"Like, I see your shoes and I think 'Those are very sensible,' and that's awesome for you. But I can't date a hot guy like Doug if I stick to just sensible shoes, you know?"
They both looked over at Doug, who was laughing it up with a bunch of other lawyers. Ashley was staring with a look of awe on her face, Lucy with a look of indifference. Doug looked good, sure, but good in a lawyer way. The tailored suit, the expensive Rolex, the hair perfect due to the excessive amount of product he used in it. She would bet he probably went to that trendy new men's salon downtown to have his chest waxed. Maybe it was because Lucy had been around lawyer-types like that for a long time or maybe it was because Ryan was much more of a raw man with a rough edge. Either way, Doug and the lawyers like him were not her type. The hockey player who lived next door to her best friend was.
Drew, another lawyer from the firm they had partnered with, sat down across from the two women with what looked like a gin and tonic in his hand.
"Hey, ladies. What's the gossip over here?"
Ashley turned and smiled. "We were talking about shoes."
"Yes, we were."
"Don't you think Lucy would look gorgeous in a pair of red stilettos?"
Drew raised his eyebrows in surprise and turned to give Lucy a smile. "I think she would," he said.
"Hey, I need another drink," Ashley announced. "Do you guys need anything?"
"I'm good," Lucy said as Drew shook his head no.
"OK, well then, I'll be back!" Ashley said cheerfully. Then she leaned over and whispered in Lucy's ear, "I promise not to come back for awhile."
She gave Lucy a knowing smile, proudly walking away believing she was somehow helping along a love connection between Lucy and Drew or something. But there was no way of that happening. Lucy had known Drew for two years now. They had worked on cases together. He was a nice guy, but there were definitely no sparks there.
"So I say I won't talk shop at these things, but how did the John Martin case go?" Drew asked.
Lucy gave him a polite smile and started talking about the final days of the case and how they were able to wrap everything up and get it handled. Pretty much all the lawyers there knew she had represented Sydney, who cooperated with authorities to track down all of John's misdeeds. They knew it was a tricky case because her boss, Bill, was defending John. Several people had already complimented her on how professional the law firm had been with all of that. Drew even seemed interested in the legal minefield and the loose ends that were tied up and how Lucy had been able to pull it all together.
"So I heard your friend is now doing forensic accounting," Drew said.
"Yeah, and she's had some great success with it so far."
Lucy smiled, thinking about how Sydney went through that dark spell, got back on her feet and found a way to use her talents for good. She was freelancing for the most part, but Lucy was always willing to give her information out to a lawyer who needed someone to look over paperwork for a divorce or a prenup or contested will.
"Do you think she could handle an embezzlement case?" Drew asked. "We have a charity that may have had some of its funds stolen by the treasurer and they're trying to track down where the money went."
"Oh, she could totally do that."
"Great, great." Drew smiled at her. "Could you email me her info?"
Lucy reached for the phone in her purse on the table. "I'll make a note of it and get that to you on Monday morning."
"That would be excellent, thank you."
She started typing out a reminder in her calendar when Drew spoke again.
"And maybe you could send me your phone number too."
Lucy's fingers paused before she quietly tried to recover and enter the note into her phone.
"For what?" she asked.
But she knew exactly what he was asking. This always happened at dinners like this when she didn't have a date with her. Lawyers apparently don't get out much socially aside from lawyer events.
"Dinner, maybe? I heard there's a great new Greek place downtown."
Lucy put her phone down to see Drew giving her one of those charming lawyer smiles. He was more than just some random "nice guy," but she didn't date lawyers for a reason. And thankfully, this time she had an excuse.
"That's flattering, but I'm actually seeing someone."
