I jabbed a finger toward the law firm's seal hanging on the wall.
"You moron! Fighting tooth and nail for your client is literally your job!"
Amber burst into tears.
"Sue, I've never been in court before… I was so nervous I couldn't think straight!"
Ever since she joined our firm, Amber's been pulling this same routine. She plays up the "brilliant new talent" angle so people hand her major cases—way over her head. Then she crashes and burns and turns on the waterworks to escape the fallout.
But this wasn't some slap-on-the-wrist corporate dispute. A man's future was on the line.
"Tommy, I—"
"Shut. Up."
I shot him a look that could melt steel.
"If you can't handle the heat, get out of the damn kitchen. Weren't you the one boasting about this case last week? Now you can't even form a complete sentence?"
I turned back to Amber, my voice sharp enough to cut glass.
"What's your plan, Amber? You gonna serve his prison time when this goes south?"
Dave, my mentor, stepped between us, his tone placating.
"Sue, come on. It's her first trial. She got stage fright."
"You stay out of this, Dave."
The words came out cold. I'd never snapped at him like that before. He actually flinched.
"Why are you making this dramatic?" I said, my voice dripping with scorn. "She had a meltdown in open court. It was a circus. And you're making excuses?"
"If I hadn't jumped in, our client would be on a fast track to a conviction. Instead of holding her accountable, you're coming after me?"
I locked eyes with Dave, not backing down.
"What's it gonna take? An innocent man in prison for you to see how serious this is?"
He took a step toward me. "Sue…"
I didn't let him finish. I grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the wall.
"Look at that seal. Do you even remember the oath we took? The promise we made to uphold the law? To protect people?"
My voice shook, but I didn't care.
"Can you honestly stand there and defend what she did?"
Tommy and Dave exchanged uneasy glances, but neither moved away from Amber. They were still shielding her.
I was seething.
"Enough with the 'first time' nonsense. If she's such a genius, why did she fall apart? You've all lost your minds. Have you forgotten why we're here?"
My gaze landed on Amber, now clinging to Tommy's arm like a scared child.
"This isn't over. I am not accepting excuses. Defend her again, and you're dead to me."