Rival across the hall

[Love2rp]

Chase Daniels was a hot shot junior lawyer, only a couple years removed from law school. Working at one of the largest firms in Chicago things certainly seemed to be going his way in life. High rise downtown condo, sports car, designer suits, etc. While getting dates was certainly not an issue what he really wanted was someone who could challenge him, who could be his equal or even get the better of him from time to time. After all, winning your whole life gets boring after awhile.

Occupying the office across the hall she seemed to always follow him wherever he went in life. His father the head of a major construction company, her father the head of one of the largest law firms in Chicago. They went to the same east coast boarding schools, both went to Yale undergrad and Harvard law. Both incredibly smart and talented, Chase preferring a bit more fun in his life than she did. And now here they were, working for her father's law firm. While her father loved Chase like the son he never had ultimately everyone knew the firm would be her's one day and he had no chance at beating that.


Chase sat at his desk staring out the window at the city below as his conference call was ending. White dress shirt imaculately pressed, navy blue suit pants with a light blue tie as his suit coat hang on the door to his office. Feet up on a ledge he was certainly enjoying life. After all, standing at 6'1, 210lbs of muscle his frame suited his past as a college hockey player. A natural tan with dark hair and eyes he knew he could have most women and his look was what most clients were searching for.

His assistant knocked on the door quietly and he spun around "Mr Daniels, partner meeting in ten minutes" she said as she gently closed the door. Across the hall he imagined her getting ready to present all her cases in a polished and professional manner whereas Chase usually shot from the hip and wasn't much for board room style bravado.

He excused himself from the call and grabbed his suit coat from the door and a writing pad as he exited his office

 

[heartofcourage]

Marissa Thomas had worked hard her entire life to get to where she was today. Her father, Victor Thomas, had a successful law firm and she had practically grown up in that office, watching as her father took on important cases and learning at his side.

She was the youngest of his three girls, his "Missy" even though she was well into her twenties. Her mom had split when she was two, leaving him a single father with three little girls. She believed that they had grown up well adjusted and loved. It was because of him that she had always worked her hardest, even though there were things that were more fun to do. Her eldest sister, Sarah, was a CEO for a local bank, married with three kids of her own. Penny was a stay at home mother, married to a lovely man who taught English Literature at Harvard. She had been the only one that had loved law enough to follow in their father's footsteps.

A knock at the door had her lifting her blonde head from her laptop, the office assistant telling her that the meeting was gathering in the boardroom. She gave a nod and a thanks, gathering up her files.

When most people saw her, they immediately thought that she spent her time at the beach, tanning and working on her body. She was blonde, tan, bright blue eyes and a body that was body trim and soft at the same time. She put in hours at the gym every week, but she would have been just as happy eating all the food in sight. In fact, as soon as the meeting was done, she was dragging Chase to the bar down the street. He had lost a bet and she was sure as hell going to make him buy her a greasy burger and fries.

Slipping her feet back into her black heels, she stood and smoothed out the wrinkles on her tailored black dress. It was just another day at the office, she thought, as she grabbed her suit jacket off the back of her door and made her way to the conference room to get settled in before the meeting.

 

[Love2rp]

Chase entered the room and of course there was Marissa already sitting there prepped and ready to go "so Marissa, how long will your presentation of your cases be today?" He said with his trademark cocky smirk on his face "I think the over/under is 90 minutes" he said sitting down across from her. He pulled out his phone and started flipping through it, texting one intern that looked up to him to see if he could get his car washed.

He sat casually with just a notepad in front of him twirling his pen in his hand and leaning back in the chair as the other, much older partners started to enter. Finally Marissa's father entered the room as everyone became silent

 

[heartofcourage]

"Don't be jealous that I've got cases and you don't. Not my fault you lost your last two." Marissa said, glancing up at Chase came into the room with his cocky grin and a pad of paper under his arm. "And don't think I'm going to let you forget about the fact that you owe me lunch."

Marissa grew silent as the older partners entered the room. She respected each and every one of them and they had known her since the day that she was born. Many summers had been spent as an intern there in the office, running files back and forth between offices and fetching coffee. It made her appreciate just what she had now and made her work even harder.

When her father entered the room, she gave him a small smile. She loved him like no one else in her life and respected the hell out of him.

 

[Love2rp]

As her father sat down Chase waited for the perfect to reply "I may have less cases but I'm pretty sure I've made far and away the most money for this firm this year" he said loud enough for Victor to hear. As was always the case Chase tended to be in law for the money and because he was good at it vs a passion for legal proceedings.

"Oh Mr Thomas the Dewey's asked me to pass along that you absolutely must come along to dinner next time.......something about talking offshore sailboat racing in the Caymans?" Chase said to Victor regarding one of their largest clients as Victor sat down to begin the meeting.

Chase sat back and listened as the others talked. Unlike Marissa who had admiration for each one in the room Chase only respected a couple of them. Truth is they always viewed him as an outsider who didn't belong and who got too much attention and Chase liked to show them that he was more valuable to the firm than they were, thus earning his place at the table

 

[heartofcourage]

"You don't have to be such an asshole, Chase." Marissa murmured, glaring at him as he boasted about the money that he had made while her father took a seat between the both of them.

Marissa listened politely to the other partners presenting their cases. She took a few notes that might help them later on and made notes for herself to check up on things later on. She glanced towards Chase as it came to his turn, knowing that he never had anything prepared.

They had been friends a long time, but she had never known Chase to take anything too seriously. Their fathers had been college friends and each had been successful in their careers. When her mom had split, Chase's dad had offered Victor a place to land. It had been his suggestion of boarding school and long summer vacations in warm, tropical locations. Her dad, heartbroken and lost, had wanted to do what was best for his girls.

She was shaken out of her thoughts as Chase stood to give his presentation, his legal pad as empty as it usually was.

 

[Love2rp]

Chase stood and buttoned the jacket of his impeccably tailored suit coat "just a few things on the docket for me" he said looking around at a room of mostly older, greying men who couldn't care less for Chase or his charm. As he rattled off a few key details from each of the five cases he was working on he noticed a lot of eye rolling or people not paying general attention accept for Marissa, she was over there seemingly taking notes on each point made "probably to correct me later" he thought to himself. Whereas others focused on case details and went back and forth on if they had a victory on hand or not with Chase it was all about dinners and lunches and outings. Always about the people....and the dollars. He knew he was going to win almost always.

"Very good Chase, and might I add in front of this group congratulations on being named Top 30 under 30 again for the city. Clearly you are making a large impact for this firm" Victor said to lackluster applause

"I learned it all from you Victor!" Chase said as he sat back down

 

[heartofcourage]

Marissa glanced up as her father mentioned that he had been given another award for being one of the best lawyers in Chicago. She had been on the list last year as well, one of the new faces for the law firm, but she didn't make as good of a story as Chase did. He was young and flashy, driving nice cars with expensive suits. She still drove the same sensible sedan that her dad had helped her to buy when she graduated high school.

When it was her turn, she stood and decided that she wasn't going to take up all the time. She picked out a few of her ten cases, speaking about them in clear detail with carefully thought out words. It was really no different from the rest of the associates, until she got to the final one.

"Next Wednesday, I'll be taking the Tony Latino case before the jury." She began, stopped as one of the associations cleared his throat in surprise.

"Anthony Latino? Former mob boss?" Mr. Fredricks asked her, his grey eyebrows tall on his forehead.

"Yes. His ex-wife is fighting him for custody of their daughter on the grounds of mental cruelty and neglect. She's 3 and the situation had already been cleared by DHS and CPS." Marissa said, glancing at her notes to make sure that she had the details correct. "It should be an easy victory for myself and Mr. Latino."

 

[Love2rp]

At the sound of Anthony Latino's name Chase's eyebrows rose and suddenly his attention was given to Marissa's presentation. Being in construction Chase's father often had interesting business partners and Mr. Latino had attended more than one Daniels family cookout. "Hey Missy" Chase interrupted her, calling her by a nickname that only her father really had permission to call her but he liked how it bothered her "I know Tony pretty well if you need some help or background info, I'm more than happy to lend my services" he said in front of everyone. It wasn't meant as an insult to her, more of a genuine friend offering to help a friend no matter what it looked like.

 

[heartofcourage]

Marissa's skin crawled as he said Missy and her gaze was suddenly on his. No one called her Missy and got away with it but her father. She gave him a curt nod as he said that he knew Tony and could help her if she needed it.

She had never needed any help with Tony. He was always very kind and respectful. His daughter was always as sweet as could be. If she hadn't been his lawyer and her conviction on keeping work and her personal life separate so strong, she would have hopped into bed with him as fast as she possibly could. He was also incredibly handsome, but that didn't cloud her opinion about the older man at all.

 

[Love2rp]

Chase sat back as Marissa finished her presentation, content in the fact that he could help her out and therefore had some power over her. As the meeting wrapped Chase packed up his note pad and began to walk back to his office as the others stayed behind and chatted about nonsense things

 

[heartofcourage]

"Don't think you're going back to your office so quickly. You still owe me lunch." Marissa called to Chase as she moved down the hallway behind him. "You should never bet against me in the courtroom. I win every time."

 

[Love2rp]

"Every time Missy?" Chase said turning around smiling "I seem to remember one person being able to beat you in moot court fairly consistently" he said alluding to him being able to be the only person to beat her in mock trials while going through law school.

"Where do you want to go for lunch?" He said walking back towards her a bit

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're not my father, Chase. Don't call me Missy." Marissa said sharply as he turned around to look at her with a smile on his lips. "And it's been a while since college. You know that I have the better track record in court where it matters."

He had been the only person to beat her in their college days, but she was the best that the firm had and everyone knew that. She practiced mostly criminal law, but she was known to take family cases from time to time. In fact, that's how she had met Tony. He was a nice guy who wanted to get his daughter out of a bad situation.

"We're going down to the bar. At least I'm cheap." Marissa said as she moved towards her office to store her things away. "I could be demanding to go to Sardis. You'll get out of this for under $20."

 

[Love2rp]

Chase laughed arrogantly at the defense she put up for herself "there's that classic Missy, always on the attack, never able to take life serious!" He said as he was finally next to her. Completely ignoring her command on not calling her Missy, knowing he could get under her skin and that always threw her off her game.

"And we can go wherever you want my dear, I know you cherish your wins but we both know who makes more money for this place" he said secure in his rainmaker status "and to be fair.......I've only not won twice" he said as they approached the elevator and Chase pressed the down button

 

[heartofcourage]

"It's Marissa." She said once again as he used her nickname, her eyes glaring at him as he laughed and seemed to take pleasure in the fact that he had gotten under her skin. "I would appreciate it if you called me by my actual name."

"And it's not all about money. It's about reputation. If you lose, people won't come to you for your services." Marissa commented as he brought up money yet again.

 

[Love2rp]

"Well" Chase said acting as if taken aback by her words "my apologies Ms. Thomas, by all means we shall be formal" he said as they got onto the elevator and for once were alone.

"And as for client recruitment, please don't worry about the fait of your law firm ma'am, I have several dinners lined up in the next couple weeks for prospects, I hope that buys me my job for the next couple of weeks anyway"

He was half joking when talking to her and yet was never sure these days how serious she was when it came to things like this. The fact is Chase hated losing more than anything else in the world and while the consecutive losses did get noticed in the community he still had a stellar reputation. So stellar in fact that he was being recruited by Olson/Williams, their firm's biggest rival and was being promised a senior partner role. He hadn't told anyone yet

 

[heartofcourage]

"Do you strive to be an asshole or does it happen naturally?" Marissa asked as the elevator started to descend. "I've asked you to call me Marissa multiple times. Not because it annoys me, but because it's respectful. I'm the youngest woman in this office and I've fought for every scrap of respect that I have. Calling me Missy when I've asked you not to is disrespectful."

Marissa had a bristly personality that came from a place of insecurity. Her father had always taught her to fight for what she believed in and to accept nothing less than respect. It had been easy in her college days to have people underestimate her. All they saw was a tight body and a pretty face. It didn't matter that she was actually intelligent to boot. Chase knew all of that, but seemed interested only in making her miserable.

Marissa was still upset as they walked out the front of the building. She was expecting to see Anthony Latino coming around the front of a very expensive sports car, dressed to the nines. She stopped short and looked towards Chase for a moment before she put her attention back towards her client.

"Mr. Latino, I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow morning. Has something happened?" She asked him, unsure as to why he had shown up at the office so unannounced.

 

[Love2rp]

"Good afternoon Marissa" Latino said as he approached the two. He and Chase belonged to the same yacht club and while he was a client of the firm, Chase did often make fun of him calling him "the most interesting man in the world" similar to the beer commercials.

"Chase my boy how are you? Recovered from the party at the club last Saturday I trust" he said shaking Chase's hand. "Without question Mr Latino" Chase replied, it was supposed to be a wine tasting for charity but as always, turned into a bit of an all nighter.

"Is your father in dear?" Latino said turning back to Marissa "I would like his insight on something"

 

[heartofcourage]

"He should be unless he headed to lunch." Marissa said, looking back towards the building for a brief moment before she glanced back at Anthony. "I'm afraid that we were on our way to eat as well or else I would offer to take you back up there personally."

She glanced between Anthony and Chase as they greeted each other fondly. It seemed as if they knew each other well. Why he hadn't sought Chase out instead of herself, she had no idea.

 

[Love2rp]

"Not a problem, I can press an elevator button" Latino said as he grasped Marissa's hand and gave it a light kiss before heading inside the building. Chase laughed once sure he was clear "are you f-ing me?" He said before faking Latino's accent "yes my dear how lovely to see you, may I kiss your hand?" He said as the two started back on their lunch journey

 

[heartofcourage]

"Are you jealous that he can be a gentleman that you could never hope to be?" Marissa asked as Chase made fun of the way that Anthony took her hand and kissed it. "You should take a page out of his book, Chase. Then maybe you won't be such a jerk anymore."

Chase had always been cocky but it only seemed that since he had come into his own that he had adopted the persona that he had now. He was a little too sure of himself and she was sure that it was all just a show to make up for insecurity.

 

[Love2rp]

"Jesus Christ Marissa" chase said reacting strongly to what she had said. "What the hell is your problem?" He said stopping and looking at her "we have always been rivals but it used to be fun, now all you do is look for ways to shut me down and put me down. It's freaking ridiculous" he said as he started to walk again not even bother to look at her

 

[heartofcourage]

"Because you make it near impossible to be friendly, Chase." Marissa insisted as she hurried to catch up to him. "This isn't college anymore. This is real life and I have to fight for every ounce of respect that I get. I'm tired of being put down by you. So what? I like to work hard. I take pride in every case that I have. Why does that make me such a bad person in your eyes?"

She was upset and had been for a long time. She had to put up with the jibes and jokes leveled at her by clients and by some of the other partners at the firm. She was so much more than a pretty face and a sexy body. No one really cared about that, however.

 

[Love2rp]

"I've got news for you Marissa, you're an attractive girl who works for her father's firm, if respect is what you are after so bad you'd try to make it at a different firm. People are always going to assume you get whatever you get because your father" Chase said, finally letting pent up feelings out "I know that's bullshit, you're a hell of a lawyer but you've taken demanding respect and turned it into being bitchy to and about everyone. I joke because it's my personality, somewhere along the way you forgot how to have fun" he said as they walked down the sidewalk not realizing he was letting himself open for the first time in forever