The Player by Denise Grover Swank Read Free Book Online

that sexist . . . But she reminded herself that Ben was right—the older partners were in their sixties and seventies. They’d be out soon, one way or the other. She also reminded herself that she and Ben weren’t friends, despite his role in introducing her to Neil. He had no obligation to tell her anything. In fact, he was going out on a limb.
    “Well, thank you for the heads-up.” She glanced at the clock and took several steps toward the door.
    “A couple of other things, Blair.”
    She paused with her hand on the doorknob.
    “I think Rob Sisco Jr. might be watching your performance for the rest of the week. And he’s looking for reasons to vote against you.”
    Her mouth dropped, but she quickly recovered. “Thanks. What’s the other?”
    He grimaced. “If they don’t make you partner, they’re letting you go.”
    “ What? ”
    His jaw tensed. “You didn’t hear it from me.”
    She nodded as she walked out of his office, shell-shocked.
    “Tell Neil I’ll see him at the reception,” he called after her.
    She was momentarily confused before she quickly recovered. “Yeah. He’s excited to see you.”
    She tried to act normal as she made her way back to Melissa’s desk, sorting through Ben’s bombshell announcement. She should be pissed. She should be ready to fight, but she was too numb to feel anything.
    Melissa looked up at her, smiling with excitement. “Well?”
    It was nearly eleven, and even if Blair could share her conversation with Ben, she needed to process everything first. “Has Lopez’s replacement arrived yet?”
    “Yes, he’s in the conference room with the younger Mr. Sisco.” Worry filled Melissa’s eyes.
    “ Shit. ” So Ben’s information had been spot on.
    Melissa leaned forward, her face pale. “What’s going on, Blair? I take it you weren’t offered a partnership.”
    “I can’t get into it right now.” She started to feel lightheaded, but she couldn’t let her job performance suffer now. Now, more than ever, she had to prove she was worth keeping on staff. “I’ll tell you about it later. In the meantime, I need you to discreetly find out if any firms are looking for an associate attorney . You can not mention my name.”
    “What?” Melissa’s eyes flew open, and Blair instantly regretted mentioning it without more explanation. Not that it would help. The outlook was bad any way she presented it.
    Instead, she left the poor woman behind as she hurried down the hall and stopped outside the conference room. She took a moment to put her game face on, feeling more unprepared to deal with this deposition than any she’d had since graduating from law school. Knocking on the door, she walked into the conference room, then nearly passed out when she saw the opposing counsel.
    Garrett Lowry.
     
     

Chapter Four

     
    Garrett was in a foul mood as he walked into the law offices of Sisco, Sisco, and Reece. He’d been uncharacteristically distraught and surly most of the morning, but he’d assured himself that he might still have a shot with Blair. Perhaps the fact that she’d left like that—without saying anything—meant that she felt something for him. Hell, he’d just use his staff to track her down. Then he’d go to her and present his case. While the first part of his plan would be relatively easy since she was a practicing attorney, the plan for the later part was sketchy at best. But at least he had a vague hint of a plan. It was enough to put his mind at ease so he could concentrate on the deposition.
    He stopped at the front desk, and the receptionist gave him an appreciative stare. “I’m Garrett Lowry here for the Norfolk deposition. Can you let B.A. Hansen know I’m here?”
    She made a call to the back, then gave him a friendly smile. “Ms. Hansen’s assistant will be with you in a moment to show you to the conference room.”
    A pretty blonde opened one of the glass doors that cordoned off the back offices. “Mr. Lowry, if you’ll follow