“You gave me my freedom, and I made you an indicted celebrity.”
“Something like that.” I grinned. “It’s really good to see you. You look happy,” I said honestly.
“No joke, I’m living the most vanilla chapter of my life, and I’ve never been happier.”
I laughed. “Vanilla. With every actress in Hollywood trying to play you.”
She sighed. “Exactly. I’m getting a second chance. Thanks to you and Eddie. And George.”
“Did you tell Eddie about the movie getting green-lit?”
“Oh yeah. It was like telling my dad I invested in some annuity bonds that performed well. ‘Andie, well done. You’ve been making excellent choices lately.’”
“That’s a scary good impression.”
“I know. Should I play myself?”
She handed me the wine list. “I don’t want to be a buzzkill, but I’m not drinking. You, however, should order the most expensive Bordeaux in Eddie’s honor.”
I smiled. “He loves a good Bordeaux.” I set the wine list down. The room felt unexpectedly private, with plush sofas and coffee tables separating dining tables. “I haven’t had a drink since January. Seems we’re in for a reasonable tab.”
“There’s a forty-five-dollar burger on the menu.”
“Very reasonable. Why aren’t you drinking? Did you have a bad bottle of 1942?”
“There are no bad bottles of 1942.” She stretched the linen napkin across her lap. “I just wanted a little clarity. After the come-down of it all.”
“I’m right there with you. We’re living oddly parallel lives.”
It was what I’d felt from the beginning.
She smiled. “Except you were the one saving me instead of needing to be saved. Saint Samantha.”
I sank back into the velvet chair. “There’s nothing saintly about what I do. It’s not like I gave up everything to work for Legal Aid or become a public defender.”
Andie shot me a sideways glance. “I never had a safety net until I met you and Eddie. You guys made me feel like there was more to me than just some person accused of breaking the law. Maybe you don’t see yourself the way that I do, but I’m so grateful Eddie chose you out of every other associate who would have killed to work on this.”
I pursed my lips. “You know he called me the ‘deadpan’ girl?”
“What does that even mean?”
“He said I struck him as someone who could deadpan salacious details.”
“I weirdly know exactly what he meant.”
She poured Pellegrino into my glass. “You’re not just a good lawyer, Sam. You have layers. And believe me, they’re going to trip you up sometimes. But they’re also going to keep moving you forward.”
I smiled faintly at the memory of waking up to Eddie’s call the night after the Lincoln Center gala, tired and hungover, but happy. All my dreams coming true.
“Could you tell I was hungover the first morning we met?”
“Nope. I just remember how focused and eager you seemed.”
“I didn’t even know about the meeting until that morning. I’d gone to this charity gala the night before. My officemate, Charlie, came with me. We had a blast. I went to bed feeling like I was walking on air. And then I woke up to Eddie calling me at 7:30, and I had to pull it together.” I chuckled. “And here we are.”
“I always had a feeling there was something with Charlie. Just from the way you talked about him.”
My eyes landed on the wine list, and I wished for something to take the edge off. “There was. Not anymore, but yeah.”
