Brown hair, straight and past her shoulders, a part on the side, a few soft floating layers in it around her face.
She had black pants on and a light blue sweater, a lanyard on her neck holding her ID and most likely a card that got her around the building. Simple and efficient, just as he remembered.
But he remembered so much more.
The way she laughed at his jokes. A true laugh, not one forced to make him think he was funny.
How she didn’t pull away when he touched her hand, but almost clung on longer.
She said she wasn’t looking for more, but her actions spoke more than her words ever did.
“That’s fast,” he said.
She pushed the cart in and brought it to the table, then set it.
He didn’t want her to work, she was here as his guest. A date in his mind. Not hers, but he’d work on that more.
He grabbed one dome off a dish, saw it was his burger and put it in front of one chair.
“We try to be efficient.”
“Loosen up, Natalie. You’re not working right now. This is your lunch hour, right?”
She laughed. “Sure.”
“It bothers you to socialize when you should be working, right?”
She sighed. “Maybe just a little.”
She sat and put a napkin on her lap, then picked up her fork to cut into the salad in front of her.
“You were like this in school too. Always ahead of the game and making sure it was just right.”
“Why bother doing something if you don’t put your full effort in?” she asked.
“That might be my problem.”
She grinned and put her hand up in front of her mouth where she was chewing, then said, “You’re staying here for a month when you could go to a lot of quality places for less. Are you taking a long vacation or working?”
“A combination of both,” he said.
She nodded and continued to chew. He took a few bites of his burger, not bothered by the silence. They were both feeling their way through this.
Though he had to admit, there was no tension or awkward vibes coming off of her.
“What do you do?” she asked
“Right now, I’m trying to figure that out.”
She frowned, and he could tell she was being polite, holding back the questions she clearly wanted to ask.“We all find it at some point in our lives.”
“Oh, don’t be that way,” he said. He was going to put her business mode in the hall like he’d been able to do years ago. “Tell me I’m nuts. That I need to grow up. Or ask why I haven’t figured it out yet. Don’t worry about being rude.”
“I’m hardly ever rude.”
“That’s right. You don’t get messed up much, you don’t get your nose out of joint, and you never ruffle feathers. That’s probably why you’re so great at your job.”
She paused. It was fascinating for him to see her mind work as if there was a buffering symbol over her head. “You started with what could be insults but ended with a compliment.”
