“So your apology was sincere?”
I frowned. “Did you really think I was pulling your leg?”
“I can’t always read you,” she said honestly. “It makes me nervous sometimes because you’re not predictable. I thought you might be and making fun of me before you fired me.”
I don’t know why that upset me so much, but it did. I felt this deep-seated disappointment in myself and wondered how I had become this kind of guy.
“I hate that you think I would be capable of doing something like that,” I said.
Kristen frowned at me and looked like she wanted to say something, but she was holding her tongue because for all intents and purposes, I was still her boss.
“What is it?” I asked gently. “You can tell me.”
“Well… Given how things went recently, I wasn’t willing to put anything past you,” she explained haltingly.
I deserved that, but it still hurt. “I am sorry—sincerely,” I reiterated. “I know I was a complete jerk—and worse—and everything you said in your first email was absolutely on point.”
“You’re not mad at me?” Kristen asked uncertainly.
“No, I’m not,” I said honestly. “In fact, I’m mad at myself for how I’ve behaved towards you. I was completely out of line and very unprofessional. You did me a favor even though you didn’t have to, and I repaid you by kicking you out in the middle of the night. When I think about it now, I can’t quite believe that was me.”
“You know, you could benefit from writing your feelings down,” Kristen said, and even though her tone was light, I could sense the seriousness underlying it. “It seems like you have a lot of pent-up frustration.”
“You have no idea,” I replied darkly. “In any case, I want to make it up to you.”
“Oh,” she said, sounding immediately nervous. “No, really, that’s not necessary. All I really wanted was an apology, and now that I’ve got it, I’m happy.”
“That’s big of you, but you did suffer through weeks of my uncouth behavior towards you,” I said. “So it’s only fair that I try to make amends by taking you out to dinner.”
Her eyes went wide with surprise. She had clearly not expected that, and I was a little surprised at my own suggestion. I had made a spur-of-the-moment decision, but I realized that I didn’t want to rescind the offer.
“What do you say?” I asked.
“Uh… Well… I don’t know.”
“It’s the least I can do,” I insisted. “I have a meeting today at six. Hopefully, it should finish by seven, seven-thirty the latest. We can go for dinner afterward. I know this great little fusion place a few blocks from here.”
She just sat there silently for a while, considering my offer. “Tonight?” she asked tentatively.
“Yes,” I nodded. “Unless you have plans?”
“I don’t.”
“Great,” I nodded. “Then it’s settled?”
“Um…sure.”
I smiled. “Great, I’ll call my babysitter and tell her she needs to stay a few hours longer.”
Kristen hesitated for a moment. “I guess… I’ll get back to my desk then.”
I nodded and watched her walk out. She definitely had similarities to Daphne, but there was something different about her, too. She was unlike Daphne in that she was a little shyer and a little less confident. But I sensed that Kristen had the same strength that Daphne had—she just didn’t know it yet.
Chapter Twelve
Kristen
I had to admit it; I was freaking out just a little bit. He had basically asked me out. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t really asked me out... But he was taking me out to a restaurant for dinner. Yes, it was after work, and we’d be dressed professionally, and we’d probably spend the whole night talking about the company and the recent business merger that went through, but it was still dinner… Alone… With Jake.