She started to protest and mention she’d eaten cheese crackers, but she remembered they hadn’t stayed down. She gave in without argument. “Anything would be fine.”
Steven remembered a place that had great soups and breads. When their orders arrived and Anne swallowed a few bites of creamy potato soup, he gave her an approving nod.
Johanna touched her hand. “Anne, you had not been working at Gherring Inc. for very long when I first met you. How do you like your job? Are you planning to stay? Or will you go back to Texas?” Her eyes twinkled with mischief as she queried her. Anne took it as an opportunity to give Steven a hard time.
“Most days I like my job just fine. But the boss can be a bit controlling. One time he even tried to tell me what I should eat and drink. Can you believe that?”
The corner of Steven’s mouth curled up. “Personally, I feel sorry for your boss, never being able to predict what you might do next. He must have to work very hard to stay ahead of you.”
“That does sound like hard work,” said Johanna, with a grin.
Straining, Anne managed to keep a straight face. “Oh I don’t mean to complain about my boss. He’s very misunderstood. People think he’s really scary, but he’s actually very sweet.”
“I think he’s scarier than you realize.” His eyes twinkled with humor, but he kept his smile at bay. “I’ve seen him lose his temper when someone is too stubborn for their own good.”
“If that were true, he’d be angry with himself. I’ve never seen anyone more stubborn in my life.”
Steven’s grin flashed for a half-second before vanishing.
“Really?” he asked. “You’ve never seen a more stubborn person? Don’t you have a mirror in your apartment?”
Anne slapped a hand over her mouth, but not in time to keep a snort of laughter from escaping. Johanna and Alexander joined in as Steven flagged two fingers in the air.
“And Gherring scores!”
Thursday was uneventful at work. Anne finalized the plans for the Christmas party for Saturday night. Emily called to tell her Grandpa was out of the hospital, at her apartment and doing well. Anne tried Charlie’s cell phone several times, but she never got an answer.
Henri called when she was in Steven's office. Anne answered but tried to keep her conversation generic. “Hi, how are you?”
“Hello ma jolie fille. I will be in town tomorrow as I thought. We can have dinner together? Seven o’clock?”
“Seven. That sounds great.”
“I will pick you up at your apartment lobby at seven. Oui? I think I have much to tell you. Anna-Laure is through her first chemotherapy session. She has two weeks before she begins another session. You are still praying?”
“Yes. Every single day.”
Steven tilted his head as she disconnected the call. “Hot date tonight?”
“Yes. I plan to get very hot with my treadmill tonight. Or to be more precise, I’m getting hot with your treadmill.”
A grin appeared on his face. “That conjures some very interesting images.”
“Stop looking at them, please.”
“I can’t help it. When I close my eyes, the images are still there.” He clenc
hed his eyes shut to demonstrate. “Wait, I can see even better with my eyes closed. Wow! I didn’t even know that was possible. You’re more flexible than I realized.” He flinched when Anne’s ink pen flew across the desk and hit him in the head.
“You can’t blame a guy for watching when he gets a chance like that,” he chuckled.
“Stop it!” she ordered, but the corners of her mouth twitched as she suppressed a smile. “So… you’ve really hit it off with Ellen, huh?”
He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “She’s a great girl. Very talented. Beautiful. Sophisticated. Fairly perfect, I suppose.”
Her heart turned over at his words. But she was glad, wasn’t she? Yes, of course. She was glad she’d brought them together. She’d done a great job of matchmaking.
“But… I might wish she was a bit older,” he added.