He nodded. “Lucas’s team is here. Not in the restaurant, but outside. They’ll get photos of us arriving and leaving together. Nothing invasive, just enough to establish that we were here.”
My nose wrinkled. “They’re not listening in, are they? I don’t consent to being recorded.”
Dane cracked a smile. “This is off the record, senator.”
“Are people watching us in here?” I asked.
“Probably.” He gestured vaguely behind me. “You’re sitting with your back to the room, which means I can see everyone and you can focus on me. It also means anyone looking over will see you in profile but won’t be able to catch your expression unless they’re very obvious about it.”
“You’ve thought this through.” I raised my glass to him. “You should have been a spy.”
“Lucas gets all the credit for that. I’m just following his plan.”
I took another sip of wine, feeling some of the tension in my shoulders starting to ease. The wine was helping. Would it be rude to ask for a bottle to go? I dismissed the thought. Not on the first date.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
I laughed. “I thought I wasn’t but I’ve been drooling since I walked in here.”
I didn’t tell him I’d been drooling for him. Also for something sweet but mostly for him.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Obviously it’s on me. This whole thing is on me. You’re doing me a favor by being here.”
“It’s not problem,” I said, looking around. “Just maybe give me more warning than twenty minutes. And maybe make it clear what kind of dress code we’re working with.”
He leaned back in his chair and looked way too relaxed. “That’s fair. I know this was last minute. I just figured we needed to talk, now that we’re official.”
I liked the sound of that, being official with him.
Stop that! He’s your boss!
“Right, so where do we start?” I asked. “What do I need to know about Dane Kavanagh, dashing bachelor ruling over his empire of love?”
He snorted and it was almost a laugh. “Please don’t describe me that way. But feel free to ask me anything.”
“Twenty questions. I’ll start easy.” I settled back in my chair, too, feeling bolder now. “Your accent. At the deli. Your voice was different. Did I detect an Irish accent?”
His brows knitted together. “You noticed that.”
“Hard not to when you went from Manhattan CEO to something else entirely in the span of about twelve seconds.”
“I was born in Dublin. My family came here when I was ten. I spent my teenage years trying to hide the accent, to fit in. I worked hard to sound American. By the time I got to college, most people couldn’t tell I wasn’t born here.”
“But it comes back when you’re angry?”
“Or stressed. Or dealing with pushy deli workers who are giving someone a hard time.” He smiled slightly. “I worked hard to train it out, but it’s still there. Underneath.”
“I like it,” I said before I could think better of it.
“Thanks.”
The server came over to take our order. Dane chose for us both without looking at the menu. When we were alone again, the conversation flowed easier than I expected it to.
Turned out, Dane wasn’t so bad.
At some point, I realized I’d forgotten this was supposed to be a performance.
I was just talking to Dane. Laughing with him while we ate the most amazing meal I ever had the pleasure of tasting. I almost forgot he was my boss with the perpetual stick lodged in his ass.
