A/N: As always, all characters are property of Dick Wolf and NBC Universal. Read and review, please! Thank you!
Bertram, DeLuca & Gorton was a bustling, up-and-coming firm known for the shark tactics of its' younger-than-usual founding partners; particularly one Neil Gorton. Entertainment law was his specialty, though he had a fondness for civil suits as well. He was thirty-seven, came from money that had helped finance his part in the firm and was known in certain circles as a legal whiz kid.
Neil Gorton was rarely wrong, and he hardly ever lost in court. The new associates knew better than to question him during meetings, or to complain about his quirks and demands. He was used to it, to them practically groveling at his feet, to the scared silences when he walked by. The associates, for the most part, bored him. The newest ones were there to get his coffee. He did like, on occasion, to see them work, to see them in their natural habitat, uninhibited by the senior partner being in the room. This is why, one morning, when he arrived late for a meeting, he snuck in quietly and stood in the back, observing.
The meeting was in full swing, coffee cups and half-eaten bagels littering the conference table. There were several older associates, as well as couple of new ones who Neil had never seen before. He made a mental note to keep an eye on them as the meeting went on.
At the table, one of the new associates, Jamie Ross, 24, and fresh from NYU Law, was looking at a blathering older associate with mild contempt. She had been at Bertram, DeLuca & Gorton only a few days, but it had been long enough to know what was expected of young associates at the firm. She was hardly one to sit back and take whatever crap someone threw at her just because they'd been there longer.
The older associate, Walter Rimford, was going on about a certain point in entertainment law. His only defense of the ruling seemed to be a conversation he'd had with Neil Gorton. Finally, Jamie couldn't take it any more.
"You can stop brown-nosing, Walter. Neil Gorton's not here, so you're not making brownie points with any one." The attention of those at the table was suddenly centered on her. She didn't mind. "And if Mr. Gorton really thinks that, he's more stupid than they give him credit for."
"Is that right?" Neil Gorton's voice carried from the back corner of the room. Some of the associates gaped. The more competitive ones smirked smugly at the tongue-lashing they were certain Jamie Ross was about to receive.
Having never seen him, Jamie had no cause for alarm until he came up to her, holding out his hand.
"Miss Ross, I don't think we've met. Neil Gorton."
He was expecting some amount of fear, or hint of surprise in her eyes. Instead what he found was a flicker of amusement.
"Mr. Gorton," she said. "We were just talking about you."
"So I heard. Now tell us why you think that Cabe v. Auster is a load of crap." Surely that would phase her.
But Jamie Ross had been captain of her college debate team at Wellesley. Jamie Ross delivered spontaneous speeches in her sleep. At the end of her explanation, even Walter Rimford was wondering about what Neil Gorton had said.
"Well," Neil said, looking at his watch, "It looks like we've run over our meeting time for this morning. Back to work."
The associates began to gather their things. Neil turned to go, and then thought better of it. "Miss Ross, I'd like a word with you…"
Everyone else had gone, and she stood there with her briefcase in hand, waiting. He walked over and she noticed that he was slightly shorter than her. She stood at 5'10, and that was without her usual heels. He was around 5'8, but what he lacked in height, she was told, he made up for in loudness.
"That was an…interesting little speech there," he said. "You almost had me convinced."
She smirked. "Then I didn't do well enough."
"You certainly held your own, Miss Ross. Especially after that little faux pas." It was his turn to smirk. "Most associates would be fired. Or at least humiliated."
She looked at him plainly. "You don't intimidate me."
"You aren't most associates."
There was something about her. Neil Gorton was rarely this intrigued with something, unless it was a point of law. She wasn't like the rest, and it was refreshing. He wanted to hear her talk more.
Jamie raised her brows at his last remark, and chose to change the subject. "You can't actually believe that Cabe was justified in that case."
"I can, and do," he said, looking right at her. "Don't believe me, let me take you out to lunch…"
She hadn't been there long enough to hear too much about Neil Gorton, other than the shark tactics.
"Fine. You can buy me lunch and at the end I still won't believe you," she smirked again.
He almost laughed. "We'll see about that."
She smiled a genuine smile, and for a moment, she wanted to believe his side of the argument. For a moment, her naïveté showed through and Jamie Ross was captivated.