Patently in Love (5 page)

"Er... yes," said Jane, feeling it would be churlish to refuse. "That would be lovely.
Thanks."

"Okay," said Polly. "We're ready when you are."

Andy and Polly were already sitting at the table when Jane walked in. Polly dished
out a third portion. For a moment, they ate in silence.

"I'm really sorry," Jane said. "I didn't think to knock. I wasn't expecting..."

"It's okay," said Polly. "You live here. You don't have to knock."

"Mind you," Andy said. "It might be an idea--"

Polly nudged him in the ribs.

"I'm so sorry," Jane repeated. "As soon as I get paid, I'll move out. Okay."

"You don't have to," said Polly. "I like having you here."

Andy shot Polly a glance. Polly raised her eyebrows at him.

Jane started to apologise again, but Andy stopped her. "Forget it, Jane. Really. It's no
big deal. You take your time." He gave Polly a fond look and patted her on the arm. "It'll
probably do us good to learn some self-control."

Jane looked at them and felt a spark of envy. They were so happy together. Andy
might not be the most good-looking of men, but he would never cheat on Polly. She found
she'd suddenly lost her appetite, and moved the pasta around on her plate, resisting the urge to
push the whole thing away.

"So," said Andy, breaking the awkward silence, "what are you doing at work then,
Jane?"

"She's looking for prior art," said Polly, who had asked the same question the night
before.

"Oh aye? What's that when it's at home?" Andy spoke through a mouthful of
pasta.

"You know what a patent is?"

"Like on Dragon's Den?"

Jane smiled. "Yes, a bit like that. Now, if you're going to get a patent for an
invention, it has to be new, right?"

"Sounds fair," said Andy.

"So, if it's published somewhere before the patent was filed, then it's can't be new."
She paused to see if he was following her.

He nodded and waved his fork, indicating that she should go on.

"We're trying to show that a patent shouldn't have been granted. I'm trying to find
something that was published before the date the patent was filed, so that I can say that the
invention isn't new."

"Okay," said Andy. "So where does art come into it?"

"That's just the technical term for published stuff," Polly said.

Andy looked at Jane for confirmation. She shrugged. "Not quite, but close
enough."

Andy was thoughtful for a moment. "Doesn't sound very lawyer-y to me."

Jane laughed. "I'm doing the easy bits. Marshall's doing the difficult bit where you
have to put the arguments together."

Polly leaned closer to Andy and said in a theatrical whisper, "Marshall's the one she
fancies."

Jane shook her head. "I don't."

The meeting reminder pinged on Jane's computer and she felt excitement rise. She
was meeting Susan, her boss, for the first time. Until now, she had been doing odd pieces of
work that people found for her and getting to know the company's systems. She was looking
forward to having a solid project to work on.

Ruth looked up. "Meeting?"

"Yes. With Susan."

"Good luck," said Ruth. "Susan is...a challenge."

"People keep saying that. What's wrong with her?"

Ruth frowned. "There's nothing wrong with her... as such. She's just a little brusque,
if you see what I mean."

Jane shook her head.

"No very hot on people skills. She's very clever. One of the cleverest attorneys we've
got. But she has no patience with people who can't keep up."

"Okay," said Jane, hoping she would be able to keep up. "I'll bear that in mind."

"You'll be fine," said Ruth.

Jane wished she felt as confident.

* * * *

From: Eric Korsky

To: Keith Durridge

Subject: The new
girl.
She seems nice. Do I take it she's caught your interest? As you say,
she is very pretty. And has very nice legs.

##

From: Keith Durridge

To: Eric Korsky

She does indeed have
fabulous legs. I bet I can get those wrapped round me by the end of the
month.
K

##

To: Keith Durridge

From: Eric Korsky

Yeah, yeah, you say that
every time a nice looking girl starts. You have no chance with this one my
friend. She's way out of your league.
And, as you've let your prejudices
against the provinces show, you've probably blown it already. Very proud folk,
these Northerners, you know.
E

##

To: Eric Korsky
From:
Keith Durridge
Bet you a
100.
K

##

From: Eric Korsky
To:
Keith Durridge
I'm not
playing that game anymore. I'm a happily engaged man now, remember?
Besides, I haven't forgotten how much trouble it got us into last year.

##

From: Keith Durridge

To: Eric Korsky

I'm not suggesting you
compete with me. We all know you couldn't anyway. Just a little sportsman's
bet. I'll even set a time limit for my success. One month. I'm getting bored out
of my mind around here, I could do with a challenge.
Go on, live a
little.

##

From: Eric Korsky
To:
Keith Durridge
You don't
stand a chance. If the undercurrents at the pub were anything to go by, she's
more likely to be interested in Marshall Winfield than you. We all remember
what happened the last time you went after a woman who had her eye on
Marshall Winfield.

##

From: Keith Durridge

To: Eric Korsky

Yes, well Dominique
wasn't exactly a normal woman. There's no challenge in getting off with a
nymphomaniac. Winfield is welcome to her.
Now Jane, on the other hand,
seems like a very classy, if slightly repressed, woman. One who has standards.
The only reason Winfield even got a look in was because I hadn't turned on my
legendary charm.

##

From: Eric Korsky
To:
Keith Durridge
Since
you insist, I shall take you up on this. 100 pounds + Dinner at the
club.
And you only have until the end of the month. I shall enjoy watching
you crash and burn.

##

From: Keith Durridge

To: Eric Korsky

You're on, Korsky.
Prepare to pay up.
K--the man.

* * * *

The meeting room had wide windows overlooking the Thames. Far below tourist
barges crawled up and down the water. The millennium wheel moved lazily in the distance.
Since she was early, Jane took the opportunity to spot landmarks.

Someone cleared his throat, making her jump. She spun around to find Marshall at
the doorway, a cup of coffee in one hand and a clutch of files in the other.

"Good morning," he said as he put down his files. "It's a good view from up here.
We've all got so used to it, we take it for granted."

"I was just looking to see if you can see the Tate Modern."

"Oh you can. You have to sort of lean into the window though." His eyes were so
brown they made her think of chocolate.

Jane suddenly felt like a teenager. Her heart sped up and her mind went blank, just
when she needed a witty comment.

Keith sauntered in. "It must be quite exciting for you, coming from the
provinces."

Marshall's shoulders tensed.

"Manchester," she said, "is hardly the provinces. It's the Northern capital."

"Exactly." Keith pulled out a chair next to her. "The Northern capital. It's nothing like
the real capital, is it?" He laughed, as though his comment were hilarious. "I've been here all
my life," he said, serious again. "I'll show you around one weekend, if you'd like. There's
more to London than meets the eye."

Was he coming on to her? She was saved from having to come up with a retort when
Susan walked into the room.

Susan wore a perfectly cut suit with tottering high heels and her makeup had an
American gloss to it. Blonde hair framed her face in soft ringlets. Only the lines by her eyes
suggested she was in her forties. Both Keith and Marshall seemed to straighten up slightly, as
though coming to attention.

Susan looked at Jane, her face expressionless. She held out her hand. "I'm Susan,"
she said, speaking very fast. "You must be Jane."

Jane stood up clumsily and took the proffered hand. "Hi."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to meet you on your first week." Susan gave Jane's hand a
firm shake. "I hope you enjoy working with us." She sat down and took a Mont Blanc pen out
of her jacket pocket. "Okay, let's get started. What have we got?"

Marshall opened his mouth to speak, but Keith jumped in before him. "I've been
going through Marsh's searches and some that I did myself," he said. "I haven't found a piece
of killer prior art yet, but I think we might have a few angles that we can attack from."

Susan indicated he should go on. Jane leaned forward on her elbows and tried to
follow the conversation. As far as she could tell their client was trying to attack two patents.
One for a novel drug and one for the combination of that drug with an already known one.
Keith was researching ways of attacking the first and Marshall was working on the
second.

The sun came out from behind a cloud, casting Jane and Keith's shadows on the table.
Marshall put his hand up to shield his eyes. Susan clicked her tongue impatiently and said
"Jane, can you draw the blinds please?"

"Thanks," Marshall said when she returned to her seat. Slivers of light still fell on his
face and hair, making him glow slightly. The sight of him did something strange to Jane's
knees. She sank back in her chair and turned her head so that she was looking at Susan
instead.

As Susan and Keith continued their discussion, Jane found she couldn't follow it. Her
eyes kept drifting towards Marshall. She told herself sternly that she had only just started
work there. This was no time to get involved in an office romance.

When Keith had finished speaking, Susan turned to Marshall, who gave her a concise
report of his research. She listened without comment until he'd finished, then fired questions
at him. Marshall responded, making several suggestions for future research. Jane listened
carefully to the exchange and took note of things she needed to research further.

"Okay," said Susan, when Marshall had finished. "Sounds like we're making
progress." She tapped a finger on the table. "Now then, Jane. How's your database
searching?"

Jane jumped, and began, "I haven't--"

"Good, good." Susan stood up. "You can help Marshall with his prior art search. He'll
teach you the basics. You seem pretty bright. I'm sure you'll pick it up."

Jane nodded, in what she hoped was a confident and enthusiastic manner.

"Actually," said Keith, "I could use some extra help evaluating these papers."

Susan turned to him. "Didn't you say Robert was working on it?"

"Well yes," said Keith. "But it's a lot of work. I'm sure Marshall can spare Jane from
time to t--"

"I'm sure Robert can manage." Susan nodded to Marshall. "Set up another meeting in
a week's time. I'm seeing the client in nine days' time and I want something to show
them."

Without any further pleasantries, Susan left the room.

Keith shot Marshall an angry glare. Marshall ignored him. The hostility between the
two men was palpable.

As Jane stood up to leave, Keith said, "I guess it's going to be a busy week for all of
us." He flashed Jane a smile. "Welcome to the team."

* * * *

From: Marshall Winfield

To: James Edwards

What is Keith's problem?
Susan told Jane to work with me on my case and Keith looked like I'd stolen
his lolly.

##

From: James Edwards

To: Marshall Winfield

Don't mind Keith. He's
just jealous. First Susan gives you equal weight to him on this case, then
assigns the latest totty to work with you. Result: Not only do you get an extra
pair of hands to work with. They belong to a lovely young lady. Lucky
boy.

##

From: Marshall Winfield
To: James
Edwards
Will you stop it. You can get
done for sexual harassment for saying stuff like that.

##

From: James Edwards

To: Marshall Winfield

Ah come off it. I saw
you looking at her in the pub. I haven't seen that gleam in your beady little eye
since--well, a bloody long time.
Lou thinks you should go for it, by the
way.

##

From: Marshall Winfield

To: James Edwards

Haven't you and Lou got
better things to talk about than my love life--such as it is?
Jane's lovely,
but I think I'll stay out of it for a while. I think Keith's got his eye on her
anyway. I don't really want to antagonise him any more than I have to.
Besides, office relationships aren't a great idea. Not for me anyhow.

##

From: James Edwards

To: Marshall Winfield

Mate, we've got three
kids. Your love life is the most exciting news going as far as we're concerned.
At least it doesn't have anything to do with the kids.
Anyway, Jane's just
walked past, so I'm guessing she's heading to your office.
Be good. If you
can't be good, be careful.
Jim