Page 31 of The Scent of Happiness

“You’re fighting a loser case that’s going to make you look bad in front of the partners and you’re not getting laid. There is no upside here.”

“Who said anything about getting laid? You’re the one who brought that up.”

“I’m just saying, you can’t date a client.”

“I’m not.” Theo huddled in his jacket against the wind. Wasn’t it time to go back inside? Get back to work? Smoke breaks weren’t supposed to last this long.

But Stephen stood in front of the door, pulled a second cigarette from the pack and lit it, then used it as a pointer as he spoke. “This comes up every day. Every damn day. You go to a party, someone asks you for legal advice. You go to your kid’s soccer game, the other parents want a little free consult on the side. Guy next door says hello when you’re mowing your lawn, but he’s not being neighborly. He’s got a problem, see? A little problem. Can you help him out? And you’re a nice guy. You want to help. So you do. Then these idiots take half your advice, ignore the rest, and blame you for the results.”

Theo nodded. This came with the territory, didn’t it?

Stephen gestured with his cigarette again. “But the worst—the absolute worst—is trying to sleep with a client.”

Theo started to interject but Stephen’s words rolled right over him. So he closed his mouth and listened.

“You think you’ll be objective in that situation. You think you’ll be above it all. You won’t. You can’t. You’re human, aren’t you? Only human. You’re going to screw up the case, screw up your career, and open yourself to a legal malpractice suit. And if an ex-husband gets wind of what you’re doing, you’re completely screwed.”

Stephen’s gaze was far away, and Theo had a bad feeling that he was no longer giving advice. He was reliving something.

“I understand,” Theo said.

“It’s not worth the risk.”

“Thanks for the counsel,” Theo said. “Not a risk I was planning on taking, but thank you.”

Stephen seemed to come back to the present. He looked down at the cigarette in his fingers as if just noticing it was there. “Ah hell, that was supposed to be for tomorrow.”

“Maybe you needed it today.”

Stephen dropped the butt and ground it out. “I shouldn’t have gone off like that.”

“Don’t worry about it. Doesn’t hurt to hear it again.” They’d learned this in law school and every day since. Personal feelings were fine for other jobs, but not for legal work. Here, you put your feelings aside. Theo had never let it be a problem before and wouldn’t now.

“So this soapmaker. This client. Have you signed a contract yet?”

“That’s what I’m out here asking you about,” Theo said. “You didn’t answer my emails.”

“Hold on.” Stephen took his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through emails until he found Theo’s. He winced at it, giving his head a tiny shake. “Don’t do it.”

“What if I already have?” He’d given his word. That was as good as a contract.

Stephen gestured with his phone. “Mr. Blue isn’t going to like this. Neither will Walker or Zhang. The only way you can do this—I mean the only way—is if you do it on your own time, which will make it look worse.”

“How is that worse?” Law firms thought they owned their associates, but this was ridiculous.

“It shows poor judgement,” Stephen said. “Like you don’t know what your time is worth.”

“It’s my time.”

“I’ve got no problem with it,” Stephen said. “But I’m only one voice. I don’t know how Mr. Blue and the others will react.”

“But you can guess.”

Stephen regarded him with something like pity. “Maybe we should keep this between us.”

Theo took a step to the side, then another. His stomach felt like there was a rock in it. Stephen was right. You didn’t make partner by giving away your labor.

He hated that Stephen was right.