Will had come over to the table to warn them off. "Watch it, you two." He pinned Cary with a look that was blithely ignored in favor of turning his attention to his partner. The two junior counselors held each other's gaze for a moment, before Alicia faced Will and spat out a reply. "Or what? You'll… deny us partner?" It had the calculated withering effect of a grade school taunt, the same defiant "bring it on" tone that 10 year olds use with a parent attempting discipline. "Oh. Wait… already happened." She resumed gathering her things and packing her attaché case.
Will and Diane shared a look that long-suffering parents of rebellious teens the world over recognized, their concentration only broken when in one seamlessly fluid motion, Alicia spun and propelled herself out of her chair and towards the courtroom doors. Will trotted after, plucking at the elbow of her jacket to slow her progress.
"Wait. I had nothing to do with that decision, Alicia." He kept a gaze on her quarter profile, willing her to turn and look him in the eye. "You have to believe me." The sigh that escaped her forced her gaze up to the scroll work ceiling, before she exhaled in a deflated tone, "Oh Will. I don't care." She turned to leave again, drawing her arms across her body protectively.
"Alicia, wait. I wasn't even at that meeting," he urgently intoned in a low voice. She replied in an acid tone that effectively conveyed she couldn't care less. "Well that's good to know." Turning on her heel again, she tried once more to leave him in her wake. She made a single step's progress before his hand latched onto her arm, halting her exit.
His voice grew insistent, persistent. "Do you think just because our names are on the door that we control everything? We're just as much subject to the whims of the equity partners as you and Cary. They can outvote us."
She half-turned to face him then, her expression plainly stating she wasn't buying it. Her gaze flicked over his shoulder to Cary, who had been stealthily making his way down the aisle with a somewhat detached air, but Alicia knew he was ready to spring into action should the need arise. She subtly shook her head, and his advance stopped. He took a step back and adopted a relaxed pose against a bench as her gaze turned back to Will.
"Well, I guess we all have to learn sometime." As though no more trouble than removing a bit of lint from her suit jacket, she nonchalantly shrugged off Will's slack hold and pushed her way through the heavy double doors.
Cary was still leaning on the bench arm, hands in his pockets, watching her go with an admiring smile when Will turned to trudge back up the aisle to gather his things. As Will approached, he casually straightened and recovered his briefcase from the seat. That little smirk of his failed to hide itself as he opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to think better of it. He merely shook his head, clapped Will on the shoulder and walked off in search of his colleague.
Author's Note: alright; chapter 2 is up. There are 2 more to go, if anyone's interested. You know the drill: whether you liked it, whether you didn't, feel free to leave me a review.
