Epilogue: I’m Like A Lawyer

Boyd

It’s official. Today was my call to the bar ceremony. I shook hands. I recited an oath. And now, I’ve got all the certifications I need to move on. I have spent six years working toward this moment, yet I feel like my biggest accomplishment is the smile on Sophie’s face.

“I’m so proud of you. I mean… not that I have any claim to anything because you did all of this before I showed up, but I’m so—”

I cut her off with a kiss. Timelines don’t matter. When she came into my life doesn’t matter. She’s here now, and I hope she never leaves. “I love you.”

She giggles, which adds to the vibrancy of her flushing cheeks. “I love you too. Come on. Our reservation is at seven and we can’t be late.” She grabs my hand and tows me to her car. “Your gift is in the back.”

I halt my steps and look around her SUV to where she’s standing at the trunk. “How did you…? You didn’t have to do that.”

“You’re welcome.” She scoffs, but gives me an even brighter smile as she opens the tailgate. “I wanted to. Open it.”

I tug on the gold wrapping paper that she’s obviously put a lot of effort into.

“Boyd, rip the paper.” The glare she’s giving me says we’re flirting dangerously close with our reservation time.

I do as she says, tearing the paper down the middle, exposing a professional grade personal espresso machine.

“Now, you can put it in your office and you won’t have to deal with subpar coffee at your new job.”

My eyes bounce from the appliance to her. “I could have just used a French press.”

She slaps my shoulder, laughing. “I’m not waiting for that to brew espresso when I come to visit you in your fancy new gig at Rutherford. And a French press doesn’t steam milk. Call it a selfish gift.”

I wrap my arms around her again, pulling her in for another quick kiss. “Thank you. I love it.”

She boops my nose like she does to Wilson, then pulls away. “Come on. We better get a move on.” She tosses me her keys and hops into the passenger seat.

Little gestures like that mean the world to me. Not because I want to drive, but because she’s comfortable enough with me to give up control. I hop into the driver’s seat and head south to Hibiscus. On the way, we pass the office building I’ll be reporting to in two weeks’ time. Rutherford Consolidated. A finance company specializing in mergers and acquisitions. It will be a stark contrast to my positions as student and manager of Just Add Coffee, but I’m excited for the challenge. Plus, I know the café is in good hands with Monica as the new manager.

We pull into an underground parking lot, catch an elevator to the twelfth-floor restaurant, and we’re quickly seated at a table for two by the window overlooking the waterfront. A server comes immediately to take our drink order and make some menu suggestions.

It’s not until our drinks arrive that I really take in the opulence of the restaurant and the view. Once upon a time, this would have bothered me. This level of extravagance is something I’d turn my nose up at because it reminded me of the lavish lifestyle Maggie expected. But I don’t think about her anymore. And when I consider doing these things with Sophie, I look forward to experiencing everything.

“Is it weird you’re here as a customer tonight?” I ask, refocusing on her.

“Not really. I’m mostly in the office, so I don’t come out here a lot.”

Since Sophie stormed out of McNamara Enterprises seven weeks ago, she’s been working for Caleb, taking charge of his shipments and deliveries. It’s right up her alley and has kept her from stressing about finances. Henry’s reach must not be as wide or powerful as he thought, because between me, Caleb, and Sophie, none of us have felt the brunt of his anger yet. Rumour has it that after Sophie left, a lot of the junior executives and all the female staff weren’t far behind. McNamara Enterprises is floundering, and it feels like sweet justice.

“It was nice your family was able to come today. And Monica and Phoenix.” Sophie curls up the corner of her fabric napkin, her eyes bouncing from one thing to the next.

My nerves get the better of me, seeing how on edge she is all of a sudden. I can only assume the worst. “How was my mother? Did she say anything to you?”

“Oh, she was fine. You made her sound like a grizzly bear. She’s more like a wombat.”

I laugh at her characterization, happy my mother behaved today. “I’ll tell her you said that.”

“Boyd, don’t you dare!” she shouts before covering her mouth with her hand.

Apparently, my mother wasn’t as sweet as Sophie let on. Or maybe wombats are a savage species and I’m just not familiar with many wombat attacks, so I misunderstood. I don’t get the chance to ask, as our server returns to take our order, and Sophie asks her to let Caleb know we’re here.

As soon as the woman leaves, Sophie blurts, “I’m going back to school.”

I choke on the sip of soda water I’m downing. After a few seconds, I reply, “Really? Have you talked to Caleb about it?”

She narrows her eyes at me, and I quickly understand my mistake.

“Not for permission, Soph. Just because of your job here.”

Her face relaxes, and she takes a sip of her wine. “Not exactly, but he knew this wasn’t permanent for me. It was a pity job that took a little work off of his plate. I can still work a few hours a week. Even if I do online courses, my schedule will be really flexible. Plus, I finally organized his office, so it should make his life easier.”

I can tell the more she talks about it, the more excited she gets.

“What are you going to take?”

She looks unsure of herself as she says, “Human Resource Management.”

I reach across the table, taking her hand in mine. “I’m proud of you, Soph. Not that I have any claim—”

“Stop it.” She laughs. “Yes, you do. For a decade I watched Caleb prioritize his own dreams and goals, not bothered by whatever Henry said. I was jealous of him in a way… resentful, maybe. I always felt my dreams were tied to one job. One place. But you came along and helped me see that there were more important things worth pursuing. So I want to do this. I like the business world, but I want to be in a position I can ensure everyone is treated equally in their job.” She strokes my palm with her thumb. “You made me realize I owed it to myself to figure out what I wanted.” Her gorgeous smile that lights up my entire world is on full display. “Plus, Andy is going to take courses with me, so we’ll be together again.”

This woman across from me is so incredible. I could waste time hating Henry for how he treated her or feeling sad for the amount of time she’s been suppressed or shamed into staying quiet. Instead, I’d rather put my energy into helping her shine as bright as she can.

Our server returns with our plates of food, followed by a smiling Caleb.

“Boyd, congrats, brother,” he says as he places a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. In his other hand, he pulls a gift bag from behind his back, setting it on the table.

“What’s this? You shouldn’t have, man.”

“It’s nothing, really. Hopefully you get a kick out of it. I’m sorry to cut this short, but as you can see, we’ve got a full house.” He winks at me, then leans down to give his sister a quick hug and kisses the top of her head. “Enjoy.”

Without a chance to reply, he’s off again.

“Open it.” Sophie bounces in her seat. “I want to see what he got you.”

I do as she instructs, first pulling out a card. The message inside says Congratulations on your graduation. Thanks for making my sister happy. Now you can make me happy too. That’s… mysterious. I’m almost afraid to open it now.

“Open it!” Sophie repeats with more enthusiasm.

I reach my hand around the tissue paper and pull out a box. I open the top and slide out a small stainless steel coffee carafe. The words to activate lawyer mode, add coffee are etched on the side. I chuckle, recalling our conversation from months ago. There’s a second matching box, so I do the same, tugging it out, and find the same thing, but with this chef is hotter than this coffee etched into it. My laugh is a little louder reading that one. I turn it to show Sophie, and she rolls her eyes.

“I don’t even know what to do with him sometimes.”

With that out of the way, we eat our meal, allowing our conversation to flow freely, talking about Sophie’s new plans and everything we have to look forward to. We share dessert because Sophie claims she’s been dying to try the baked Alaska she’s seen multiple times but didn’t want to eat the whole thing alone. As delicious as it is, there’s nothing I won’t share with her.

We wrap up our meal and head to the elevator. It’s still early as far as the city dinner rush goes, so we get to ride the elevator alone. As soon as the doors close, I look over at Sophie. She flutters her lashes. Licks her bottom lip. Tilts her head down. All telltale signs she wants me to kiss her. So I do. Long and loving and passionate until the elevator dings and the doors open.

Before we step out, I tell her, “Our future is bright, Sophie McNamara.”

She smiles up at me. “The best part is, it’s ours.”

The End

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