Echoes of the Heart

Chapter 1

“Five lawyers for every thousand people in Illinois, and we still can’t find one who can tie his own goddamn shoes.

” Marina Fuentes threw the stack of files on her desk, not caring that four of them slid off and onto the floor, nor that her assistant, Lucy, hurried to pick them up.

“How am I supposed to deal with that moron as co-chair? He had mustard spilled down his shirt, for fuck’s sake.

In front of Judge Gillian, no less, who thinks we should all be paragons of angelic virtue and show up with fucking wings on. ”

Lucy set the files neatly on Marina’s desk. “I’m sure he didn’t mean—”

“Defend him, and I swear I will put charcoal in your coffee tomorrow morning.” Marina pointed at her and then sat down, taking a deep, steadying breath. “Get me the Carrington case files.”

Lucy hurried from the room, and Marina closed her eyes.

Breathe the corners of the box. In for four, out for four.

Pulse sufficiently steadied so she didn’t throw something through the window of the thirty-eighth-floor office and decapitate some hapless tourist staring at their distorted image in the reflection of the Bean, she opened the file on top and began to make notes on the legal pad in her leather binder.

“Latte. Decaf, because none of us need you to have any more energy and because putting a sedative in it would be legally questionable.” Rob set the tall cup down on her desk. “And the Carrington file, because your poor assistant is worried you’ll turn into a monster and eat her sweet little soul.”

“It would be too sugary to digest.” Marina took a long sip and nodded. “I need a new assistant. One with some salt in her veins.”

Rob crossed his legs at the ankle as he reclined on the leather sofa. “What you need is a vacation. And to get laid. And not necessarily in that order.”

They both looked over when someone cleared their throat in the doorway. Rob stood, tilting his cup toward Marina. “And that’s my cue.” He sidled past Montgomery Shubert with a brief smile.

“This is a surprise. I thought maybe you’d started living on the fortieth floor since no one ever sees you come down.” Marina smiled, hoping it looked genuine. A visit from the head partner didn’t feel like a good thing.

He came in and closed the door behind him, then sat opposite her, as relaxed as a statue in a church. “I have a private elevator. One of the perks of being on the top floor.”

“Oh, right.” Marina nodded, unsure what else to say to that.

“You handled the Orsan Commercial case.” He raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve read through the trial notes. On paper, you shouldn’t have won.

Every precedent was against you, community sentiment was against you, and even the judge was known to come down more often than not on the side of small business.

” His eyes narrowed a little, like he was trying to see through her. “And yet you prevailed.”

Again, he didn’t seem to be asking a question, and she wasn’t sure what to say. “Thank you?”

His lips pursed. “You’re a good lawyer. Quite possibly one of the best we have. To that end, I want you to take on a new client who is having some issues that may require a deft touch like the one you exhibited on Orsan.”

“Great. I’d be happy to.” It was baffling, though, why he hadn’t had any of the other hundred attorneys, clerks, paralegals, or even janitors tell her this. “Who is it?”

“Black Pinnacle.” He dropped it like a tiny bomb, his eyes narrowing.

She stared at him for a moment too long as she tried to take in air.

“If it’s too big for you, I can hand it off to someone else—”

“No! No, I’m just… You’re giving me one of the biggest real estate developers on the East Coast?” That kind of client could be a fast track to partner. Hello, fortieth-floor private elevator.

“I am. Sheila Black will be here on Saturday, and I want you to join us for dinner at Alinea at seven.” He rose and looked down at her. “I trust that you’ll be available.”

She stood and held out her hand, which felt stupid, but she couldn’t pull it back. “Thank you. I won’t let you down.”

He looked at her hand and then back at her face before turning away. “I’m aware.” He left, and people scuttled out of his way, though he probably didn’t notice them anyway.

Rob ducked in as soon as Montgomery was out of sight. “Well? Did he fire you? Ask you to clean his office in a maid’s outfit? Make you his new dominatrix? Get your recipe for chicken enchiladas?” He flopped back onto the couch.

Marina sipped at her latte, her mind whirring. “He asked me to take on a new client. Black Pinnacle.”

Rob leaned forward, his brown eyes widening. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah. Holy shit.” Slowly, she began to smile, and within seconds it was so big it hurt. “Holy shit!”

He jumped up and pulled out his phone. “I’m making us reservations at Carrera’s tonight. We’re going to celebrate hard, because I’ll never see you again once you’re at their beck and call.” He walked out as he made the reservation, leaving her to her thoughts.

I need a new team. Her paralegal had quit a month ago, and she’d been sharing someone else’s, and her assistant…

Lucy was nice, but Marina needed someone with a little more steel in their spine, someone who wouldn’t cry every time she threw a stapler.

She fired off a message to HR with a request that it happen fast. Only then did she notice her hands were shaking.

She stood and paced her office and then caught sight of the files on her desk. She’d need to hand them off to some junior attorney who wanted to prove themselves. She’d keep some of her smaller, less demanding clients for the times when Pinnacle didn’t need her.

As she looked out at Lake Michigan glittering in the sunshine, she let out a small laugh. Things were most definitely moving in the right direction.

“You did what?” Marina stood outside Carrera’s, a light breeze making her little black dress stick to her. “Rob, we were going to celebrate. Why on Godzilla’s green earth would you set me up on a blind date?”

“Because I can’t make it. Jeff has a stomach bug, and I need to stay home to baby him. And I knew I wouldn’t catch you before you got there. At least give her a chance. Jeff said she’s super cute and likes a bit of kink. Just the way you like them.”

“You haven’t even met her?” Marina squeezed her eyes shut for a second and then started looking for a taxi to wave down. “No. No way in hell. Jeff is a great guy, but—”

“You should probably stop that sentence there, my love.” Rob’s voice was the kind of firm it only became when she was about to cross a line. “Stay or don’t, but it isn’t like you have anyone to run home to.” He said something to Jeff in the background. “Gotta go. Love you. Get laid.”

She ended the call and looked around. No. This wasn’t going to happen—

“Oh my gosh. You’re just as beautiful as Jeff said you’d be.”

She turned and looked at the young person who’d sidled up beside her.

Wide-eyed innocence of a different generation looked back at her.

Longish hair on top was pulled back to show an undercut with a peace symbol shaved into the side.

She sighed internally. Fucking Jeff. “Sorry, I wasn’t given your name. ”

“Totally, no worries. It’s Binky. Like inky, but with a B.” She ran her hand over her undercut and winked. “Nickname, obvs. But it’s what everyone calls me.”

Marina stared at her, counting off options in her head. One: turn around and leave, hopefully never to see baby masc Binky ever again. Two: see how things went and maybe accept the use of a lithe body for the night to work out some tension. Fuck it. “Shall we go in?”

Binky hurried up the stairs and pulled open the door, waving her in ceremoniously. “After you.”

Marina tried not to grimace at the overdone act of chivalry.

“Thank you.” They were seated quickly, and she was glad she’d stayed if only so she could eat.

The scent of cilantro and paprika, the tang of lime…

she was practically salivating. And at least she wouldn’t have to eat alone.

She ordered a glass of white wine and didn’t miss the flash of judgment in Binky’s eyes.

“Just a bottle of water for me, thanks.” She grinned a little as the waiter left.

“I treat my body like a temple, and alcohol is a kind of poison, you know?” When Marina failed to respond, she continued.

“Anyway, Jeff said you’re a really powerful attorney.

Tell me about it. What do you love about what you do? ”

Marina took a breath to answer, then stopped as she found there wasn’t an answer ready. “I like to win,” she finally said. “I like to argue, and I like to win. And I’m damn good at it. What do you do?”

Binky’s perfectly trimmed eyebrows drew in. “That seems like a really aggressive reason to enjoy a career. I mean, doesn’t all that negative vibing get you down? Like, I volunteer at a charity for underappreciated cats, and it’s all about the love.”

Something stronger than wine might be needed to get through this meal. “How do you underappreciate a cat? They’re little assholes who want to be fed and stroked occasionally after destroying your house just for the fun of it.”

Binky’s eyes widened like Marina had suggested feline extinction as an option to better living. “All animals are incredible, and cats have beautiful personalities. They’re full of fun and love, and they’re so independent.”

Marina looked toward the kitchen, praying for their food to come out so she didn’t have to continue talking. Or listening. “You said you volunteer there. What’s your day job?”

Binky shook her head. “I haven’t found my truth yet. I’m still working on figuring out who I am and what I want to be when I grow up. Not that I ever want to! I’m hoping to stay young at heart forever.”

“I’m guessing you live with a couple of queer roommates?”

Binky sat back to allow the server to put down her avocado salad. “That’s next. Right now I’m still living with my parents. They’re happy to have me there, but I’m hoping to have a place to call my own by the time I’m thirty.”

Dear god, I hope I choke to death on this food.

Marina nodded as though that was normal.

“Why not. Who wouldn’t want their kid under their roof for an extra ten or so years?

No point in having freedom when their adorable progeny turns eighteen, is there?

What would they do with all that spare time anyway? ”

She dug into the tamales and was transported home, to her mother’s kitchen where she and her grandmother would make them from scratch.

These were nearly as good, and she looked around at the half-circle booths, the ceiling that mimicked fabric blowing in the wind, and wished for just a second that she was back in Pilsen, eating with family and friends in a raucous, lively arena of banter and bad jokes.

That felt like a different lifetime though. One she didn’t let herself think about.

“So, you’re a meat-eater, too?” Binky seemed to add this to the growing pile of bad attributes. “You know, a single cow needs at least eight acres of land. Cattle farming is so bad for the environment, and so cruel, too.”

Marina took a too large bite and chewed in an exaggerated manner. “But they taste so good,” she said after swallowing and dabbing at her lips with a napkin.

Binky just shook her head, looking as dejected as a child who’s been told there’s no Santa.

Marina continued to eat, savoring every bite and continuing to people watch. When she finished, she took out her phone and sipped her wine as she checked her email.

“So…” Binky set her fork down noisily. “Did you want to get a drink somewhere after this?”

Marina closed her email and weighed her options again.

One: go home alone and enjoy a night on the couch with her vibrator followed by a Netflix binge.

Two: go get drunk with Binky and have a night of tender, kink-adjacent, consensually formatted sex filled with endearments and screaming the name Binky.

“I think I’ll pass. I’m sure you can find someone on your wavelength.

A cat-loving vegan with no ambition must be waiting just around the corner. ”

Binky’s cheeks turned pink. “No need to be rude.” She fumbled out a wallet with a cartoon character on it.

“No, really. I’ve got this. You need to save your money for…

something, I’m sure.” She didn’t bother to smile or make it seem like they had anything more to say.

“In fact, I’m going to have another glass of poison and a cream-heavy dessert.

Feel free to make your way back to your bedroom in your parents’ house. ”

Binky stood, looking shaken. “You know, I didn’t think there was any truth to the thing about generations being too different to make it work. But you’re obviously older and jaded, and that’s just a sad vibe in this day and age.” She put her jacket on. “Thank you for dinner.”

Marina gave her a mock salute and sighed into her wine glass as Binky the Boring left, her head held high.

She was right though. The age gap thing may not have made a difference before, but the world itself was different now, and she just couldn’t get on board with the touchy-feely, no ambition, no drive, no confrontation way of the people coming out now. There was no edge, no grit.

She ordered the tres leches cake and a glass of moscato, then continued to peruse her phone.

Her Tinder app had a red circle indicating notices, and she figured she might as well poke fun at other would-be pursuers.

Maybe she’d find a match willing to have sex without conversation.

Talking just made it clear that compatibility between the sheets was far easier to find than compatibility outside the bedroom.

For now, all she wanted was a woman with stamina who knew better than to try to stay the night. Was that so much to ask?