Icebreaker (25 page)

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Authors: Deirdre Martin

Tags: #Women lawyers, #Contemporary, #Legal, #General, #Romance, #Hockey players, #Fiction

BOOK: Icebreaker
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“Shit,” Sinead repeated.
She was composed by the time Adam reached the table, even though her emotions were running as wild as undisciplined children. Coincidence he was here? Here to see her? Here just to have a couple of drinks at the bar?
“Hey,” he said. His trademark greeting.
“Hello,” said Sinead, reaching for her martini. Her throat had suddenly become parched.
He extended his hand to Maggie. “You must be Maggie. I’m Adam.”
“I know you are.”
Sinead gave her a pointed look.
“Nice to meet you,” Adam said.
Maggie smiled tersely. “Nice to meet you, too.”
Adam turned his intense gaze back to Sinead. “I was wondering if we could talk.”
Sinead squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. “Well, right now I’m having dinner with my sister—”
“No, no, you should talk now,” Maggie insisted. “Get it over with.”
Sinead glared at her sister. She couldn’t believe she’d said that. No, actually, she could. She just wished she hadn’t.
Adam looked uneasy. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” said Maggie with a smile so sweet it could kill. “I need to talk to my parents about something anyhow.”
Sinead wanted to sock her. “Tell Mom to hold my dinner. I’ll have it in a little while.”
“Right, then.” Maggie turned to Adam. “It’s so nice to finally be able to put a face to your name,” she purred sarcastically. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Adam sat down in the booth opposite Sinead.
“How can I help you?” Sinead asked as if she were talking to a client—which she was.
The formality seemed to throw Adam for a moment, which puzzled Sinead. He’d appeared unexpectedly. Did he think she’d be convivial?
“I assume this is about the case?”
Adam smiled slyly. “In a way.”
Sinead’s heart battered against her ribs. “Explain.”
Adam rolled the beer bottle between his palms. “First, I want to apologize for calling you gutless. I was talking out my ass.”
“An apology from Adam Perry. I believe this is historic.”
“I’m serious, Sinead,” he replied, seeming distressed that she might not be taking him seriously.
“I know you are,” she assured him. “And I appreciate it. Apology accepted.”
Adam blew out a long breath of relief that segued into a shamed expression.
“I gave no thought to how hard you have worked to get where you are, or what you need to do to make sure nothing jeopardizes that. I reacted viscerally; the only thing my brain latched onto was that you wanted to split up with me, and once that got lodged there ...” He shook his head, looking embarrassed.
“But I’d explained to you it would only be temporary,” Sinead reminded him quietly.
“I know. But I was on my high horse and couldn’t get down. Now I realize that the professional worlds we move in are very different. Mine is black and white, and yours is anything but.”
“That’s exactly right.”
“That’s probably the most eloquent I’ve ever been outside a locker room,” Adam said self-deprecatingly.
Sinead smiled. “I’m honored to be the recipient.” She suddenly felt shy. “So—?”
Adam’s gaze was unblinking as he regarded her across the table. “I think I’ve figured out a way for us to be together without jeopardizing things for you.”
“What’s that?” Sinead asked cautiously.
Adam leaned across the table toward her. “We’re going to get together frequently to discuss my case, and if that leads to something else, well, it’s technically not dating, right? It’s just hooking up.”
“But that’s what all the men in the firm do. They just hook up.”
“But you’re not really just hooking up. You’re having a relationship with me.”
“So, basically, I’m lying.”
“I suppose.”
“You suppose?”
“C’mon, Sinead, it’s perfect. Do you know how long it took my Neanderthal brain to come up with that?”
“Hours.”
“Days.”
“Not
technically
dating . . .” Sinead mused. “You should have been a lawyer, you know that?”
Adam grinned. “I’ll admit, I am pretty proud of it.” His gaze was intense yet hopeful. “What do you say?”
Sinead surprised herself. “I have to think about it. It’s not that I don’t want to get back with you,” she assured him. “I just need time to go over it all in my mind. Explore all the angles. Make sure I’m not compromising myself.”
“Spoken like a true attorney,” Adam said unenthusiastically.
A great tenderness for him swept over Sinead. “You understand, don’t you?”
“I guess I have to.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound snide.”
“You didn’t. Just disappointed.”
“I am.”
“A few days. That’s all I ask.”
“Fair enough.”
He paused, his face more open and vulnerable than Sinead had ever seen it. “I don’t want to lose you, Sinead.”
Overcome with emotion, Sinead looked down at her hands. Even her ex had never said that to her.
I don’t want to lose you
,
either,
she thought.
But I need to make sure I examine the ramifications
.
Sinead lifted her head to gaze back at him. “A few days,” she repeated quietly. “That’s all I need.”
“You’re right. The
guy’s totally devious. He should be a litigator.”
Sinead tried to ignore the harrowing sight of Oliver in his bright red boxers, white undershirt, and black socks as she chatted with him on his couch. He’d called in to the office that morning to say he was “working at home”—a euphemism for
hung over
. He’d been “working at home” a lot lately. Sinead decided she’d pay him a lunchtime visit.
She’d never been to Oliver’s apartment, but it was exactly the way she’d always imagined it would be: an unholy mess. Being a neat freak, the mess and clutter actually made her itchy. If she could hire a team of Merry Maids to clean it, she would, but she knew Oliver would be insulted. She could hear his voice in her head:
This is how I roll, baby doll
. There was no way he brought his conquests back here; his seductive prowess
had
to take place at their abodes.
Oliver made a sour face as he chugged down a cup of coffee as thick as motor oil. “What’s your hesitation?”
“I don’t know,” Sinead lamented. “It’s just not sitting right with me.”
“It’s not like you’re going to be stupidly blatant, right? ‘Oh, yeah, here I am out to dinner holding hands with my client.’ Your whole relationship will be entirely private. And before you say anything about how it makes you just as slutty as the mighty men of Kaplan, Epps, and Callahan, allow me to point out to you that you’ll be having a
relationship
with this guy, not just
relations
.”
“But we’ll be sneaking around. Kind of. And if the partners find out—”
“It’s all bullshit, Sinead,” Oliver said vehemently. “You could threaten to sue them for gender bias, you know. Just the mention of that to the outside world would dry up half the firm’s billings. I think Adam’s idea is great. Shit. Why didn’t I think of that? It’s airtight, dude-ess.”
“Is it? It’s splitting hairs. It’s a loophole.”
Oliver ran his hands over his unshaved face in frustration. “Sinead? You’re an attorney. You’re well acquainted with loopholes. You love loopholes. As the old song goes, loopholes are a girl’s best friend.” Oliver’s eyes hooded. “And think about how much fun it will be, meeting for dinner and then leaving separately, only to clandestinely hook up later for some love squeezins.”
“You’re right.”
“Of course I am. I just described my whole social life. Stick with me, kiddo. I’m always right.”
“Not always.”
Oliver lifted a bushy eyebrow. “Pardon
moi
?”
She had to be delicate. “You were right when you told me you were the firm’s top litigator. But it’s starting not to matter anymore.” She winced. “Jeff commented to me recently about how you’ve been racking up the sick days and working at home a lot. That’s not good.”
Oliver heaved a long-suffering sigh. “As long as I deliver—”
“They’re going to fire you if you don’t cut back on your drinking and carousing,” she cut in. “They asked me to persuade you to tone it down.”
“Pshaw! They would never fire me.”
“Jeff wasn’t kidding, Oliver,” Sinead admonished worriedly. How could he not take this seriously?
“Did he use the
A
word?” Oliver smirked.
“Which one? Alcoholic or asshole?”
“Alcoholic.”
Pain began to throb in her chest. “You are, Oliver,” she said quietly. “You might be a functional alcoholic, but you still are one. You drink every day.”
“Wow,” Oliver mocked. “Listen to you. When did you switch sides?”
“It’s got nothing to do with switching sides,” Sinead said vehemently. “It’s got to do with honesty. I love you, and I don’t want to see you destroy your career. It’s not charming anymore, the rumpled, hungover attorney barely making it to court on time but still able to kick ass when the pressure’s on. I think you need help.” She hesitated. “Jeff said that if you wanted to go into rehab, the firm would be willing to pay for it.”
“Fuck Jeff, and fuck you,” Oliver snarled. “I’ve been nothing but a friend to you, and this is how you thank me? By stabbing me in the back?”
“Oliver, please try to listen to me,” Sinead pleaded. “You know I wouldn’t be saying any of this if it didn’t worry me.”
“Did you at least try to defend me to Jeff?” Oliver sneered. “Or did you kiss his ass the way you’ve been doing since the first day you started working there?”
“Fuck you, Oliver,”
Sinead snapped.
“No, fuck you.”
Sinead stood up shakily. “Let’s talk tomorrow when you’re not hungover and irrational.”
“No point. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got
work
to do.”
“Right.” Sinead was on her way to the door when she abruptly turned around, unable to help herself. “Just think about what I said.
Please
.”
“Please shut up and get out. We’ve got nothing to say to each other.”
Sinead left the apartment, quietly closing the door behind her. She stood in the hallway a few minutes, breathing deeply until the nausea threatening to overtake her passed. She’d never been good at fighting outside the court-room. In fact, she hated it. But she couldn’t keep her mouth shut any longer. She loved Oliver; he was her best friend. And if he couldn’t bear hearing the truth, then there was nothing she could do about it, which killed her. She got in the elevator, rode down to the lobby, and with a heavy heart, went back to the office.
23
Depressed from her
encounter with Oliver earlier in the day, Sinead was glad when she found a minute to call Adam. At least one positive thing had come from visiting her friend, or former friend, or whatever he was: she was now willing to stop worrying about loopholes and splitting hairs, and let herself be with Adam. Even though they’d mended things the night before, he sounded glad to hear from her, as if they hadn’t talked in a long time. Sinead hoped his buoyant mood wasn’t the result of how well the Blades seemed to be playing. Maybe a little of it had to do with her.
When she concluded the call asking Adam if she could stop by later and he affably told her to come on over, she went directly from work to his place. It was late, and she was afraid that if she went home to change first, she might start second-guessing herself and overthink things or let weariness overtake her. The quick cab ride downtown straight from work was the perfect antidote to keep her focused on the decision she’d made.

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