Love Has Reasons

Chapter 2: Monica-1

Chapter 2: Monica

A sturdy-hipped and sensibly shod legal secretary whipping through the tail-end of her fifties, Monica Rai knew life under the thumb of an officious manager, and took great pains to keep her Big Fellas on track so that she might never relive it. She didn’t need some eager beaver nitpicking her time card for brownie points or the Stalwart of the Old Guard making sure she dressed schoolmarmishly enough to do honor to her profession’s proud tradition; she sought to run her office her way, to have the last word on the coffee and tea selection, and to punch out at five, never at five-oh-one. When a vanished file miraculously appeared or a stubborn legal knot was magically unraveled by obscure precedent or at-first-glance unrelated case law, Danny and Schwartz had Monica to thank, and the duo had sense enough to thank her often and well. The flowers on her desk were always fresh, her lunch never came out of her own pocket unless it came out of her kitchen, and she never missed a spa appointment, even if it meant leaving Danny to man the phones. Monica’s plan had long been to eventually retire from O’Brien, Esposito, Faber, Wormer, and Dean, and it was her very specific intention to ride Aaron Schwartz’s coattails along a smooth and comfortable path of least resistance to that destination.

And she had big plans for Danny Hanrahan.