Solo - Charlie Bevin (Cinder)

"Ladies and gentlemen, I look forward to working with you," Charlie says as they adjourn, standing from his seat.

He looks to Avery and Alice - "Let's debrief bright and early. I have an appointment to make tonight, but we have a lot of work to do. I'll wait with you both while we wait for a cab, if you can stomach me for a few more minutes."

"I'll see you downstairs. I need to use the ladies' room," Alice said, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"Me too. It's been a long meeting without a break," Avery chimed in, following Alice's lead. It was a common ritual for women to visit the restroom together, a mystery that remained unsolved.

As they gracefully made their way out, Alice cast a brief glance over her shoulder at Charlie.

Meanwhile, Mackenzie was engrossed in conversation with David, leaving little room for anyone else to approach her. Seeing an opportunity, Lauren approached Charlie and handed him a business card.

"This is my direct number if you need anything," she said, pausing for a moment. "Ms. Bettencourt will allow you 10 minutes of her time when David is done. Your performance wasn't stellar, but it was enough for her to give you a chance to speak with her... only if you'd like." With that, the other members of the trust management team began to slowly filter out of the room.

Charlie takes the business card. "Thank you, I'll keep it handy. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and I assume we'll have more to discuss." He glances over to Mackenzie then adds, "I'll be happy to speak with Ms. Bettencourt when she is free."

He waits quietly, placing his things back in his briefcase, then waits for David to finish conversing with Mackenzie. He waits for an indication she is prepared to speak with him then approaches, maintaining a comfortable but polite distance from her. "Ms. Bettencourt. We appreciate you putting your faith in Skadden and we look forward to resolving this matter for you." He smiles, "I quite like your beret."

"Fair enough. To the point, I like it. I'm here because I was asked to be. I'm still here because I'm ambitious. I've propelled myself far on my own merits. One doesn't do that without spotting opportunities and taking risks. This case, Ms. Bettencourt, strikes me as both. I figure at this point there is a 50/50 chance it either costs me my job, or puts me on track to become a partner. So my goals? Be the best damn lawyer I can and tilt the scale in my favor." He raises an eyebrow. "I hope that doesn't put you off, though if I were a betting man, I would guess you've approached your fair share of situations in much the same way."

Charlie listens intently as Mackenzie speaks, not caring or daring to interrupt her. He nods at the appropriate moments and lifts his eyebrow once or twice, and otherwise gives her his full attention. When she finishes, he finally speaks up, "That's a lot to think about, Ms. Bettencourt. And more truth to it than it may seem, I imagine. I will hope that you find I am someone you can rely on, then perhaps we can revisit this conversation." He smiles gently, "Thank you for sharing your time with me. I do like risks and challenges - I look forward to our work together." He gives her a polite nod of his head, and turns to leave.

"I understand. You did well in there, Alice. I know this is a little more than you're used to, but for what its worth, I'm glad to have you with us on this. It can wait until morning, but I need you to start looking into something for us - these priorities Ms. Bettencourt has. I worry that if things go poorly, and we don't properly disclaim the financial dangers in their proposal, it could open Skadden to a risk of malpractice. Can you look into that? See if there is any way we can move forward with their plan, while limiting our exposure to such a risk?"

"You know as well as I do, if we don't do as you suggest, it'll be our asses on the line. Skadden may get hit with malpractice, but it'll be us that take the blame. Hell, that could have been the plan anyways - Bettencourt's and the Trust's, make us move so quickly to secure assets they personally care about, even if it doesn't make financial sense, with the expectation they can just sue Skadden to get the difference back anyways. Come to think of it, that could be why Ms. Bettencourt hasn't brought her own lawyer in - they'd be obligated to advise her against this course and she wouldn't want that."

He hesitates a moment and drops his voice. "She told me her and Ed go back a long time, he had dealings with her grandfather. I hate to think it, but it could be why he pawned this off on me - us - so the deal would go through as Bettencourt wants, but he stays out of the line of fire."

"Do it, just as you said. I don't care if it slows things down - that's on them. It'll still be faster than finding another firm to do the transfer. We'll play it off as a necessity, as part of our willingness to proceed with their planned approach."

Reluctantly Charlie shakes his head. "I am going to see a friend's concert later. I'll need to get ready for that beforehand, but we I'll see you in the morning." He pauses briefly, "Would you like to get lunch with me tomorrow, maybe? Just you and me. If you wouldn't be comfortable with that, I understand."

"Sounds like a plan," Charlie says. He opens her door for her and sees her inside the car before waving goodbye. She had the right idea, with traffic like this. He finds he has plenty of time before the concert, so decides to walk a bit while waiting to hail a taxi. As he does, he listens to the thoughts of strangers - just surface level stuff, but he sometimes enjoys feeling that hidden pulse of the city.

After a couple blocks he finally hails a taxi and has it take him to his apartment where he prepares for the evening's concert.