“She didn’t really love me.” There was bitterness there.
Zita’s first reaction was always to soothe, but today she didn’t have the energy. Today she wished she could date someone who just wanted a good time, no strings attached. She chose to keep the conversation light. “What do you do?”
“I’m searching for work. No one is hiring at the moment. I wouldn’t have thought finding a mechanical engineering job would be so difficult down here.”
“Have you had much experience?”
“Some, here and there.”
Though she knew she was going to regret suggesting it, she said, “My sister works at an oil refinery. I can ask if they’re hiring at the moment.”
“They probably aren’t.”
Could he be less enthusiastic? “It never hurts to ask.”
“If you want.”
Wow, he wasn’t willing to put any effort in. “I’ll contact you if there’s something.” She added it to her mental to-do list and picked up the menu. “Shall we order?” The quicker they ate, the faster she could escape.
Conversation drifted to what they were going to eat and then to movies they had watched recently.
“Jessica didn’t like mainstream movies,” Chad said. “She said they were trash wrapped up in a shiny package.”
Zita resisted rolling her eyes. “And what do you think?”
He shrugged. “I like the blockbusters.”
“Great. What’s your favorite?”
She continued to prompt him for information, but it was like getting Carmen to stop prying. Almost impossible. Not once did he ask her anything about herself.
When her phone rang, she lunged for it. “I’m so sorry,” she said to Chad. “I thought I had it on silent.” Her finger brushed the answer button. She winced. “Hello?”
“Zita, it’s David Randall.”
The deep tone of his voice was enough to make her smile. “Hi, David. How are you?”
“Good. Do you have time to talk about the meeting today?”
She glanced across at Chad who was staring morosely at his beer bottle. “I’d love to, but I’m out at the moment.”
“Oh, right.” His disappointment was clear.
“How about I call you tomorrow night?”
“That would be great.”
She hung up.
“Who was that? Rebecca said you didn’t have a boyfriend.”
She frowned. “It was work related.”
“Why is he calling after hours then?”
She didn’t have to explain, but he looked hurt. “It has to do with the charity I work for. David knew I was busy this afternoon.”
“Right.” He didn’t ask her anything further.
