Wolves in Suits

To Bad Attorneys

Amberley Quinn was still in her pajamas at noon, something she hadn't done since college. She slouched on the couch in her condo and clicked on the news, nursing a cup of coffee. She, along with most of Chicago, probably, watched the footage of the FBI raiding a building downtown and arresting multiple people. A building she worked in, and people she knew. It had been on a loop for the last twenty-four hours. Of all the law firms in Chicago, she had to be working for the one embezzling their clients' money.

The day before had been hell.

They'd had about ten minutes' warning before the story broke. The named partner, Mark Franklin, was stealing money from their clients' trusts with the help of the other named partner, Robert Carter. But then, Carter died from a sudden heart attack and all of the money discrepancies came to light.

Suddenly the phones were ringing off the hook, office and cell alike. Most of the associate attorneys' clients fired them that day. Most of them wouldn't get paid. The clerical staff had been let go. The office suite was being torn apart.

Amberley only had two active cases. She'd been leading the Melancon case for the better part of two years and mercifully their retainer had already been spent. They'd had a final judgment handed down in their favor a few weeks ago. The rest was just paperwork.

The other client, unfortunately, had not been as lucky. She'd just been retained; the first client she'd taken on since the Melancon case, so their money had been fresh pickings for the firm partners. The FBI had questioned her, of course, and she imagined her firm financials were under scrutiny, but she hadn't done anything illegal.

Her phone rang as the segment switched to covering celebrity beach vacations, complete with pictures of a shirtless guy in the ocean.

"Hey Liv," she picked up the call.

"How you holding up, Amb?"

"Oh, you know. Contemplating unemployment and cursing Robert Carter in his grave. You?"

"About the same. Listen, me and a couple of the others are planning to meet up for drinks tomorrow night so we can toast Franklin's ill-health. You in?"

"But I'm having so much fun hanging out by myself," Amberley drawled, voice dripping with sarcasm. "But yeah, might as well. Gotta start looking for jobs on Monday."

"Cool, I'll let them know and text you once we figure out where we wanna go.'

"Sounds good," Amberley said, leaning against the kitchen counter and programming the coffee maker to brew a new pot.

"You need any help wrapping up the Melancon case?"

"No, I just have to finish up billing. I plan to give them a steep discount."

Her friend laughed on the other end. "At least they agreed to keep paying you."

"Not much left to pay," Amberley muttered as she clicked off the TV. "I can't bill them for clerical work."

"I guess not. Hey listen, I gotta go. Somebody just fell. Or hit somebody else. Or something, I don't know."

Faint wailing echoed in the background. "Better you than me," Amberley said.

"Hey, if my sister wants to pay me to take care of her kids, I'm not turning up my nose at money right now."

Amberley laughed. "Good point. Get going, text me later."

The call dropped. Almost immediately, her phone rang again. Sighing, she answered. "I'm not helping you babysit, Liv,"

"Babysit who?"