“What do you do when it’s the husband who hires you?”
“Men can be victims of all the things, too, but as you build your practice, you can be more particular about who you represent.If you find out your potential client is an abusive asshole, you can just say no.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
“Unless you’re working as a public defender, you always have a choice about who you represent—and who you don’t.”
“Do they ever try to hide who they are from you to get you to take their case?”
“Sometimes, but I make sure I know exactly who I’m representing before I agree to take them on.If they try to hide their shit, I put Carson on it.If there’s shit to be found, he’ll find it.”
“He’s a badass.”
“He sure is.”
“You could always work with him if you’d rather investigate than litigate.”
“I’ve thought about that.I don’t know.We’ll see.I gotta pass the freaking bar before I do anything.”
“You’ve got this.I have faith in you.”
“I wish I were so confident.Standardized tests are still my worst nightmare.”
Roman had dealt with attention deficit disorder since he was a child and had been medicated for it since middle school.
“You’re taking the test-prep class this semester, right?”
“Yep and let me tell you how much I’m looking forward to that.Not.”
Julian laughed.“‘Get it over with and get on with it.’That’s what Grandpa said to me when I was right where you are.”
“Speaking of him, he called me yesterday to ask if I could take a run out to Ojai to check on the ranch, but I won’t get to that before I go back to school since Dad has me working nonstop.Can you get out there?”
“Yeah, I’ll take a ride out there as soon as I can.No worries.I’ll call him and tell him I’m doing it.”
“Maybe he’ll want to go with you.”
“I doubt it.He doesn’t like being in the car that long anymore.He says it aggravates his arthritis.”
“I can’t believe he’s going to be ninety-four.”
“Right?And still going strong for the most part.”Julian checked his watch.“We need to go.”
Roman sat up, finished the last of his drink and handed his glass to Julian.“God forbid the girls give us shit about always being late.”
“Ain’t no one got time for that.”
“Hey, Jules… Thanks for listening just now.I appreciate that you didn’t try to stuff the family business down my throat like everyone else would’ve done.”
“It’s a long life, man.You gotta be happy.”
“Are you?Happy?”
Julian rarely thought about such things.“Yeah.I guess.I mean… It’s all good.”
That was what his brother expected him to say, but only he knew how out of sorts he’d been since he ran into Aimee Godfrey and was reminded what it’d been like to be truly in love—and how empty and off his game he’d felt ever since.
He kept hoping he’d shake off the lingering disquiet, but that hadn’t happened.Instead, it had gotten worse, and for some reason, the unsettled state was only more so after his meeting with Denny’s beguiling sister.
