Chapter Text
The alarm broke the morning silence, phone vibrating in an effort to wake its owner. A hand slammed down on the offending object, body rising as a finger swiped across the screen, ending the noise. Sameen Shaw launched herself out of her white sheets, standing up and stretching. She walked over to a pile of clothes on the floor and pulled off the oversized shirt she was wearing, changing swiftly into her running gear.
Tying her hair up, she left her apartment and out into the cool air, street lamps lighting her way.
Samantha Groves slammed her palms against the keyboard in frustration before cancelling her previous input line and shutting her laptop. She placed it down on the floor beside her before checking her phone. 5:32 am. She’d been up for almost 32 hours and still hadn’t managed to write any usable code.
She leant back against the bottom of the couch she was resting against, hung her head back and closed her eyes. She was tired and wanted to sleep, but Jason had convinced her to go to this stupid meeting (she didn’t do meetings, meetings were for those who actually cared) at the godforsaken time of 10am.
She audibly sighed, before laboriously pushing herself up from the floor and padding over to her bedroom, flopping down on the plush bed intent on getting some sleep.
When Sameen Shaw returned to her apartment sweaty and out of breathe, her phone showed one missed call from Finch. She rang back immediately.
‘Finch.’
‘Ms. Shaw. I’m sorry to bother you on your day off but you’re needed in the office. The Elias Deal is about to close and we need all hands on deck.’
‘I’ll be there in half an hour.’
‘Thank you Ms. Shaw. Oh, and Mr. Reese asked me to call you in for a meeting with him. 8am?’
‘Finch I don’t do Family you know that.’
‘Nevertheless he was rather insistent.’
‘Not insistent enough to call me himself,’ muttered Shaw.
‘Yes well perhaps if you eased up on the death threats people would be more inclined to contact you themselves with any issues they might have.’
‘It’s all part of my charm Finch. I’ll be in shortly.’
Shaw hung up, chucked her phone onto the bed and stripped for the shower.
Today was going to be a long day.
She made it up to the 36th floor in record time, striding into the main boardroom of Machine & Co. at 6:54am precisely and slamming her files onto the table, silencing the squabbling room.
‘There had better be a very good reason why I got called in at 7am and I better hear it now.’
The room greeted her with silence. Sameen Shaw’s reputation was infamous, and each of the junior associates that filled the room knew it: if not personally, than from the countless who did. She glared at each one individually, suppressing her delight at watching them squirm.
Her eyes rounded on Joss Carter, third year associate and one of the few people she found herself not wanting to violently maim with a coffee cup on a daily basis.
‘Dominic ordered a slight change in terms.’
‘And that caused this disaster zone?’ questioned Shaw, gesturing to scattered files and discarded cartons of food.
‘Elias won’t agree to the change.’
‘What is it?’
‘5% increase in trade revenue and stock shares.’
Shaw spun round and exited the room without a word.
‘Draft the contract with the new terms,’ she called over her shoulder. The associates stared, confused and still slightly relieved that they were still alive. Carter shook her head in exasperation, before ordering the army of workers into action.
On becoming a partner Shaw had expected the numerous benefits (a pay rise) and even the negatives (dealing with moronic associates). What she hadn’t expected was to have to deal with clients such as Elias Clarke, a man she would much rather punch in the face than negotiate a deal for. But business was business, and when Reese moved over to the Family side of things Finch had handed her the file with strict instructions not to fuck this one over: apparently he’d helped the Machine through some hard times.
That didn’t mean Shaw had to like the man as she found him lounging in Reese’s office, presumably chatting about the weather.
She strode in, fixing Elias with a glare. John smirked.
‘I know you just got made partner, but that doesn’t mean you can barge into my office without knocking Shaw,’ remarked John, tone amused.
Shaw fixed her glare on him.
‘I’m not here for you, I’m here for him.’
‘Me?’
‘Elias I’m drafting the contract with the new terms.’
Elias raised an eyebrow.
‘Is it not your job, Ms. Shaw, to work for me and my interests?’
‘Yes. The longer you draw this out the more you’re going to lose and shares in your company are already falling. You need this Elias. 5% is nothing: take the offer.’
‘5% is everything for me Ms. Shaw.’
‘It may well be. But right now it’s your best option before Dominic withdraws his offer entirely. Take the 5%. Get it back later. I hear he’s looking to expand his financial department.’
Elias looked at Reese for confirmation. John gave nothing away.
Finally, Elias nodded.
‘Okay Ms. Shaw: they say you’re the best.’
‘I am.’
‘Then I trust you. Go ahead with the deal.’
Elias stood and nodded farewell to John before shuffling past Shaw to oversea the final arrangements.
‘Well you certainly know how to charm. Do you want to have that meeting now?’
‘Not particularly.’
‘You’re going to want to. There’s a case I need you to take.’
‘Which one?’
‘The Groves one.’
Shaw was going to kill him.
‘No.’
‘Shaw.’
‘No fucking way Reese that thing’s been on your desk in a constant repeating cycle for almost as long as I’ve been here.’
‘2 years actually.’
‘Fine. 2 years. Doesn’t change anything. I’m not touching that thing. Get Carter to do it.’
‘Can’t.’
‘What, your fuck buddy not up to it?’
John ignored the jab. ‘Actually it’s because you were requested.’
‘Then tell them I say no.’
‘Finch insisted.’
‘I don’t care. That thing is sinkhole. A never-ending battle about god knows what because no one even knows anymore.’
‘You get full use of Zoe.’
‘Thrusting your other woman onto me? Is that meant to entice me?’
‘I’ll buy you that gun you wanted.’
‘Warmer.’
‘And let you walk Bear for the next 3 months.’
‘The duration of the case.’
‘Fine. The duration of the case.’
‘He stays at my place.’
‘Fine.’
‘And get Fusco to get me a steak.’
‘Deal.’
‘Give me the file.’
John handed Shaw a thick pile of paper before retreating behind his desk. Shaw ignored the speed with which he had agreed to all her terms, and flicked through the pages and trying not to dwell on the thickness of the file, before turning to leave.
‘The first meeting’s at 10 today,’ said John with a victorious smile.
Shaw grit her teeth and slammed the door behind her, stalking back towards the busy boardroom to close up with Elias.
By the time Shaw made it back to her office, Fusco was in the process of delivering her a warm steak for breakfast.
‘Do you know how hard it is to get a steak pre-9am?’
‘Yes. That’s why I got John to get you to get it for me Lionel. Now please leave my personal office.’
Fusco was already halfway out of the door, not wanting to stay longer than necessary. ‘John told me to tell you that the rest of the files for the Groves Cases are set out in Boardroom 2.’
Shaw wasn’t listening, too busy devouring her breakfast steak, but if she had been she might have said something about the plural involved in that sentence.
‘Don’t thank me or anything,’ muttered Fusco as he left the office.
Not two minutes later there was a knock on her door.
‘I’m busy,’ growled Shaw, not bothering to look up from her meal.
‘Ms. Shaw I fail to see how eating can be classified as ‘busy’’ chimed the scolding voice of Harold Finch from her doorway: senior partner, and technically Shaw’s boss. Not that she treated him with any modicum of respect.
‘Finch I’ve had a bad morning. What is it?’
‘Thank you for handling the Elias case.’ Shaw grunted, still largely focused on eating. ‘And I see you took the Groves case.’
Shaw swallowed her mouthful and looked up, fire in her eyes.
‘Yeah John heaped it on me. Why the hell did he move to Family anyway? Idiot.’
‘Because I needed someone to handle more…delicate situations Ms. Shaw: ones you are perhaps less suited for.’
‘Thanks Harold.’
‘Don’t talk it personally, Ms. Shaw.’
‘I’m not.’
After a short awkward pause, Finch watching Shaw shovel in mouthfuls of steak, Finch delicately addressed the issue before him.
‘I’m here to remind you of the importance of this client and-‘
‘I get it. Don’t piss them off, don’t lose my temper, don’t offend them, don’t go behind their back: the usual.’
‘Indeed though I’m afraid Ms. Groves can be quite a…handful.’
‘She never comes to the meetings anyway,’ dismissed Shaw, adamant she would never even see the woman that caused this firm infinite grief.
‘She has her ways Miss Shaw,’ warned Finch, a man speaking from experience. ‘Good luck.’
With that Finch left her alone. Shaw dismissed his melodramatics.
Finishing her steak, Shaw brushed herself off, intent on burying herself in the Groves case files before the meeting.
10:43am and still no sign of the client.
Shaw crushed her paper cup in frustration before chucking it in the nearest trashcan. She stood up and headed towards the boardroom exit, intent on using her time more productively, when two figures entered her line of sight as they rushed towards the room.
A man she recognized as Jason Greenfield, PA to CEO Samantha Groves - and the man who seemingly ran the company – was dragging behind him a woman who looked like she wanted to be here even less than Shaw.
Excellent.
‘Sorry we’re late. I understand your time is precious, but she didn’t wake up until about half an hour ago.’ Greenfield gestured despairingly at the woman behind him, who stood gazing at the floor and frowning like a petulant child.
‘Doesn’t matter. You’re footing the bill. Come in.’
Shaw led them into the spacious meeting room, watching as her guests sat down before seating herself at the head of the table.
‘And you are?’
She gestured to the woman who was now directly studying her with roving wide eyes, and who met Shaw’s gaze unflinchingly.
‘That’s Samantha Groves, our CEO,’ supplied Greenfield, clearly confused as to why Shaw would not recognize her own client.
Shaw raised an eyebrow but said nothing, breaking eye contact with Groves and returning her attention to Jason.
‘I’ve read through the case files we have and you have a lot of law suits.’
‘I’m afraid so. Our main rival, Samaritan Technologies has made things…complicated for us.’
‘Complicated seems to be an understatement.’
‘Yes. We’re here to fight off yet ano-‘
‘Aren’t you going to offer us coffee?’ chimed Samantha Groves, feet resting on the table. She leant back in the swivel chair, the back of it giving slightly and allowing her to partially recline as she gazed at her lawyer with what Shaw hoped wasn’t amusement because she had promised Finch she wouldn’t piss off the important clients, and unfortunately Samantha Groves fell into the file marked ‘Important.’ A fact, thought Shaw, crossing and uncrossing her legs underneath the table, which she would never, ever tell this woman.
Shaw focused her glare on the woman, body tense. Samantha Groves met the fierce look with amusement, eyebrow raised expectantly.
Finch said to play nice.
He also said the client was difficult.
‘Of course,’ Shaw plastered on a sickly sweet smile. ‘The coffee is just behind you.’
Groves pouted and Shaw’s face quickly lost its smile, challenging her to move. She did, sighing heavily as she spun around on the swivel chair and Shaw watched as the long, black skinny jeans clad legs of her client took two oversized strides to the small coffee machine in the corner of the room. Her client proceeded to make said coffee, in an obnoxiously loud manner.
Shaw’s grip clenched on her pen.
‘You want one?’ called the woman lightly, machine whirring away.
‘No, thank you. Ms. Shaw-‘
‘I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to my lawyer.’
‘No.’ Shaw was trying very, very hard to remember those breathing exercises she had tried to forget from that yoga class Carter and Zoe had tricked her into attending with them that one time. In, and out. In, and out.
Her client shrugged. ‘Suit yourself.’
‘You were saying, Mr. Greenfield.’
Greenfield sighed, having dealt with such antics far too much for one lifetime.
‘Yes. Well. Samaritan has brought yet another claim against us.’
‘Which is?’
‘He wants to merge,’ declared Groves, standing and sipping her coffee.
‘And this is a problem?’
‘Of course it’s a problem. My algorithm for the Interface is one of the most sought after in the world and, crucially, impossible to discover from outside the company. Greer’s pushing for a merger to get it.’
‘Then say no.’
‘We can’t Ms. Shaw,’ interjected Greenfield, ‘the majority of the board acts in interests of the government, and voted to go ahead with the it.’
‘So what do you need me for?’
‘I need you to make me a case against Greer,’ declared Groves.
‘You want me to…find a case?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’re paying me to get you into a long winded legal dispute?’
‘Absolutely.’
Shaw slammed her file shut and stood up.
‘Fine. I’ll see what I can do.’
Greenfield looked astonished. Samantha Groves smirked.
‘Just like that?’ inquired Greenfield.
‘Sure. You want it. As long as I get paid I don’t really care what you want no matter how idiotic I think it is. How long do I have?’
‘Not long.’
‘I’ll see you in the next few days.’
Jason stood up slowly, slightly disbelieving at how easy the whole process had been. Ms. Groves did not look so surprised.
‘Why wait?’ she sung, as she stood up, placing down her coffee and advancing on Shaw. ‘You’re going to need full disclosure.’
‘Ms. Groves…’ warned Jason.
She waved him off flippantly.
‘Tomorrow at a more agreeable time-3pm I think- I’ll come in and help.’
Shaw glared at the cheerful face. Reminded herself of her promise to Finch.
‘Fine. Tomorrow. Don’t be late.’
‘Call me Root,’ called the woman as strode out of the boardroom, winking at Shaw through the glass walls.
Shaw’s fist clenched.
She was going to kill John.
Jason and Root stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby, weaving their way between suited New Yorkers and out into the busy street. Root shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket as the two made their way to wherever it was Root wanted to go.
‘Well that went surprisingly well all things considered,’ remarked Greenfield.
‘What was her name?’
‘Sameen Shaw. One of the top corporate and commercial lawyers in New York; recently promoted to partner. I hired her after you said, and I quote, ‘that big lug couldn’t tell the difference between a contract and a chew toy.’ I believe you were referring to Mr. Reese.’
‘Sameen Shaw.’ Root tried the name on her tongue.
‘Root…’ warned Jason. He knew that tone. That look.
‘What?’
‘Just…don’t do anything rash. Or illegal. Again.’
‘It’s only illegal if someone finds out,’ she sung.
‘Root…’ sighed Jason. ‘Just… don’t do something stupid.’
‘Relax I know what I’m doing.’
‘Do you?’
Root grinned.
‘Absolutely not.’