Personal Jurisdiction Read Online Free PDF Page A

watched Ben laughing at something Kate said. Or was it Crystal? Whitney was not sure which one was which. Whitney glanced at her watch. 8:55. This day had been overwhelming, and she wanted to go home. It was too early to leave without raising a volley of protests and questions, though. She guzzled her second Miller Lite and ordered another one, ignoring the little voice telling her to slow down.

Chapter Four
     
    Four hours later, Whitney lost count of how many beers she had consumed. She only knew that after beer number three, she had been diligent about alternating each beer with a full glass of water. She winced when she thought about the bill. She was not sure where Elise had gone, and Jamie was several barstools down now, still talking to Lincoln. Whitney refused to look in Ben’s direction anymore—no use in pining over a crush she had had for a grand total of eight hours—and she was now chatting with an adorable guy wearing jeans and a t-shirt from some random band. Brown eyes and curly brown hair. Not quite blue eyes and brown hair like Ben, but close, and good-looking nonetheless. She had been warned law school was full of ugly men, but so far she was pretty happy with the eye candy here. His name was Alex. What was his last name again? Duff? Yes, that was right. Alex Duff. He was originally from Houston, but his parents had moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when he was seven years old. He was talking to Whitney about the foodie scene in New Mexico, and his description of the green chili cheeseburger at his favorite restaurant made Whitney’s mouth water. She had eaten dinner at home before she came to the bar, but that was several hours and beers ago. She was starving, but it was after 1 a.m. The kitchen was surely closed.
    Whitney finished the last sip of her current beer and eyed an array of chips and nuts displayed behind the bar. Alex took a big swig to finish off his beer as well.
    “Another Miller Lite?” he asked.
    “Just water.”
    “Oh, come on. Really?”
    “Really. I have a strict alternating rule. One drink, one water. Keeps me out of trouble. Mostly. I will take a bag of those pretzels, though, if you’re offering.”
    “Alright.” Alex flagged down the bartender and gestured to his glass. “I’ll take another of these. And a bag of pretzels and a top-shelf water on the rocks for the lady.”
    “That joke is so tired,” Whitney said. Alex shrugged.
    “Back in the day, I got many a laugh out of the ladies of UNM with that joke.”
    Whitney perked up. Well, as much as you can perk up when you’re on your fifth (sixth?) round of beer. “Wait, UNM? As in, University of New Mexico? You went to a state school? Am I in the presence of another commoner ?” Whitney laughed in a conspiratorial tone after she said this.
    “Depends on who’s asking,” said Alex. “Where did you go to school?”
    “University of Texas.”
    “Aha! So you’re one of those crazy, football obsessed Longhorns.”
    “I guess. I’m not as into football as I should be. I’m a bad Texan.”
    “Oh, well. There are worse flaws, I’m sure. UT is a great school.”
    “Yeah, well, have you noticed that everyone here seems to have gone to a legit Ivy League? Every person I met today told me they went to Harvard, or Princeton, or Yale, and then looked at me like an alien when I said I went to UT.”
    “Eh, it’s all in your head. I mean, yes, a large percentage of people here went to Ivy League schools. But not everyone. And I’m sure they care much less than you think they do about where you went to school.”
    Whitney shrugged. She had a good education, but compared with almost everyone else she had met today, she felt small. Like a child trying to make it in a grown-up world. During the Dean’s speech earlier, she had felt ready to take on the world, proud that she was one of Northwestern Law’s future lawyers. But now she worried about whether she could make it among the elite. Everyone seemed so smart and