The Cost of Happiness: A Contemporary Romance Read online

  The Blackjack Quartet: Book 2

  The Cost of Happiness

  A Contemporary Romance

  by

  Magdalen Braden

  Copyright © 2013 Magdalen Braden. All Rights Reserved.

  Published by Harmony Road Press

  www.harmonyroad.com

  Version created Fri Dec 6 09:46:58 2013

  ISBN-10: 0984909796

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9849097-9-7

  Cover by Laura Morrigan

  http://www.lauramorrigan.com/

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to harmonyroad.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters appearing in this story are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  The author welcomes comments:

  [email protected]

  www.magdalenbraden.com

  Contents

  About This Story

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Author’s Acknowledgements

  About This Story

  Book 2 of Magdalen Braden’s Blackjack Quartet is a Cinderella story set against the backdrop of law firm intrigue and backstabbing…

  Meghan Mattson has just started her summer associate job at Fergusson & Leith, Philly’s number two law firm, when she learns that her bipolar mother has been scamming homeowners…in Meghan’s name. Worse, the Feds want to convict Meghan too. She convinces them to drop the charges, but her agreement to pay the restitution forces Meghan to work as a paralegal for Fergusson’s Complex Litigation Group.

  Enticed by the prospect of heading Fergusson’s Complex Lit team, Dan Howard quits the US Attorney’s office. His first day at the firm, he learns he’s ended up with Meghan, Franklin Law’s star student, as his paralegal. He’s thrilled to work with such a brilliant mind…and such an attractive woman.

  As Dan and Meghan tackle a tricky case for a new client, they discover it’s hard to resist their mutual attraction. Even if they don’t get in trouble with senior partner Wallace Leith, others would love to see them fail. Can Dan and Meghan afford their fairy-tale happy ending? Or are some things too costly to keep…

  www.BlackjackQuartet.com

  Chapter One

  The judge in the middle is really cute.

  Wait. What?

  Where had that come from? Almost two years of law school, and now she notices that a guy is cute? Five minutes before competing for a place on the official Franklin Law Moot Court Team, the culmination of weeks working on her brief and polishing her oral argument? Seriously—now?

  Yeah, okay, but he’s hot.

  Meghan looked around to make sure she hadn’t said that out loud. Her opponent, Libby Pembroke, was intent on organizing her notes for the oral argument. The third-year law students—the ones who actually decided which competitors would make the team to compete for the coveted Franklin Cup—were chatting at the back of the room.

  Meghan glanced back at the judges. Yup, the one in the middle was relatively young, maybe early thirties, and very good-looking. Bright blue eyes, light brown hair, and a killer smile. And he was looking straight at her.

  She hastily consulted her pad even though she’d memorized and practiced everything. In fact, the only note on the top sheet was an exhortation to “make eye contact with the judges.”

  Well, she could cross off that step. Her cheeks were glowing as a result of eye contact.

  One of the third-years stepped to the front of the moot court room and introduced the panel of judges. Meghan ignored the other two—an alumna and a local patent lawyer. The man in the middle, Daniel Howard, was an Assistant US Attorney. Which meant Libby had to know him. Her uncle was Blackjack McIntyre, the US Attorney. In effect, the cute judge’s boss.

  Meghan wiped her damp palms along the skirt of her navy suit. Okay, so maybe that gave Libby an advantage, but Meghan didn’t have to beat her. They could both do great jobs and end up on the final moot court team.

  The third-year student gave them the signal to begin. Meghan walked to the lectern, looked directly at the judges at each end, and began. “May it please the Court, my name is Meghan Mattson. I represent the Petitioner.”

  Her gaze slid instinctively to Daniel Howard. She returned his smile, then began her argument.

  Dan thoroughly enjoyed the oral arguments, but then he’d guessed he would. The written briefs had been top-notch, which hadn’t been a surprise in Libby’s case. He’d known her for years. Like her twin, Lissa, Jack’s niece was smart and funny, especially when deflecting Jack’s brazen efforts to get her to join the public sector after graduation.

  What shocked Dan was how much better the other brief had been. Meghan Mattson. In oral argument, she’d been calm and quiet. When the judges started to ask questions—okay, when Dan had hammered her with questions—she’d lit up like fireworks over Penn’s Landing. Hard to take his eyes off her, even when it was Libby’s turn. As good as Libby was, Meghan had been outstanding. He wished Philadelphia’s criminal lawyers were half as good, if only so he’d be challenged more in his prosecutions.

  After Dan announced the court’s decision in favor of the Petitioner, he exchanged pleasantries with the other judges, ducked the officious third-year running the show, and walked over to say hi to Libby. Only polite to say hello. Pure coincidence that she was talking with Meghan. He ignored Libby’s affectionate scowl about her loss. At least no one could accuse him of favoring his boss’s niece.

  “Great job,” he told them. “It was a tough decision. Both your briefs were excellent.”

  “And nepotism did me no good.” Libby shrugged, then lifted her hand, palm up, toward the other woman. “Dan, this is Meghan Mattson. I was counting on her being too quiet for effective oral advocacy, but clearly I was wrong.” She turned to Meghan. “Dan’s waiting for my uncle to run for public office so he can become the US Attorney.”

  Meghan’s smile was softer than the one she’d used during oral arguments. She had gorgeous eyes with long, dark eyelashes. On anyone else, the way she looked at him—her eyes lowered so she peered at him from beneath those killer lashes—would be flirtatious. Dan suspected Meghan was genuinely shy.

  He hardly noticed when Libby slipped away. “I particularly liked your James Madison reference. I may have to steal that.”

  “I told Libby I got it from Wikipedia.”

  Dan laughed. “Are you considering appellate practice when you graduate? You should. That was a great oral
argument.”

  Meghan looked down at her hands, clasped around a beat-up backpack. “I’m kind of focused on doing well in my second-year exams. Corporations, for example. Not my favorite class.”

  “Just remember—if you get stuck, cite tax advantages as a reason for anything corporations might do.” He made air quotes around the words “tax advantages.”

  She laughed at him, her face lit with joy. “I like that.” She sobered. “I suspect I need to know more than tax reasons, though.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Well, if you insist, you can actually study for the exam.” He grinned. “Where are you working this summer?”

  “Fergusson and Leith.”

  “Good firm.” Interesting. Just last week, Wally Leith had asked Dan out to lunch without saying why. Dan assumed the firm wanted him to join their criminal defense practice, which is why he hadn’t yet accepted Wally’s invitation. Still, if the firm hired summer associates like Meghan, it wouldn’t hurt to let the senior partner buy him a meal.

  Suddenly, the organizers snagged Dan for the next round of oral arguments. He turned back to Meghan. “Maybe I’ll see you later?”

  She blushed at his smile but didn’t say anything.

  There was a reception after the competition. The self-important third-year who’d been assigned to show Dan around chatted his ear off as they walked through to the atrium where a massive globe dominated the space. “Isn’t that Ted Dorchay?” Dan asked. Before he could get an answer, Dan thanked the guy and raced off to catch the assistant dean.

  “Hey, Dan. You were a judge?” Ted’s smile broadened at Dan’s approach.

  “Semi-finals. Libby Pembroke, whom I knew already, versus Meghan Mattson—?” Dan let his voice trail off, the question implicit.

  As the assistant dean for students, Ted was like a proud grandparent ready to boast. “As good as Libby is, I’m guessing Meghan won, right?”

  Dan made an elaborately non-committal shrug. “We don’t get to vote on who should make the team, so I can’t say. Our panel sided with her on the case. Her brief was first class, and I’d say her oral argument was the strongest I heard.”

  Ted nodded. “Some of the faculty think she’s Franklin Law’s best shot at a Supreme Court clerkship.”

  “Really?” Dan was stunned. Franklin Law was a top-ten law school, but most clerkships on the high court went to Yale or Harvard grads.

  “The Dean hopes so. Meghan’s grades are breaking school records. The faculty has encouraged her to apply for the right district court clerkship, and the chief judge of the Second Circuit has expressed interest in her.”

  “Hunh.” Dan spotted Meghan chatting with Libby. Meghan’s warm brown hair glinted under the lights. When she turned slightly, he could see that a curl had come loose and was tickling her neck.

  Ted chuckled, a sound Dan barely heard. Ted slapped him on the shoulder. “Good to see you, Dan.”

  Dan met Ted’s mocking smile with a sheepish shrug. They shook hands and Ted moved along to the next group. When Dan looked over his shoulder, Meghan was gone.

  It was then he realized he’d been planning to ask her out.

  “Couldn’t give my niece the win?”

  Dan looked up at Jack McIntyre, lounging in the doorway to Dan’s office. “Trust me, she was great. The other student was better.”

  “I find that hard to believe, but then I’m biased in Libby’s favor.”

  Jack lifted his shoulder from the doorframe. Dan stopped him. “Come in a minute. I want to ask you something.”

  “Sure.” Jack took a seat. Dan got up, shut the door, then went back to his desk.

  “Libby mentioned something in passing yesterday.” Dan got right to the point. “Are you thinking about running for office?”

  “What? No, of course not.”

  Dan’s stomach fell.

  Jack’s scowl, famous and alarming in certain situations, signaled his annoyance. “What’s this about? Did Lib tell you I was?”

  Dan put his hands on the desk. “Not exactly. But you have to admit, it makes sense. Your reputation here can’t get any better, you’ve got tremendous name recognition. You must appeal to every demographic except career criminals, and they can’t vote.”

  “Run for office, though? Do you want to get rid of me that much?”

  Dan shook his head, but the fact was, he did want Jack to leave. Dan had a good shot of replacing Jack. Being the US Attorney would be a coup. Laboring in Jack’s shadow bothered him. Too much like competing with—

  “Ah, you want my job.” Jack’s voice softened, sounding satisfied and smart.

  Dan shrugged. “It’s the obvious next step. I can move to another district, but I like it here.” He leaned back in his chair. “You’ve done a great job whipping the office into shape. Someone should get the benefit of that. Why not me?”

  Dan meant that as a joke, but Jack didn’t smile. He drummed his fingers on the chair’s arm. “I don’t think you should count on getting my job, even if I did leave.”

  What? Dan’s shoulders stiffened. “You don’t think I can do it? Or you know that Justice will bring someone else in. Or—” Dan pointed at his boss. “—You have no intention of leaving.”

  Jack paused. He looked like he was selecting his words with some care. “I’m not planning to leave, but that’s not the point. You do great work here. I have to ask, though. Would being the boss suit you? I get the impression you enjoy competing for my approval too much to want to be the guy doling out the kudos.”

  What the hell—? “What are you talking about?” Dan heard the hostility in his own voice, but couldn’t turn it off.

  “I’m like an older brother. You want to beat my conviction rate, get better results, show me up. It’s not a bad instinct, and I’ve used it to push you.” He flashed the Blackjack smile—the one the TV cameras loved—to show he meant his comments to be friendly.

  “Only I never can beat your record, can I?” Dan turned away from all that Blackjack charm. Some goals were unattainable. He could hear his father telling him that. Don’t bother taking calculus, Danny. Your brother’s scores on the AP exam can’t be beat.

  “Probably not.” Jack stretched his legs out, crossed at the ankles.

  Dan got the message. He’d never be as good as Blackjack McIntyre. At least not while they were in the same office.

  Jack went on, “I’m glad this subject came up now, though. I’ve always thought you would leave eventually. You don’t strike me as a career prosecutor. A lot of other legal fields are more complex and challenging. Have you thought about making a career change?”

  “That bad, Jack?”

  His boss frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Am I that bad that you need to push me out?”

  Jack stood. “You’re nuts if you think that’s what I’m doing. My message is simple. I don’t think you’d like my job even if you got it. I do think you’d excel at a different style of legal practice. As for pushing you out? I’d be crazy to do that. You’re the best of the AUSAs, and you know it.”

  He was gone before Dan could formulate a response.

  Over the weekend, Dan thought hard about what Jack had said. He’d been right. Dan was the best of the AUSAs. Although, even if Jack did leave, that wasn’t a lock on Dan getting the promotion. The Department of Justice could bring in someone from the private sector, or hire an interim US Attorney, or promote one of the other AUSAs. Plus, Jack’s suggestion that Dan didn’t want the job so much as want the promotion—something to think about there as well.

  Honestly? Dan craved the title. Daniel Howard, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, had a certain ring to it.

  Face it—Dad would be impressed. It might not be an endowed chair in Mathematics at MIT, but it was pretty damned cool.

  Oh, God, Jack had been right about that too—Dan was still competing with his older brother. Christopher Randolph Howard, math genius. A nice enough guy, as brothers went. Not Chris’s fault that h
e was Dad’s only child from his first marriage. Not Chris’s fault that he looked exactly like Dad’s first wife, who’d died tragically young of a brain tumor. Not even Chris’s fault that he was the perfect academic, racing through high school, undergrad and his PhD program with absurd speed. Then Chris solved some stupid ass theorem that no one had cracked in three hundred years. Still not his fault, although Dan could make a case for why it was obnoxious behavior in a sibling.

  No, everyone loved Chris. Dan’s mother never resented her stepson. Dan’s sisters adored their older brother. Dad, of course, nearly genuflected when Chris’s name came up.

  And then there was Dan. Just a lawyer. No big deal. Getting to be an AUSA was really hard, but his family only saw the word “assistant” in his title. Not very impressive.

  He’d love to do something amazing. Win an argument in front of the Supreme Court, maybe, or head the bar association.

  Or be the US Attorney for Philadelphia.

  A job he didn’t even want. Damn Jack for seeing that because now Dan saw it too. He wanted the impressive title but not the job.

  Time to figure out what job he did want. First step, return Wallace Leith’s call.

  A week later, Dan joined the senior partner of Fergusson & Leith—generally considered to be the number two law firm in Philly—at a small table at The Four Seasons.

  “Good of you to come across town to meet me,” Wally said. He was a vigorous seventy-something, his thick white hair and ruddy complexion giving him the appearance of a timeless Main Line patriarch.

  “It makes a nice break from eating a sandwich at my desk.” And he didn’t mind having Wallace Leith courting him, either. Joining a large law firm might not be the answer to Dan’s problems. Then again, no harm in hearing what Wally had to say.

  After they placed their orders, Wally got right to the point. “We want you to come work at the firm. Junior partner. It’s not an equity position, so I don’t want to mislead you. You’ll have to earn that on merit. But having gone up against you on a few white-collar cases, we’re impressed.”