Lars understood her fear and worry, especially when Daisy was involved with any of her father’s shenanigans. But his brow furrowed as Anna continued. “He used your first name?” he clarified. “That… unusual. The few times I've seen or heard of a bailiff interacting with anyone, they use last names…” he murmured, trying not to add to her worries but feeling that she needed to hear it.
Anna blinked, realizing it at the same time Lars did. "No," she murmured softly. "No, Lars, you're right." The way they effortlessly worked together, building on each other's words and ideas was overshadowed by the fear of what his words could mean. Terror flitted across her face as she turned thoughts and possibilities over and over in her mind. "You don't think…" she whispered quietly. "He wasn't a bailiff."
Lars reached across the table, placing his hand on top of hers. "It'll be ok, Anna." he assured. "We can look into whether or not that man was a bailiff and if he wasn't… Then you and Daisy can stay at my place until we figure out what kind of stupidity Harry's gotten himself into." he offered, clearly intending to follow through with every word.
Anna nodded, resetting herself firmly. His hand covering hers gave her strength. He gave her strength.
“Thank you, Lars,” she whispered. “That means the world to me. Daisy will understand too. She’s very smart, so she’ll figure it out herself if we don’t tell her.” She laughed quietly to relieve her tension. “Though you’d better keep any incriminating photos hidden, or you may end up with a spot in Daisy’s camera roll.”
“Of course she’s smart. She's your daughter.” Lars smiled softly, leaving his hand on hers. “And don't worry, I’ll hide everything I don't want her to see.” he added to try to lighten the mood a little.
Anna offered a faint smile. “Yes, well, she’s also Harry’s,” she muttered sardonically.
She drew her own hand back into her lap after Lars lifted his away and laughed quietly. “She’s turned into quite the little investigator. Do you know what she told me just the other day? That she wants to be a journalist and travel the world to write about all sorts of things.”
The woman sighed softly. “As much as it scares me to let her go eventually, I think she’ll be a wonderful reporter.”
“True, but we both know she didn't get her brains from him.” Lars couldn't help but smirk. His smile grew, however, as Anna talked about her daughter. “An investigative journalist. That's quite a profession. I can understand why you want to keep her safe but when she’s older I hope she sticks with that dream.”
(I'm pretending they already placed their orders lol)
Anna laughed quietly, and she smiled back at Lars. "Indeed," she murmured.
Her gaze softened as she studied Lars. "I hope so too," she agreed. Her lips parted like she was going to say something more, but just then, the server came with their meals, and the moment was lost.
(That's fine)
Lars nodded at her words, though he raised a brow as she started to say more before their meal arrived. He held back a sigh and politely thanked the waiter. A part of him wanted to ask what she was about to say but it felt… wrong. As if the waiter had derailed an entire conversation before it happened just by showing up. That was an irritating thought.
Anna noticed the way Larson looked as the waiter dropped off their food. She reacted the same way, but kept her expression plain. She murmured a polite thanks to the waiter, but as soon as the man was out of earshot, she looked over at Lars with a small disbelieving smile. “Obviously, timing is not our friend today,” she mused.
Lars couldn't help but let out a soft laugh at her quip, glad she had broken the tension and nodded. "Apparently not. Hopefully, this doesn't follow us back to work." he said, shaking his head. Things were difficult enough already for both of them.
“I agree,” Anna replied. “Not that I’ve ever believed in luck, but…” She trailed off and shook her head. “Nevermind. It sounds silly.” Instead of continuing to talk, Anna took a small bite of her food.
“No, go on.” Lars encouraged, wanting to hear what she was going to say. “Besides, I was never a big believer in luck either but it still helps.”
Anna lifted a hand to her mouth to cover it as she swallowed to speak again. "All I was going to say is that some of my more recent cases seemed to have been won on a prayer. Right at the last minute, some new piece of evidence is found, or the last witness' testimony doesn't exactly align with the rest. That sort of thing."
She shook her head and glanced away from Lars. "I don't feel like a very good solicitor when things like that happen. I feel as though I missed something that should have been obvious all along, and I've dragged a client through one nervous hell after another all for an innocent verdict."
“I have noticed that.” Lars nodded. “But that doesn't mean that you are any less skilled than anyone else. If something was missed it doesn't mean that it was obvious either or that you were specifically responsible.” he assured, though he would agree with her sympathy for her clients.
Anna inhaled slowly. Her lapse in work was noticeable. If Lars picked up on it, surely Nathan had too. Maybe that’s why Larson couldn’t consult. It was a test from Nathan to see how she could really handle herself. Win a case without some kind of Godsend in the final hour.
“You’re right,” she conceded. “Still, I can’t help but feel…” Her shoulders dropped a bit, and she sighed. “Dull.”
“You’re not dull.” Lars assured. “And you are still one of the most skilled barristers I know. Just because you’ve had some difficult cases solved at the last minute does not mean that you have lost your touch in court.” he insisted.
Anna did her best to look like she believed him. She certainly felt dull. Though his compliments brought a small, genuine smile to her lips despite herself. It worried her that she might have 'lost her touch,' but his reassurance convinced her otherwise. "Careful Lars," she teased. "If you keep fluffing up my ego, I'll become insufferable."
Lars chuckled, raising a brow as she smiled. “Anna, my dear friend, after everything you have been through, your ego could use a boost.” he replied easily. “It would take a lifetime for you to become insufferable to me.”
Anna blushed heavily. “Lars…” she began, but she only trailed off. Words escaped her. She shook her head slightly. “You flatter me,” she finally finished, lifting her brown eyes up to meet his green ones. Some kind of emotion sent chills along her back. But Anna ignored it.
Lars also blushed, softly, once he realized how his last sentence could have sounded. But he smiled when Anna met his gaze. “Well, that was the point.” he admitted with a light chuckle.
Anna’s heart raced by some chance as he met her gaze. She stilled for a moment, trapped in his strong green gaze. His eyes… she didn’t think she’d ever stop wanting to look at his eyes. The color was striking, but they were also… kind. She couldn’t explain it. It was like there was something lit behind them that she hadn’t seen in anyone else before.
His chuckle brought her back, and she shook her head. “If you insist,” she murmured, pushing her food around with her fork absently.
Lars could feel his breath hitch in his throat as he looked at her warm chocolate eyes. They were so soft but he wasn't blind to the sadness or near exhaustion that shadowed Anna's gaze. Not that he could blame her for any of it. He just wanted to do whatever he could to help her.
"I do." he nodded, with a warm smile. "You deserve to be flattered. Especially for your skill in court." he added hastily. As much as he cared for her, he didn't want to make things awkward for them in their work together or make things worse between her and Harry.
Anna was so lost in his eyes that she missed his breath catch. She would have definitely noticed it otherwise. It was like some kind of electrical connection between them was severed when she looked away.
She smiled shyly at his words. “Thank you,” she murmured quietly. The moment occurring between them was special… until, of course, they were interrupted.
“Anna? Larson?”
Anna turned in her chair to see another of their coworkers, Jonathan Kerrigan striding toward them. She greeted him with a simple smile, trying to hide her irritation and disappointment. “Hello, Johnny, how are you?”
The suave man grinned, not registering anything Larson said if the other man replied at all. “Fine, fine. Listen, I meant to congratulate you on the Anderson case. Your closing speech was amazing.”
Anna’s eyes widened, and she blushed lightly. “Oh, well, thank you.” She opened her mouth to speak again, but Johnny was already talking.
“I've always admired you,” he praised her smoothly. “You know, how you see a case. How you hold all the facts in your head. And then you know how to present them to a jury so that they see the story just as you want them to. It’s… It's really sexy.”
Anna stiffened and blushed harder. Her eyes glanced to Larson like a cry for help.
It was then that Johnny seemed to remember Larson’s presence. “Shit, sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
His smile grew, almost blushing, at her soft gratitude before a different voice spoke up. Any other circumstance and Lars probably wouldn't have minded running into their colleague… but right now, he was annoyed.
“Hello, John.” he nodded politely, taking a sip of his wine. Until Kerrigan tried to flirt with Anna! He nearly choked for a moment before giving the other man an incredulous look once he recovered. “Oh, of course, you didn't mean to.” he replied with a controlled note of sarcasm. “Was there something you wanted? Or is it something that we can talk about in the office? In front of Nathaniel?” he added almost warningly.