Russell shrugged. “I’m simply telling you what I heard. Maybe he didn’t like you talking to him. Who knows. Hey do you want that last piece?”
My eyes drifted down to the slice of pizza. I shook my head. “No. Have at it.”
The way my heart was aching left me confused. Or maybe I was confused at the idea of my father talking like that about one of his guys. I knew for a fact that most single firefighters had healthy dating lives. That never had my father commenting before, so why would he now?
“Rory? Hey, you in there?” Russell snapped his fingers in front of my face.
“Jesus, sorry. I was thinking about…about um…the case.”
“Yeah. Something’s not adding up right. This kid seems like an all-around good guy. Catholic schools growing up. Volunteers once a week. But then again, looks can be deceiving.”
Leaning back against the booth, I sighed. “I think I’m going to go down to the station and talk to his coworkers. If anyone knows him, they will.”
Russell laughed. “Listen, Rory, I know you’re fired up about this case and you have something to prove, but follow my lead on this one. There’s a reason I’m up for junior partner.”
Oh. No. He. Did. Not.
I tilted my head and took Russell in. “Are you worried I’m going to step on your toes, Russell? I thought we working on this together.”
“We are. But I’m lead attorney on this one, and to be honest, people are watching how I handle this case. If I was to let you walk into a fire station all alone, what would your mother or the other partners think? I mean after all, this is a sexual assault case against a firefighter.”
My brow lifted. “So that makes all of them guilty? Besides, are we condemning our client before we have all the facts? I thought we were on his side.”
“Don’t be daft, Rory. I’m saying for your own safety, it’s best if we go together. You can watch how I interview them.”
Now my blood was boiling. “I don’t mean to sound like a bitch, Russell, but we’re going to go ahead and get this all out in the open right now. This is not my first case. I’ve worked my ass off the last year taking on the shit cases other people like yourself felt too good to take on. I’ve won every single one of them. Maybe they weren’t huge-profile cases, but I won them nonetheless. I’m damn good at what I do, and I certainly don’t need you to show me how to do my job. The senior partners thought I was ready to jump on and work the Boston Fire Fighters union, and so do I. I certainly will not sit back and let you make me feel like I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Tossing my napkin onto the table, I grabbed my wallet and threw out some money. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll head home.”
I slid out of the booth, and Russell grabbed me by the arm. “Wait. Rory, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come off like you didn’t know what you’re doing. It’s just, this case is very important for my career.”
“And you don’t think it is for mine as well?”
He laughed. “Rory, let’s be honest. Your mother is the boss. I think your career is set.”
Jerking my arm from his hand, I shook my head. “For someone who thinks I hold such an important role, you certainly seem to have no problem insulting me left and right.”
Russell took a step back, his expression horrified.
“Seriously…I can’t even believe you right now, Russell. I’m no different in my mother’s eyes from the next person. If you think I have it easy, then you’ve been living with your eyes closed the last year or so. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going home to read over the files I didn’t get to earlier. Have a good evening.”
Spinning on my heels, I headed toward my condo. I didn’t live that far away, and the walk in the cool fall air would do me good.
“Rory. Rory wait. I’m really sorry.”
“Good night, Russell.”
—
As soon as I got inside my apartment, I kicked off my heels and leaned back against the front door, not sure if I was upset or really pissed. Slowly, a smile spread over my face. If Russell thought he could do better than me tomorrow, I’d stand back and let him have it.
I pushed off the door and headed to the bathroom, where I stripped out of my clothes, stepped into the hot shower, and let the stress of the day slide off my body like the water.
Russell’s words replayed in my mind. I couldn’t believe that even he thought I had it easy. I was never going to be able to prove myself to anyone in that firm. No matter how hard I worked or how many cases I won, there would always be doubt about if I’d earned my way or not.
I took in a deep breath to clear my head. The smell of the lavender scrub calmed me as I ran my hands over my body.
Closing my eyes, I saw Finn’s smile. With a slight moan, my hand slipped between my legs. One brush across my clit had me gasping.