The Love Wars Read Online Free

Liz, Rachel and Hope about the other members of the group. Everett was a relatively recent partner in the matrimonial group and when I had researched him online, all I found was a note in the Cornell Law alumni magazine from several years ago about how Everett Bunch, New York alumnus, “was working and playing hard in the Big Apple,” and a PDF document from some time ago listing him as one of the members of a dangerous-sounding organization called “the Lawyers Basketball Pub Madness League.”
    I peeked into his office. He was on the phone, facing away from me and reclining in his chair, giving me a perfect view of his peach-fuzz crew cut that showed the exact breadth between each of his hair follicles. At my tentative knock, Everett did not turn around but waved his hand in a vague gesture that I assumed was an invitation to enter, so I did, perching on one of the black leather chairs opposite his desk in standard associate pose: pitched forward in my seat, legs crossed, legal pad poised on lap.
    From what I could tell from his side of the conversation, Everett was reminiscing about some evening, the highlights of which involved a “smoking” waitress named Eileen and an overindulgenceof Absolut Vodka. The exhaustion of those topics eventually led to a work discussion, allowing me to conclude that I was not, despite my suspicions, bearing witness to a conversation about new pledge brothers.
    “So, dude, did you do the enhanced earnings analysis yet?” Everett said, still turned away from me. “Okay, so what’s the thumbnail sketch on the practice? Uh-huh. Yep.” He scribbled something on a piece of paper next to his phone. “Oh, she’s going to be pissed.” After several more minutes of lengthy good-byes and promises to “catch you later,” he hung up and looked at me.
    “Do you know who Noah Wasserman is?”
    I racked my brain, the anxiety rising. Was he a partner at the firm? A huge client? Who was Noah Wasserman? Who?
    “No,” I said slowly, after it became clear that Everett was not going to volunteer the answer.
    He narrowed his eyes until they were two little slits behind his glasses. “He is a forensic accountant. One of the best. He has valued assets of several clients for us. Learn his name if you want to work in this department.”
    “Okay.”
    “Another thing you should know if you want to work here is how things work. I am a partner.” He raised his eyebrows. “It’s your job to impress me. Not the other way around. You should have introduced yourself.”
    Was he kidding? I felt my cheeks flush. “I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean to offend you. I just started and I have been unpacking and trying to figure things out….” I trailed off, uncertain.
    He stared me down for several seconds before responding. “We expect a lot of our associates here. Lillian and I both like things done a certain way. So, what cases have you been put on?”
    Still stunned, I managed to recall the names of a few of the files on my desk.
    He nodded. “Okay. Nothing big-league. I’ll probably havesomething for you to do within the next week, so look out for my call.” He picked up his phone receiver. “You can go now.”
    I started to limp back to my office, but then I remembered that there was one more lawyer in the matrimonial group, Henry Something—still an associate, but senior enough that I didn’t want to risk having another conversation like the one I just had. I circled the hallways on the thirty-seventh floor until I found his nameplate, HENRY BENNETT .
    He was at his desk, head down, poring over financial statements.
    I knocked gently on his doorframe. He gave no sign of having heard me, so I knocked again a little louder. Nothing. I took a few small steps into his office. “Hi, Henry. I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Molly Grant.”
    “Okay.” He didn’t look up.
    Was he already pissed? I spoke a little louder. “I just started today. I’m really looking forward to working