Now was not the time to be exploring other options. The window to leave the firm had been one or two years ago when she was a fifth or sixth year—that’s when her peer girlfriends had departed, but she’d decided to go for it. She leaned forward to be heard over the music. “Tim and I won the pitch today for a new case.”

Eve clinked her wine glass against Audrey’s. “Congratulations!”

“It’s a really cool case. Cutting edge legal issues, an entertainment company, a female general counsel.” She waved her hand expressively, smiling as she recalled the smart questions of the general counsel. Answering them correctly had been invigorating. “It’s my dream case. And my other case is high-stakes too, with a great team. I spent the earlier part of the week at that client’s New York office, pulling relevant documents for the document production.”

“Are the employees there?”

“Oh yes, they get to watch me go through all their stuff. I had to go through one guy’s gym clothes.” That guy had not been happy.

“That’s a clever hiding place—right next to the smelly socks!”

Audrey shuddered. “You have no idea. The clothes were still slicked wet with sweat and it smelled rancid. But a file was in there.”

“How do you know what might be relevant? It’s not like they’re tagging it ‘smoking hot bad document.’”

“If only they would …” Audrey looked out over the brownstone backyards. Kids were being called in for the night, their childish voices disappearing from sounds of the night. “No, we have to read through everything. The team has been there for days now. But people generally don’t hide things well. Maybe they’re too confident they won’t get caught. When I kept a diary on my laptop, I named it ‘calculus homework’ so no one would ever be tempted to review it.”

“Except a math geek.”

“No plan is foolproof.”

“Did you find any juicy admissions?” Eve asked.

Audrey shook her head. She’d finished her curry chicken, her plate completely empty.

“That’s just scary that you read everything,” Eve said.

“Well, don’t mix personal and work. You should be safe.”

“What do you mean? Every recipe I make is a little love letter.” Eve gave a chef’s kiss. “Besides, you’re one to talk what with your little office crush on Preppy Boy.”

“True. You’d think I’d learn not to have office crushes.” Audrey sighed. It had been two years of late-night chats, and Tim still hadn’t asked her out. Eve was right that she should stop mooning over him. Especially after her break-up with her last boyfriend, Kevin. They had dated when she was a fourth-year associate and he was up for partner at the firm. When he didn’t make partner, he left. And they’d broken up soon after that.