Board Stiff by Jessica Jayne Read Free Book Online Page B

that had a short outline of the players in the case.   Everything else was pretty well set in her
head.
    “I know,” she
whispered.   She ran a hand through her
long auburn hair.   “I know this case like
the back of my hand.”   And she had done
her homework.   Last night, she had studied
the Advantage annual statement from last year and familiarized herself with
each of the board members.   She had
already met Michael Herron, Advantage’s CEO, as he was a regular visitor to the
Legal Department to meet with Corbin.   But the other members were not as well-known to her.   In reviewing their bios, she noted that the
board consisted of only men… three that were of her father’s age or older.   But there were three board members that were
considerably younger than the others… John Dorsey, Mark Olson
and Gregory Snow.   She found it
interesting that they were appointed members of the board of directors at such
young ages.   All were tops in their
career paths, at least according to her research on LinkedIn and Google.   But John Dorsey caught her attention the most.   There was something about the look in his
eyes in his bio picture that intrigued Elizabeth .   Not to mention, he was very easy on the eyes.
    “I wouldn’t have
asked you to do it if I didn’t have the utmost faith in you,” Corbin said,
smiling at her.   Corbin was a good
guy.   He was in his late fifties with
dark brown hair that was streaked with gray.   He was married with two children in college.   As far as bosses went, Elizabeth considered herself quite
lucky.   She had worked five years in a
large law firm right out of law school and she worked her ass off.   She applied for the corporate counsel
position at Advantage because she was tired of working the ridiculously long
billable hours.   Her social life had been
non-existent for the five years she slaved away at Barnes and Simon.   She held high hopes that she could gain her
life back as in-house counsel.   She was
thirty-one.   She wanted to get married
someday… have a family.
    She had more than
enough experience to be an asset to a company like Advantage.   She had done nothing but handle insurance
defense cases at her firm.   In fact, she
had become quite a commodity at the firm for her aggressiveness in the courtroom.   So, when Corbin got her resume for the open
position, he immediately asked her in for an interview.   He basically hired her on the spot.   Her salary went down a bit from her law firm
salary, but she hoped her life would go up.
    “Corbin.”   The board room door opened slightly and Phillip
Barker poked his head around the corner.   Elizabeth recognized him from his bio photograph in the annual statement.   This made her grateful that she did her
research.   “You ready?”  
    “Yes, Phil, we’re
ready,” Corbin said, standing from the couch and straightening out his suit
jacket.  
    “Come on in,” Phil
said, opening the door wide.   Elizabeth stood up from
the couch and straightened out her taupe skirt and jacket before walking
through the door into a board room full of men.   She followed Corbin to the front of the room.
    “Gentlemen, I’d
like to introduce Elizabeth Wright.   She
is one of our corporate counsel here in Advantage’s
legal department.   We stole her from
Barnes and Simon in Tampa ,
and we are more than thrilled to have her with us.   She’s been following the beachfront condo
construction defect case for us for the last three months and has worked
closely with the claims adjusters to get a better understanding of the problems
with the building, should there be any coverage issues that will need to be
raised under the policies.   I thought it
would be best if she presented the case to you since she has the most
first-hand knowledge of how it may play out for Advantage and its
insureds.”  
    “Thank you,
Corbin,” Elizabeth said, confidently.   “And thank you,
gentlemen, for allowing me to be