Maybe Later(45)

AWalk90: Friend?

AWalk90: Did you demote her from date to a friend?

JSpear84: Are you this nosy with all your clients?

AWalk90: Only the ones who like their privacy. I’m just trying to help you work through your issues.

JSpear84: My only issue is my virtual assistant. She likes to make my life miserable with all her questions.

AWalk90: Somehow, I think you enjoy being the center of my attention.

JSpear84: Does your husband enjoy your questions? Fiancé, live-in boyfriend, or significant other. Aha, your wife maybe?

AWalk90: What if I have a boyfriend and a girlfriend?

JSpear84: To each their own. If that’s what works for you guys, I think it’s very respectable. So, you are such a handful that you need two handlers, huh?

AWalk90: I am a handful, but I only need one person. He has to be enough to handle me because I’m not easy. Thank you for that, I kind of needed to hear it. Today I had some doubts, but now with what you’re telling me, it’s a confirmation of what I need to do. Don’t forget your appointment and your date.



Wednesday, May 4th, 1:46 p.m.



Emmeline: Hi, I have to cancel today’s date.

Jack: Why? Is it work? I can move it to 8.

Emmeline: No, something else came up.

Jack: Em, please, come with me. I have plans for us. I think you’re going to enjoy tonight. Is it because you don’t know anything awkward about me?

Jack: What if I confess that I had to jerk off on Monday after we hung up the phone?

Emmeline: That’s kind of funny, but that’s not it.

Jack: What’s happening?

Emmeline: I’m a handful, there’s no point to try something that will fail.

Jack: Em, please take a chance on us. I’m not sure what happened between Monday and right now, but please give us a chance.

Emmeline: Do you like my spontaneity? Because it can get worse.

Jack: I do.

Emmeline: Tell me something awkward about yourself?

Jack: Jerking off isn’t enough?

Emmeline: I threw you a little fantasy, it’s normal.

Jack: I feel like I’ve known you for a long time and I like it.

Emmeline: …



She doesn’t answer my text. My phone rings. It’s an emergency in the prototype department. I leave my desk but bring my phone with me as I try to answer some questions and help the head of the department solve the issues. We need more personnel and a bigger location. We’re growing faster than I‘d anticipated. A twenty-minute consultation becomes a three-hour meeting. When I get to my office, I text Emmeline again.





*



Wednesday, May 4th, 5:03 p.m.



Jack: Are we still on for tonight?

Emmeline: Yes, but there’s a change of plans.

Jack: What is it?

Emmeline: We have to have dinner early because there’s a concert I really want to attend.

Jack: I’ll be at your house at five thirty.

Emmeline: Seriously?

Jack: Looking forward to seeing you.

Emmeline: [blush emoji]





*



Wednesday, May 4th, 6:17 p.m.



The sight of Emmeline across from the table, smiling as she’s telling me about her day has a strange effect on me. I didn’t have a good day. Thinking about relocating the company was putting me into the worst mood I’ve had in months. But just having her with me makes me feel wistful.

What is this woman doing to me?

She might not be wearing the tight little number she described last Monday but the loose, sleeveless dresses paired with leggings and a pair of sandals is more than enough to make me want to touch her body, badly.

“Thank you for following my last-minute plan,” she says. “I had no idea Pamplona was in town.”

“What happened to your barre class?”

“Who cares about barre when Jonathan Kessler is here to play—for me,” she says. Her eyes twinkle. “Next Tuesday I’ll try the barre class. Also, thank you for bringing me here. This is one of the few places where I wouldn’t feel comfortable dining by myself.”

“Do you usually eat by yourself?”

“Yes, I dine alone most of the time.”

She sighs, takes a sip of her wine and says, “And there it goes, another awkward confession by Emmeline. You need to stop asking so many questions. I can’t seem to dodge them or lie to you.”

“Thank you?” I say, giving her a strange look. “So, you’re not usually this friendly and open?”

She wipes her mouth, sets her napkin back on her lap and says. “Only with people I know. You and I are just getting acquainted. And I’m usually the one asking questions. Not the other way around.”

“You like to be the one in the know, don’t you?” I ask. It dawns on me why I’m flustering her. She likes to be in charge.

“Exactly!” she says excited. “I like facts and knowing how to help others. Actually, it’s part of my job. One of my favorite clients calls me a ninja.”

“A ninja?” I frown at the mention of that word.

“There I go again, I’m talking too much.”

She presses her lips against each other, tightly, looks around, then back at me.