“Leah would argue with you on that. She says I work too hard, too much.”
Brandon released her and went to retrieve the snow tube. “I say that about Travis all the time.”
“But does he truly love what he does? Like truly, passionately love it?” Isabelle asked.
He considered the question. “I don’t know. I know I didn’t.”
“I do. I mean, seriously, I have the best job in the world. I get to read all the time. I get first look at all kinds of fabulous books and get to work with some of the most creative minds in the field. If I work all the time, it’s because I enjoy it.” Brandon could see the truth of it glinting in her eyes, in the animated gestures of her hands as she spoke.
“That is a great and powerful gift, something that most people never get. Most folks end up working something just for a paycheck, not because it’s their passion.”
“Is that why you’re an ex?” she asked.
“What?”
“Earlier, you said you were an ex-l
awyer.”
“Oh, well, that’s a story.”
“I’ve got time,” said Isabelle. She looked at the flat expanse of snow in front of them. “I don’t have a lot of experience at this, but I’m guessing we’ll have to walk a bit before we get to enough incline to get going again.”
Brandon tipped his head in acknowledgment and began to pick his way back toward the slope. “I figured I’d be a great lawyer,” he began. Because she was close and he wanted to keep her there, he grabbed her hand with his free one and swung it companionably between them. “I’ve got a competitive streak a mile wide—Travis will tell you. We’ve been one-upping each other since high school. And as you already know, I’m naturally persuasive.”
“Oh, obviously,” she said, smirking.
“Travis and I went through together, and I did great in school. School’s just another competition to get to the top. And I always wanted to be at the top. Then I got out.”
“Rude awakening?” She said it with the kind of rueful smile that suggested she’d had one of her own.
“You could say that.”
“Did you find out you were actually a little fish in a really big ocean?”
“No, though I guess there was some of that. I was…disillusioned. The law isn’t about truth or justice, and it’s not even about what’s right. Turns out I care a lot more about those things than winning. It’s a broken system, and certainly it’s better than nothing, but it isn’t what I wanted—what I needed it to be, and I didn’t like who it made me. So I got out. Travis went on to pursue partnership in a prestigious firm, and I struck out on my own in a totally new field.”
“Do you like graphic design?”
“I do,” he said. “I kind of fell into it. I’ve always been something of a tech geek. I love playing with new software. When I found myself at loose ends, a friend asked me to design some stuff for her new business. She loved the concepts I had and recommended me to someone else, and it kind of went down the chain until it just made sense to formalize it. I like the freedom and creativity of it, and the fact that apart from making the client happy, there’s no right or wrong, no value judgment.”
“Do you miss the competition?”
“Oh there’s still competition. Awards to be won, accounts to bid on… And there are plenty of other pluses.”
“Such as?”
“There’s no dress code and the schedule is pretty awesome.”
“Sounds like a win on all counts.”
“That awesome schedule meant I was here to hang out with you, so I’d say yes, definite win.”
“Even though you wanted to hang out with Travis?”
“I think Fate is a helluva lot smarter than I am,” he said.
Isabelle laughed. “You are a charmer.”