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“Okay, okay. Just…get it done. And get over to Harrison’s.”

“Yes, sir,” I say, smothering my sigh.

It explodes out of me when I hang up. Which is when I look up and find Charli watching me.

Embarrassment heats my skin. She shouldn’t have heard any of that.

“Sorry,” I mumble. “It’s been…a day.”

She’s studying me in a way that I can’t make out what she’s thinking. I wish I could get a read on her. What is she thinking?

“Isn’t this a normal day for you?” she asks, giving away none of her thoughts.

Because it’s Charli, I decide on honesty. “Not completely, but it’s not far off.” I fidget with my cufflinks. “The chaotic periods like this are pretty normal.”

She’s been working on this case for about a month, so it’s hardly the first time we’ve talked about the reality of my job, but it’s the first time we’ve had a genuine conversation since we moved past the standard so how did you get into this line of work? questions. Now, Charli’s opinion of my job weighs a little more than it used to.

Her eyebrow lifts, giving me her first real reaction. And it doesn’t look like a good one.

“So pulling security tapes to prove intoxication to get out of a verbal contract is normal for you?” She doesn’t sound judgmental, but…

I swallow past my shame and mumble, “He’s one of the partners’ old friends.”

When that eyebrow arches higher, I let out a heavy exhale. “Okay, fine. It’s a shitty case. And no, it’s not my normal.”

“I know what your background says, but what would you say is your normal?” she asks simply.

I think over my case history and the types of calls I get from the partners. I think about the type of law I spend the majority of my time on. It’s all contract law, but what kind of contracts do I work on?

“I do a lot of M&A’s,” I tell Charli. “Your case isn’t unusual.”

“But my client is,” she says. Not a question.

I nod stiffly. “Yes, your client isn’t my usual.”

Usually, my clients make ten times more money and the mergers and acquisitions are to make even more than that. Not to ensure the company is being sold for the morally right fit.

I don’t say that part out loud, but I wonder if Charli can read it anyway.

“Do you like those cases?” she asks, her curiosity genuine.

That question, I don’t need to think about. “Yeah. I like being a lawyer. I like reading through contracts to find loopholes. I like reading case law. I’ve never questioned my desire to be a lawyer.”

Charli asks the unspoken part of that statement before I can try to gloss over it. “What have you questioned?”

I’m back to fidgeting, wanting to give her an honest answer but also being terrified of it.

Before I can speak, Charli sighs. “Lucas, do you like your job?”

I force myself to meet her eyes. And I nod. Because…the job, I like.

It’s just the company I’m starting to question.

Another sigh, this one with a tinge of disappointment. “Fine. Keep your secrets. It’s just…I don’t know. You seem a little miserable.”

I snort at that. “You sound like Nico.”

“Well, Nico sounds pretty smart.”