When the cab pulled up at the address his assistant had slipped to him, Michael Cutter felt for a moment like he did when he'd felt a twinge of apprehension. Instead of arriving at the brownstone or an ultra modern apartment building as he assumed Connie Rubirosa would live in, the young man found himself standing in front of a Midtown eatery called Corazon y Flores. The establishment that was a far cry from the upper west side legend he had intended to take Rubirosa to that evening.
While the interior wasn't what one would call upscale, the atmosphere was warm and inviting. Cutter could smell wonderful aromas coming from kitchen while his eyes scanned the dining room for his assistant.
"Mike, in here," he heard a familiar voice call out from the lounge.
As he turned he could see Rubirosa waving to him from the bar. She looked even more beautiful in casual attire than she did in the professional wear she chose for the office.
"I hope you don't mind a change in location," she asked anxiously as the bartender and cocktail waitress move to join the couple.
"If you're more comfortable here than at Twenty One, then I'm comfortable too."
"Consuela, where are your manners," the older man behind the bar demanded feigned gruffness. "Aren't you going to introduce us to this young man?"
Cutter looked oddly at first the man, then Rubirosa who seemed unusually unfettered.
"Mike, this is my cousin Emilio Mendoza and my second cousin Carmen Rubriosa," she explained as she turned to the bartender. "Emilio, this is my boss, Michael Cutter."
As the three exchanged the usual pleasantries, Mendoza explained that he had recently opened the third in his chain of eateries; the Midtown location being the newest the newest addition to the restaurants he'd opened in the Village and Chelsea.
"Since Consuela works downtown, I've been trying to get her in here for weeks to give me an honest opinion of my new cook's creations. When she agreed to come down tonight, I had no idea she was passing up dinner at Twenty One to do me this favor."
"We can do Twenty One another night," Cutter replied as he glanced at Rubirosa. "I feel privileged that Connie not only accepted my invitation to dinner, but that she's willing to honor me by introducing me to members of her family."
"Leyla never brings boys around the family," the younger woman commented with a grin, as she watched her cousins face take on a glow. "You must be very special Miguel."
"Michael," Rubirosa countered sharply while she glared uncomfortably at her cousin. "His name is Michael, Carmen."
"Carmen," Mendoza interjected sternly while tossing a pile of cloth napkins towards her. "This is Consuela's boss. You'll call him 'Mr.Cutter' or nothing at all. Make yourself useful and finish folding these napkins. You're here to work, not to embarrass your cousin."
"Emilo, I know Mike's been on the run all day," Rubirosa said as she stood. "He's probably as hungry as I am. Maybe we should get this taste testing started?"
"Of course, if Mr. Cutter is sure he wouldn't like something from the bar first," Mendoza asked as he looked expectantly at Cutter. "The house sangrias is made from a family recipe. It's very nice, if you're a wind drinker?"
"Sangria sounds like a great start," Cutter replied. "But I'm afraid Connie's right; I haven't eaten since breakfast. Maybe I could try the wine with dinner?"
"Of course, of course," Mendoza said as he led them towards the dining room. "A wise choice on your part Mr. Cutter. Never a good idea to drink on an empty stomach."
"Please; the District Attorney – Jack McCoy- is really Connie's boss. She and I work as more of a team. I'd be much more comfortable if you called me Mike."
"As you wish Mike and I am Emilo," Mendoza said as the pair took their seats.
Cutter watched as the burly man returned to the bar to get their drinks. Noting that Mendoza could easily have been mistaken for a heavy weight champ, as opposed to a local business owner, Cutter vaguely hoped Rubirosa had either kept her belief that Cutter had 'pimped' her out to herself or had at least put a more tactful spin on it.
As if reading his mind Rubirosa smiled and placed a hand on his arm.
"I like to keep what goes on at the office separate from what goes on at home. That's really why Carmen's comment irritated me so much."
"I've noticed you keep what's private, private. That's why I'm surprised – pleasantly surprised – you asked me to meet you here tonight," Cutter said with a warm smile. "Your family seems like good people, Connie."
"Thanks. I'm glad you're not disappointed," she said shrewdly. "If you like Latin food, I know you'll enjoy what Emilo has in store for us. But I realize you're more of a Westside kind of guy. Don't be offended, but letting my supervisor buy me what would have no doubt been a two hundred dollar dinner, just to thank me for picking the right gift, doesn't feel right."
Cutter nodded as Mendoza returned with the sangria. Even when he'd made the offer, Cutter had suspected flashy eateries and expense meals weren't his assistant's style. Suggesting dinner at Twenty One had been a foolish attempt to impress a woman he had come more and more to find down to earth.
As the evening progressed, Cutter found the assortment of traditional and 'fusion' Latin dishes mouth watering. Each item seemed even more delicious than the last. When Emilo brought out the dish he named ' Shrimp Consuela' at the end, he could see his dinner companion's eyes light up as she dug into the baked seafood.
"If you like seafood, there's a place off the LIE you'll have to let me take you to sometime. The Fishtrap has the best cioppinio on the east coast."
"Humm. Cioppino is one of my all time favorite things. When I was in law school, I used to wait for a good sale at the fish market and then I'd make a big pot for the dorm," Rubirosa replied. Suddenly her relaxed manner seemed to shift as her eyes clouded while she shifted uncomfortably.
"Connie?"
"You know Mike, it probably isn't a good idea for us to make a habit out of this," Rubirosa said as she played with the stem of her wine glass.
"Because we work together or because you're not having a good time," Cutter said in a tone that was neither accusatory or confrontational.
Rubirosa looked down at her napkin before she replied. Not having a good time? Is he serious, she wondered. How can anyone not have a goodtime with a guy like Mike Cutter?
"We don't just 'work together' Mike," she pointed out as she looked up. "Despite what you said to my cousin, you are my immediate supervisor."
"Connie, I meant what I said to your cousin," Cutter said. He felt almost relieved to finally have the opening he was looking for to begin the main reason he had pursued a dinner with Rubirosa so hard."Yes, technically I'm your supervisor. But practically speaking, we're partners Connie. I trust your judgment as much as I would if you were the one with the Executive in front of your title. That fiasco over that juror made me realize how much I do value your opinion."
"It sure didn't look that way to me, Mike," she retorted, as she made one of her legendary faces. "we both know, even if Jack hadn't walked in and made the decision for us, you'd have ordered me not to go to the judge about that guy. Even knowing how much it bothered me, you wouldn't have risked a mistrial just to appease me."
Cutter had given that argument more thought in the last month than he had any of the closing arguments he'd written for court in that same time frame. Yes, he wanted that guilty verdict, from that jury. No, he didn't want to risk a second trial and having evidence or witnesses disappear or become compromised.
Yes, he'd trivialized what he could see now were his 'partner's' legitimate concerns in almost the blink of an eye.
"I'm not Jack, Connie," Cutter said earnestly. "I'm still new to the game in major felonies. Yeah, I wanted to score another win, basically to impress the boss. But, just because I made that mistake once doesn't mean I have to make it again. That juror could have been a slime ball. After you told me he approached you on the street, it finally hit me the risk I was taking with your safety by not pointing his interest of not out to the judge at least to you. Even if Jack didn't agree, I'd never let that happen again."
"Jack agrees? The way Jack's been acting lately I don't think he'd care if the guy had turned out to be a serial killer, as long as Jack could point to another win."
Cutter could hear the faintest bit of disappointment in her voice. He knew in the time she'd worked with McCoy before his promotion, Rubirosa had developed almost a father/daughter rapport with the charismatic older man.
The fact McCoy had so bluntly dismissed her reservations had to have cut Rubirisa to the quick.
"You're wrong Connie," Cutter replied with certainty that made Rubirosa sit up and look across at her companion more intently. "We both know what the Waxman verdict cost Jack when he put that case before the feelings of Dr. Olivet. Even though he isn't about to talk about it with me, he did call me in to talk about what happened with you."
"When? Not right after the case? He was so wrapped up with his own agenda, not to mention worrying about his wife since they found out she's going to have a baby-"
"No, not right after," Cutter said as he reached to fill their wine glasses. "I came in early and Jack was already in his office. Between you and me, it was obvious Jack was hung over. It was just the two ofus. To make a long story short, he told me about what happened to the assistant of his you replaced. What was her name?"
"Borgia," Rubirosa said uncertainly. "Jack talked to you about Alex Borgia?"
Rubirosa's eyes widened as Cutter nodded while taking another bite of her meal. She knew McCoy rarely discussed his relationships with his former assistants. McCoy had shared the story of Alex Borgia, the assitant that had been brutally murdered once and only because Rubirosa had felt silly telling him about the threat a defendant had made against her in arriangment court a few weeks after she became his assistant. McCoy kept his comments brief, but his grief and guilt were obvious, which made his remarks even more sorrowful to Rubirosa.
"Connie, the last thing that man wants is for something to happen to you like it did to Alex Borgia," Cutter said solemnly. "The bottom line is; both Jack and I know that not only did we act unprofessionally by taking the decision out of your hands, we inadvertently put you at risk," he continued as he reached for her hand. "If something had happened to you because of it, neither one of us could have lived with ourselves. Neither of us is about to make that same mistake twice."
Rubirosa looked down at the hand that made hers seem so small and delicate by comparison. Listening to Cutter's surprising words; words that held so much sincerity made the young woman also sorry for staying angry at Cutter for a long as she had. Although her hand felt pleasantly warm and secure in his, Rubirosa deftly slipped her hand onto her lap.
"Don't you need that for your 'gadget'," she said, trying to bring a lighter mood back to their conversation. "I think this is the longest I've seen you go without checking your BlackBerry."
Cutter smiled back at his assistant. If he didn't know her better, Cutter would have assumed he had over stepped and possibility offended her. The strategy Rubirosa regularly used when she felt uncomfortable or unsure was recognizable to Cutter immediately.
"Actually, I've had the BB sitting out all evening," he deadpanned. "Every time Emilo came out with a new dish and you two chatted, I was texting West Law to check precedents for that case Jack tossed on my desk ten minutes before I was due back in court."
"You have not," Rubirosa said incredulously as she leaned over to scan Cutter's side of the booth.
As he started to snicker, Rubirosa gave him a sharp look of confusion before leaning back realizing she'd been had.
"Very funny, Mike."
"Yes, it was," he agreed as he continued to chuckle. "That's one of the things that makes working with you so much fun, Connie. Sometimes you're just too easy."