The Exchange: After The Firm

“Occasionally, but only for holidays. I took summer internships here and there to stay away from home. I blamed my father for the divorce, still do, but we’ve managed to work out a truce.”

“What happened to your mother?”

She shrugged and smiled and made it clear that her mother was off-limits. Fine with Mitch. They were not about to discuss his parents. He asked, “Why did you choose college in Dublin?”

The wine arrived and they went through the ritual of opening, sipping, approving. After the waiter poured two glasses and left, Giovanna continued, “I had partied a bit too much in boarding school and my application was rather bland. The Ivies were certainly not impressed and they all said no, as did Oxford and Cambridge. Luca pulled a string or two and I got admitted to Trinity in Dublin. I didn’t take rejection well and went off to school with a real chip on my shoulder. I studied hard and entered law school determined to turn the world upside down. I finished in two years, but at the age of twenty-three was not exactly ready to sit for the bar. Luca suggested I study in the States, and off I went to the University of Virginia for three delightful years. Enough about me. How’d you get into Harvard Law?”

Mitch smiled and took a sip. “You mean, how did a poor kid from a small town in Kentucky make it to the Ivies?”

“Something like that.”

“Brilliant scholar, charismatic leader, you name it.”

“No, seriously?”

“Seriously? I had a four-oh average as an undergraduate and a near-perfect score on the law school admissions test. I was also from the coal county of Kentucky, a huge factor. Harvard doesn’t get a lot of applications from that part of the world, and so the smart people in admissions thought I might be exotic enough. The truth is, I got lucky.”

“You make your own luck in life, Mitch. You did well at Harvard.”

“Like you, I had a chip on my shoulder, something to prove, so, yes, I worked hard.”

“Luca said you finished at the top of your class.”

Why would Luca want to repeat that? “No, not true. I was number four.”

“Out of?”

“Out of five hundred.”

It was almost nine o’clock and every table was filled with loud men talking at full throttle in more languages than Mitch cared to follow. A few wore robes and kaffiyehs but most were in expensive suits. In addition to plenty of alcohol going down, a lot of cigarettes were burning and the restaurant’s ventilation was inadequate. Oil drove Libya’s economy and Mitch caught snippets in English of markets, crude prices, and drilling. He tried to ignore it because he was dining with one of only two women in the room and his date deserved his attention. She was getting looks, seemed to know it, and seemed to accept them as if they were part of her world.

Giovanna wanted to talk about Abby and the twins and they did so for a long time as they toyed with the stew, which wasn’t very good, and sipped the wine, which was okay but would have tasted much better in Lombardia. When they had covered Mitch’s immediate family, Giovanna pushed her bowl away and said she needed some advice. She had been with Scully for five years, all in their London office, and she was determined to become a partner. Would her chances be better if she stayed in London? Or if she returned to Rome? And how long might it take? The average at Scully was the same as at the other major firms in Big Law, about eight years.

Mitch was tempted to go off the record and share the gossip he’d collected. She would probably make partner in average time if she maintained her current pace, and it didn’t matter where she was located. However, being the daughter of Luca Sandroni would certainly open more doors in Rome. She was bright and driven and had the pedigree. And, the firm was committed to diversity and needed more women at the top.

He said it didn’t matter. Scully was known for recognizing legal talent, either homegrown or poached, regardless of where they found it.

By the time they finished the stew and the wine they were both tired. Tomorrow would be an adventure. Mitch charged the dinner to his room. He walked Giovanna to hers, on the same floor, and said good night.

Chapter 10