Friday, June 22, 2007

Friday Night Drinks ctd...


The board room looks fantastic on Friday night. The partners have gone all out. There is Moet everywhere and little sushi rolls and blinis darting about the room on platters. The roof is covered with fairy lights and some kind of white muslin cloth so it looks like an enchanted forest. The overhead projectors are flashing images of smiling employees on the white walls at either end of the room and a jazz trio is quietly bubbling away in the corner.

Kate grabs two champagnes off the closest tray and pushes one into my hand.

"Magic", she says as if the champagne will fix everything.

And it comes close. The first sip is extravagant, bubbles hitting the top of my mouth and tingling up my nose make my entire body sigh. Finally, it is clear that the day is over and what's more because of the day I've had I can't possibly work on the weekend. I've been demoted big time, which means no working out of hours without supervision.

Another champagne. Kate and I sneak outside for a Friday-night-only-when-I'm-drinking-not-during-the-week-when-I'm-sober-cigarette.

"You ok?" she asks. "Dad said you had a pretty rough day."

"Great, now the whole firm knows how crap I am".

"You know he tells me, he won't have told everyone".

"Yeah, I know. It was just SO crap. I don't know what happened. It's like I have forgotten everything I've learnt so far".

"Trix, it's a totally different world. Coming to civil litigation from crime is like changing from obstetrics to orthopedics. They sound the same but they're really very different".

"I know. I'm just going to have to suck it up and do my time all over again."

"Yeah."

"Just when you feel like you're finally getting somewhere."

"I know."

"And I ran into that bloody Ben Montan. Swanning about in his suit with some girl drooling all over him. Jesus. Men like that make me sick inside. It's no wonder women like us stay single. I mean really, what are the options?"

"Don't pull me into your little I hate men club" joked Kate.

"But honestly, I look at Ben and I look at Brad Pitt and I think, how is it possibly worth all the crap? They claim to be not into relationships but if you just want to sleep with them .."

"ummmm…"

"…they're so clingy and needy and then if you do actually look like you might send them an email or give them your phone number they run two thousand miles at the pace of some very fast marathon runner. And then…"

"Trixie, good to see you haven't let the day bring you down. Announcement… inside… now."

I turn around and Uncle is standing right behind me. My cigarette is stuck to my top lip and I just know my lipstick is smeared from guzzling champagne.

"Um yes… right in" as I rip the top layer of skin from my lip by pulling the cigarette off.

I don't think Kate and I have been gone for too long but the boardroom has really squeezed in a lot more people in the time we were outside. We squeeze surreptitiously into a corner just in time. Uncle taps on the microphone.

"Ladies and gentleman. Welcome. It is our great honour to host this evening and we would like to welcome all our visiting friends and, might I say, allies, to these celebratory drinks." Thank you, another champagne for me.

"BCF has been proud of it's growth over the last few years and I am particularly proud as a founding partner to be able to say that we see our future as a strong one including all our children. We are a close knit family. And we are delighted to announce that we are about to become a blended family." Jesus, this speech could not be any cornier.

"Please charge your glasses and help me welcome our brothers and sisters from ABC Lawyers. From this evening we will be merging into one practice, based in these offices and we will trade as ABC BCF… to new beginnings." Holy shit.

Everyone raises their glasses and chimes back, "new beginnings".

I can't believe they are merging. The rumour had been an alliance, some kind of work sharing, knowledge building relationship but a full on merger hadn't been on the cards. Wow. At least the drama of my day will fade into the background against all of this.

"Oh and one more thing," Uncle is back at the microphone, "our new family is on their way, some already here, so please make them feel welcome. We hope to hear from the managing partner of ABC later this evening."

Clearly, this is going to be a big party and I have a big day to forget.

'"Doesn't Ben Montan work for ABC?" whispers Kate.

The only solution to any of my problems is to drink a big amount of champagne and let it all wash away.

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