Page 9 of Indiscretion

I frowned. “Let’s not even talk about Emily.”

Ben flipped the pancakes he was cooking at the stove. “How’s that going? She still giving you the cold shoulder even though she’s the one who was in the wrong?”

I shook my head. “It sucks. One of us has to quit.”

“You don’t think things will ever settle down between you two?”

“Not a chance.”

“You can always come to work on the other, more noble side of the table.”

Ben and Lily were both assistant district attorneys. Ben worked in the Manhattan Organized Crime and Racketeering Unit, and Lily worked in the Appeals Division in Brooklyn. We crossed paths once in a while in the courtroom, but not too often. “The only noble people in either of our jobs are the suckers sitting in the jury box for a whopping forty bucks a day. Plus, I’d hate your salary.”

“It’s not so bad when there are two of us to share expenses.”

“Yeah, that’s not on my agenda either.” I was only busting balls, even if the DA’s office paid only a fraction of what I earned. My buddy knew I didn’t choose my job for the money—not at the beginning anyway. These days, though, with some of the people I represented, it kind of felt that way.

“So you and Lily went to law school with Naomi, right?”

“Yep.”

“Where does she work?”

“Nowhere right now. She just moved to New York two weeks ago, and she’s working on a change in career.”

“Really? Why doesn’t she want to practice law anymore?”

Ben shrugged.

“What area did she practice in?”

“She worked in the Virginia DA’s office. Criminal prosecution.”

“No wonder you said we wouldn’t get along. Was she any good?”

“If you two had ever gone up against each other, I would’ve been sitting in the courtroom with a big bowl of popcorn to watch the show. She had the best record in her division in Virginia. Only ever lost one trial.”

“Why’d she move to New York?”

“Looking for a fresh start. She and her fiancé broke up last year, and her sister lives there. Frannie’s got some health problems.”

People rarely wanted afresh startunless something big happened to make them walk away from their life. But Ben didn’t offer more, and I didn’t press. I knew better than most that we all had things we liked to keep to ourselves.

Ben plated breakfast, and we sat down together at the table.

“Any chance you have shredded coconut?” I asked. “I thought I brought some, but I guess I left it at home.”

“You and your damn coconut obsession. Don’t you ever get sick of that crap?”

“It’s good brain food, filled with iron, magnesium, zinc—”

“I know. I know,” Ben cut me off. “And copper, manganese, and selenium. Trust me, I can recite the nutritional values after four years of rooming with you in college.”

“Then you should have it in the fridge right now.”

Ben chuckled. “You’re such a knucklehead.”

I yawned as I picked up a glass of orange juice. It had to be close to nine by now, and I still hadn’t slept a wink.

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