His name was John Walton III and he was a cocky son of a bitch. He had power, he had prestige, and he was the managing partner of the top law firm in Chicago. The man was untouchable and he knew it. It paid to be on his good side but Vivian was about to test how far the buck went.
Vivian walked into his office just as he was hanging up his phone. “Can you believe this guy?” he asked, “swears up and down he’s innocent but doesn’t have a penny to his name to pay for a defense. Wants me to go pro bono for his cause. Ha! I’m going to have to have another talk with Suzie. The bitch is dumber than a box of rocks but she’s got great legs!” Vivian laughed out of habit. He smiled, “anyway, what’s new with you? How’s the Cotter case going?”
“Slam dunk,” said Vivian, “turns out the kid got a new camera the day before; she was just playing around and took a picture of Mom and Uncle Todd getting a little close if you know what I mean.”
“No kidding,” said John interested, “who has the camera now?”
“The Sheriff. We already sent the picture to the Judge. The little girl feels pretty bad about everything though,” said Vivian. She knew the little girl would feel guilty for the rest of her life knowing that she incriminated her mom. Vivian felt bad that she played a part in that.
John rolled his eyes, “she can always go to a shrink. The important thing is that we got her Dad the money he deserves. Nice work Viv.”
Vivian knew this was her chance; the blow might be less hard on him after he learned she was going to win her case. “Listen John, I have to talk to you about something.”
“Alright, what’s going on?” he asked as he leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.
“Well I’ve started seeing someone, and uh…” she rushed over her words hoping that the quicker she said it, the less likely he was to interject, “well I just want to let you know that it has nothing to do with my work and I don’t want you to…and I really don’t think it matters but I just wanted to be open with everything.” Vivian suddenly realized that she didn’t really remember why she needed to tell John about this.
“Hold on Viv, you’re talking in circles,” he laughed. “That’s great that you’re seeing someone, we’re all entitled to a personal life. I have no doubts about your work-”
“It’s a woman,” Vivian said firmly.
I could feel her stammering! So good.
I bet she felt a huge rush right after saying “It’s a woman.”