“Have you heard? Day drinking is bad for you.”
“It’s a stigma. No one ever said it’s bad for you. Right now, I’ll take whatever I can get. That makes you my friend, my bartender, and my priest.”
“You’re not Catholic.”
“It’s a new day, and I can be whate
ver I want to be. Drunk, Catholic, it doesn’t matter.”
“You sure you aren’t drunk? You sound like the idiots I have to keep reminding that last call is it.”
“Not drunk. If I was, I wouldn’t be thinking about her as much as I am now.”
“Don’t you think you should just try to talk to her?”
“She asked for space, so I’m giving her space.”
“It’s only been one day. At this rate, your liver may give out before you do.”
Andrei was puzzled that Erik had strongly encouraged his relationship with Victoria to begin with. If he was being honest with himself, he had hoped that Erik would have talked him out of it. Not because Victoria was black but because she was another lawyer.
He heard the horror stories of other lawyers tried to have relationships with each other. Some were good enough to pursue and then they ended in a peaceful breakup. Others led to fighting during courtroom cases. A few people had even gotten fired for it due to the ethical agreements it violated at the firms they worked for, not to mention the bar association’s ethics board. His place didn’t have a clause like that, but his father was strict enough to punish him anyway. One mention to the bar association, and he might be banned for life.
He had a lot of time to think after Victoria left his apartment. Moving to Chicago sounded amazing, and she was someone he could see making a lifelong change like that with. New York came with baggage, the commitments he had made to his family, his father, and the father that he needed to be for his children. He needed to remain in town for them. He loved too much and needed to always be in their lives. They meant the world to him, and if he moved away, he could miss out on some important aspect of their life. Trish wouldn’t give two shits about what he missed, so he had to stay to make sure they knew how much he loved them and that his ex-wife never poisoned them against him.
Out of all of his obligations, his girls were the only bright side to his life, at least until he met Victoria. She was woman enough to handle him and then some.
Erik was right. He should have known better than to keep a secret from her. Even if he hadn’t told her, she would’ve found out on her own. She was a smart and talented lawyer, and he never had any intention of hurting her.
“As your friend,” Erik started, “you’re not going to be in good shape if you wait for her to figure shit out, so your best bet is to call her before she decides to leave your ass altogether. Trust me. Sometimes you have be the one to put yourself out there first.”
“Maybe,” Andrei said.
“Have I ever steered you wrong?” Erik raised his eyebrows.
“Not yet, but there’s always tomorrow.” Andrei grinned as he threw some money down on the counter and stood up.
“You’re lucky I like you or I’d be throwing your ass out of here like all the other troublemakers.”
“You could, but then I turn right around and sue your ass right back just for kicks.”
“Where are you going?”
“You’re the one who said to contact her, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
“That’s my boy.”
Andrei shook his head as he left the bar. It looked like it was going to rain soon, so he need to figure out where he was heading. There was no way he was going back to the office. Instead, he headed toward the corner, so he could hail a cab home.
That’s when he saw Victoria. She exited a building with another woman, but it wasn’t the DA’s office. Why wasn’t she at work?
“Victoria!” He called after her, but she didn’t hear. By the time he made his way to the other side of the street, they had gotten in the cab and taken off.
He turned around spotted the name of the office: Dr. Jacob James, M.D, OB-GYN.
Stood in front of the office, frozen. He couldn’t move at all. What the hell was she doing there during work hours?
All kinds of possibilities went through Andrei’s had. Maybe she was there for her regular check-up. She could’ve needed to refill a prescription for something like birth control. A million reasons for her to be visiting that type of doctor flew through his mind, but none of the possibilities calmed him down.