Grace stepped off the plane and began the long trek through the Philadelphia Airport.

She'd be back in Florida again, probably by the end of the month. Shelley's divorce attorney Margaret was apparently undaunted by the admissions her client had made in her testimony. Margaret had scheduled Morrie's deposition in the state court action, and that was something Grace definitely didn't want to miss. She was planning on being down there the day beforehand to try to minimize the harm he'd do to the federal case. Just thinking about what Morrie might say if Margaret managed to push his buttons made her head hurt. His testimony could easily destroy any chance she had of getting this case dismissed at summary judgment.

But meanwhile, since these days everything was filed electronically in federal court, most of what Grace had to do could be accomplished just as easily sitting at her desk in her office in Philadelphia. Which was a good thing, since this case was only one of about 20 active litigation files currently on her plate, each with its own degree of urgency. The RKO/Shell-Morr acquisition was a high priority, but the other matters she was handling weren't about to stand still while she dealt with it.

She grabbed a latte at the airport and got on the train headed for Suburban Station in center city. It was faster – not to mention less expensive – than calling a cab, and the carry-on bag she'd taken for the trip was actually smaller and lighter than the wheeled litigation cases she habitually dragged home from the office.

She watched a family boarding the train, a little girl with a Pooh Bear backpack holding fast to her mother's hand, and felt a twinge of regret that she'd turned down her mother's suggestion to stay at the house for the weekend and catch the red-eye back to Philadelphia Monday morning. She was anxious to stop in the office today. Even with smart phones, laptops and fax machines, it was still more efficient to work from her home base.

And after a week and a half away she'd felt the pull of the city, the convenience of Philadelphia's train system, her condo with the view of the lighted city skyline, towering over William Penn's hat at City Hall. The proximity of the theater district, the restaurants, the street corner vendors, the art museum, and everything else the city had to offer. It was the pulse of the city that drew her. By the time she emerged at street level and walked the short block to her office building, she was already looking back on her week and a half in Florida as a bit of a strange adventure. She tried to picture Jack strolling into the dignified and staid offices of her firm wearing the khakis, open neck shirt and sports coat he'd worn to Shelley's deposition, and the image just didn't compute. It was like he practiced law in a different world than she did.

"Welcome back, Ms. Wallace." The receptionist behind the marble counter greeted her warmly. "How was Florida?"

"Hot," Grace said.

"I hear we've got some cool weather moving in for the weekend."

Grace nodded, and continued down the hall. Her assistant looked up in surprise when she rounded the corner to her office.

"I can't believe you didn't stay in Florida for the weekend."

"You know me, I can't tear myself away from this place."

Grace went into her office and Corrine followed, bringing a pad of notes with her.

"You think you're joking," Corrine said, "but it's true."

"Ha ha. So, what's on the agenda?"

"Ok, you've got the Coleman Industries mediation next week – that's Wednesday – the other side is still insisting they need a full day," Corrine said, smiling sympathetically when Grace made a face. "I know. That case is never going to settle, so what's the point?

"Anyway," Corrine continued, dropping into the visitor chair on the other side of Grace's desk, "Mr. Edenfield was looking for you earlier – sorry, I wasn't sure you were going to make it into the office this afternoon so I told him you were still out of town – he's got a client who needs a temporary injunction right away on a noncompete, and wants to know if you can file it Monday. I'll let his assistant know you're on it."

Grace nodded. While most lawyers dreaded having an emergency injunction dropped in their lap on Friday afternoon, it was the kind of case that gave Grace a pure adrenaline rush. Grace had a bit of a reputation in the firm for obtaining injunctions quickly and efficiently. She was frequently compared to Shoshanna Davis, one of the litigation partners who had been known earlier in her career to go from doorway to doorway, offering to cover hearings for other lawyers in the firm so she could rack up as much courtroom experience as possible. It was a comparison Grace was very happy with. Shoshanna had made partner in record time, and Grace hoped to follow in her footsteps.

She looked at her watch. "I'll stop by his office as soon as we're done here. I want to catch him before he leaves for the day."
"Better go now," Corrine said. "The rest of this can keep."

"Buzz his office and let him know I'm on the way." Back to business as usual, Grace thought, as she grabbed a legal pad and headed down the hallway toward the elevators. But as she rode up to the next floor, she wasn't thinking about injunctions. She was wondering what would have happened if she'd followed that crazy impulse in the hotel lounge last night and invited Jack Rollins up to her room. And wondering which was worse – regretting a stupid mistake, or wishing you'd made one in the first place.

* * *

It was annoying, really, that he couldn't get her out of his mind. Jack drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, impatient with the traffic slowed by road construction just before the Howard Frankland Bridge. His hearing in state court in Tampa had resulted in a solid victory for his client, but had run so late that he was now caught in the rush hour traffic heading across the bridge toward the beaches.

So now he was stuck creeping along the highway, imagining Grace diligently working at her desk in Philadelphia. She probably worked late every Friday night, and he was sure her dedication didn't go unnoticed. No doubt she'd be tucked away in a corner office with a view well before her thirtieth birthday. Hello rat race, goodbye life, in his opinion.

He couldn't help himself though. He was looking forward to her coming back for Morrie's deposition in a few weeks. He had to admit that if she wasn't Jimmy's stepdaughter he'd have put a move on her last night at the hotel. He'd have enjoyed peeling her out of that classy suit and finding out if the cool demeanor she wore like a second skin would fall away with the conservative clothes once he had her in bed. Hell, he thought, she probably would have shot him down anyway. She'd made her opinion of small firm lawyers – particularly those who handled the occasional personal injury case - abundantly clear.

But there was no denying the flash of chemistry that had sparked between them in the bar. He thought back to the moment when their eyes had connected. If it had been any other woman, the look that passed between them would have been a signal that dinner would be followed by an invitation back up to her room. Or that, if he just made a quiet suggestion, dinner could be delayed until much later. He thought back fondly to a Miami attorney he'd collaborated with on a class action suit in his early years at Graham, Spalding. Co-counsel with benefits, he thought to himself, and smiled. They'd enjoyed each other's company and remained friends.

Jack liked to keep things casual. Because the one time he hadn't, he'd learned his lesson. He and Jenna had lived together for two years, and it was only natural to assume that marriage was the next step. He wasn't an idiot. Their lives had merged so seamlessly. Two serious lawyers on the fast track to success, a shared passion for the law and a sexual chemistry that went beyond reason. But while Jack had been thinking about spending the rest of their lives together, Jenna had been planning a career move that would take her half way around the world. Alone. He'd fallen for a woman who saw their relationship as a temporary convenience while she pursued what really mattered – her career. It wasn't a mistake he planned on repeating. Not with Grace or with anyone else.

Getting up close and personal with his sexy co-counsel was definitely a possibility, as long as they both kept their emotions off the table. He'd just have to keep reminding himself that this cool little number with the veneer of big-city sophistication he so wanted to strip away was Jimmy's step-daughter, so for the sake of friendship, he'd tread lightly.

That only gets you so far, though, Grace, he thought to himself.

* * *

It's amazing how quickly three weeks could go by, Grace thought as she stepped onto the people mover at the Tampa airport. That was one lesson you learned quickly in litigation, though. Twenty days to answer a Complaint. Thirty days to produce documents. Ten days to respond to a memorandum of law. Discovery cut-offs. Dispositive motion deadlines. Trial dates set a year in advance. Times periods that stretched out endlessly in college or even law school, sped by at an alarming velocity in the world of lawsuits. There was always so much to do and so little time. And when you added travel into the mix it could wreck havoc on your schedule.

She sighed. In a weak moment she'd let her mother convince her to stay at the house this trip. Since Jack had taken it upon himself to mention her schedule to Jimmy, there was really no way around it.

Her brother Ted honked and waved when she stepped out of the doorway.

"What are you doing down here? Please tell me the semester isn't over already."

"Hardly. I decided to drive down for the weekend when Mom said you were coming in."

Ted tossed her bag and briefcase in the trunk and slammed it shut.

"You sure do travel light."

"You know how much time I save not having to wait around baggage claim? And at least this way my suits always end up on the same flight I am."

Grace leaned back into her seat. "I remember one time I had an argument in front of the Federal Appeals Court in Philadelphia. I was sitting there waiting for my case to be called, and some poor lawyer from out of town showed up fifteen minutes late, with no jacket, and tried to explain that his flight was delayed that morning and the airline lost his luggage."

"Sounds reasonable."

"Not, apparently, if you've got an oral argument in front of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel of judges used up about half that poor guy's argument time ripping him a new one on how irresponsible it was to fly in the morning of the oral arguments instead of the night before."

"Ouch."

"I was just so happy it wasn't me."

"So that's why you decided to fly in Friday for your deposition on . . . Tuesday, isn't it?"

Grace laughed. "No, that was Mom. She was laying on the guilt for me leaving last time on Friday morning instead of staying the weekend. Plus the only time the client had free for me to prep him was Saturday morning anyway, so, here I am."

"Yeah, well be forewarned. There's a whole family dinner thing planned for tomorrow night. Jimmy's got some kind of video project he wants to show us. So don't even think about looking up any old friends and going out."

"Ugh. What is it with Jimmy and the whole get the family together thing."

"Give him a break, Grace." Ted smiled at the parking attendant as he handed her his ticket, then merged into one of the fast lanes exiting the airport area.

"Yeah, all right. I wouldn't go out anyway now that I know you're going to be here."

Ted turned and looked at her for a moment. "Can't you let up a little? Honestly, Grace, I don't get what you're always so angry about."

"Angry? I don't know what you-"

"He stepped in Gracie, he did the job. Would you rather he'd have been mean to us? Resented us? Sent us all off to some fancy boarding school like the one you begged to go to?"

"He should have let me go." The tall palm trees flanking the highway made a bright color palette against the blue sky. The glare from the afternoon sun was strong enough to have Grace reaching in her bag for her sunglasses.