Suits: A Lawyer Surviving TV Chaos

"Good morning, Duchess!"

Faced with this insidious greetings from two pretty little vipers in the company's administrative department, Rachel Zane kept her composure on the surface but inwardly seethed with anger.

It was all that damn bastard's fault. Ever since he gave her the nickname "Duchess," rumors had been swirling around the office—everything from claims that she'd slept with him to whispers that she was desperate to marry into "old money." Whatever people could think of, they said.

If she didn't give him a piece of her mind today, she'd never get over it.

From the elevator to her cubicle, Rachel stomped her high heels with extra force, and anyone who heard them could feel the waves of fury they carried.

After quickly organizing her schedule and documents, Rachel stood up and walked into that bastard's office. Just as she was about to speak, she saw him frowning, completely absorbed in his computer screen, his left hand on the keyboard and his right hand moving the mouse nonstop.

Had one of his cases hit a snag?

Rachel thought back to the two months she'd been working as his secretary. He always handled every case effortlessly, which had pleasantly surprised Jessica, the big boss. She'd even mentioned it privately to Harvey, one of the senior partners, several times.

"I see the future of the firm in him!"

The most important case right now was the commercial merger Jessica had assigned to him.

Could something have gone wrong with this multi-million-dollar deal?

Her professional instincts told her not to interrupt his train of thought at this moment, so she sat down on the couch against the wall, thinking about how to dispel the rumors.

After a while, Martin finally reacted.

"Good job, guys! That's it for now—I'm logging off. I still have work to do."

Rachel frowned, sensing something was off. She immediately got up and walked over to Martin, glancing at his computer screen and discovering it was a *World of Warcraft* game interface!

"How dare you play games on the company's computer!" Rachel's face turned red with anger. "And on a Monday to boot! Don't you know all the company computers are monitored? Even opening a porn site leaves a record!"

"Relax. I promised Sheldon and the others we'd raid the Black Temple today. I can't break my promise."

Unlike regular office workers, Monday mornings were when the department head met with school leaders at the university, leaving postdocs like Sheldon free.

Martin shrugged indifferently, closed the game, and turned his chair to face Rachel. "What do you need?"

Rachel was both angry and speechless. It took her a while to calm down enough to abandon the idea of punching him. She walked over to the chair behind the desk, sat down, opened her planner, and placed it upside-down in front of Martin.

"At 10 a.m. today, the client from Jessica's merger case will be coming to the company. You need to discuss the next steps with him. The timing is uncertain, so I've reserved your afternoon for this."

"Hmm, anything else?"

"From now on, I don't want you to call me 'Duchess' anymore, or I'll sue you!"

"Though I doubt you'd win that lawsuit... fine, since I care about my subordinates, don't worry—it won't happen again."

Seeing Martin's casual attitude, Rachel couldn't hold back any longer. She slammed her right hand on the desk. "Martin, I'm your secretary, not your pet! I deserve respect!"

"Okay!" Martin frowned, stood up, and walked over to sit on the desk next to Rachel. "Tell me."

"What?" Rachel asked irritably.

Martin smiled. "You've been my secretary for two months now. How does it feel?"

"At work, you're a genius. You make all clients overlook the fact that you're only twenty-five and willingly sign legal contracts with you!"

At this, Rachel rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I sometimes wonder if what you drink with those clients isn't alcohol but love potions brewed by dark wizards in Knockturn Alley!"

"Correct answer! Ten points to Ravenclaw!" Martin laughed and clapped his hands.

This interruption diffused much of Rachel's anger. "Why Ravenclaw?"

Martin deliberately glanced at Rachel's face, then stepped back to look at her whole figure. Shaking his head, he said, "Only Ravenclaw could produce a witch as smart and beautiful as you."

Women are women after all. Even though the compliment came from an undeniable jerk, it still made her feel good.

"Alright, I've received your evaluation as a colleague. What about as a friend?"

Martin smiled and casually followed up. "Well?"

Rachel was about to say, "You're a jerk!" when the phone on the desk rang.

Following American habits of respecting personal privacy, Rachel reflexively prepared to leave, but Martin's large hand pressed her back into the chair.

"I told you, I have no secrets from you. Understand?"

Martin picked up the phone, glanced at it, and pressed the answer button. "Mark? I was just talking about you with a friend before work… Aren't you supposed to be so busy you measure bathroom breaks in seconds? How do you have time to call me?"

"Brother! I need you!"

The voice on the other end was loud enough for Rachel to hear.

Martin frowned, sat back at the desk, and opened his browser. "What happened to you?"

"I fired those Yale bitches. I need you to take over!"

"What the F—"

Martin held back for a moment, then finally cursed. "I'm just a rookie who graduated recently, and you want me to handle a billion-dollar financing? Are you insane? Is your board just there to act as a piss pot?"

A billion dollars?

Rachel sitting across from him perked up her ears.

After a while, Martin finally calmed down. He placed the phone on the desk, turned on the speaker, and went back to searching on the computer, letting the man's voice echo throughout the office.

"Those Yale bitches only know how to grovel and kiss up to some part of big companies. After ten days of negotiation, they told me this was the best offer. Those Seattle dogs only valued us at ten billion dollars—it's robbery, a gun-to-the-head armed robbery!"

Though the words were crude, Rachel's sharp professional instincts helped her pick out the key points.

Yale, Facebook, Seattle's big companies, ten billion dollars, negotiations…

Rachel immediately pulled out her phone to search online.

"Listen, bro, I need you. I need you to bring Harvard's crew back to help me! I trust no one else but you, understand?"

"Don't worry about the board. I told them you could negotiate our valuation up to 15 billion, and they unanimously approved it without hesitation. No one can stop me! No one."

"Rest assured, I know what you're worried about. Yuna and Sophia are filming a reality show with the TV station, Fiona's still in L.A., but I can have Priscilla take her to Miami for a few days' rest. You don't have to worry about them holding a gun to your head and forcing you to date them."

Hearing the increasingly illogical rambling on the phone, Martin shook his head helplessly and brought the phone to his mouth.

"Listen, Mark, I can't believe you're this high on such a beautiful Monday morning. Go back and sleep it off. When you wake up, I'll pour you a glass of water to clear your head."

"Thanks, Martin. I'll wait for you."

After the call ended, Rachel looked up, her eyes full of anticipation as she gazed at her boss.

"Do you have one of those skimpy bikinis?" Martin had completely lost the rough tone he'd used during the call.

Rachel rolled her eyes again. "How about the kind with just two strings?"

Martin's eyes lit up, and he clicked his tongue. "Even better. Then I won't have to flip you over and over when applying sunscreen."

"It's November. Northern Canada already has snow."

Rachel shot Martin a flirtatious glance and returned to her cubicle.

Though Martin had only asked about the bikini, their two months of communication and interaction had formed a smooth默契 between them.

First, they booked the earliest tickets to Los Angeles. Then Martin called Priya and handed over the preliminary preparations for Jessica's commercial merger case to her.

Martin had to admit, having such a capable secretary was truly wonderful!

Of course, "capable" didn't include *that* meaning…

(End of Chapter)