“Wow, Tyler. That’s…pretty wild,” she said with a hiccup of a laugh.
“Are you mocking me?”
She tried to hold back a smile. “No. Why would I do that?”
“I’m sure I heard a distinct mocking tone.”
“I’m sure you are mistaken,” she said, lifting the menu up to hide her face.
The waiter came to the table a few minutes later, holding a pen and pad in his hand. “What can I get you folks tonight?” he asked politely.
She couldn’t pronounce half the things on the menu and she didn’t know what the other half was because it was in Italian, so instead she ordered the only thing that looked familiar. “I’ll have the butternut and spinach ravioli.”
“I’ll have the veal,” Tyler said firmly.
She looked up at the waiter and smiled, her amusement threatening to brim over. “He’s off the chain tonight!”
“Youaremocking me.”
Unable to control herself any longer, Jordan burst out laughing. The waiter, a bit confused by the banter, took down the order and walked away.
“I don’t see what’s so funny,” Tyler said, slightly irritated.
“You wouldn’t.” Jordan leaned forward and all humor disappeared from her face. “So…do you want to tell me why I’m really here?”
Nervousness twitched on his face. “What do you mean?”
“I mean this whole dinner. I know it’s a sham but I don’t know what your hidden agenda is.”
“I don’t have a hidden agenda.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Spare me the bullshit. I’ve been working for you for two years and now all of a sudden, completely out of the blue, you think it’s fitting to take me out for dinner to saythank-you. No way! There is another reasonwhy I’m here tonight. So what is it? Did one of your friends dare you? Is this one of those bets?” She nodded to herself. “It is, isn’t it? I’ve seen it a million times on those badly written romantic comedies. You’re the rich guy, I’m the nerdy girl. It all makes perfect sense now. But we’re not fucking teenagers! What a stupid bet, Tyler!”
Profanities were not part of Tyler’s vocabulary and she generally tried not to drop F-bombs in his presence. But that one just slipped out and she didn’t know if it was the colorful word or the attack as a whole that caused the look of total, utter shock on his face.
He stared at her for a long time, unable to respond. After some thought, he leaned forward. “Jordan, do you realize you had that entire conversation by yourself? I assure you, there is no bet. This is just a simple dinner.”
Although still skeptical, she decided to drop the subject. He seemed edgy, constantly looking around the restaurant, but eventually his attention returned to her.
“So,” he began, subtly trying to change the topic, “your friend seems…interesting.”
“Oh, Gemma. She’s a little over the top, isn’t she? But yeah, she’s very interesting. It’s actually her place I’m staying at. She travels a lot so I kinda hold down the fort while she’s gone.”
“So it’s just you…and the cat?”
“And my dog, Roscoe. He is a Great Dane and the world’s smartest dog. He gets the paper every morning, brings my slippers, does—” She stopped when she noticed his eyes were now firmly pinned on her. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Your dog’s name is Roscoe? Like my dad?”
Her eyes widened. “Purely coincidental.”
“Not buying it.”
“It’s a very popular name for dogs.”
“Try again.”
“Yeah, I named him after your dad…but it really is a good thing. You should actually take it as a compliment.”
