Work Text:
This case is going to be the death of Tegan Price. The complicated matters of workplace discrimination are not easy to navigate and her co-counsel isn’t much help. To anyone else Annalise Keating would be a dream to work with, as she is one of the best lawyers in Philadelphia, but Tegan hates working with her. Annalise is arrogant, overbearing, and sometimes a straight up bitch. But those aren’t the reasons Tegan hates working on cases with her. It’s the fact that Tegan is hopelessly in love with the one woman she can never have.
“Good morning Ms. Roma, welcome to Caplan & Gold. We are so happy that you have chosen us to defend you, I can assure you no one is better,” Tegan said, stretching out a hand to greet her new client.
“Thank you. I just never want another person to have to deal with what I did at the hands of a patriarchal company like Westmore,” replied Maria Roma. Maria is a pretty young woman of about thirty with shoulder-length, curly brown hair, bright blue eyes, and a very warm smile. She had decided to bring her case to Caplan & Gold because she liked that there are women in leadership positions, as well as proud members of the LGBTQ community. After all, that was all Maria wanted to be, a proud LGBTQ woman who could rise to a leadership position in her publishing company. But it became clear to Maria that could never happen at a place like Westmore Books, which is why she decided to sue.
“If you’ll follow me this way, we can discuss your case in my office,” Tegan said, gesturing for Maria to follow her. As they began walking from the modern waiting room down the elegant halls of C&G, Maria observed her surroundings closely. To be honest, she was mostly on the look out for one lawyer in particular, the infamous Annalise Keating. Not seeing her anywhere, Maria asked Tegan, “Do you happen to know Annalise Keating?”
“Know her?” Tegan replied, “Of course I know her. I also happen to be her boss.”
“Oh, right. Well I was just wondering if there was a chance that she would be working on my case?”
“Hmm, well maybe I can arrange that,” Tegan said, sounding slightly annoyed and picking up her pace. “Here is my office, please take a seat and make yourself comfortable.”
“Great!” Maria exclaimed, sitting in a chair on the opposite side of Tegan’s large, modern desk. “Maybe you could be Annalise’s co-counsel on the case?” Tegan froze in place for half a second, before continuing walking to sit in her almost-regal chair.
“If anyone is to be anyone’s co-counsel, Annalise would be my co-counsel, alright?” Tegan breathed out, the annoyance not as well veiled as before. As if cued by her name, or perhaps Tegan’s annoyance, Annalise came practically strutting into the room. Maria leaped out of her chair and almost ran to her.
“Oh my goodness! You’re Annalise Keating! I think you are amazing! I love all the work you do to correct the injustices in the world, it is such an honor to meet you!” Maria exclaimed, wrapping Annalise into a bear hug. Tegan rolled her eyes as Annalise let out a hearty laugh.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you too. I don’t normally get greetings like that. And to what do I owe the pleasure?” Annalise asked, shooting a subtle wink at Tegan before fixing her gaze on the beaming woman before her.
“Well, I was just about to tell Ms. Price-“
“Tegan,” the short woman interjected.
“Tegan, about my case. I would love it if you could stay Ms. Keating, or Annalise if you don’t mind, I would love to hear your opinion on my situation?” Maria said.
“Yes, I’m sure you would,” Tegan said drly.
“Well of course I would love to stay,” Annalise responded, “anything for a lovely client such as yourself.” Both the women sat down in the chairs opposite Tegan as Maria began to explain her story. She was a junior publisher at Westmore Books, one of the more prominent book publishers in the country. Although she was young, she had quickly risen through the ranks and was now prime choice to be made an executive publisher. However, she kept being passed over for the promotion. Maria believed this is because she is an openly bisexual woman, which is clearly displayed in the types of books she puts forward for publishing.
“So you see,” Maria finished, “the only logical explanation for me continuously getting passed over is my sexual orientation. They don’t want someone like me to be an executive publisher with the power to publish LGBTQ books. That is actually why I wanted to come to this firm. I know you,” she said, turning to Tegan, “are a proud member of the community and would understand my experience.”
“Yes, I do understand,” responded Tegan, “however I want to make sure that you know workplace discrimination suits can be very tricky to prove. You see, we have to show that the specific reason you are being passed over is because of your sexual orientation, which could be difficult.”
“But don’t worry,” Annalise jumped in, “we will be proving it and making sure you receive the justice you deserve.”
“Oh thank you!” Maria exclaimed, embracing Annalise again. Tegan shot a disapproving glare at the older woman, but quickly looked away so that Maria would not see.
“Well,” Tegan said, returning to her office and shutting the door, “all Maria could talk about on the way out was how excited she was to meet you and to come back for our meeting next week.” “What can I say? I seem to have that affect on most people, especially women.” Annalise drawled with a smirk. The brown skinned woman sat back in her chair and put her high-heeled feet up on Tegan’s desk. The younger woman, however, did not look amused.
“Knock it off, Annalise,” Tegan said, sitting down in her chair and focusing on her computer. Or at least trying to, which is very hard for Tegan to do with Annalise’s long legs in front of her like that and Annalise staring at her. Tegan could feel her cheeks begin to flush as she thought of how damn nice Annalise was to Maria. Wouldn’t it be nice to receive that kind of attention from Annalise? ‘No,’ Tegan thought, and shook her head to snap out of it. Not only is Annalise older, not gay, and Tegan is her superior, never in a million years would Annalise want someone like Tegan. Which is why working with Annalise was torture for the Latina.