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“I’ll have some of that, too,” he says, and the bartender nods. “I hope you’ve had a good evening, Emma.”
“I have, Finn.” I smile and he smiles back, but then I can’t think of anything else to say. He’s quiet for a moment, too, and I feel the earlier awkwardness creep back between us.
“So tell me,” Finn says, breaking the silence. “How have your first few days been?”
“I’ve really enjoyed them,” I say, and he chuckles.
“You’re not just saying that because I’m one of your bosses, are you?”
“No,” I shake my head. “I mean it. This job –” I pause, not sure how honest to be. But he’s staring at me with those piercing gray eyes, and that makes me want to continue. “It feels like I’m in the right place, finally.”
“Were you in the wrong place before?”
“I think so, yeah,” I say, choosing my words carefully. “This is my first real job, you know?”
“I did know that. I also know that you graduated from law school near the top of your class and should have had your pick of jobs to choose from.”
I blush at his praise, and assumption. “I appreciate you saying that. But every interview I would go into, I could tell pretty much from the beginning that the firm wouldn’t be a good fit for me.”
“How so?”
“Too many of the firms I interviewed at seemed to run on arrogance, confidence, and connections. Not on talent or hard work or having an open mind,” I say and he nods. “I believe in working hard and treating people well because of who they are, not who they know or what they might be able to do for me.”
“Those are admirable qualities,” Finn says. “Although not often easy to find in this city’s legal world. Or any city’s legal world, for that matter.”
“I was getting pretty discouraged before I had my interview at Devil’s Advocate,” I admit. “But the story of how Damien started the firm with nothing, and how he built it up with the assistance of you and Luc, that made me know this firm was different. I felt like I could make a difference here.”
“I think you can,” Finn says, running his finger through the condensation that’s formed on his glass. “That’s what we want from everyone that works with us. To be passionate about making a positive difference in the world.”
I nod. “Those aren’t just words to me, Finn. They mean something. They mean everything.”
“To me, too,” he says softly. “They haven’t always, I have to admit. But more and more recently, I’ve had to reckon with the kind of attorney I want to be. The kind of demon. And so those words mean a lot to me, too.”
Finn takes a long swallow of water and shakes his head, smiling. “Look at us, getting all deep over here!”
I glance around the bar and see that everyone else from the office has left. “I think that’s what happens when you’re the last ones at the party.”
Finn looks around, too. “Wow, I didn’t even notice that everyone had left. Am I keeping you?” he asks. “Do you need to go home?”
I shake my head. “I should be tired, but I’m enjoying talking with you.”
“Me, too,” he says with a smile. “But I do have a very serious question to ask you.”
“Okay,” I say hesitantly. Did I just share too much? Was I too earnest, too naïve? Is he going to very seriously ask me what the hell I’m thinking, opening up this much to him?
But Finn’s smile grows even wider. “Thin crust or thick crust?”
“What?”
“Your pizza preference!” he says enthusiastically, and I laugh. “You’re living in Chicago now. You have to have a preference.”
“Thick crust, all the way,” I say.
“Right answer!” he says, holding up his hand for me to slap. “You’re going to do great here, I can already tell.”
I high-five Finn, laughing. And I realize that, sometime over the course of this evening, Finn’s charm hides his heart, a heart that I’m starting to unravel. And I also realize that my fears of being misled by him have given way to wondering if, at last, I’ve found someone who might understand my own heart.
8
