LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter 1

      Lina Smith-Todd breezed into her office, shutting the door behind her. Tossing her purse onto the floor next to her desk, she flopped down in her chair, a smile plastered across her face. She’d just returned from court. She had made such a compelling case for her client, she was sure the bailiff and court clerks were still talking about it. Well, at least that’s what she wanted to think.

      She’d been tackling cases as an employment lawyer for the Lerner Law Firm for seven years now. Through the last days of her tumultuous marriage, a contentious divorce and those early days of singlehood, she’d managed to keep her sanity by focusing on her work. Throwing all her energy into her clients’ cases left her little time for pity parties.

      Today’s showing in court had been especially impressive. She’d say it was in her Top Five Best Arguments of her law career. Her smile broadened as she recalled the flustered look on the face of Ray Deocampo, her opposing counsel. She hummed to herself as she booted up her computer, preparing to tackle her exploding inbox.

      The phone on the top of her black lacquer desk started ringing before the email program had a chance to fully load. Typing with one hand, she grabbed the receiver and used her shoulder to hold it to her ear. “Hello?”

      “Ms. Smith-Todd, I’d like to see you in my office.” The voice on the other end of the line belonged to Gwendolyn Lerner, the owner and executive partner of the firm.

      “I’ll be there in just a moment.” Replacing the receiver in the cradle, Lina stood. She knew better than to enter her boss’s office with a victory grin, so she went to the small wardrobe that occupied a corner of her office. Opening the door, she looked at herself in the mirror, adjusting her expression from full tilt gloating to something pleasant, but professional. Satisfied, she left her office and headed down the hallway to see what Mrs. Lerner wanted.

      She found Gwendolyn’s office door slightly ajar, and let herself in. Gwendolyn, dressed impeccably as always, today in a charcoal-gray skirt suit and matching pumps, looked up upon her entrance.

      Lina watched her boss in silence, observing her manner and expression. Gwendolyn Lerner was an amazing litigator and very personable. At times, she could also be a hard-ass. Generally, one could tell if Mrs. Lerner was in a good mood or not within about thirty seconds of stepping into her office.

      With a smile, Gwendolyn set aside the stack of paperwork she’d been reading and gestured to one of the empty chairs in front of her large cherrywood desk. “Please, Lina, have a seat.”

      Relieved to see that Gwen seemed to be in good spirits, Lina slid into the chair. “You wanted to see me, ma’am?”

      “Yes, and thank you for coming over so promptly.” Gwen leaned back in her chair, tenting her fingertips.

      Lina smiled in response, curious as to what her boss would say next.

      “I wanted to congratulate you on your argument in court today. Apparently it was very convincing, because I just received a call from the court saying that opposing counsel has dropped their case.”

      Before she could stop herself, Lina gave a few triumphant fist pumps. But once she remembered where she was, she tempered her reaction a bit. “That’s great news.”

      “Don’t stop celebrating on my account. You’ve earned it. And there’s something else you’ve earned.”

      Lina’s ears perked up, and she shifted her body, sitting forward in her chair. Could this be it, the moment she’d dreamed of since she’d first come to Lerner Law as a lowly legal assistant?

      “You’ve done impressive work for Lerner Law, from the very first day you arrived. You’ve shown yourself to be more than competent, and I think you’re ready for the next step.”

      Lina was now on the edge of her seat, hanging on Gwen’s every word like a kid holding an ice cream cone on a hot day. It had taken her almost five years to make junior partner. Could she really be moving up so soon after her last promotion?

      Gwen seemed to be enjoying drawing this out.

      But the suspense was killing Lina.

      Finally, mercifully, the smiling executive attorney said the words Lina had longed to hear ever since she’d watched her first episode of The Practice.

      “I’d like to make you a senior partner in the firm.”

      It took all Lina had to hold back the squeal of delight rising in her throat. She stood to shake her boss’s hand as the response she’d begun practicing the day she graduated law school fell from her lips. “I’m honored, ma’am, and I accept. I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations.”

      Gwen smiled and released her hand. “I don’t doubt that for a second.”

      Lina watched as her boss sat back down, then followed suit. She was so giddy on the inside that keeping a straight face was becoming difficult. The moment she got back to her office, she knew she would be busting a celebratory move. It would probably be the Running Man, or the Butterfly. Hell, she was so excited, she might even have to throw in the Cabbage Patch.

      Gwen’s voice broke into her thoughts. “It will take a few weeks to finalize things. Since I’m also going to offer Tara Mitchell a senior partner position, I’m going to go ahead and order new signage for the office, stationery and all that. Of course, I’ll talk to finance about adjusting your salary to reflect your raise in pay.”

      Lina knew she was probably smiling too hard, but she couldn’t help it. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Mrs. Lerner, for having faith in me.”

      “Call me Gwen. After all, before long, we’re going to be Lerner, Mitchell and Smith-Todd.”

      Hearing that gave Lina pause. It had been four years since she’d divorced her ex-husband, Warren. Yet she still used his name to hyphenate her own, as if she were still married to the cheating asshole. She’d been so busy with climbing the ladder of success that she’d never gotten around to having it changed. Now that her name was about to be on the building, she sure as hell wasn’t going to be identified by the last name of a man she could barely stand to be around.

      “Smith. Lerner, Mitchell and Smith. If my name’s going up in lights, I want it to be my name, not Warren’s.”

      “Sounds like

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