“And how do you propose we do that?”
“Talking. A very old pastime and something we lawyers do well. I became a lawyer because I love to talk and argue.”
“That’s true. We can talk our way through anything.”
“So you first. Are you from New York?”
“Yes,” Andrei said. “We’re New Yorkers through and through. The Rusak Law Firm has actually been in my family for generations. First, my grandfather started it, when he didn’t have much. Then my two uncles came on board followed by my dad. I actually wanted to be a doctor.”
“Now that makes sense,” she said, taking a bite of salty cheese.
“Maybe I would have too, but my dad kept nudging me until I finally came over to his side. My mother and sister are both doctors, so it wouldn’t have been that uncommon. I’m sure you’ve have heard of the Rusak Maternal Clinic on the east side?”
“Of course. They’re known as some of the best OB-GYNs in New York. That’s your mother’s place?”
“Mother and sister, actually. They do pretty well for themselves. That’s one thing Rusaks are good at. We follow others into our profession.” He sounded a little bitter about that, but she didn’t push him. It sounded like he was still angry about being railroaded into becoming a lawyer.
They sat there together sipping wine, smiling at one another.
“What about your family?”
“I grew up in California.”
“That’s right,” he said. “Graduated from Stanford Law at the top of your class then moved to New York. After ten years of winning several high profile murder cases, you were finally offered an Assistant District Attorney’s position of New York City.”
“Sounds like you did your opposition research,” she said.
“Would you respect me if I didn’t?”
“Point taken. I tried to do the private law firm thing defending clients with Barnes, Keswick, Helsinki and Smitt for ten years, but I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t know then that prestigious law firm meant pretentious clients. Most of mine were assholes.”
“I can tell you right now, that’s still accurate. Asses aplenty as clientele.”
“Are you saying Vasin wasn’t an easy client to work with?”
Andrei held his hands up. “I plead the fifth.”
“You’re definitely a lawyer.”
“So how did you get the name ‘Pitbull Bellamy?’”
“Not by choice, that’s for sure. The other lawyers in the state nicknamed me that because they said I was vicious when it came to my work.”
“You’re tough, that’s for sure. But vicious? I don’t see that.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve worked with vicious people...sometimes for them. Trust me, once you meet them, you’d never see yourself that way.”
Victoria was grateful for people seeing her as a hard-ass in her profession, because it meant very few people messed with her. In her life outside of work, she still thought of herself as a kind, affectionate, fun-loving, and adventurous person. Victoria was had done well for a woman in her early thirties. Now if her parents would stop pestering her to have a child, she’d be good. Her mother mentioned it every time they spoke.
“Do you miss California?”
“Sometimes. I loved the weather there. The people were definitely kinder sometimes. Many more into odd things here and there, but that’s California for you.”
“You have siblings?”
“I have one sister and one brother, both are younger than me. My sister is a Registered Nurse, and my brother is a student at the University of California at Berkeley.”