David got the dog, and he also got Rochelle, though the two had been in secret talks for a month. He would never consider hiring her away from the firm, but suddenly she was a free agent. With a higher salary and more benefits, she was given the title of office manager and happily moved into the new digs of David E. Zinc, Attorney-at-Law.
The new firm specialized in product liability law. When David settled two more lead-poisoning cases, it was clear to him and Rochelle and their expanding staff that the practice was about to become quite lucrative.
Most of his work was in federal court, and as business boomed, he found himself downtown more and more. When possible, he stopped by Abner’s for a laugh and a quick lunch—a sandwich and a diet soda. On two occasions he had a Pearl Harbor with Miss Spence, who, though pushing ninety-seven, still knocked back three of the syrupy concoctions every day. David could choke down only one, and afterward he took the train back to the office and enjoyed a nap on his new sofa.