“Well, looks to me like Charlie’s lookin’ for love,” Connor sang. “Caroline’s been laughing her arse off out there all morning.”
I shrugged. “Why are you so obsessed with everyone else’s love life anyway? Focus on your own.”
“I just think everyone could benefit from my expertise. But I actually don’t think Charlie and Caroline need any help at all.”
I felt a twinge thinking how easy it would be for Charlie and Caroline to have a tidy weekend hookup. The idea of something so casual as a “romp” was anathema to the path I was on. Every day I wondered if I’d ever feel like a normal thirtysomething and not someone who already had a failed marriage. I didn’t know if I’d ever learn to trust myself again.
Chapter Nineteen
Early Monday I headed to the office with my suitcase in tow, feeling surprisingly energized from the weekend away.
“So, what’s a Virginia girl’s take on the Catskills?” Charlie asked as I rolled my suitcase under the desk.
“I mean, you can’t get to Manhattan in under two hours from the Blue Ridge Mountains, so I guess I’m a Catskills girl now,” I said, powering up my laptop and logging into the review database.
“Did you feel properly celebrated?”
I nodded. “I still can’t believe you made it all the way there from Missouri or Texas or wherever you were on Thursday. I feltveryspecial.”
He grinned. “And now we’re back here. Like it never happened.”
I scrolled through my calendar. “I have to leave here at three for JFK. Let me make sure Patricia booked a car,” I said distractedly.
He headed out for coffee with his firm mentor, and I spent the morning organizing documents and drafting questions for Emerson. By 3:15 p.m., I was in a car to the airport.
Early the next morning, I woke up in Los Angeles jet-lagged and booked a last-minute boxing class next to the hotel. I went back to my room to shower, threw on a navy skirt suit with a cream-colored blouse, and took an Uber to meet Eddie and Andie for a preinterview lunch.
Eddie got right down to business. “After we finish these interviews and Sam updates the timeline, I’d like to talk about whether it makes sense for you to consider pleading guilty. There are over two dozenpeople in the indictment, and the longer it takes you to plead compared to the others, the less favorably the court looks on your decision to accept responsibility. A sixth defendant pleaded out yesterday. I still don’t think the government has anywhere close to enough evidence to convict you if you were to go to trial, but it’s always a gamble.”
Andie shook her head. “I’m theonlywoman involved in this. I know I made bad choices, but I never meant to break the law—isn’t that worth fighting them on?”
Eddie folded his arms. “The straightforward answer is no. I’ve seen thousands of these mass indictments. I wholeheartedly believe there’s an exception that takes you outside of 1955, but judges are always more lenient when someone pleads guilty early on.”
“Should we wait for the Second Circuit’s ruling on whether poker is a game of skill?” I asked.
“When is the court hearing arguments?” he asked.
“Next week. I’m scheduled to go and watch.”
He nodded. “Let’s see how long it takes for the decision to come down. But if it’s delayed, or they reverse the lower court’s decision, I don’t think you should keep waiting to plead. I’ve been in this situation many times, and my gut is telling me you need to be able to move on with your life, not tie yourself up in court for years for an outcome that’s far from certain.”
She paused, and I could tell she was nervous. “I want to be able to move on too. I guess that’s as good a time as any to run something by you guys.”
She reached into her bag and put a folded letter on the table. “I got this from a publisher last week. They’re offering me a book deal.”
Eddie looked more concerned than usual. “Andie—”
“Wait. Before you say anything, I just need you to know I’m not actually interested in writing a book. But I am so outrageously broke right now, and they’re offering ahugeadvance. I’ve had offers before, but everyone wanted names, and I won’t do that. This one is interestedin my side of the story. Please ... I need your blessing, but I need to find a way to do this.”
Eddie unfolded the letter and read it silently. I gave Andie a sympathetic smile.
He looked at Andie with a serious expression. “You cannot bullshit me on this, Andie. I need to know right now: Have you started writing this book? I have to know if there’s a manuscript out there. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I cannot do my job if you withhold things from me.”
Andie shook her head. “I spent a few hours outlining some chapters, just to see if this was even something I could do. But I meant what I said.I don’t want to write a book.I just don’t see how I say no to this. It feels like my only chance for a fresh start.”
Eddie folded his napkin. “If you write this, we’re going to have to disclose it to the prosecutors. I get that you need money. But if it fucks up your case, the money is moot.”
He looked at his watch. “I need time to think it through. I have to get on a call, but I’m asking you to hold off for now. Here’s my credit card. You two can finish up here. Sam, I’ll see you upstairs for the three o’clock.”
