- Santana's POV –
"What do I say again?" Roz Washington asks, confusion washing over her features. I lean back on my chair, gesturing for Quinn to take over in explaining once again.
"Alright, Miss Washington." Quinn trails off. "As you know, the patent for your anti-rust invention, Nixy Fixin', is due to be given to Sandy Ryerson on Monday-"
"That sneaky son of a bitch!"
Quinn smiles awkwardly at Roz before continuing. "In this regard, we filed an interference claim with the Patent Office and at the same time, waiting for the injunction from the judge." She pauses, handing Roz the file. "So, Santana and I here have devised a plan to beat them to the punch and all you have to do is go along with it. It's going to be all you."
"I can do that."
We nod, smiling. Sandy and his lawyers will be arriving any minute now in the conference room and I'm determined to end this negotiation today so I can concentrate my attention on preparing to sub for Mother tomorrow morning. I look outside to see if it's them but instead, I see Brittany walking back to her office staring back at me with a smile while motioning to the container holding several cups of coffee in her hand. I grin back and follow her with my gaze, not so subtly checking her out until she disappears from my line of sight.
"Who was that supermodel?" Roz speaks up, pointing to where Brittany went.
Quinn and I chuckle before the former answers for the both of us. "Brittany Lopez-Pierce, our co-associate.".
"And also my wife." I say, grinning.
Roz looks quizzically at us then turns to face Quinn. "Wait… Aren't you married to that Broadway star? Funny Girl lead, right?"
"Yes, I am." Quinn nods.
"And you all know each other?"
"Yes. Quinn's my best friend and my wife is best friends with her wife. We all went to law school together as well." I answer.
"And you're all gay?"
"Yes?" Quinn and I reply inquisitively.
"Let me get this strai- well, gay." Roz trails off. "Y'all went to law school together, best friends with each other, work in the same unit, and are gay?" She stares at us dumbly for a moment while Quinn and I share a look. "Whuuutt? That is some Chinese black magic shit going on, sisters."
I stifle a laughter just as Sandy, Roz's investors, and his band of lawyers enter the conference room. We do the usual fake greetings, introductions, and keeping to ourselves. Shortly, we take to our places.
"So, I presume we're here to talk about the deal Roz will be accepting? Fifteen million dollars, correct?" Sandy Ryerson speaks up with a sly grin on his face.
"That was the plan but we ran it with her again and there has been a slight change of direction. I believe Miss Washington would like to tell you herself?" I smile coyly motioning to Roz who smirks back at Sandy.
"How about you plunge that sumbitch deal of yours up your coke-induced King Kong nostrils?!" Roz exclaims confidently, surprising everyone in the conference room.
"Excuse me-" Sandy tries to counter but Quinn cuts him off instantly.
"So, here's what our client wants and will do." She trails off. "The patent for Miss Washington's invention Nixy Fixin' will be handed over to you three days from now. We filed a patent interference claim ahead of the stalled injunction which so far has not yielded any fruit. Make no mistake though because it will surely come through just in time to trash everything you did."
"Also, instead of going the usual red tape zigzag of a process in court that would take years, she wanted to take another route." I pause. "In about 24 hours, our client is going to distribute Nixy Fixin' in the market and online. For free." A huge smirk on my face registers as soon as the color from their faces disappear.
"The process, calculations, and initial design will be posted on my website." Roz adds with a devilish grin. "All I have to do is send this one ready text message on my phone to my nerd employee waiting in my headquarters and it's all out for the world to see before you can reach for the weed in your coat pocket."
Sandy swallows the lump in his throat just as he assumes a defensive stance. "We can sue you for this! We'll file an injunction!"
I glance at my watch for show then back at him. "You can't file an injunction. At least not before tomorrow. It's 5pm and all offices are closed by now. Goodluck with that though because once Roz's initial designs go out in the world wide web, prepare to throw yourself to kingdom goddamn come."
"Besides, you can sue all you want but our client won't have a cent left in her pocket after your initial betrayal." Quinn continues the thought. "Instead, she'll get sole credit for the design and conception of Nixy Fixin' which she'll integrate into a new name and possibly, a new company. Thirty million would seem like pocket change compared to what she'll get in return for everything she invested on the product."
"And before you say anything else, I'll go on a limb and tell you what our client wants." I turn my attention to the investors, motioning to a grinning Roz beside me. "Miss Washington doesn't want the initial 30 million you offered. Instead, she wants you to make it 150 million dollars, 10% commission of each and all units that will be sold, plus the contract stating that you'll only be able to get a million units since our client would like to distribute her own invention in the near future. No more, no less."
Quinn nods and carries on with my thought. "Otherwise, she'll just distribute it for herself and make so much more than that with the millions Sandy Ryerson will owe her after suing him of copyright infringement, patent infringement, and tortious interference." She adds, handing over several documents to the other side. "We can settle this now or you can argue all you want but once that genie comes out of the lamp, there's no way in hell you can remedy all your losses and put all of what should have been hundreds and millions of dollars into your pocket. We're giving you a few minutes to talk about it and once we get up from our seats, there's no turning back."
The adverse party glares hard at us, knowing full well of their imminent defeat. They proceed to discuss the matter within themselves for a moment. "And this is all of Roz's demands? This is all her?" Sandy nervously utters after a while.
Quinn, Roz, and I look at each other with a triumphant look. "Yes. Unless she wants to say something else?" I say, glancing at our client.
"And the name Nixy Fixin' stays." Roz adds, grinning widely.
Sandy shakes his head in disbelief, motioning to his lawyers to give in to the demand. "You take pride in this, don't you? Watching other people crash and burn while you enjoy such a glorious mocking victory."
"Only the bad ones." Quinn utters, handing over the papers to be signed.
"Specifically people like you who thrive on betraying other people's trust." I comment.
"You don't know what it feels to lose in life, that's why." Sandy seethes.
"We wouldn't know. We're not entirely accustomed to such feeling." I chuckle lightly, signing the last of the papers.
The adverse party begrudgingly stands up to bid us goodbye. "Expect the money to be wired in half an hour." A random lawyer chimes in.
"And you," Sandy trails off with his attention on me. "I hope that one day you experience what it's like to lose and be on the downside of life so you can get off that high horse of yours." He scoffs before exiting the conference room.
The three of us stay silent for a few seconds, wondering what the hell just happened.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again, that goddamn snake is so weird." Roz comments nonchalantly. "Anyway, don't mind that little sumbitch because what matters is we won!" She exclaims a little too loud, instantly grabbing Quinn and I for a hug.
"Yes, we did. Congratulations, Roz." I say, smiling genuinely.
"Congratulations to us, ladies! Thank you for all your efforts because now, you are officially looking at a goddamn millionaire slash businesswoman extraordinaire!" She cries out. "You know what, I am hungry as hell. We should go have dinner and it's on me because I'm fucking rich now. Invite the wife and the other wife, let's go!" Roz declares excitedly as we let her drag us out of the conference room.
- Brittany's POV –
"That's correct, babe. All you have to do is concentrate on finding the precedent for this." Santana points to a specific line on the paper in front of me. "It says that the corporation was undercapitalized and was only used to shield a shareholder's other company from debts. I read it on one of Mami's documents and I'm pretty sure it's Kinney Shoes Corp v. Polan that you're trying to find." She adds, smiling sweetly as she leans closer to me.
It's early Friday morning. Early as in 5am. We've been "reviewing" corporations law for the past hour at the dining table with countless documents sprawled out around us. Santana's going to leave in a few hours for Cambridge and to pass the time, I asked her if she could help me with a Corporations case.
I nod knowingly at my wife. "Thanks, San. I don't even know how you made it so easy for me to understand. What would I do without you?"
"Hmm… Eat sweets all day until your throat hurts so bad that you'll come screaming for me to help you survive your impending death by Gummi Bears yet again."
"That's true." I chuckle, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "I say you're pretty much ready for your lecture. You're so good at this, it's a wonder why you never thought of teaching before."
Santana shrugs. "Maybe because the thought of teaching law students who are one of the most judgmental types of people in the world scare the crap out of me?"
"Not all law students aren't judgmental."
"I was." Santana quips. "But do you really think I'm ready?"
"Yes! I just know you'll be amazing!" I grin widely, pulling her closer to me for a kiss again. "So, how about we get ready and head to the airpo-"
Santana's forehead creases at the notion. "What? You said you weren't coming with me. You have work meetings today, right?"
"True but since your mother isn't around today and it's also Friday, Quinn and I will be coming with you. Rachel wanted to come as well but she has a show tonight." I say. "Don't worry about it, we already fixed our schedules for today and Maribel knows all about it. We just have to get back before 6pm later and get a few legal memos she'll be faxing from Spain on our way home."
"Y-You're going to watch me t-teach?"
I nod profusely as I start to put everything away. "I mean, if you're okay with it. You can always say no and we'll back off."
She seems to contemplate it for a moment before smiling widely. "It's okay. I want you there, babe."
I bite my lip and gesture to sit on her lap with my arms snaking around her neck. "And I was thinking that maybe we could go away this weekend too, just the two of us?"
"I'd love that, Britt." She retorts, kissing my forehead.
Suddenly, the door opens to reveal Grams carrying several cups of coffee in a container in one hand and a paper bag with the other.
"Grams, don't you ever knock? What if we were doing something?" I utter jokingly.
"Then why did you leave the door unlocked for me? God, you kids are so scandalous." She replies in a nonchalant tone, setting down the coffee and food on the dining table. "Aren't you supposed to be ready by now?"
"W-What? I thought you were just bringing us coffee and breakfast?" Santana says.
"Britty here said something about you going back to Harvard to teach. Is that true?"
"Yes, but-"
"Ooh… I'll come. I have business to attend to in Boston so it's timely." Grams chimes in excitedly.
"What kind of business is that exactly?" Santana asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Your business." Grams retorts smugly. "The driver will be over in a while and the jet is waiting. Now, go take a shower. Chop chop!"
- Santana's POV –
It's so nice to be home. And when I say home, I mean being back in Harvard. I haven't been here since we went to pick up a few documents after graduation and even after all these years, nothing has changed.
Grams' limo drops us off in front of Langdell Hall where I'll be teaching Mami's class today. It may not seem obvious but I'm so nervous it's freaking ridiculous! Sure, I've contemplated telling Mother that I won't be subbing for her after all but then again, a little part of me was screaming that I should try even way back when she offered it to me. It wouldn't hurt anyway, so why not?
"Oh, this is so fancy!" Grams declares, looking around the building.
"I'm so excited! You're going to be amazing, San." Brittany exclaims as we stop in front of the auditorium where the class will be held.
"They're going to eat me alive, Britt. I might die in there. Slow, painful death spanning over three hours."
"You won't, okay? You'll be amazing in there I just know it."
"You think so?" I say with a defeated tone.
"Yes, babe." She replies, giving me a quick kiss on the lips. "We'll cheer for you as silent as we can."
"Break a leg, Selena." Grams chimes in.
"You'll do great, S. It's 2L, so it'll be fine. Just remember that they're more afraid of you than you are of them." Quinn adds.
I nod, taking the deepest sigh I could muster. "Alright. I'll catch you on the flip side."
Before I decide to back out or run away as far as I could from this place, I assume a confident stature as I grab the door handle and enter the room without pause. As expected, everyone's eyes fall on me almost immediately as I make my way towards the front while a few of them are murmuring to their seatmates asking who I am.
Since the classroom is in the form of an auditorium, the doors are located at the back. Ten or eleven rows of red chairs with a built in table lead towards the front with each row lower than the last coming from the top. It reminds me of our classroom back in Administrative Law with Miss Wright, only bigger. Way bigger.
I settle my things on the nearby teacher's table and retrieve everything I need as soon as I arrive in front. I turn my attention to the class for a second to see that they're all watching me like hawks. Further inspection of the farthest row at the top displays Britt, Quinn, and Grams waving at me with grins in place. I sigh deeply as I prepare to address the class.
"Hello everyone. I'm Santana Lopez-Pierce. Unfortunately, Mrs. Lopez can't make it for personal reasons so I'll be taking over her class for today." I pause, grabbing the class list from the pile. "So, unless there are any questions, I'd like to proceed and finish everything she assigned for this meeting."
To my surprise, several hands go up in the air. My eyebrows raise in surprise as I subtly contemplate how I'll handle this. Oh well.
"Yes?" I motion to a random boy raising his hand, all the others temporarily lower theirs.
"Is it true that you got the highest score in any of Mrs. Lopez's exam ever? And is it also true that she gives a difficult exam?"
"I'm not at liberty to comment on that. But I can definitely say that throughout my entire stay here, her exam is probably the most difficult I have ever taken." I smile softly and shrug. Several hands go up again and I randomly pick a blonde girl.
"How about Miss July's class? Kitty Wilde mentioned something before about the Unholy Trinity who got the highest scores and passed ConLaw?"
How the hell does gossip travel around here? "Well, I didn't take ConLaw under Cassie. And I believe you were talking about them." I retort, pointing to Brittany and Quinn who are slightly taken aback when everyone turns to glance at them.
I clear my throat to gather their attention again. "Alright. I'll take one more question and we'll start the lecture." I pause, gesturing to a preppy kid with one of those signature 'My father will know about this' looks.
"So, if you're just a sub, can some of us take off early?" He utters in a bored tone, trying to sound all patronizing.
I subtly raise an eyebrow at him, well aware that everyone's attention is on me with the way they're waiting on how I'll react to this haughty frat boy.
"Sure. Be my guest, Mister?" I trail off quizzically.
"Brooks." He grins smugly. "You're not going to have Mrs. Lopez fail us on the spot like Cassie if we bolt, right?"
"I can if I want to. Mrs. Lopez gave me the go-ahead, Mr. Brooks." I say, earning a slight worried glance from him. "But I won't. That would be too easy."
"Y-Yeah. Whatever." He utters, motioning to stand up.
"Jason Brooks, am I right?" I retort nonchalantly, getting his full attention. "I remember your father mentioning something about a son who goes to Harvard Law with all the top honors. Or maybe that was your older brother?" His forehead scrunches in confusion. Must be a sore topic then. "Your father is a client of mine, if you're curious."
"And what, you're gong tell him that-
"You like to cut classes and jerk off instead? No. What are you, five?" I chuckle sarcastically. "Quite frankly, I don't care. Please go right ahead so we can discuss the next twenty cases and topics that I'm sure Mrs. Lopez expects all of you to know by heart for next meeting." I wave a hand in disregard before addressing the whole class again.
"Oh, by the way, I heard that this block is fond of The Walking Dead. Is that true?" I add, most of them nodding profusely and some smiling. "Wonderful. Because I'll be handing out one spoiler at a time with every single person who's going to leave this room and distract the class in any way." I smirk upon seeing their faces contort into a fearful expression. "How do I know that, you ask? Well, as it turns out Robert Kirkman is a treasured client of Lopez Hayward."
"But sometimes the show doesn't follow the comics." One of the students argue. I nod and smile at him. "Which is why Scott Gimple is a wonderful client of mine and so is Frank Darabont who signed with my co-associate recently. And let's see… I know every single thing and I'm not bound by a non-disclosure agreement either." I chuckle to myself when their eyes visibly widen. "And since Mr. Brooks is going to leave now, I'll start off with who really died during the season fin-" I trail off but immediately get cut off by shouting and pleading from all around the room.
I laugh lightly as I shake my head in disbelief, walking behind the podium to prepare the lecture. "Oh, and just in case you're not a fan of The Walking Dead, don't even get me started on what I know about Kevin Feige and George Martin or you'll come out of this class wishing you've never met me. Other than that and if you all impress me enough, I might give you pointers on how to pass my mother's exam or those beautiful ladies at the back might be nice enough to give you tips for Cassie's class." I add with a grin, excitement washing over their features. "And you, aren't you supposed to leave?" I ask Brooks who looks downright intimidated as he sinks into his chair while shaking his head timidly.
"Well then," I look up at the class with a big grin, sneaking a look at my wife who's mirroring my pleased expression. "let's start the class by discussing the procedure of counter-suing a lawyer who fraudulently sues his own firm and the landmark case that states the elements of doing so. Any volunteers?" I exclaim confidently, contentment sweeping over me when several hands go up in the air.
"You were so amazing, San! You should have seen yourself teach, you commanded the whole room! Oh my gosh, I can't wait to tell Maribel about everything!" Brittany exclaims excitedly as we wait for the elevators to reach our office floor.
I never thought I'd ever say this but I like teaching. Actually, I think I loved the experience of it all. It just felt good being up there, taking control of the whole class and imparting them knowledge. Sure, Corporations isn't my forte but nonetheless, I think I did a good job. The feeling is somewhat addicting. The class was quite invested on the topic and they didn't hold back on volunteering whenever I asked questions. I tried to make the lesson and cases as simple as I can for them to understand and it seemed like it paid off. Maybe I never should have doubted myself or how others believed in me. It's something I'd definitely do again, if given the chance.
It's already half past four in the afternoon and we had just come back to Manhattan after a short flight from Cambridge. Turns out Grams really did have business to attend to in Boston and we would have stayed in Cambridge were it not for the few legal memorandums Mami sent over from Spain that we'd have to go through.
"Thanks, babe. It was pretty great being up there." I speak up, squeezing her hand intertwined with mine.
"S, I'm pretty sure they were quite starstruck for the first few seconds they saw you. I felt like I'm in a girl band with all the attention awhile ago." Quinn voices out as we all chuckle.
As we approach our offices, I notice what seems to be moving feet in my office. Coming closer, it becomes clear that the silhouette is that of a person sitting on my chair. Brittany, Quinn, and I share a look of confusion because one, no one would dare enter my office without my permission or me in it; two, it's Friday and most people in the firm are gone by now; and three, if that person turns out to be Sebastian then I'm going to let my inner homicidal bitch come out and have its test run on him.
Within a few steps, we finally arrive in front of my office. The chair, in a dramatic and cliché fashion, is facing the window. Moreover, there's an abundance of what seems to be Chinese takeout on my table. I try to remain calm as I run the things I'm going to say in the few seconds leading to us entering my office without delay.
"Look, Sebastian." I trail off with a sigh. "I've had a rather long day and I just want to get this over with so what the hell are you fucking doing in my office?! You fucking-" I exclaim angrily but get immediately cut off when the chair turns around to unveil the last person I expected to see again.
Red Hair. Hazel Eyes. Satanic Smile. Same goddamn face, just a little mature with time and all.
"You know, your office is a bit small and dingy. Mine down at 30th Avenue is as big as the three of yours combined. I even have my own trolley for tea and coffee. Oh, and a mini fridge just for chocolates too." She utters with a big smirk on her face, clutching a random box of food in her hand.
My mind is going a hundred miles per second with the confusion and just the plain shock of seeing her again. I glance around me to see both Quinn and Brittany sporting the same expression as I am.
"L-Laura?" Brittany mutters under her breath, surprise apparent on her face.
"Hi, Brittany." Castle says softly with a small smile.
Quinn snaps out of her trance and walks the few steps closer to me. "What the fuck are you doing here, Castle?! Who let you in?! You know what, I'm calling security-"
"No need." Laura Fucking Castle retorts with a sigh. "I actually only came here to wait for you guys and to drop off Chinese food since I'm sure you all got hungry with your little trip. Though I heard you bought pizza squares, such a shame you didn't bring some back here. Ooh… Maybe a little catch up if you three are up for it?" She adds mockingly, motioning to continue eating her food.
I feel my blood pressure shooting up by the second. There's just something in the way that seeing this bitch's face that gets me all riled up in fury. "Castle, you have three seconds to explain why you're here or I fucking swear I will drag you down myself and we all know how that went down the first time back in Harvard. Get out of my fucking chair!" I speak up, gritting my teeth in anger.
Laura holds up a hand in defense, doing as I say. She chuckles at my words and proceeds to gather a random envelop from her purse. "Don't worry, I simply wanted to personally give this to you." She places it on the table and slides it over towards me with a smug grin.
"What the fuck is that?" I voice out, staring at the mystery file.
"Well, Lopez." Castle trails off in a slightly condescending tone. "You have just been served."
Let's have some fun ;)