The conclusion has a bit of a longer set-up before the fun begins, but only to explain how the four of us made it to Miami Beach a few weeks after the file room play in New Orleans.
It was only a couple weeks after our group session in the file room that a long-postponed document production came up. I have a client in south Florida who had several claims against them which were dormant while the plaintiff sorted some things out internally. We were in no hurry to defend the claims and had agreed to stay the litigation.
About a week after New Years, I got a call from opposing counsel stating that they were ready to go forward with discovery, starting with document requests that he was emailing me as we spoke. I had already prepared my client for the work that I expected. We had prepared a spreadsheet of the potentially responsive boxes in their off-site document storage and the persons who had material related to the ship involved in the claim.
The document request was about as expected. I had recently lost my paralegal to another firm which offered to pay her more than she was worth, but they were willing to pay more for her Polish language skills. I needed a competent paralegal to manage this production and supervise the attorneys who would be examining the files. Lauren came to mind. We hadn't hooked up since the night in the file room in New Orleans after the trial. Her comments had been in my head. I had run into her several times and had coffee one afternoon in which we both engaged in serious flirting.
I went down to her office to see if Lauren was available for a week in Ft. Lauderdale in late January. Like everyone in the rainy northwest she was eager to leave town for someplace warm and dry. Lauren told me that she was looking forward to spending time with me. Pushing the envelope quite a bit, I asked her if she would be interested in cutting down on the costs of the trip by sharing a room. Lauren didn't blink an eye before she agreed. I thought her nipples popped through her blouse when I asked.
I also needed help reviewing the expected 700 boxes of documents and interviewing about 15 employees. Much of the review work would be done by a few temporary paralegals that Lauren would arrange, but I needed two other lawyers to interview employees and work on the more important boxes. If we had motivated temps, and the necessary supervision, the project could be done in a week.
My thoughts turned to Sarah and Marie. They were both junior associates and didn't have significant experience on this type of production, but they were bright and could learn fast. Plus I was interested in seeing what Marie might be up for and whether Sarah might go for it again.
Getting them on the project was another issue as they worked for my New Orleans co-counsel. I first had to get them on board, so I called Sarah's office. She picked up. After a couple minutes of innocuous pleasantries, I got to the point and explained the project, then suggested that she and Marie might be the two associates.
Sarah knew immediately where this was going. "There's a couple men in our lives who will be envious and want to tag along, but if I remember right that is the week that their krewe is putting final preparations on their floats, so they won't be able to get away. My dear friend Marie would love some private away time too, let me see if she is free."
"And Marie would be okay with perhaps Lauren and myself joining in?"
"Funny that you should worry about that. After Marie's brother left she came over while the boys were golfing and we talked about what happened. And did a lot of talking while naked in my hot tub about watching you and Lauren, and what she missed out on after she left. Marie is 100% on board and wants to catch up on what she missed. So let me see if she can get away too."
"Please do, and then I can coordinate with John (my local counsel). Any suggestions on how to get him to agree?"
"It's been a little slow in the litigation department this winter, your trial was the highlight. He would probably love to have a couple of his associates billed out at premium rates for a 50 hour week plus travel" Sarah replied.
"Got it, confirm with Marie and I can then ask John."
Sarah called back 2 minutes later. "We're in. Just remember what I said about where this can go (i.e. she wouldn't have intercourse but everything else was ok). Give John a call, I'm pretty sure he is in the office today."
I told Sarah that to save costs she could share a room with Marie. She interrupted me to say that was already their plan. We laughed, and I told her Lauren and I would also be sharing a room.
With my team in place I gave John a call. His only request was for the case details so he could run a conflicts check and for us to keep them in mind for future projects. Things must really be quiet for the firm, as I had expected him to ask for a formal role in the case.
I liaised with my client to bring him up to speed. He was happy to use two New Orleans associates who billed at a lower rate than my firm's costs, and who had a shorter flight which meant less time billed traveling. I then booked flights for me and Lauren, both hotels rooms, and emailed Sarah with the details so she could book their flights.
We had a conference call the Friday before the trip and spent two hours going over the facts, the goal of the production, the documents we would be reviewing, the process for reviewing and the expected schedule. I had Fedex'd the document requests and some pleadings to New Orleans earlier in the week to give Marie and Sarah background. I omitted any plans for sexual play but did tell them that I anticipated getting out a few nights after work, perhaps to a Heat game or for dinner. Everyone seemed aligned with the plan.
I met Lauren at the Sea-Tac on Sunday morning and arrived in Miami, via Dallas, around 8 pm. By the time we collected our bags, got the rental car and drove to our hotel in Miami Beach it was after 9:30. It was late and I was hungry. I suggested that we call it a night so that we would be fresh in the morning but told them to do as they wanted. Marie and Sarah had arrived a few hours earlier and were out to dinner when we arrived. We had arranged to meet at 7:30 am on Monday morning for anyone who wanted breakfast, or at 8:30 am in the lobby to go over to the client's office.
Lauren and I checked into our room. It was good sized with an ocean view. Sarah and Marie were down the hall. I suggested to Lauren that we order some room service. After we ordered, I told her that I always felt dirty after traveling on an airplane and was going to take a quick shower. She said she felt the same way, but wanted to eat first and started to unpack. I jumped in the shower and was finished before the food arrived. We ate fairly quietly, talking mostly about the production ahead.
When we were done I pushed the food cart into the hall and returned to the room. I was wearing one of the hotel robes and my boxers. "Let me brush my teeth and I'll let you have the bathroom" I told Lauren.
"No problem," she said, "I'll just get my things."
I was finishing rinsing my mouth when Lauren walked into the bathroom. She was topless. Actually all she had on were a pair of royal blue bikini cut panties. Lauren didn't bat an eyelash as she placed a handful of cosmetics and beauty products on the counter.
Looking in the mirror I saw for the first time in the bright bathroom light her lovely chest. The nipples that I had pulled on in the file room were already at attention, pointed upward near the end of very healthy breasts. Each was at the center of a modest dark pink circle.
"Hello" I said.
Lauren blushed. "Its nothing you haven't seen before."
