a lot to learn;; (Katherine M.)

[phephe]

Frankie didn't know where her focus had been today, but it certainly hadn't been in the courtroom. Katherine Minola had practically carved her up and dropped the pieces in the bin by the time the proceedings were over. Frankie had so much more to learn, but wasn't sure on anyone's willingness to teach her, which was probably why she found herself in the quiet dark of a little bar, texting Katherine like a pathetic child, inviting her for victory drinks, the tab on her. She wasn't too sure why she had done it. Maybe it was the fumes of the drink sat on the bar before her getting to her head. She had gone to the bar so quickly, she hadn't really changed: she'd had a pair of black jeans in her bag, swapping them for her suit trousers and simply took her shirt off from under her waist coat and left it at that – a whole different outfit when very little had changed, marvellous. She had stashed her larger bag in her driver's car before sending him on his way, carrying a small handbag with the bare essentials for her night to come in it.

As she waited for the superior lawyer, she pulled the pins out of her hair, the ones that had been stabbing slightly into the back of her head all day, letting it wave down around her shoulders. She tucked the pins away into her bag that was settled on the bar, reaching to lift her glass to her lips and taking a slow sip. Impatience got the better of her, quickly finishing her drink and ordering a second. She scowled, staring at the various selections behind the bar as the bar tender went about filling her order. Oh, the options. She wasn't working tomorrow, which was certainly a plus. She could certainly get into some of the lowest level of trouble if she wasn't careful. Thanking the bar tender for her drink, she took a slight sip, placing the glass on the bar in front of herself without finishing it this time, pulling out her phone to flip through her appointment book. It was pretty clear for a while, longer than she'd actually realised. She couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing...

[KATHERINE MINOLA]

Katherine meandered into the bar. She'd no idea why she'd agreec to meet the Carlylr woman after court today. She sighed to hersel as she imagined that it was her need for a stiff cocktail rather than any desire to make friends that had got ehr here.

Today's victory was total, and not unexpected. Of course Katherine had heard of "The Pheonix" and her status as a titan in British corporate law, but the girl was extraordinarily foolish to jump into criminal law so quickly after returning to to the States.

Katherine looked around forthe young woman and found her, dressed casually in a pair of jeans, her dress shirt pulled out and her her hair down, nursing a drink at the counter and sat down next to her.

"So, why do you feel the need to celebrate, Ms. Carlyle? You lost the case rather badly? Got a lin over your head, eh?" She asked as she ordered a pomegranet cocktail from the bartender.

[phephe]

Phe shuffled, slightly uncomfortably, in her seat. She wasn't like she was actually uncomfortable with the place she was sitting, more that she couldn't be sure if Katherine Minola would find the time or be bothered to meet her. She understood if the other woman decided not to come. It was true that she was probably in over her head as she'd never really practised law in the United States outside of her education and a few 'fake' trial scenarios before having moved to England. The British justice system had a different way of doing things. She had a few friends in London that had always commented on how Americans had had to do everything so much bigger, with so much drama and Phe had quickly learnt that to be remotely accurate. It looked like Phe had a lot to learn...well, relearn if she expected to do better around here.

Drink in one hand, she shuffled again, her other hand messing with the silver buttons on the front of her waist coat, noticing how much lower it seemed to come without her shirt on underneath it. She lifted her gaze again to take a sip of her drink. She turned as she heard a familiar voice speaking to her, watching the other woman approaching. “This is part of a process, Ms. Minola,” she began by way of a response to Katherine's question, trying not to sound grouchy about it. “A process where I can learn to lose badly as well as win,” she finished, lifting up her glass and finishing her second drink, gesturing to the bar tender for a third. It was a good job they knew her here, otherwise, they might take to not serving her so many drinks in such quick succession. She shrugged, half turning to Katherine as she waited for a refill on her drink.

“Maybe, yeah, I took on too much, too early,” she answered, considering her words as carefully as she could. “But I can't just sit around and do nothing,” she continued, turning to the bartender as he brought her another drink, smiling pleasantly at him. “Criminal justice has been a such big part of my life for so long...” she went on, trailing off for a moment to take a sensible sip of her drink. “It's like a drug...and I just don't know how to stop,” she finished. She regarded so many things in her life like that, but her education and her job had consumed so much of her life so far. She turned to Katherine again, observing the other woman. She seemed so much less intimidating outside of the courtroom, but, at the same time, Phe knew she had to be careful. “How do you do it? How did you get so good?” she questioned, tilting her head as she continued to observe Katherine.

[KATHERINE MINOLA]

Katherine smirked at the girl's naive questions.

"I was uncompromising, tough, and a public defender's worst nightmare, mostly. In this business, you need to buck up, or the men'll just walk all over you, assume, you're soft becasue you have tits and nice legs."

Katherine sipped her cocktail and niodded appreciatevely at her pretty colleague. She seemed bright enough, and tough enough...but she was far too nice. Katherine let her know it.

"I know you're just trying to learn from your mistakes, but all your pleasent inquiries will definitely get ttrapped with a shark, and there are lots of them here. They'd screw you over first chance they get. You have to let them know you're not to be toyed with. I may be feared and and not liked, Ms. Carlyle, but no one in their right mind would mess with me now like they would when I was just starting out. I hope that's satisfactory advice for you." Katherine went back to sipping her cocktail, waiting for her companion to continue the conversation. Or end it. Whichever came up first.