I turned to go down the hall, holding my breath. Glancing to my left as I walked, I saw four guys standing around a pool table laughing. Finn’s eyes instantly caught mine, and his smile grew bigger when he saw it was me. I tried to look away, but couldn’t. Then he saw my father, and h
is expression dropped. I instantly missed those beautiful emerald eyes of his when he returned his attention to the guys.
We were trying to act like normal when we both knew damn well nothing about this was normal. The way he looked at me with that smile made my knees weak and my stomach flutter.
I continued to walk toward the door marked with my father’s name. Once inside, I let out the breath I had been holding.
“Take a seat, sweetheart.”
I sat, glanced around his office, and smiled. “It’s like I’m sitting in your other office. It looks the same, Dad.”
He chuckled and leaned against the windowsill. “I like consistency; you should know that by now.”
With a grin, I nodded. “You happy here, Dad?”
“I am. What about you? You happy with what you’re doing?”
Shrugging, I replied, “I think so.”
His brows lifted. “You think so?”
My stomach twisted in knots.
“I am…happy. I enjoy my job and what I do. It’s just—” Glancing down at the hands folded in my lap, I let out a gruff laugh. How could I tell me father I was tired of being a slave to my job—tired of fighting to find my place in a world I really never wanted to be a part of? “It’s nothing. Everything is great with me.”
He moved to the chair next to me and took my hand in his. “Rory, you’re saying one thing, but your eyes are speaking a different truth.”
Lifting my gaze to meet his, I forced a weak grin. “Sometimes I feel like I have to work a little bit more than other people to prove I deserve my job.”
“Because of your mother?”
“Yes. Everyone thinks I have it easy, even though I’ve taken on more cases since I started there than probably anyone else. Then you have Russell. The lead counsel on Robert’s case. He thinks I don’t know what I’m doing. It drives me insane.”
“I know it’s frustrating, honey. I’ve seen your mother go through the same thing. Hang in there—it gets better. You were born to be a lawyer.”
There was a brief moment when I wanted to tell him all the things I had heard people say about me, but I dropped it. I wanted to tell him I wasn’t so sure I was born to be a lawyer…that it was more like my parents had guided me there. “When you and Mom decided to start a family, how did Mom do it with the hours she works?”
He pulled his head back and grimaced. “Why?”
Shrugging, I replied, “I don’t know. I’m just trying to figure it out. With the way I’m working, I have no idea how I’m supposed to date, let alone think about a family.”
He frowned. “Are you seeing someone?”
Yes.
“No. But I wouldn’t mind having a life outside of being a lawyer.”
My father stood and rubbed the back of his neck like he was worried. “Well, this is coming out of left field, Rory. I thought you were dedicated to your career.”
I was positive my jaw was on the floor. “So you’re saying I can’t have a career and a social life?”
He chuckled. “That’s not what I’m saying, but do you really want that distraction now? You need to focus on your career and not worry about men.”
Great. Not only would he disapprove of Finn, he would disapprove of me dating in general.
Standing, I brushed off imaginary lint from my dress pants. “I better get back to work. Thanks for showing me your office. Next time a tour of the station. I love this old historical building.”
There was no hiding the fact that I was not going to have this conversation now.