Connie Rubirosa knew there were two reasons Jack McCoy wanted her to replace the late Alexandra Borgia as his assistant: She had previously been Abbie Carmichael's assistant when Abbie was Jack's assistant and then was assistant to Abbie's best friend Alexandra Cabot when Cabot was the main SVU ADA before having to go into witness protection for nearly two years thanks to Cesar Valdez and his men, and her understanding the kind of loss she at least at the time thought she had with Alex C. when that happened. The only reason she didn't replace Alex C. as SVU ADA in 2003 was because she and Arthur Branch both knew she wasn't yet ready to handle that level of responsibility, plus the cases in SVU were really starting to wear her down. Her being able to move to straight homicide, where she was most recently second chair to Lexi's best friend and now-Homicide Bureau Chief Susanne Chambliss-Gorton really had helped her make the transition to becoming second chair to Jack, the #2 man in the DA's Office a lot easier as Susanne was clearly becoming a younger version of Jack, though still nothing like Jack himself.
Her new responsibilities as Jack's assistant left her at odds with him at times, but she knew having been around him when she was Abbie's assistant (in Abbie's last year of the DA's Office before moving on in 2001 to the US Attorney's Office) he could be stubborn at times, but usually it was because he wanted justice, and even more so after losing Lexi as brutally as she was murdered. It wasn't easy for Connie, but in the end she knew this would prepare her in becoming a better prosecutor herself, something she promised her grandmother who had passed away a year earlier and whom she lived with from when she first joined the DA's Office in 1999 until her death before that happened (with Jack unable to believe she was paying less than half Lexi was for an apartment in Manhattan that was larger than the one Lexi had in Brooklyn until he realized that Connie's in a turn-of-the-century walkup on 9th avenue and 50th street was in what used to be "Hell's Kitchen" (now the Clinton District) that was heavily Hispanic for years and the apartment, which was rent controlled and had been in the Rubirosa family for nearly 75 years).
The workload left few opportunities like a Friday night in early November for simply being out. It was one that was warmer than many, enough for her to wear a pair of ankle-wrapped ballerina flats over otherwise bare feet, but chilly enough to wear a dark, fall-weight coat-and-miniskirt set with black leggings and a white turtleneck for what was supposed to be a dinner-date in Greenwich Village that would fizzle out when he had to cancel due to work. While being polite on the phone about it, she was clearly not pleased as she began walking north towards Bleecker Street and Avenue of The Americas, aka sixth avenue, then once reaching West 3rd street crossing over and then once at West 4th street walking in a northwest direction past Sheridan Square and 7th avenue to where West 4th crosses with 10th street.
"What the...?" was Connie's reaction as just past there she felt something get inside her left shoe, first walking very slow for a couple of steps before then undoing and taking the shoe off, running her hand down the bottom of her foot (to make sure it wasn't a piece of broken glass lodged in it) before slowly resuming walking on west 4th while feeling inside her shoe, then seeing a small pebble fall from her shoe and then continuing to proceed, not bothering to stop as she was clearly frustrated at being stood up, finding a sidewalk cafe after on Bleecker between West 4th and Christopher where she would stop and not even a minute after she sat down would find Alex C. walking through the area.
"You really haven't changed much", said Alex C. to her former assistant, noticing Connie was only wearing one shoe (with her foot on top of the other) while seated with her showing a slightly amused look on her face as Alex C. took a seat at the other side of the table.
"Oh, that", Connie replied, knowing how Alex C. meant it, laughing a little before continuing by saying, "I had something get into my shoe a couple of blocks back and didn't stop to put it back on. Actually, it's quite fitting as I got stood up, saying it was because of work, and I was so mad about that I didn't feel like stopping to put it back on. It was actually someone you used to go out with and have battled in court a lot", while undoing and taking off her other shoe, not caring that temperatures were only in the 50s and she was in public.
"Interesting. I wonder who that could be", Alex C. then replied.
"Would you believe Trevor Langdon?", then said Connie.
"Actually, I would. He's a lot different now from when we dated a few years ago. My going into witness protection really changed him, as it seemed at least then from what he's said since he wished he hadn't been so arrogant with me when we saw each other. If it weren't for the fact Robert waited through two years of witness protection for me, I might've given Trevor another shot myself", then said Alex C.
"I forgot you were dating Robert before we all thought you were dead, and that he, Elliot, Olivia and Abbie were the only ones besides your mother who knew you were alive all that time, as well as with Abbie helping with all the funeral arraignments when your mother died", then said Connie.
"I know. He knew he was taking the risk I'd never come back or if I came back it would be with another man in my life, but he stood by and waited. I think he somehow knew better than me I'd eventually get out, and he was close to my mother before she died", then said Alex C., who paused briefly and then continued, "Now, as for Trevor, if he said it was because of work, it almost certainly was. Something had to come up."
Connie then replied with a bit of a resigned look on her face, "I'm sure you're right. You've known him longer than me, have squared off with him...", before pausing and then suddenly laughing a little while showing a slightly embarrassed look on her face, "I forgot, he had a big client of his firm's in court today in some lawsuit. Something had to come up on that. It's just this was really the first free night I've had in so long and I was so looking forward to just being able to have a night out."
"I know what you mean", Alex C. then replied before pausing briefly and then saying, "I'm sure Jack has given you quite a bit of agita so far."
"Sure, but it's all for the right reasons", then said Connie.
Alex C. then got a call on her cell and had to proceed, but as Connie ordered dinner she realized she was being a bit hard on herself and Trevor (even if she would never tell Trevor that), realizing she probably should give him another chance and it was just something she herself has had to sometimes deal with as an attorney.