“I NEED to see you. Right now.”
“Cooper, it’s two in the morning. I’ve got a long drive ahead of me. Don’t you remember? We did this dance already.”
“It’s not about that. I’m talking about our case.”
“I have to leave for Atlantic City in…ugh, like four hours.”
“It will just take a minute. You and Janie hitting the craps tables?”
Veena Lion paused. She was wide awake and wouldn’t be going to sleep anytime soon. She’d been at her kitchen table poring over stacks of documents and was feverishly mapping out their case and all of its possible tangents on a legal pad. She’d tried to shake off the effects of the martinis (and her bar-side make-out session with Cooper) with work and endless cups of black coffee. None of it helped. Veena felt jittery. Maybe she should just power through the rest of the night and try to catch a nap tomorrow. Even though she never, ever took naps. “How soon can you get here?”
“I’m parked in front of your building.”
“Of course you are.”
Cooper was at the door before Veena could decide what to cover with a blanket or push into a closet. Whatever. They’d known each other a long time. If a messy apartment was a deal breaker, then so be it.
“You know, it’s been forever since I’ve been here,” Cooper said. “I like what you’ve not done with the place.”
“I wasn’t expecting company at two a.m.”
“Anyway, I just spent some time with the elusive Maya Rain.”
“At her invitation?”
Cooper raised his eyebrows. “Are we jealous, Counselor?”
“No. I’m just trying to figure out her game.”
“Me too,” Cooper admitted. “But I think she’s one of the good guys.”
“Do you think that because you want to justify sleeping with her?”
“That’s absurd.” Cooper made a show of looking around the messy apartment. “Speaking of, do you still keep your bed in the adjoining room?”
“Cooper…”
“I just don’t see a place for us to sit down and discuss the case. We’re both tired, and I know I think better when I’m lying flat on my back.”
Veena didn’t respond. She knew Cooper’s argument style; they’d dance around it and he’d try to slip something past her on a technicality. And she was honestly too exhausted to go through the steps to reach that point, so she reached out, took his hand, and led him toward her bedroom.
“Wait—is this a yes?”
“This is us lying in bed and discussing our case.”
“Pants on or off?”
“Pants,” Veena said, “are absolutely on.”