All's Fair

A Little Distance

Grace stepped off the plane and began the long trek through the Philadelphia Airport.

She'd be back in Florida again, probably by the end of the month. Shelley's divorce attorney Margaret was apparently undaunted by the admissions her client had made in her testimony. Margaret had scheduled Morrie's deposition in the state court action, and that was something Grace definitely didn't want to miss. She was planning on being down there the day beforehand to try to minimize the harm he'd do to the federal case. Just thinking about what Morrie might say if Margaret managed to push his buttons made her head hurt. His testimony could easily destroy any chance she had of getting this case dismissed at summary judgment.

But meanwhile, since these days everything was filed electronically in federal court, most of what Grace had to do could be accomplished just as easily sitting at her desk in her office in Philadelphia. Which was a good thing, since this case was only one of about 20 active litigation files currently on her plate, each with its own degree of urgency. The RKO/Shell-Morr acquisition was a high priority, but the other matters she was handling weren't about to stand still while she dealt with it.

She grabbed a latte at the airport and got on the train headed for Suburban Station in center city. It was faster – not to mention less expensive – than calling a cab, and the carry-on bag she'd taken for the trip was actually smaller and lighter than the wheeled litigation cases she habitually dragged home from the office.

She watched a family boarding the train, a little girl with a Pooh Bear backpack holding fast to her mother's hand, and felt a twinge of regret that she'd turned down her mother's suggestion to stay at the house for the weekend and catch the red-eye back to Philadelphia Monday morning. She was anxious to stop in the office today. Even with smart phones, laptops and fax machines, it was still more efficient to work from her home base.

And after a week and a half away she'd felt the pull of the city, the convenience of Philadelphia's train system, her condo with the view of the lighted city skyline, towering over William Penn's hat at City Hall. The proximity of the theater district, the restaurants, the street corner vendors, the art museum, and everything else the city had to offer. It was the pulse of the city that drew her. By the time she emerged at street level and walked the short block to her office building, she was already looking back on her week and a half in Florida as a bit of a strange adventure. She tried to picture Jack strolling into the dignified and staid offices of her firm wearing the khakis, open neck shirt and sports coat he'd worn to Shelley's deposition, and the image just didn't compute. It was like he practiced law in a different world than she did.

"Welcome back, Ms. Wallace." The receptionist behind the marble counter greeted her warmly. "How was Florida?"

"Hot," Grace said.

"I hear we've got some cool weather moving in for the weekend."

Grace nodded, and continued down the hall. Her assistant looked up in surprise when she rounded the corner to her office.

"I can't believe you didn't stay in Florida for the weekend."

"You know me, I can't tear myself away from this place."

Grace went into her office and Corrine followed, bringing a pad of notes with her.

"You think you're joking," Corrine said, "but it's true."

"Ha ha. So, what's on the agenda?"

"Ok, you've got the Coleman Industries mediation next week – that's Wednesday – the other side is still insisting they need a full day," Corrine said, smiling sympathetically when Grace made a face. "I know. That case is never going to settle, so what's the point?