My Husband Fired Me—His Law Firm Collapsed

I was known as one of New York's most formidable attorneys. Yet when I returned to my own firm for a party celebrating the million-dollar account I'd just landed, the girl whose education my husband had funded tried to fire me, all because she didn't like my white dress. I figured she simply didn't recognize me. So I smiled. "And who gave you the authority to do that?" Standing in the firm's lobby, she lit a cigarette and drawled, "The boss." I immediately texted the wealthiest woman in America. Amelia: I've been fired from the firm. I'm afraid I won't be able to take your case after all. Then I pulled up my husband's number. Amelia: Come back to the firm immediately. Chloe is trying to fire me. Chloe noticed what I was doing. Instead of backing down, she smiled and raised the cigarette to her lips. I could already picture Ethan's face when he walked in. He hated smoking in the office. He'd once announced in front of everyone that anyone who broke the rule could pack up and leave. Yet the office manager hurried over with an ashtray. Someone else set a lighter beside her with an ingratiating smile. "Keep this. You might need it." I frowned. I'd been away only six weeks. How had they all forgotten Ethan's rules that fast? Noticing my expression, Chloe deliberately blew smoke into my face. "Surprised, Attorney Hart? Ethan knows how hard I work. He made an exception so I can smoke and relax. If it bothers you, feel free to leave." Someone beside her laughed. "Chloe's head of litigation now. You can't hold her to the same standard as an ordinary employee." The office manager hurried to move a chair out of her way. Six weeks earlier, when I left for this case, he'd walked me downstairs and said everyone would be waiting for good news. Now, when I caught his eye, he ducked his head and started clearing empty glasses off a table. Holding back my anger, I met Chloe's eyes. "I am Ethan's wife, and one of this firm's founders. Are you sure you want me to leave?" "His wife?" Chloe tapped ash from her cigarette like I'd just told a joke. "Your husband gave you an office, and you actually started thinking that meant you got to run the place? This firm needs attorneys. Not Mrs. Reed." She straightened, showing off the diamond-studded name badge on her chest. "I have a J.D. from Yale. Ethan paid for my education for five years and trained me himself. He hired me at two hundred fifty thousand dollars a year to lead this firm into a better future." "You landed a few cases through your husband's connections, and you think that puts you in my league?" I stared at the badge pinned to her chest. When I left, that title had still been mine. No one had told me it changed. Even Ethan, who called me every single day, hadn't said a word. Some people nodded along. Others raised their glasses to her. Growing bolder, Chloe walked up, reached out, and tugged at the hem of my dress. "I don't have to fire you. Go change your clothes right now, then apologize to me." "I said white was mine and mine alone tonight. Did you dress like this on purpose to make me look bad?" A beat of silence. Then someone jeered, "Chloe's already willing to let it go. How hard can it be to change your dress?" My gaze found the finance director. Clutching his wineglass, he edged behind the crowd. He was the one who'd walked last year's financial statements over for me to sign. No one knew better than he did how much money I'd made this firm. I drew a deep breath and fought the urge to explode. "I brought in eighty percent of this firm's revenue last fiscal year. It's right there in the numbers. And without those cases, how would you cover rent? How would you cover her two-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar salary?" I pointed at the celebration banner on the wall. "Even tonight's party is for the account I just won." A man stepped between Chloe and me. Daniel, an attorney I'd trained myself. On some of the roughest nights of the Northbridge matter, he'd worked beside me organizing files. He'd seen firsthand how I brought that deal home. I felt a flicker of relief and reached toward him. "Daniel, tell her —" But when he turned, it was me he blocked. "Enough, Amelia. How long are you going to keep tooting your own horn?" "Without Ethan's platform, you couldn't even get through those clients' doors. Chloe asked you to change your dress. How much longer are you going to act like you're above it?" My outstretched hand froze midair. He didn't look at me. He turned back to smile at Chloe, then pointed to the changing room behind me. "Don't keep everyone waiting." Others joined in, urging me to hurry. Someone even opened the changing-room door for me. My gaze swept over those familiar faces. Whenever they hit trouble, they used to knock on my door before anyone else's. Today, not one of them would stand up for me. Chloe waited at the center of the crowd, arms folded, certain I'd cave. Just as the voices grew louder, the firm's front doors swung open. Ethan strode through the crowd. Seeing how fast he'd come, I finally let my rigid shoulders relax. At least I still mattered to him. "Ethan, Chloe —" Smack. His palm hit my face with brutal force. My head snapped sideways. My ears rang, and half my face went up in flames.