4. Daniel

4

DANIEL

T he window separating the conference room and the hallway was heavily frosted along the horizon, but I could see the feet of passing staff members all day. The meetings were grueling and I was distracted every time Emily strolled past in her bright pink heels. Just thinking of her made it impossible to focus on work. I wasn’t even needed in the meeting, but our client, one of the wealthier investment firms in town, expected my presence. It allowed me to fantasize all day about her.

As the meeting drew to a close, I found myself wondering if she was out to lunch already or if I could invite her to join me again. It would be late lunch, which meant it was likely she had already eaten and I’d be rebuffed, but perhaps I could find another excuse to spend time with her. I shook hands with the clients and excused myself only to find Emily had gone out for lunch with Jill. It was a disappointment, but nothing I wasn’t prepared for.

I headed down the elevator to the small coffee shop across from the building. Michael frequented the place because they had amazing sandwiches, so I guessed he’d be there sooner or later. I found a spot in a corner booth and waited, ordering a grilled cheese and French fries. The spot had a perfect view of the office entrance, so I was poised to watch Emily return from her lunch.

She had gotten under my skin in a good way, but so deeply I couldn’t shake it. I tried to think about the advice Grace and Michael had given me last week about keeping my distance from her, but a woman that perfect—or seemingly perfect—was a diamond in the rough. I’d dated so many women who had zero in common with me. I didn’t want a relationship where I was off doing my thing, and she was off spending my money. I wanted a partnership with someone on the same level as me.

Emily and I had a lot in common. I could see us being very happy reading books and sharing about the complexities of the plots or playing basketball at the local sports club. I could also see us having crazy sex, because God knows my sex drive hadn’t slowed down at all in all these years. I needed some young spitfire to keep up with me, not a middle-aged woman who wanted nothing to do with it. And there were a number of other things we had in common.

I didn’t see her as a problem, more like the situation was a challenge we had to overcome—if she wanted to date me as much as I wanted to date her.

Before my food was delivered, Michael walked in and spotted me. He placed his own order and made his way across the small dining room to sit across from me.

“Wow, that guy is intense, huh? I can’t believe he thinks he doesn’t need legal counsel for his business. I’m glad Grace is really good at schmoozing people.”

“Look, I’ve had enough work talk for one day. Let’s just enjoy lunch and deal with that when we head back in.” I nodded at the waitress as she slid my tray in front of me and collected the number placard indicating which order was mine. The sandwich looked delicious. “Thank you.”

She nodded and walked away, and I reached for the bottle of ketchup and slathered my fries in it. “So, there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh, yeah?” Michael asked. He stole a fry off my tray and popped it in his mouth, speaking with his mouth full. “What’s that?”

“Well, you’ve known me pretty much for two decades.” I ate a fry and collected my thoughts before continuing. “You know I’m a very picky man with high standards.”

He chuckled and stole another fry. Before putting it in his mouth, he said, “That’s the understatement of the century. You’ve had what, two serious relationships?”

“Three, but I’m not counting.” I rolled my eyes at his stupid grin. “My point is, it takes a very special person to cross my radar and convince me they’re worth taking a shot on. Sure, I’ve dated plenty of women, but I haven’t met more than four worth taking on a second date, and that says something.” The waitress returned bringing Michael’s lunch. He dismissed her with a wave of the hand and hoisted his massive chicken wrap to his mouth and took a large bite.

Again speaking with his mouth full, he said, “So, who’s lucky number four?” It was disgusting watching bits of food dribble from his mouth to his tray, but that was Michael. A total slob.

“That new assistant, Emily, is right up my alley, man, and it’s not because she’s gorgeous. We have a lot in common. She’s easy to talk to. We had lunch a few times over the past week or so since she started, and I like her personality. She has a good head on her shoulders.”

The minute I told him who had piqued my interest, he scowled, but I kept talking. He wouldn’t cut me off, and it gave him time to swallow his food so I didn’t wear his lunch on my suit coat. I knew he had an opinion about it because he’d already given it to me last week, but at that point, I hadn’t even had a chance to sit and talk with her yet. Now that I had, things were different. It wasn’t just sexual attraction—though I definitely found her arousing.

Instead of lecturing me like I expected him to, Michael took another bite of food. It gave me an opportunity to expound on why this was such a dilemma for me, though maybe I was overthinking things.

“I get that it could be portrayed as wrong for me to pursue her because she is an employee, but I think I could manage to keep the job separated from the personal side. Do you think it’s wrong to ask her out? And how do I make it clear to her that it will in no way increase her chances of moving up within the company if she dates me? Not only that, but how can I ensure that she isn’t responding to me based on some sort of feeling of pressure that she has to or she’ll lose her job?” I shook my head and took a bite of my grilled cheese.

The thoughts kept running through my head that if I had met her on the street or at a bar, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Emily was much younger than me, twelve years, to be exact, but that wasn’t a hindrance in my mind. Once you hit twenty-one, age was just a number. It was the job that complicated things.

“I tried to tell you the other day. It’s a bad idea. You’re looking at bad press, complications within the office like drama and such. And what if she does just feel pressured to date you because you are her boss and she doesn’t want to turn you down for fear of being fired? Those are all really valid things. It’s just a disaster waiting to happen, Dan.”

I chewed while I listened to him, but I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind that it didn’t have to be that way. We were grown adults. If she didn’t want to date me, I’d find some other woman somewhere and put my mind at ease—at least, I tried to convince myself I would do that. Chances were that if she rejected me, I’d probably go home and lick my wounds and sulk.

“Yeah, but?—”

“Listen,” Michael said, cutting me off, “I get that she seems so special, but there are a million other women out there who could take her place easily. I say, if you think it’s a real chance, have Olivia cut her loose now. That way, you’re free to date her.”

“That’s insane. She hasn’t done anything to warrant a termination. I could disrupt her finances. She could end up homeless or something, just so I can date her?” It was absurd that Michael thought that was a good idea.

“Well then, shut it down. It’s too risky, and you know it. You can’t afford a scandal in your life, not to mention what your parents would think. She’s practically a child still. You don’t need that hassle. Whatever happened to Keri?”

Just the name of my ex was enough to get me hot beneath the collar. I lost my appetite and pushed my plate away. “Keri is history, Mike. You know that. It was a set up from the beginning, and I only dated her to humor my parents.”

“Just saying.” He continued to eat as if he were ravenous, but I was finished.

“I think I’m going to head back. I want to catch Em before she heads up.” I collected my tray and scooted out of the booth.

“You’re already using nicknames?” Michael scoffed and shook his head at me again. It seemed his eyes liked to roll around in his head a lot lately. “Cut it off, Daniel. It’s bad news. I’m telling you, it’s going to go sideways real fast, and you’re going to wish you had listened to me.”

“Thank you for your advice, Michael, but as my oldest and truest friend, you know I’m not going to listen to it.” I chuckled and expected him to catch the joke, but his glower stayed firmly intact.

“I’ll see you back at the office.” I strolled away, dumping my tray off at the busing station before leaving the shop. I had never been one to take the safe route. If I had, I wouldn’t be head partner in the highest-grossing firm in the state. Sometimes risks paid off, and this was a gamble I was willing to bet on.