Free To Catch a Bad Guy by Marie Astor Page B

to justice
instead of defending them, and now she was in a different boat entirely. Her
employment with Bostoff Securities had not been a long one yet, but Janet
doubted she would ever be as passionate about her current occupation as Joe
was.
    “It’s a good thing you
switched jobs, Janet. Otherwise, we might have faced each other from the opposite
sides of the defense,” said Joe.
    “Well, if you put it
that way.” Janet managed a smile. “But to tell you the truth, I miss the DA’s
office. I guess I was a better sleuth than I am an attorney.” She shrugged.
    “You don’t sound very
excited about your new job. Is everything okay?” Katie cut in. “Or is it
because of Lisa?”
    “Partially,” Janet
answered evasively. She knew that Katie had no special place in her heart for
Lisa, but old loyalty prevented her from agreeing. Besides, Lisa did get her
the job, and for that she deserved credit, even if the job did not turn out to
be anything like Lisa had promised it would be. “I’m still learning about their
business model, but some of their practices seem a little unorthodox…”
    “Welcome to the real
world, honey!” Katie smirked. “In addition to drafting contracts, I’ve had the
pleasure of helping some of the financial firms with their regulatory battles.
I’m talking major names, which, of course, I can’t name, but you’d be surprised
to hear what goes on inside some of these so called reputable firms. Some of
the stuff they do for their clients is bordering on tax evasion and insider
trading.”
    “And no one is doing
anything about this?”
    “I didn’t say that. The
regulators slap them on the wrist now and then; they pay a fine and go on their
merry way, doing the same thing all over again. Are you going to tell me that
every investigation you were on at the DA’s office resulted in a successful
finding?”
    Janet shook her head.
She knew only too well that it did not. At least not her most recent and most
intricate case – the one that she had been sure was going to get her a
promotion, but instead got her fired. Correction: downsized.
    “You listen to me,
Janet.” Katie leaned across the table. “If you want to succeed at your new job,
you’ve got to change your mentality. You aren’t catching the bad guys anymore.
You’re covering their butts. And if they happen to cut a few corners here and
there, you’ve got to come up with a way to make them look like they’ve crossed
all the T’s and dotted all the I’s.”
    Joe nodded. “Katie is
right. Let’s face it. An innocent client rarely needs a lawyer, and when you’re
an in-house counsel, the client expects you tell them what they can do, not
what they can’t do.”
    “I know.” Janet nodded.
Suddenly she felt completely out of touch. She had thought she had gained
substantial experience during her time with the DA, but now it seemed to her
that she had only gleaned the surface of things.
    “Sorry to burst your
bubble, Janet.” Katie smiled guiltily. “But I couldn’t be this frank with you when
you were in prosecution. Take my advice. If you want to make it in the private
sector, you’ve got to become more lenient.”
    Janet nodded. “You may
be right. Like I said, I’m not jumping to any conclusions. I just need more
time to learn the ropes.”
    The conversation was
interrupted by a petite blonde appearing by Joe’s chair. “Hi, baby, I’m so
sorry I’m late!”
    “Daphne…I didn’t think
you were coming.” Joe pushed back his chair. “Janet, this is my fiancée,
Daphne,” he added awkwardly. “Daphne, this is Janet. We went to law school
together, and you’ve already met Katie.”
    “It’s a pleasure to
meet you, Daphne.” Janet hoped that her smile looked genuine. She did not have
anything against Daphne per se. She did not even know the girl, but something
inside her had constricted when Joe had called the pretty blonde his fiancée.
    Daphne settled into the
chair next to Joe, prominently