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mean, all things considered?"
    "For starters, none of them seem to spend a lot of time in the New York office these days."
    "That's true. Big boss Bradford spends more time jet-setting than he does on any cases, and last I heard, Alan Chadwick is working out of the Atlanta office while he fights his ex-wife for custody of their four children," Tashana rushed to inform. "That was such a callous thing she did, right? Moving the kids all the way to England just to get back at Mr. Chadwick for cheating on her?"
    "Why would she be in England? Why would he fight her from Atlanta, for that matter?" Derrick rolled his eyes. "That makes no sense. Plus, I don't think Alan handles cases in Atlanta."
    "I'm just telling you what I heard." Tashana shrugged. "He's been talking about Georgia quite a lot."  
    " If that is true, and we know it most likely is nothing but another instance of the gossip running rampant all over the firm, then yes. It is a callous action. Irresponsible. I'd lynch her." Tashana pinched his arm when his voice got a little too loud. It happened whenever they discussed the welfare of kids. As a family law attorney, Derrick dealt with broken families on a daily basis. His opinions on the subject were strong, to say the least. "Kids should never be used as pawns in divorce procedures," he added in a lower voice.  
    "You're totally right. And it is even worse in this case because, see…" They rested their backs against the far wall and lowered their voices even more when somebody else got in the elevator. "I heard she was cheating on him first," she whispered. "That she married him for his money, spent lots of it on plastic surgery, and never really cared about the kids until the divorce. She supposedly had a different lover every week."
    "What is she, nuts?" Derrick whispered back. "Alan Chadwick is rich and attractive, not to mention a very nice guy. Why the hell would anyone cheat on him?"
    Plus, according to Roman, Alan Chadwick and his wife Dani were "crazy in love with each other." Derrick doubted they were even fighting in the first place. Then again, a lot could change in a year… or even a day.  
    "She probably got tired of that blood fetish of his," Tashana said.
    "Blo—"
    "Shhhhh!"
    " Blood fetish ?" he said sotto voce.  
    "I hear he likes to watch people bleed."
    Derrick rolled his eyes. "He's a lawyer. We all get off on watching the opposition bleed."  
    "Figuratively speaking, you mean?"
    He didn't bother to answer that. "Has anyone ever seen the wife?"
    "Mary from the mail room told me that she overheard Laura from Filing telling Jose from Litigation that one of the cleaning ladies told Bea from Asset Management that she saw Mrs. Chadwick once back in 2005."
    Derrick's jaw almost hit the floor. "You're kidding me, right?"
    "You know I take my gossip seriously," she said. The uncontrollable fit of giggles that overtook her did nothing to support her words, though. "So Chadwick is out, but what about Sergio Acosta? Didn't he win big time on that natural habitat case?"
    "He's a corporate and environmental law attorney for the most part. Besides, isn't he still recovering from the stabbing he suffered at the hands of that mafia boss?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. Of all the stupid things Derrick had heard since he started working for ABC, the news of one of the owners getting stabbed definitely took the cake.
    "Then go to Bradford." Tashana's big brown eyes shone with mirth. "He's one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the city, and you'll never get a better opportunity than this to approach him."  
    Derrick gave Tashana the evil eye. "Drop it."
    "Isn't he the one you've had in mind all along?" She blew him a kiss. "Just saying, boo."
    "All gossip aside, I know the bosses are so busy that their presence in the building started feeling like apparitions a long time ago, but Lord, I hope someone takes Tyler's case soon."  
    "Someone will," Tashana assured him.  
    "It'll all depend on everybody's