“Tanner? Tanner, are you all right?” She wore a confused look on her face.
“Oh! Yeah. Yeah, I’m great. Sorry, my mind was wandering, thin
king about…um, work. You know how that is.” Christ. Down, boy.
“So, lunch. I cannot wait—” she started, just as the phone rang again. She mouthed I’m sorry and turned back to her computer, ready to type whatever the caller had to say. I slunk back to my desk.
Finally, at noon, I peeked around the corner into my boss Marilyn’s office. Papers were spread all over her desk. Clearly, she was up to her neck in something. I scooted past her door before she could see me and call me in to talk.
I had to do that sometimes.
Jayma was standing by the office’s front door with her bag in hand and an intern sitting in her spot to handle calls. When she saw me, her face lit up.
Damn, I liked that.
“Okay. Let’s go,” I said. We were just going out to lunch as friends, so there was no need to worry about any office gossip.
Regardless, I’d made a reservation at the restaurant we’d discussed, a happening place not far from the office, famous for being in one of the oldest buildings in all of San Francisco. It was stunning, with exposed brick and lots of heavy wood trim.
“Oh my gosh. I have wanted to come here for so long. This is awesome,” Jayma said as I held the door for her.
She followed the hostess to our seats, providing me the opportunity to walk behind her and admire her slim black skirt and sky-high fuck me pumps. Made me glad I was wearing a suit jacket to hide, my um...admiration.
“This menu looks delish,” Jayma said as she looked up just in time to see several plates of food go by.
She set her menu aside and gave her order to the waiter.
“So,” she said.
“Yes?” I said. Seemed she had something on her mind.
There was that goddamn smile again. And the freckles…
“Do you ever do anything besides work?”
This is what she had on her mind?
“I fit in some exercise every now and then. You’ve seen me. Remember?” Why was I feeling defensive? Was it because I knew she had a point?
“Yes, I do. So, I’m guessing you work late, jog, sleep, and then get up and do it all over again the next morning?”
Shit. I didn’t expect lunch to be an interrogation. And to think I’d fantasized about getting into her pants.
Was I that far off?
“You’re right,” I said, knowing that capitulation was the only way. I shook my head, all shame and sorrow.
She looked at me, head tilted as she sipped her Arnold Palmer. I was half-expecting her to pull out a note pad like a shrink.
“What’s behind all that?” she asked.
If this was what she wanted to talk about, I was going to work it.
“My family didn’t have much when we were kids. In fact, I was the first to go to college. As it is, I send money home to my mother. I guess you could say I have a lot of responsibility.” If she was going to ask, I was going to give it to her. The raw, painful truth of who Tanner Webb was.
“Wow,” she said, nodding. “I didn’t know that about you.”
“I know. Few people do. It’s really nobody’s business.”