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“Here.”
    “Thanks.” She pocketed the green bill. “See you in the break room at three.”
    Val flipped her raven hair over her shoulder, then strode out of my office.
    I turned back to the small stack of phone bills I’d been reviewing before Val’s annoying interruption. Sarah had highlighted all calls made to the defense attorney’s office in San Francisco, and there was a sticky note on the file from Ryan asking her to do so. There was also a note from Ryan asking me to draft a summary of my telephone conversations.
    I set the phone bills in the document holder by my computer and filed the Somerset pleadings Ryan had borrowed back in my cabinet. Why had Ryan asked Sarah to highlight my calls with the defense attorney? And why did he want me to type out my conversations? Was this some kind of power trip?
    My career had sunk into a deep dark pit. There was no denying that. Also, for some reason, my conversation with Sarah was nagging at the edge of my brain. I’d never worried about marriage or aging, so the jury was still out on whether or not I actually had PML. Yeah, my thirtieth birthday was next month. And, sure, I was as single as it gets. Whatever. . . .
    It’s not like my singleton status made a bit of difference at three o’clock when the entire department ate Valerie’s to-die-for cake and celebrated the arrival of Ryan Shaw, while I remained chained to my desk trying to recollect two-year-old conversations with defense counsel.
    I seethed as my fingers hit the keyboard. Yes, the Somerset file was a high-value case, but Charlie had never questioned the way I organized my files. Just another reason I needed that job from Madison McKenzie—as soon as possible.
    ****
    Instead of hearing from Madison McKenzie Friday morning, Kristen had called from her honeymoon in Italy to find out what I was doing “for fun” today. Eyeing an email from Sarah, I told her I was taking my assistant to lunch. I failed to mention I hadn’t invited Sarah yet. When Kristen prompted that lunch with my assistant was work-related—sigh—I added that I planned to invite Ginger, too.
    This is how, an hour later, I came to be sitting at a restaurant in the Geoffries hotel with Sarah and Ginger for lunch. The restaurant was packed, but we got a corner table with a nice view of the garden patio. Once we gave our meal orders to the waiter, I vowed to forget about work for an hour.
    Ginger placed her napkin in her lap. “I told my sister I was having lunch with you, Jill. Do you handle something called general liability? She’s looking for a good lawyer she can trust.”
    “There have been some changes at my office, and I’m not sure how they’re going to pan out.” I exchanged a look with Sarah, but knew she’d keep my confidence. I hated turning down work, but I didn’t want to take her sister’s case, then abandon her when I got a job at McKenzie, Atkins, Haugan, & Hall. But I couldn’t refer her to Madison’s office in case, for some horrible reason, she didn’t hire me. “How soon does she need an attorney?”
    She reached for her water glass. “She’s miserable with who she has now, so the sooner the better.”
    “I understand.” I reached into my purse and pulled out the card Charlie had given me for his new firm with Ethan. “Here’s the card for Harrison & Mansfield. They’re both fantastic lawyers and she can trust them implicitly.”
    “Thanks, Jill.” She accepted the card, then slipped it into her purse. “Guess what? Victor invited me wine tasting in Napa this weekend.”
    Sarah’s face lit up. “Sounds fun. How long have you been dating?”
    “Over a month now.” Ginger tossed me a quick glance. “Jill doesn’t approve because he was supposed to be my date at a wedding last weekend, and he backed out.”
    No point in pretending I was a fan of Victor. “If you can’t count on him, he’s not much of an asset. I think you deserve more.”
    “Oh, really?” Ginger gave me a wicked