“Absolutely brilliant,” Betty repeated. “If it were up to me, you just secured your place as a partner.”

Jake met her at his door with tulips.

“For you!” He handed her the tulips and enveloped her in a huge hug.

“It was brilliant! It was such a rush! I couldn’t believe it when he just admitted it—I mean, I was sure of my case, but I wasn’t sure I’d get him to admit it. It turns out that you can get admissions in real life.”

“Somehow I don’t think it happens that often.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Come, I’ve made dinner.”

She walked into the living/dining room. “Wow.” The lights had been dimmed and soft music was playing. He had set the table with candles and an empty vase with water for the flowers in the center. “A girl could get used to this.”

“I hope so,” Jake said. “I’ve missed seeing you these past few weeks, other than passing in the night obviously.”

“Yes.” She looked into his eyes and reached out to hold his hand. “I’ve missed being with you too.”

“But you’re glowing now. Sit down and I’ll bring dinner.”

“I’d rather follow you about.” She leaned into his back as he stirred the pot. “Yes, I’m still so happy about winning, although I’m sure I’ll crash soon. It was just so thrilling, and it was so much more satisfying because the plaintiff was such an ass initially. One time, I made a woman cry during a deposition when I made her confess her mistake, and I felt terrible, because I could see that it had been a mistake, but nonetheless, it had to be admitted for the sake of my client.”

“I had no idea I was dating someone so ruthless,” Jake said in mock horror.

“I’m not ruthless.”

“I’m just kidding. You’re not remotely ruthless by nature; you’ve just been trained to go for the jugular at key times. It’s probably a good survival mechanism for someone like you.”

“Probably. I’m always amazed at how some partners don’t seem affected at all by the tension of the fight. Sometimes I just get such a tremendous stress headache,” Audrey said. “But, this time, I felt like a boxer with an entourage. Mohan was pumping me up and making me box in the anteroom before we went into the courtroom.”

“Sounds like a massage is in order after a hearty dinner.”

“I want a bit more than a massage,” she said.

He smiled. “Do you think you have enough energy? After taking down that guy on the stand today?”

“I’ve so much energy to burn off, baby. You’re not going to know what hit you.”

“Hmm, now I can understand why my mom always says that my dad’s legal career is not that bad.”