The Anniversary (63 page)

Holden’s stature was preparing an affidavit for his signature. For an 14

associate, and a junior associate at that, to attend a meeting with 15

Holden present — it was almost unthinkable.

16

“Are there any questions?” Mills said.

17

“I have a question, Carter.” Madeleine’s low voice seemed to 18

linger in the office air. “Would you agree that we can’t represent 19

both WideWorld and Thorpe without a conflicts waiver from 20

WideWorld’s board?”

21

Mills looked at her, his face impassive. “No,” he said. “I would 22

not.”

23

The two partners locked eyes. Sensing the tension, Kate found 24

herself staring at her lap. There was something unsettling about 25

the scene. She was curious, of course — who wouldn’t be — but 26

also strangely disturbed. It was almost like she was very young 27

again, listening to her parents argue.

28

Seemingly oblivious to the younger lawyers, Madeleine pressed 29

ahead, her tone deceptively light. “You can’t ignore the fact that 30

WideWorld has potential claims against Thorpe. When Wide-31

World agreed to buy
Catch,
Chuck Thorpe was fully aware of Ms.

32

Friedman’s sexual harassment claims. He’d already been informed 33

that the EEOC would investigate. Yet he failed to disclose the po-34 sh

35 re

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2 0

A M Y G U T M A N

1

tential liability — something the stock purchase agreement clearly 2

obligated him to do. If there’s an adverse judgment in this case, 3

WideWorld may have to consider asserting claims against Thorpe.

4

WideWorld’s stockholders can’t be expected to foot the bill for 5

Thorpe’s —”

6

“We’ll talk about this later, Madeleine.” There was a warning 7

note to Mills’s voice.

8

Madeleine shrugged, and settled back in her seat. The same 9

faint smile Kate had noticed earlier again played on her lips.

10

Kate tried to make sense of the exchange. What Madeleine had 11

said seemed logical, obvious even. Samson’s duty was to its client, 12

WideWorld. You didn’t need to be a specialist in legal ethics to 13

know the dangers of dual representation in a situation like this.

14

But simply thinking this through felt somehow disloyal. After all, 15

Kate chided herself, without actually
reading
the purchase agree-16

ment, it was impossible to know anything for sure. And even if 17

Madeleine
did
have a point, why raise the issue like this — why 18

pick a fight with Mills in front of two associates? Only one thing 19

seemed clear: if Carter and Madeleine had ever been lovers, the af-20

fair had not ended well.

21

For a time, Mills seemed lost in thought. Then, he suddenly re-22

sumed command, as if the previous exchange simply hadn’t oc-23

curred. “That’s about it for today.” He was speaking directly to the 24

junior lawyers, as if Madeleine wasn’t there. “Madeleine will be 25

overseeing your work on this case. Of course, you’re free to come to 26

me with any questions.”

27

Surprised, Kate glanced across the room. Her eyes met 28

Madeleine’s. There was an appraising glint in the other woman’s 29

eyes. For a confused moment, Kate wondered if Madeleine had 30

been watching her. But before she could be sure, it was over.

31

Madeleine was studying her folded hands, and Carter Mills was 32

winding up the meeting. “I want a legal memo by the end of next 33

week. I’d like Kate to start in on that. If there aren’t any other ort 34

questions, I’ll see you all Wednesday afternoon.”

reg 35

w

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E Q U I V O C A L D E A T H

2 1

After the two associates left the room, Madeleine Waters re-1

mained seated on the leather couch. Still smiling, she studied 2

Mills. But when she spoke her voice was cold.

3

“I can see that the magic hasn’t faded.”

4

He returned the gaze but said nothing.

5

“In any case, that was quite a demonstration. Make them feel 6

like they’re part of your world. The quickest path to loyalty and de-7

votion. Not to mention endless billable hours. That’s what you 8

taught me, isn’t it? Well, congratulate yourself. It worked like a 9

charm. You could see it in their faces.”

10

Mills had assumed an air of calm detachment. “You see what you 11

want to see,” he said. “You always have.”

12

Madeleine paused, as if contemplating the next maneuver in 13

some delicate game of chance. “How comforting to find that noth-14

ing has changed,” she finally said. “It’s been quite a while since 15

we’ve worked together.
Closely,
that is. And you always wonder” —

16

and here she pronounced the words with odd emphasis — “if —

17

something — might — change. And then you realize that nothing 18

ever does.”

19

A smile flickered across Mills’s face.

20

“It sounds like you’ve got it all figured out, Madeleine. Let’s be 21

clear about this. Neither of us is happy with this arrangement. Un-22

fortunately, Thorpe has demanded that you work on this case. Ob-23

viously, we have no choice.
You
have no choice. I’m sure you 24

understand that.”

25

But Madeleine was barely listening. Her mind seemed to be 26

somewhere else. “That associate. Kate Paine. You hired her, didn’t 27

you? It’s because of you that she came to work here.”

28

Mills’s expression didn’t change. “I have no idea what you’re 29

talking about.”

30

And now it was Madeleine who was silent as her eyes roamed 31

Carter Mills’s face. Then, abruptly, she laughed. When she spoke 32

her voice was heavy with scorn.

33

“You’re so
obvious,
Carter. It would be fascinating if it weren’t so 34 sh

pathetic. Are you wondering how I knew?
Just look at her.
”

35 re

Document Outline

• PROLOGUE Nashville, Tennessee Eleven years ago
  
• Wednesday, April 5
  
• Thursday, April 6
  
• Monday, April 10
  
• Tuesday, April 11
  
• Wednesday�Saturday, April 12�15
  
• Sunday, April 16
  
• Monday, April 17
  
• Tuesday, April 18
  
• Thursday, April 20
  
• Sunday, April 23
  
• Tuesday, April 25
  
• Wednesday, April 26
  
• Thursday, April 27
  
• Friday, April 28
  
• Monday, May 1
  
• Tuesday, May 2
  
• Thursday, May 4
  
• Saturday, May 6
  
• Monday, May 8
  
• Saturday, May 13
  
• Sunday�Monday, May 14�15
  
• Tuesday, May 16
  
• Wednesday, May 17
  
• Thursday, May 18
  
• Friday, May 19
  
• Saturday, May 20
  
• EPILOGUE Merritt, Massachusetts Wednesday, June 28
  
• Author�s Note
  
• Acknowledgments
  
• About the Author
  
• Special eBook Feature: An Excerpt from Amy Gutman�s Equivocal Death
  
• Equivocal Death
  
• Wednesday, December 23
  
• Monday, January 4
  

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