Free Saturday (Timeless Series #6) by E. L. Todd Page A

those.”
    “All the guys at my firm are great. I know they care about their cases and the people they represent. They’re passionate in the same way, and they don’t stop until they get justice for their clients.”
    She continued to eat but her mind was still intrigued by my words. “How does that affect you?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “When you’re that invested do you ever really move on?”
    I shook my head. “No. Even when I win my cases and get my clients justice I still feel like shit. I feel terrible the crimes were committed at all. You can never erase the past. You can never take back the things that already happened. And my clients will always carry that.”
    She looked down at her fries and picked at them. She didn’t take another bite, her mind somewhere else.
    “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bum you out.”
    “It’s okay,” she whispered. “What do you do when you lose a case?”
    “I don’t know. That’s never happened.”
    She looked up again. “You’ve never lost a case?”
    “No.” I didn’t give up. I pushed on until I got what I wanted. “But I don’t take as many cases as the rest of my employees.”
    “That’s impressive…”
    “I have a good relationship with a lot of the judges, and I have a good reputation. I think that helps a lot.”
    She returned to eating her fries, moving at a snail’s pace.
    When I asked her to lunch I wanted to have good conversation, not drop my work drama on her. We were already off to a bad start. “How’s work been for you?” I sipped my soda as I watched her.
    “Good.” She opened a ketchup packet and squirted it on top of her fries. “Work has been good for a while now. A few years ago I couldn’t get anyone to give me a chance because my company is small and I’m the only employee.”
    “Good for you.”
    “I’ve had a lot of high profile clients, and I know that helped.”
    “Like who?” My curiosity got the best of me.
    “Well, Justin Timberlake wanted me to design his house in Colorado. That was pretty cool. Who else…?” She looked away as she tried to think. “Oh, Chris Martin had me design his beach house in Malibu. Madonna has a place in Connecticut, and I designed that for her.”
    Wow, she wasn’t kidding. “That’s incredible.”
    “They really helped my business a lot. Most of referrals are from word of mouth. I don’t spend money on ads or anything like that.”
    “That’s so cool.”
    “Thanks.” Her cheeks tinted slightly. “It’s been an incredible experience.”
    The fact she was an independent business owner made me more attracted to her. Running a business was difficult, and no one else understood that unless they did it themselves. The fact she was a one-woman show was all the more impressive. “Your parents must be proud of you.”
    She looked down again. “Yeah…”
    I hit another touchy subject. Now I had to steer away from it. “What do you do for fun?” It was the first question that came to mind.
    “I like to jog,” she said. “Usually at sunset in the park.”
    “That’s cool.”
    “It helps me relax. By the time I get home I’m exhausted and ready for bed.”
    “Perfect. Sometimes I can’t sleep at night.” My mind wandered to work, family, and relationships. By the time I stopped thinking about everything it was three in the morning.
    “A glass of wine always helps.”
    I wasn’t a big fan of wine. Otherwise, that would be an easy solution. “I’ll give it a try.” I’d finished my food so now I had nothing else to do but look at her. It was my favorite hobby so I didn’t mind in the least, but I knew it put her on edge. I held my soda and fidgeted with it just so I had something to do. “Where did you go to school?”
    “Here in New York. What about you?”
    “The same. I grew up in the Hamptons but I’ve been here for my entire adult life.”
    “Did your father accumulate all of his wealth? Or did you come from a wealthy family?”
    “My grandfather was the