Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 111732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
“Earth to Max,” Auggie says. “Did you see that horrible call?”
“Huh? No.”
“Watch it on replay. The refs are idiots.”
I watch the replay. “Yeah, horrible call.”
At lunch with Grayson, when he asked how things had gone with Marnie, I didn’t tell him the embarrassing truth. Instead, I saved face. Played it cool. Told Grayson that sex with Marnie was fire, but, unfortunately, she bored me otherwise. When Grayson wouldn’t let it go, I told him I’d maybe hook up with Marnie again, if we happened to bump into each other at a bar. But as far as going out on an actual date with her, I told Grayson, “I’ve decided I wasn’t feeling enough chemistry for that.” It was like saying a nuclear bomb doesn’t have enough “oomph” for me. Like saying the ocean is a puddle. But I said it, and then changed the subject. I figured I’d stop thinking about Marnie by the end of my lunch with Grayson. But it wasn’t meant to be.
If I hadn’t walked into my living room at that precise moment, I’m positive Marnie would have walked out my front door without saying goodbye. That’s the thing I can’t wrap my head around. What happened between Marnie saying she’d google the breakfast place and Marnie throwing on her clothes to sprint away?
“There we go,” Auggie says, clapping enthusiastically. “Great tackle. Now, hold ‘em one more time.”
“One more time,” I echo. But it’s no use. I’m fucking obsessed with The Marnie Conundrum.
Auggie sighs. “Okay, what’s going on?”
I look at my brother blankly. “What?”
“We’re on offense. I said that to test you. And you failed.”
“Oh.” I glance at the TV—and, yep, the Seahawks are on offense. Which means we’re not actually tackling anyone at the moment.
“Sorry,” I say. “I’m just thinking about work.”
“You’re always thinking about work, but you’re not always distracted like this.” Auggie tilts his head. “Are you worried about the partnership selection meeting in a couple weeks?”
He’s given me an easy out since I am genuinely nervous about that. “Yeah, that’s it,” I say. “Nobody even came close to me on billable hours this year. Plus, I got some incredible results for my clients, too. My boss says he’s gonna go to bat for me with the committee, but he said he’s really got his work cut out for him to convince them to go with me.”
“Because you’re only a fifth year?”
“Yeah, that and also because I haven’t done any work for the firm’s biggest client. But I have no control over that. If they’d assign me to the guy’s cases, like I keep asking them to do, then I’d kill it for him.”
“Aren’t you constantly picking up work for other associates, so they can take a vacation or go to their kid’s game or dance recital?”
“Yep. I do that all the time. I’m hoping that’ll help me with the committee. It’s not why I do it. I do it because I like being a team player. But I feel like that’s another thing working in my favor.”
“They’d be stupid not to give it to you,” Auggie says. “You’re a beast.”
“The good news is my boss, Scott, is firmly in my corner. I’m hoping he’ll be able to convince the committee to give me the offer this time.”
“How many associates make partner each year?”
“Usually, only one. Nobody’s ever made it this fast before. It normally takes seven years. But when you consider the hours I’ve logged, I’ve basically worked the equivalent of seven years in only five.”
Auggie whistles. “Damn. You need to slow down, brother. Nobody can keep up that pace.”
“Once I reach both of my goals, I’ll slow down. But not before then.”
I don’t need to explain further. My brother knows making partner is step one of my life plan. Step two is then getting myself assigned to the core team for our biggest client, Wayne Walters. His tech firm specializes in AI for the medical and education sectors, among other things, and they’re killing it. Changing the world. Since day one of law school, I’ve wanted to work directly for Wayne Walters. In fact, I joined my law firm out of law school because I knew it’s the one firm in Seattle used by Wayne Walters.
“Sorry if this is a stupid question,” Auggie says, “but why not skip the partnership thing and get hired by that billionaire tech guy, directly?”
“He doesn’t hire lawyers as in-house attorneys like that. He likes to pluck them from teams of attorneys who’ve worked for him at outside firms for years. That way, they prove themselves worthy before he takes them on.”
Auggie looks at me like I’m crazy. “How many years, in total, are you expecting it to take to get yourself eventually hired by this guy?”
“Including my three years of law school?” I shrug. “Ten or eleven, I guess. Twelve, if you count the additional year it took to get my MBA.”