Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
“You look great.”
I glance down at my blouse. “Oh, thank you.”
He’s wearing a dark suit, a white shirt and a light-blue tie. He probably didn’t have a chance to go home and change after work.
He takes a bottle of wine from an ice bucket in the center of the table, about to pour some into my glass when I put my palm over the rim.
“I can’t, but thanks.”
He furrows his brow, looking disappointed. “I think you’ll love this wine. Just give it a try.”
I don’t want to offend him. Retaining the Sundrift account has been my biggest accomplishment since starting my job. I relent.
“Okay, I’ll have a small glass.”
I’ll just sip it very, very slowly. Alcohol and contract drafting are not a good mix. It’s enough that I already worked all day and now I’m working away the evening; I don’t want to be here until the place closes.
I can’t show signs of impatience, though. It’s usually the firm’s attorneys who wine and dine clients, and I’ve seen Kathy in action a few times. She’s always completely engaged with the client, never distracted, and always starts off with personal talk, never going straight to business.
“So how are things?” I ask. “Is your family good?”
“My daughter is loving Stanford, thanks for asking. Now that I’m divorced, she’s the sum total of my family.”
“Stanford, wow. Good for her. What’s she studying?”
“Engineering. And she plays lacrosse.”
I’ve never seen a lacrosse game in my life. Or do they have matches? I’m a Southside Chicago girl and I know zero things about lacrosse. It’s these conversations with the firm’s wealthy clients that make me feel like a giant fraud, playing at understanding their world of luxury.
“That’s amazing.” I try to come up with more small talk, but I’ve got nothing.
“And what about you?” he asks.
“Oh, you know. Just the usual. Work and my kids, my kids and work.”
“You have two kids, right? High school age?”
I laugh. “I have nine-year-old twin boys.”
“Oh.” A flicker of something passes over his face, but it’s gone quickly. “They must keep you busy.”
“Always.”
We both speak at the same time, each of us stopping after a few words.
“Go ahead,” he says, smiling.
“Oh, I was just going to ask if you had a chance to look over the questions I sent in my email yesterday.”
“I did, and I’ve got answers for you.” He runs a hand through his short salt-and-pepper hair. “But, uh...before we do that...I’ve been wanting to ask you on a date for a while now.”
I gape at him, shocked. “Me?”
“Yeah, you. You’re beautiful and you have a contagious laugh. But I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, so I thought I’d ease into it with this working dinner.”
I’m supposed to say something here, but I’m staring at him like a deer facing oncoming headlights. What should I say?
Harrison has always been a nice guy who’s great to work with. But I don’t think of clients or coworkers that way.
I have to say something. The silence is awkward.
“I...was on a self-imposed dating ban until very recently. There was...well, I was stalked, to be honest.”
He pinches his brows together. “God, I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. He’s in jail now. Or prison, I guess. But...yeah.”
“Well, I’m sure you don’t want to jump right into anything. But if you’d consider even having coffee with me, just to see if...” He laughs nervously. “If I’m crazy for thinking there could be something between us, I guess.”
He’s a client. I can’t shut him down. And maybe the fact that Harrison isn’t someone I’ve ever found myself attracted to is exactly the reason I should give him a chance. I’m batting .000 with men by trusting my gut. I should try giving my head a shot at being in charge.
“I’d like that,” I say.
He exhales heavily and grins. “Phew. You had me sweating there.”
I’m probably sweating myself. I’m still kind of stunned about what just happened. I offer Harrison a quick smile and then move on.
“Tonight, though, we do have to knock out this contract. I told Kathy I’d have a draft for her by noon tomorrow.”
He nods, looking much more relaxed. “We mustn’t disappoint Kathy. Let’s get to work.”
We start discussing the contract, but in the back of my mind, I’m freaking out a little bit. Harrison Stevens wants to go out with me. I’ve always thought of him as a serious, smart client. Emphasis on the word client. When I try to look at him through a dating lens, it’s...strange. I think he’s at least forty-five years old. If he has a daughter in college, his daughter is closer to my age than he is.
Half an hour into our discussion, I’ve only drank about half an inch of the wine in my glass and I’ve stress eaten half a loaf of bread. I excuse myself to go to the bathroom, where I frantically dial Tess from inside a stall.