The Perfect Third Life of Carolyn Harris

By Joan Quade

Carolyn Harris has lived a full life, but she isn't ready to settle into retirement mode like her husband seems to be doing. She is eager to live an exciting life, and her law partner Paul is happy to whisk her away on the adventure of her dreams. As Carolyn faces her decision to follow her heart or stay true to her family, she comes to find life doesn't always work out the way you expect.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365441707

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The Perfect Third Life of Carolyn Harris

THE PERFECT THIRD LIFE OF CAROLYN HARRIS

Copyright © 2016 by Joan Quade

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2016

ISBN 978-1-365-44170-7

www.joanquade.com

"Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until

another heart whispers back. Those

who wish to sing always find

a song. At the touch of a lover,

everyone becomes a poet."

- Plato

Prologue

The First Life is the life of childhood. The Second Life starts when the child leaves their parent’s home to explore the world on their own. It is the time of higher education, career choices, exploration of sexuality and decisions about a mate and children. These years are filled with many challenges and growing up and finding your place in the world. It is a time of raising families and pursuing careers. Exploring the world and coming to know yourself.

The Third Life arrives after children move out and your career has peaked. It is a time in the life continuum when there exists the most free time, money and wisdom to know what you want and to make it happen. There is no other time when your decisions are more your own. The only thing that limits dreams in the Third Life is courage.

Chapter 1: Oil and Water

Carolyn believed she could win any case, but she had to work hard to find the key. Her winning formula was built on hard work, the law, and common sense. As she poured over her exhibits and evidence, she kicked her shoes off under her desk. She did not expect anyone would be bothering her, so when her law partner Frank stepped in through the open door she jumped.

Hey Carolyn, he said in a loud voice, sorry to interrupt, but I want to introduce you to Paul Reasoner, our new partner. Instead of taking a minute to recover, she tried to stand up to shake his hand. She forgot her bare feet and stood to move around the desk to greet him. In seconds she realized she was revealing her unprofessionally bare feet, so she changed course to greet him by leaning over her desk. Her desk was loaded with books, legal pads, pens and a cup coffee. Her long multi-strand silver and black necklace caught the corner of one of her open books. It set off a chain reaction: the book hitting her tablet, knocking her coffee, and spilling onto her papers. Carolyn quickly grabbed the cup and turned it upright, feeling her insides twist with embarrassment.

Carolyn believed she inherited a clumsy gene, and it managed to show itself at the worst times. She could not help noticing, even in her embarrassment, Paul’s thick dark hair, which he wore longer than most men his age. It swept over the edge of his collar on the back of his neck. He spent most of his time behind a desk, but Paul had the body and tan of a man who spent time working outdoors with his hands. He looked healthy and fit, not what Carolyn typically saw at the office. For most men, the stress of their job and family showed on them by their fifties like a well worn shoe. In contrast, Reasoner looked freshly pressed as if out of a magazine layout. This was a guy who instantly made her nervous.

As they surveyed the spill, he laughed a deep, throaty laugh, adding to the embarrassment. He held out his hand to complete the greeting she clumsily started.

Clearly you don’t have your associates trained to do this grunt work for you. I will have to teach you.

Carolyn had a nose for arrogance, and he was dripping with it. She rolled her eyes where neither could see as she wiped up the coffee. She had seen too many attorneys who thought they could go to court and fly by the seat of their pants without doing their own homework. A few attorneys could get away with it, but most couldn’t. She made a career beating attorneys who were probably a lot smarter than her, but she out prepared them and won. Arrogant attorneys underestimated her.

She collected herself from the disaster before her, and stepped out from behind her desk to return the shake.

Thanks, but I won’t be needing any training from you. I count on that type of arrogant attitude from opposing counsel to win my cases every time.

Oh, spunky, I like that. Well, give them hell.

He looked down and saw her bare feet, but knew commenting would be a mistake. Instead, to her disgust, he made the same deep, throaty laugh, and turned to exit her office.

I will see you around, he said.

His failure to comment was worse then if he had taken the shot. Carolyn had heard of Reasoner before he joined the firm. He was a rich boy who practiced criminal defense. His reputation for success in the courtroom was well known, and the media loved his charismatic, flirty confidence. His image and sound-bytes replayed for days each time he won a case.

Carolyn had an instant dislike for him. She suspected his life had been spoon fed to him on a silver platter. To make things worse, he was good looking and he knew it.

Despite her efforts, this newcomer made a big splash at the office. Ignoring him proved difficult. She raised her eyebrows at his antics as he walked around like he owned the place. He made many special requests, and quickly built a rapport with the office staff. He told tales of his escapades representing criminals and how he got them off by swooning the juries. The staff ate him up and seemed to beg for more. Every time she came around any corner, there he was telling of his heroic victories. She paused briefly in disbelief at the show he put on. It is criminal defense work, she thought. A monkey could do it.

Carolyn was on a mission to find the key to her current case. She browsed through the main law books searching for case law to use for her arguments. Instead of walking back to her secretary’s desk to ask her to copy the case, she kept her nose to the page and walked into the adjacent copy room. As the machine hummed and set to work, she looked up and saw Paul standing by the mailboxes. He was staring at her.

I have not seen that intensity in looking at case law since law school, he said. She raised an eyebrow, offended that he would even try to be funny with her, a seasoned partner of the firm. She was not a young staff member who drooled over every story or smart remark.

Well unlike you, I actually have to read, study and argue the law, and each case is different. You use the same three defenses in every case. You either insist your client was not even there, the alibi defense, or they are insane, or despite what your client did, the cops screwed up and botched the evidence. I actually have to know the law. You sit on your ass and make shit up.

Not at all insulted and actually excited by the challenge, Paul sat back with one leg on the mail table as if to stay awhile.

Ooh, ouch, and I always thought as a criminal defense attorney I was practicing the purest form of constitutional law. I represent the most basic rights to legal counsel when charged with a crime. To prevent the government from impinging on the rights of its citizens without a right to representation and a standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, right? he said sarcastically. She snorted at his constitutional law ideals, completed her project, and got out of there as fast as she could.

Unfortunately for Carolyn, Paul Reasoner was unavoidable. His office was just down the hall from hers, and she had to pass it to get coffee in the kitchen. He had a tendency to talk to everyone on his speaker phone, which meant both he and whoever he was conversing with could be heard clear down the hall. When on the phone, he paced his office, while either squeezing hand weights or stretching and twisting as if warming up for a marathon. After a few days of this, Carolyn wanted to scream: just sit down and pick up the fucking phone!

Reasoner had one wealthy business client who repeatedly hired his services to defend his grown kids. This family seemed to be in enough criminal legal trouble to keep Paul in business all over the state. He finished one case just in time to move on to the next. He seemed to relish these the most and he charged every penny of his time.

On a morning trip to get coffee from the kitchen, Carolyn noticed this wealthy client sitting in Paul’s office. He was there to complain about the bill in person. Of course the client never had those conversations while Paul was pulling his son’s ass from the fire, but now that the fire was out, he thought it reasonable to attack the bill.

Carolyn caught herself lingering right outside his office. Expecting to hear a compromise to appease his biggest client and ensure his continued business, but she heard just the opposite. Paul listened as his client berated the bill and the hourly charges on the case.

You maybe don’t know that there are a lot of attorneys in this town that I could hire for less than you, and who would appreciate my business and not overcharge, the client said.

Without missing a beat, Paul reached behind him in the credenza, grabbed the phone book and slammed it down on his desk.

Well God damn, then fucking call them and stop bothering me.

There was an awkward pause, as Paul raised an eyebrow and the client sat back in his chair. The client burst out laughing, and pulled out his checkbook.

That is why I love you Paul, but God damn, you are bleeding me.

They both laughed, and she turned toward the kitchen. He did everything wrong, yet that is exactly what this client respected. He had balls and he made it work. He brought in a lot of money for the firm and he seemed to do it with half the work she was doing. It was not fair. She hated that.

Chapter 2: Could He Be Any More Annoying?

Carolyn noticed women in the office fawning over Paul. He was flirty, but he had an animalistic attractive quality that let him get by with a lot. As the sexual harassment officer of the firm, Carolyn knew if any other guy in the office made the comments Paul made, she’d have women lining up to make a formal complaint.

Not only did Paul get by with it, but he was like the new toy. Carolyn didn’t blame them, much of the work in the law firm business was boring and stale and involved mounds of paperwork, especially for the staff in the office. The paralegals and secretaries rarely get to be a part of the more exciting courtroom drama. The office staff found his presence a refreshing break from the mundane paper pushing.

As a recent empty-nester with more time on her hands, Carolyn recently started taking yoga classes after work to stay in shape and improve flexibility. At the end of the day she stepped into the elevator on her way to the yoga studio and checked her cell for any final messages. Paul caught the closing doors, and smiled at Carolyn as she stepped aside to make room for him and two of the more fun-loving secretaries following