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I can’t read anything in her eyes as she admits, “Jury’s still out.”

As a lawyer and a litigator, I’ve had my ethics tested and questioned plenty of times. But none of those moments have ever felt as big as this one.

I want Charli to approve of the person I am.

I clear my throat and manage to get out, “So should I expect more breaches of privacy?”

“No,” she hurries to say. “No, of course not. I didn’t even look that deep; it was essentially just a background check on your cases and—” She squeezes her eyes shut. “Sorry. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

I huff a laugh to let her know she’s off the hook. “Alright, Charli. Take your Wi-Fi password and go.”

I’ve already turned back to my laptop when I hear her ask, “Are you watching The Matrix?”

I nod, glancing up at the TV. “Yup. It’s my favorite type of background noise.”

She snorts. “The Matrix as background noise? That should be blasphemy. This is one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever written.”

“Thank you!” I nearly shout, gesturing at the TV. “In thirty plus years, I’ve never been able to convince my brothers of that fact.”

I feel Charli step up to the couch and brace her hands on the back of her. “What’s their argument? What’s better?”

“The Terminator.”

“Ridiculous,” she scoffs. “I mean, they’re great movies, don’t get me wrong, but they don’t compare to The Matrix.”

We both watch the opening action scene in wide-eyed amazement. “God, she’s so cool,” Charli says with a sigh, bracing her forearms on the couch now. “I wanted to be her so bad when I was a kid.”

I wait until the action has ended before asking, “If you could download any skill into your brain, what would it be?”

“I’m not just saying this because of the movie, but…fighting. Martial arts.”

I perk up as I turn my face toward her. “Yeah? No one ever taught you how to fight? That’s surprising.”

She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “I would be a menace if I knew how to fight. I’m already too mean with my words.”

“Tell me about it,” I mumble. When she playfully shoves my shoulder, I grin up at her.

“You know, I could teach you how to fight,” I offer casually.

She quirks an eyebrow. “You know how to fight?”

“What, your background search on me didn’t reveal that tidbit?”

Frowning, she turns to lean her hip against the couch and give me her full attention. “No, it didn’t. Why do you know how to fight? And are we talking bar brawls or martial arts?”

“Martial arts. MMA, specifically.” I close my laptop and shift sideways to bring one leg up on the couch so I’m completely facing her. “My brother fought in the UFC. He only recently retired. But I’ve trained plenty with him over the years.”

Charli’s eyes go wide. “That’s so cool.”

I nod. It’s insanely cool. I love bragging about Nico.

“So, if you want, I can teach you some stuff,” I offer again, grasping at any straw to keep her here, with me, in this conversation.

She lets out a heavy exhale, her eyes drifting back to the TV. “Tempting. Maybe another time.”

When she watches silently for another few minutes, I finally let myself suggest, “You know, you can sit down, if you want.”

“No, that’s okay, I— Ugh, this movie is so good.” She’s moving around the couch to sit before she can deny herself any longer. I watch with amusement as she leans forward, elbows on her thighs, completely invested in the movie.