Not Quite a White Knight Vol. 04.6

One CEO was right, the other greatly misunderstood the realities.

The tactics that Barnes and Sam used for the pair was to set up a gang-bang at the contract closing party (White Witch #3). In the party room Red eagerly embraced the public role of everybody's fucking girlfriend for the night. Phil was one of the guys assigned to enjoy her body as part of sealing the deal. They both enjoyed their first time even if she was rather sloppy and there was a line.

They were surfers and friends who had seen each other before on the beach, getting it on with others around the fire, but they never did more than make-out themselves. So Phil's seeing his old friend getting off under each of the other guys at the party did not bother him. Quite the opposite, in the past decade while they were in different scenes their views on love and sex were amplified by the intense twenty-something sex life they both lived through, got off on, and matured beyond during all the "mornings after." In LA, is anybody 30 or older a virgin? Both had found their hearts broken by others who claimed "love" and "fidelity" were two sides of a coin.

Enjoying the gang-bang ignited their feeling for each other, during that night they leapt beyond simple friendship into something they both wanted more of - without overdoing the "fidelity" thing. With their past independent sexual lives they had put aside many experiences and inhibitions, now they knew what they wanted. When the sun came up after the party they were "hanging ten" together and well on the wave to shared emotional connections.

Barnes and Sam each did little things to encourage them. Barnes talked to some of the partners and as a group they agreed that, if Phil was married, and given their need for more partners, he would be viewed favorably in the next round of promotions. His value to the firm was never an issue, and now they needed him more than ever. Missing the formal June "wife evaluation social" was not a concern, especially in light of the sudden lack of partners and the proportional increase in work that they faced. Plus, Barnes insisted that Red "was part of the extended family" so they could skip the "wife evaluation" stage and go right to the "wife exchange" at the auction. Billy backed Barnes 100% based on the gang-bang.

The pair started spending nights with each other, and came to my wedding to Abril as a couple. They were inspired by the ceremony, after my wedding they spent an intense 36 hours together and made the decision to get hitched ASAP. California is a "no waiting period" state so they got married on the beach at sunrise Monday August 25, nine days after my ceremony with Abril. Samantha, David and Rose Barnes attended the wedding on the beach. Samantha was the "bridal matron" for the couple, she paid homage to Do Wong by tucking both wedding rings in her skimpy tight bikini top. The couple helped themselves to the rings when the time came. A surfer named "Preacher Bob" officiated. The paperwork was filed on the way to work after the ceremony.

Besides being an "instant wedding" state, California also grants "confidential" weddings where all information, even the fact of the wedding, is private. The main requirement is that the couple must swear that, before the wedding, they lived together as husband and wife. No documentation is required for this, the state trusts people. Both kept the beach wedding a secret from their parents.

Both sets of parents wanted a big wedding for their kids, it was why Red and Phil went the "confidential" route. As soon as the engagement was announced both mothers started planning a big church wedding. Barnes understood the issue, he granted Phil 10 days off in June 2009 for a big family wedding and honeymoon that would make the parents happy. With 10 months to prepare the folks were very pleased with their children.

Red and Phil actually picked the wedding date. They had Barnes issue, and Samantha sign off on, the "days off" schedule 10 months in advance. This eliminated the potential friction that setting the date sometimes brings to two mothers planning a big family wedding.

Like Abril and I, Red and Phil did the wedding night, and in fact the whole honeymoon, before the wedding. They flew to Maui Thursday August 21 and flew back Sunday night August 24. Both were at work by 10 AM Monday after the ceremony - they each brought two wedding cakes to work as "engagement announcements." (One was Pina Colada with Rum in one layer and the other chocolate raspberry cheesecake.) An announcement, with selected wedding and honeymoon pictures, was posted on the law firm's internal web site. Red was not shy and Phil knew his way around a camera, so the honeymoon pictures showed more of Red than Rose's picture of my wedding. After all, in a week Red would be posing naked on the auction block for fucking bids by partners.

Those wedding and honeymoon pictures of Red moved Phil from "maybe" to "can't miss" in terms of his Labor Day promotion to partner. Privately, Red was described as both attractive and "fun loving" according to some lawyers who had very close personal experience with her pussy at the gang-bang/closing.

After the wedding, Monday afternoon at 2, Nia picked Phil and I up at the law firm with a number of take-out orders. Red met us at a nearby park where the four of us had lunch and a chat. I knew Phil a bit and had met Red, but I wanted to talk to them as a couple, to try and figure out if they would stick and where loyalties rested. So we talked over ribs, chinese, tacos, salad and some wedding cake. Nia's presence and her story, which they learned at my wedding and knew some of the part I played, made the couple more open and willing to talk.

In the conversation my skills at reading people told me a lot about them and what would happen when circumstances at the law firm turned.

The next day I had a long talk with Sam about the two as a mixed couple. Red was privy to parts of the basic plan to steal from the law firm. We had talked previously about the matter but now I had to know for sure, could we trust them as a couple?

Samantha had done her due diligence. Phil kept "the gap" hidden at work, but in private (using booze and some mild drugs to loosen his tongue) he said how he hated that his partnership chances had been cut off over a year ago when he lost his fiancee in that car accident. (There are allowances - six months to a year - for a partner losing a spouse in divorce or death. But Phil's loss got no consideration when the partners voted.) He also thought the partnership treated him badly when he was down and that rejection pushed him down lower, that made it easier for him do things he would not have otherwise considered. Sam and I both sensed a dark spot there.

When Phil came back to the law firm after the "gap" it was the best job he could find, so he went with it. Barnes welcomed him and did all he could. But he thought the partners as a group screwed him on the little things even on his return. (They did screw him, they were bastards and could not help it.) Now that the firm was desperate he was expecting promotion to partner by January or earlier. That was fine, but once promoted he intended to use his contacts to set up some options for his future. As long as he did not have to lie, he would be good with the plan. But it might be nice if he also had an "out" - someplace to go after the firm fell apart. Sam had that covered, she knew a guy.

Red knew all about her man, with some additional details about the gap period.

Red's attitude was like many of the hackers Sam hired, fun was first and foremost, money second, family third. The way the law firm refused to pay for an audit made it easy to avoid blame for her part in a great "score." Getting the money without getting caught counted as Fun, like racking up the highest score at every game in the local video arcade. She had already been sexual with the employees of the computer firm, plus all my people who were stationed at the Batcave. She had equity on the computer company which would survive, plus a very private sexual relationship with David Barnes that might last.

As far as Red and Phil's marriage, they both expected it was going to be a more-open relationship from the start (both enjoyed sex at work, plus the wife exchange), and how long does any California marriage last? David Barnes and his wife, for example, were both on there third marriage.

Both Red and Phil were realistic from the start, their marriage was not as artificial as Abril and me, they wanted to live and play together for the foreseeable future. But they did not expect any marriage would last a lifetime - not as long as they stayed in California. Plus, however long it lasted, they expected some play-dates with others along the way. That was true from day #1.

Even considering our lunch in the park, both Red and Phil put in a full day of work after their beach marriage. But that night, their wedding night, to celebrate and confirm the open nature of their marriage, instead of going to their own home they met at Samantha's place, to swap partners for the night after some fun and games where everybody - including an extra guest - enjoyed Red's body. Phil was one of the few people from the law firm who knew Kwit and that he was engaged to Sam.

(The evening's events of Red and Phil's wedding night with friends will be detailed in White Witch 4. They celebrate their open wedding night with some open-marriage consummation fun - and with some special games the next morning.)

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Chapter 58. Partners Meeting

Friday August 29, 2008.

Day #1 of the Labor Day Extended Weekend Law Firm Social

Resort Meeting Room at 7:00 PM

Abril and I drove up to the Resort in the Marauder, it was comfortable and fast enough to make good time. Normally, driving was 3 hours on the Interstate, then an hour on some very picturesque local roads, but we easily cut that by an hour. Samantha and Kwit drove her customized Magnum/Charger woody wagon because they needed to bring some computers. Red and Phil drove her big custom Sprinter van, it was customized to meet her every need, including driving with only one leg.

Red and Sam played a game of rock-paper-scissors and Red lost, so she also brought along Birdy and Wiretop, from the computer firm, to handle the computers for the auction. They only needed one person, but since the orgy would be going on Sam sprung for the extra person for relief purposes.

Because of the distance, some of the partners flew light aircraft for the trip, the resort had a grass airstrip for small planes and the lake itself was good for float planes. I considered it, but dealing with an airport in LA really killed the travel-time advantage, and one would miss the beautiful country.

After arrival, checking-in, and the informal dinner there was a short partners-only business meeting set for 7. Phil Townes and I were invited to wait outside when the meeting started. We expected that the first order of business was to vote us in as new partners. Otherwise why invite us to wait outside?

In June, 10 names were on the list of candidates being considered for partnership, including my name. The June social was all about evaluating the candidates and their wives. In their week-long mid-July meeting the partners reduced the list to 5. In August Phil was added to the list as a 'possible' and met the final requirement a few days before the meeting, when he married Red, who knew the score. They used a confidential wedding license. Barnes was a witness for the partnership.

Two of prospects on the final list were not ready financially, for partnership. (Each new partner must buy-into the firm, it was a significant investment.) These two had budgeted based on getting their partnership next January, including the 2008 year-end compensation and bonus (their largest ever) to pay for part of their buy-in. Cutting their four biggest monthly paychecks ever out of their household budget was something they could not afford. Their names would be considered on the normal schedule in October and November for a partnership starting in January, as originally scheduled.

One of the prospects was a mutual decision that he was not ready, he had been an outside choice and he did not yet have what it took. He understood he had been marginal for this year, but would be considered for January 2010.

An associate named Ted Rodgers was on the list, but word of a last minute failure to finish a project - he was in over his head - led to his resignation from the firm on August 19. He would start with a more conventional firm in mid-September, and the sneaky bastard was taking two clients with him. They would all do worse because of the move. This was a betrayal, once he had the clients committed and a contract with a start date at the new job he tanked his current project with our firm, which he would never finish anyway.

With Ted's limitations as a lawyer his departure really was better for the firm.

Ted planned to take his work with him, and if he had quit last April when he first realized he was over his head and stated looking, that would have been possible. But the work was on the internal system and in July Samantha had tightened security there, foiling Ted's plan to take the work-to-date (easily worth a half million dollars) with him. It was very frustrating, he could see the text on his computer screen but could not print it out or copy the file in any way. This put him in trouble with his new firm from the start, he had promised to bring the work, which a client wanted, along with him. Now he had to rely on his memory, which was a very slow and faulty method.

Samantha made a full report to the partners about what Ted tried to do and how it was stopped. Barnes could have taken the facts to the state ethics board, but he did not want the details of our system exposed. Plus, he figured the guy was a snake which his new law firm deserved to embrace, it was his nature to bite them in the ass and they could suffer the loss.

The partners figured the client would come crawling back to us, the background work was specifically targeted. It would be very unethical for us to sell the work to their opponent. But making them pay a higher price when they came back? That was okay for all concerned.

Still, Barnes saw that the underlying issue was more basic, the Rogers defection reflected how the firm was understaffed at the upper level, our senior partners were spread too thin to give the clients and our junior lawyers the supervision and attention they needed. It was potentially a dangerous situation.

With that the short list for partnership became two: Phil and I were in the waiting room and the vote was more a formality than anything else, we knew the firm needed us as partners.

The partners took about two minutes to vote Phil and I as new partners of the firm. Barnes invited us into the meeting where we were applauded with enthusiasm and brevity. Papers were signed quickly. Speeches were not required, without further ado we were seated and the partners went to the next item on the agenda.

Next was the formal announcement that Gordon Turner (age 52) would retire at the end of the year. This was expected, the guys with budget issues would have the money by then, and Gordon was already introducing one guy around to his clients, so the transition should go smoothly.

The next issue had become a problem. Since May Barnes had been pushing to have an Executive VP as a formal second-in-command or underboss. The question of responsibilities and such had been worked out via email discussion since mid-July, they had mutated a bit with fewer powers. The big question was who should get the title. I knew that Pope and Stern had expressed an interest from the start. In July the position was more power and more money. Since then things went the other way. The biggest change in the job description was that recruiting quality people was now the top priority. As jobs go, recruiting in LA was a real pain. This was long before Zoom, meetings had to be face-to-face, usually at odd hours in seedy places where the prospects would not be recognized by members of their current firm. That in turn required a lot of time driving the LA expressway/parking lot system during early and late hours.

With the shift in priority Stern bowed out, he didn't have the patience to do initial interviews with 10 candidates to get one good name. Then he promptly nominated me. We had not talked about it. Barnes seconded Stern's surprise motion, mentioning that the money for my water brief was already in the bank and the partners would see a larger-than-normal monthly deposit on next Tuesday.

As expected, applause followed this good news and suddenly I was a shoo-in. Time to work some magic.

In July I had been briefed on this issue, but as structured now it was a job I did not want, there was too much work involved. The extra pay was trivial and the power was pure ego. The loss of control over over my daily schedule was a killer. So when nominated I rose to speak on the issue. I stressed that we had to make decisions on results, not promises. I said that I had shown where my strengths were - working an erratic schedule to get complex work done and bring in the revenues. But recruiting required a different touch plus more experience with the firm. I paused a moment to think. Clearly I made up my mind. With that I asked that my partners consider the man who recruited me successfully: Joe Pope.

With that short speech I was suddenly Joe's best friend again, and every partner thought of me as a man they wanted on their side, because I was a man who would have their back.

Well, that was the best place to stick the knife in. This was a meeting of the Senate before the Roman orgy. "Et tu, Brute" and all that came to mind.

I admit, I had inside information. Because of what he did to Amy, Joe Pope was not long for this world, from the moment I signed the partnership papers Joe was living on borrowed time. If he did the recruiting he could borrow a little more time.

Joe wanted the job because he saw the future power and wealth it could bring, and if he spent a boring and hectic month taking meetings at strange times and locations with people who were looking to move on from their present work without their bosses knowing (it always worked that way), that would keep him busy and out of the office. I saw recruiting as thankless grunt work earning him no profits. He saw it as a way to build power in the next 5 years.

I knew he didn't have 5 years.

Some partners had to question my nomination, suggesting there was a quid pro quid involved. (Lawyers always think of such things in Latin.) I said that Joe and I had not discussed the idea for the last month (which was true). When we did discuss it the job description was different. So this was not a set-up or simply blind loyalty to a mentor. "He hired me, and you will all see extra dollars in your next check. It seems reasonable to give him the chance to repeat success."

If I say so myself, those last words had a nice ring to them. I saw as they changed minds and quelled doubts.

I kept an eye on both Stern and Barnes. I was praising myself, but honestly it was a telling point. They had surprised me with the nomination, and I had surprised them back. But I knew that Barnes, especially, was actively looking for surprising ideas as long as he made the final decision. He knew what Stern would say on any subject.

I caught a signal from Stern and Barnes to Kick Howard, who worked with Pope on the water rights review. When I sat down Kick was recognized and promptly seconded my nomination of Pope; he also praised me as one who did hard work in the archives and said I needed to be fighting those dusty battles. Then Billy Buffalo was recognized and he moved that nominations be closed. There was general agreement and that quickly the formal meeting was done.