Ian hadn’t even cracked open his menu yet. “I’ll have what the lady is having.”
That was a very un-Ian like thing to do. Anytime we had ever been out to eat, which wasn’t often since we both were short on cash at the time, he was picky about what he ordered. He would ask the server lots of questions anytime we had gone out. Everything from how fresh their produce was to what their health code rating was. But most of the meals we shared at the time were cooked at his place by him. I think he fed me dinner for an entire semester. The man could make an amazing lasagna. I inadvertently smiled at the old memory.
“What are you smiling about?” he inquired.
I quickly put on my I-have-no-idea-what-you’re-talking-about face. He would not be getting access to my thoughts, especially any which placed him in a fond light. That was dangerous territory, and I needed to tread lightly there, or better yet, stay away completely. Honestly, I thought I had. We needed to switch gears ASAP. “So, tell me more about your first day at the office,” I said with a lot of evil glee in my voice.
His brows raised while he thought about what to say. I could see the wheels spinning in those dark eyes of his. “We’ll get there.”
I didn’t like him taking control of the conversation direction.Hmm . . .“Then what do you want to talk about?”
He acted as though he was reaching out to touch my hand, but he stopped short. That was a good thing, too, if he wanted to keep it. “Kelli, it’s been a long time. Tell me about you.”
“Didn’t you read my personnel file today?”
“Come on, Kelli.”
“Fine, what do you want to know?”
He knew he was getting on my nerves, and he seemed to take pleasure in it as he sat back and surveyed me. “Tell me about Vanderbilt.”
So, hehadread my file. I wasn’t surprised. I was only surprised that he even cared. “I received my MBA at Vanderbilt around seven years ago.”
He held his hand out waiting for me to elaborate. “And . . .?”
Fine, he was getting my life story in a nutshell. “I graduated top of my class. I started working for Chandler Media during grad school. I’ve been the Regional Manager for three years until today.”
He flinched when I mentioned my job status, but that didn’t stop me from giving him the very watered-down history of my life after him. “When I’m not working, I’m either with my sister and her family, volunteering, or belly dancing, among other activities. Oh, and I have a cat named Charlie. Is that enough for you?”
“How’s Amanda?”
I was taken aback that he remembered her name. It’s not like they’d ever met. “She’s perfect. She and Zane recently celebrated their fifteenth wedding anniversary, and they have two daughters. Courtney’s ten and Samantha’s seven.”
“I thought you didn’t like cats.”
“Yeah, well, turns out I do.” I didn’t really, except for Charlie. My sister bought him for me on my thirtieth birthday. She said she would be buying me a new one every five years unless I got married. She was setting me up to be a spinster cat lady. At first, I told her to take him back, but he was so dang cute, I couldn’t help but love him. I warned her though, no more.
“Husband? Kids?” Now he was teasing me.
“Really? Don’t you think that would be the first thing I would have mentioned?”
That made him smile. What was up with him? He wasn’t usually this emotive.
I folded my arms. “Are we done now?”
“Don’t you want to know about me?”
“What more do I need to know?”
He leaned forward. “You’re not curious at all about your new boss?”
“You’re not my boss.” Not to say I wasn’t a little curious, but heck, I could google him. And believe me, I would.
“I forgot. I’m getting ahead of myself.”
“Way,” I responded.
“So, what’s it going to take to win you back?”
