Chapter 3: Michael Meets MaggieMichael Rannigan dry gulped three ibuprofen tablets as the car from the service weaved its way through mid-day Manhattan traffic. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a hangover. The previous night had been exceptional. At an art gallery opening, he'd met twin flight attendants who matched him drink for drink before going home with him for an extended threesome adventure. I'm getting too old for this shit. Should have called in sick today. As a partner at Murphy, Rannigan, there was no one to question his absence. But it was his turn to represent the firm at the job fair at NYU. Brian Murphy was out of the country on vacation. And James Metheny was recovering from surgery. Tonsils or some shit, Michael mused. Didn't everyone have their tonsils out when they were five?Sure, the firm needed new talent. But why did he need to be there? He knew exactly why. Without his presence, John Hemphill would be the senior man there, and that co
Chapter 4: Maggie's BirthdayShe felt her face burning as she walked away from the Murphy, Rannigan table. That couldn't possibly have gone any worse, she thought. Well, if I'd thrown up on them. That would have been worse. Casey and Ben were still standing where she'd left them, and they were anxiously awaiting a report. "Well?!" Casey begged as soon as Maggie was close enough. "How did it go?" Maggie rolled her eyes. "It was bad. Did you see me drop my papers? And they actually laughed at me when I talked about trying Rannigan's case for my project." She shook her head sheepishly. "Oh, well, I'm glad I have an in with Rance and the DA's office."Ben clapped his large hand on her shoulder. "I'd stay here and help you feel sorry for yourself but I have an interview, bitches," he grinned. "Hey, buck up, Flynn. At least we're still going out for your birthday."Maggie had almost forgotten. Her birthday wasn't until tomorrow but Ben, Casey, and their whole group of friends
Chapter 5: Michael's EveningMichael had met Gwen Channing a couple of years earlier on a flight from New York to Las Vegas. She was attending to the first-class cabin, then about an hour into the flight, she was attending to him personally, giving him a blow job in the galley of the 777. Gwen always gave him a call when she was in town.Michael returned to his table in the corner and to his irritated date. "Who are they?" she snipped."Some students from the U. I recognized one of them from the interviews today," he answered. "Did you order?"As the evening progressed, he realized that Gwen was rambling on about an asshole passenger on a recent flight, but his mind was on Mary Margaret Flynn. The truth was, she intrigued him. She wasn't unattractive. Obviously not dating material, but still, she was smart, and she had spirit, too. She'd proved that when she'd stood up to all of them that afternoon.He was glad when a band took the stage and he could stop pretending that he wa
Chapter 6: "Welcome to Murphy, Rannigan, and Metheny."In spite of having been wide awake until the wee hours of the morning, Maggie's eyes popped open immediately as her alarm sounded at 6:15 am. Classes were over but there were still finals, one of which she had this afternoon. Besides, she liked the routine of getting up at the same time every day. She couldn't call Murphy, Rannigan until nine, so she threw on workout clothes and left the apartment for a quick run.More than two hours later, freshly showered following her workout, she sat watching her clock until it blinked from 8:59 to 9:00 before she dialed the number on the business card. The woman who answered was friendly and efficient. Yes, Mr. Rannigan had said to expect her call. Yes, the firm was scheduling follow-up interviews for candidate finalists. Maggie should report to the Murphy, Rannigan offices at nine o'clock sharp on Tuesday morning. She hung up the phone feeling bewildered. Follow-up interviews? I th
Chapter 7: Maggie's First Day"Oh, God!" Maggie gasped, pulling against the restraints that kept her arms over her head. She looked down to see him working her left nipple with his tongue, taking the whole thing in his mouth, suckling sensuously. At her words, he looked up at her, tousled salt and pepper hair perfectly framing his chiseled face, heat radiating from his brown eyes, a smirk on his lips. "You like?" She nodded vigorously. "Because I was thinking about moving further down," he said, lazily tracing a finger down the center of her body until he came to the mound between her thighs. There he paused to stroke her moist pink folds, gently at first, then more intensely. Maggie writhed in pleasure but with her feet bound to the corners of the bed, there was little she could do. "Oh, God, Michael," she squeaked, on the edge of molten pleasure. He looked back up at her, his eyebrow crooked. "I've always wondered. Does a ginger taste like ginger?" With that, he lowered
Chapter 8: PrioritiesMichael sat behind his huge desk listening as the councilman droned on and on, expressing his gratitude for Michael's help. "He's just a dumb kid. I don't understand why they wanted to make a federal case out of it," the man said, referring to his seventeen-year-old son who'd been arrested in the wee hours of Sunday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence. Complicating matters was the fact that when they emptied his pockets, the cops found a small amount of cocaine. Councilman Menzel had called Michael right away. He'd helped the politician out of a few scrapes of his own over the years.It was only 10:15 in the morning but it had already been a long day. Michael had cut short his weekend in the Caymans by a few hours to fly home and help get the kid out of jail. The harder part was keeping it out of the papers, but he had the contacts to make that happen. He tried to look sympathetic. "Aw, you know, Bob, the police are just doing their job.
Chapter 9: OrientationMichael stopped in the door and allowed her to precede him into the hallway. As she passed him, she caught the scent of his cologne, and recalling her dream from earlier that morning, she blushed furiously. Thank God he can't read my mind, she thought, gripping the new folio tightly. Even so, when she turned he was regarding her curiously and she felt her face redden further. She smiled to cover her discomfort. "I can't believe I have my own office. Downstairs the newbies have cubicles."He grinned and nodded. "Yeah, up here on 50, we're kind of our own beast." He began walking down the hallway toward the reception area. "Jim Metheny used to be with Jernigan, Krandel back in the day, but they had a parting of the ways about ten years ago. He was looking for partners to start his own firm. He found Brian Murphy first. I had just won a big case in the Public Defender's Office.""People vs. Smithson," Maggie said. "He was accused of murder. An eyewitn
Chapter 10: The Pecking OrderMaggie walked away from Michael's office feeling like a first-class idiot. What in the world possessed me to be so flippant? she wondered miserably. At least he hadn't seemed bothered. She thought about his words. We're both alone in the world. She knew exactly what he meant. When her father died, she felt completely alone. She'd thrown herself into her undergraduate studies to distract herself from those thoughts. Law school had somehow been better. She'd bonded with her group of friends. She thought of Casey and knew they'd be close for the rest of their lives, the same with Ben. They were her family. Graduation had been a reminder that they wouldn't be together forever, but she hadn't allowed herself to dwell on the notion. She sighed and busied herself with the lunch order.Everything went smoothly until she got to John Hemphill's office. He was meeting with Ellen Standifer when she knocked on the open door. "Knock, knock," she said bri