes and shook her head, physically shrugging off the image.

‘Georgia, are you alright?’

When she opened her eyes Brad was looking at her with a bemused expression.

‘Perfectly, I was just about to apologise to both of our clients and explain that regrettably Spencer Law and Dayton Llewellyn Murray have recently merged their practices and Ruby will need to find another solicitor. Again. I’m sorry.’

Ruby snapped her head around to look at her, and Georgia observed with some satisfaction that she looked genuinely annoyed. Her client, it seemed, rated her services after all.

Georgia was about to respond when Brad beat her to it. ‘Well, she would have to go to another lawyer, if she actually had a case, but she doesn’t, and for that reason this was always going to be a short meeting, so you don’t have to be apologetic, Georgia.’

Brad confidently leaned back in his chair as if he were about to catch a few Z’s after a long wet business lunch.

What the hell was Brad playing at? Of course Ruby had a case. Any first year law student could have worked that out.

‘The law on this is very clear. The Walsh’s have been married well over the requisite time required for the statutory asset sharing provisions to come into play.’

Brad sat back up straight in his chair and, matching her professional tone, said, ‘Ruby has no case in view of the prenuptial agreement she signed before she married Douglas.’

As if in answer to Georgia’s question, which was suspended part way between opening her mouth and invoking her vocal chords, Brad opened a leather document holder and drew out a document. Based on the coversheet, it did indeed appear to be the couple’s prenup.

‘Ruby?’ Georgia turned to her client, trying again, but not quite succeeding this time, to keep the irritation out of her voice. There had been no disclosure of a prenup in any of their preliminary discussions. One of Georgia’s pet professional hates was being ambushed with a pertinent fact her client should have disclosed in their earlier interviews.

Ruby made a movement with her arm that was an almost perfect imitation of a royal wave.

‘Oh that old thing, I thought everyone would have forgotten about it by now.’

Georgia leaned forward to pick up the document.

‘Can I see that?’

Something about the front-sheet of the document looked odd, and on closer inspection Georgia saw immediately that she was right. She flicked through the entire agreement just to be sure.

‘I’m not confident that this document would stand up in court.’

Brad bristled, his usually dark eyes transforming to a blistering black, the intensity of his gaze causing her to look away.

He could stare her down all he liked, but she wasn’t about to capitulate on a legal principle. She knew she was right.

‘I think you’ll find the document was drafted to meet all of the relevant legislative requirements existing at the date it was signed — a little before your time of course, Ms Murray, but nevertheless correct.’

Georgia prickled at the flagrant attempt to undercut her experience, and sensing, perhaps, that she was about to contradict him Brad continued, ‘And may I remind you, Georgia, that now we have merged, Douglas is this firm’s client, not Ruby. Any further examination of the merits or otherwise of Ruby’s case is unnecessary and inappropriate.’

Technically Brad was correct, but even if that solicitor-client relationship needed to end forthwith, if Ruby did have a case, Brad had, however inadvertently, overstepped the mark in advising her that she didn’t. If his advice was incorrect, she had at the very least an ethical obligation to advise her of that fact before her client-for-now left the meeting.

‘I’m sure that substantively the prenup does conform to the legal requirements, but I don’t see any evidence that the necessary procedural requirements for a prenup were met, either on the coversheet, or anywhere else in the agreement, for that matter.’

Brad turned to his client.

‘Douglas? Tell me you did actually follow my advice.’

‘I know what you said, but I had every faith in you, Brad. I didn’t think there was any need to go through all that extra palaver.’

Douglas Walsh appeared bewildered, not yet comprehending the enormity of what Georgia had uncovered.

‘That’s not the point of it Douglas. The special requirements I told you about needed to be met to ensure that Ruby understood the magnitude of what she was signing.’

‘But we have a written agreement.’

‘That may be how it works in business, Douglas, but not in matrimonial matters. There are particular legal requirements for prenuptial agreements, which I explained to you at the time. A failure to comply with those potentially impacts on its enforceability.’

Georgia couldn’t help but admire the way Brad was handling himself, and his client. Legally speaking his case was in total meltdown, yet he remained calm, his responses controlled.

‘Well, you obviously didn’t explain it well enough, Brad. This is outrageous!’ Douglas Walsh was on his feet now, pointing in Brad’s direction, his voice rising to a shout. ‘I’ll be damned if I’ll give her anything, and you can be sure that I’ll be seeking alternative representation; for this, and all my other business.’

‘I think that would be for the best,’ Brad said, quietly.

‘Damn right.’

Douglas was halfway out the door when Ruby turned and beamed at Georgia.

‘So does this mean I can keep you, both of you, as my lawyers?’

‘Yes, I guess it does,’ Georgia said, unable to mirror Ruby’s enthusiasm. Being right wasn’t much comfort when she had just cost Brad his client.

She glanced at Brad, wondering how he was coping with being fired by Douglas, but his face gave no clue as to what he was thinking.

Ruby kept talking, ‘I can see why they made you a partner, now, dear. She’s a clever little thing, isn’t she, Bradley?’

Chapter Four

That evening, Georgia took a taxi to the women’s shelter for her fortnightly rostered evening of volunteer work. She had been pleased to have a reason to escape the office at five, rather than working a couple of hours of overtime, as was her usual habit.