Power Brokers

CHAPTER 1 - Nice to Meet You



"Catherine, are you absolutely insane? Maurice Harrington?" My partner, Kimberly Nash, said.

"It wasn't my idea. It was Byron's. He's the client." I said.

"You do know who Maurice Harrington is, don't you?" Kimberly asked.

"Yeah, I heard of him. I have never met him. You know, we don't run in the same circles, Kim." I said.

"Let me tell you about Maurice. He's not a nice guy. He's one of the most ruthless attorneys in New York. He doesn't play fair, Catherine. We don't need that on our team." Kimberly said.

"So do I call Byron, or do you? Because he's not going to be acquitted if we leave him to Maurice. No matter how ruthless he is, Byron will end up spending his life in jail for the murder of his ex-wife." I said.

"I know, but I don't know." Kimberly said.

My secretary, Heather, knocked softly on the door and came in.

"Catherine, Maurice Harrington is here." Heather said.

"Wait, what? He's not meeting us till next week." I said.

"Well, he's here, and he's in the conference room." Heather said.

I threw a glance at Kimberly, got up from my desk, and walked out to go to the conference room. I looked in and saw the most handsome man I ever seen, but you could tell how intense he was. Nothing about him seem aloof or gung-ho. He was a serious man, I opened the door of the room and walked in.

"Mr. Harrington, I'm Catherine Madison. Welcome to Madison and Nash..." I began to speak.

"I know who you are. I have read everything about you. So there's no need to introduce yourself." Maurice said.

"OK. I wasn't expecting to meet with you till next week. I had my secrerary confirm with your secretary yesterday after my meeting with Byron. There's a lot to go over as far as what is expected from you is concerned. I had intentions of going over it with you." I said.

"I know. I pushed the meeting up to today. I don't like wasting time diving into a case, and this case intrigues me since I have known Byron for years. We attended Princeton together." Maurice said as he sat on the table.

"Yes, it is a very different case, one where my expertise. constitutional law, is needed. Kimberly Nash, my partner, is the criminalist here."

I looked Maurice over. He wasn't very tall, but his stature was straight as if he was taller. He had smooth milk chocolate skin with deep dark brown eyes. His head was clean shaven, and he had a neatly trimmed goatee. You could tell by the way his custom designed Italian suit that he worked often. He wore a Rolex on his right wrist and a very distinct pinky ring on his left finger. I strained to see if he had a wedding band, but I did not see one. He was well put together. Yes, he was very easy on the eyes. Yet, I sensed an arrogance about him. Maybe it's the Princeton education. Then again, who knows?

"I understand you have a Juris Doctor and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard." Maurice said.

"Yes, I was a double major. I went to Harvard Law and the Kennedy School of Government, but you should know that since you read up on me." I said.

I wasn't planning on giving him anymore information than he already read.

"I sense a bit of an attitude there." Maurice said,

"Well, it's not everyday that I schedule a meeting with someone, and they decide to change it without contacting me first. I do have other clients that I have to meet with, Mr. Harrington, That is why I scheduled the meeting for next week." I said.

"If you're going to be working with me, you will clear your schedule. Kimberly will clear her schedule. No other client is more important than Byron. Now that I am on this team, this law firm will be under my guidance. All decisions will go through me..." Maurice was saying as I began to interrupt him.

"Hold on, your guidance? Let me tell you something, no one is going to come up in my firm and begin to demand that we clear our schedules and give you control. I am bringing you on because Bryon believes you have the resources we may need and some of your expertise in his ex-wife's dealings. This is a partnership, Mr. Harrington. It is not a dictatorship." I said.

"You sound as if you have a choice in this, Ms. Madison. I came to tell you that you don't. Bryon is my client. I decide what goes on here." Maurice said.

"How can you just come up in here like this? The name says 'Madison and Nash'. Not 'Madison, Nash, and Harrington'." I said.

"You can't win without me, Catherine. Not this case. You could try. I would love to see you try and fail, but how fair is that to Bryon? I mean, he is the client. He is important. Wouldn't you like to give him the best chance of being acquitted? Because if I walk out of that door, you will lose." Maurice said as he got up.

Suddenly he was close to me. I looked into his eyes. They were stern and forceful. He had this steely resolve about him. He was a man that liked to be in control of everything.

"I will give you some time to think about what I said, Catherine, but not long. You have till 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. I will arrive with my staff at that time. You will give me an answer then. Do you understand me?" Maurice said, coldly.

His voice sent chills down my spine. He grabbed his coat and walked out of the room. I have never felt so angry in my life. Kimberly walked into the conference room and closed the door.

"What did he say?" Kimberly asked.

"We have to turn the firm over to him, or we will lose the case. In other words, whatever we need from him, we won't get. Without what he has, we will lose not only the case, but Byron too." I said.

"We don't need Maurice, Catherine. We'll call Byron and tell him we can handle this on our own. We don't need him. He is not going to take over the firm." Kimberly said.

My phone vibrated softly in my pocket. I reached in and grabbed it. There was a notification that changed everything: "Prosecution seeking death penalty in Sophia Masterson case."

"We can't call Byron. We need Maurice." I said.

"Why?" Kimberly asked.

I turned to show her my phone.

"They just upped the ante." I said.

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Maurice was on his way back to his office when his phone rung. It was Byron Masterson calling him.

"Byron!" Maurice said, excitedly.

"I assumed you went to see Catherine." Byron said.

"Yes, I did. You're right. She needs to be broken." Maurice said.

"She's smart, Maurice. She may see right through you." Byron said.

"You know what I smelled on her?" Maurice asked.

"Besides her pussy juices flowing?" Byron said.

"Fear, Byron. I smelled fear, and you know I thrive on that. Through her anger, I smelled her fear. You know that's a turn on for me." Maurice said.

"I know, but it's going to be hard to break her. Kimberly has probably told her everything she knows about you since she was once one of yours." Byron said.

"I don't think she has. She's probably trying to convince her not to let me come in, but Catherine knows that she needs me. I planted a seed. A little seed of doubt." Maurice said.

"Well with the fact that the prosecution is now seeking the death penalty, she isn't going to have much choice is she, Maurice?" Byron asked.
"No, she won't. She has until 9 a.m. tomorrow to make her decision. I feel it will be a good one for her and Kimberly." Maurice said.

"I hate playing this game with you, but I love watching you play." Byron said.

"After this is all over, I'll show you how to play and have more fun. Talk soon."

Maurice ended the call and smiled. He knew that Catherine would accept his offer, but he has an even bigger offer for her. One that involved pain and passion beyond her wildest of dreams.

"Let the games begin, Catherine..."