Niko frowned and tilted his head. “Has anyone complained about me?”
I held my hand up. “No, not at all. They all seem to appreciate your drive and focus.”
“My, my drive and focus. I see. But they’re saying I’m not friendly?”
“No, but I’ve seen you turn down invitations to lunch several times. It just helps you connect with your team on a more personal level.”
“I don’t do well with that.” He delivered his answer like he always did. Deadpanned and blunt, but not harsh.
“Don’t do well with what, Niko? Having lunch with your co-workers?” I asked, not understanding.
“I don’t do well in social situations. I’m sure you’ve noticed that long before now.”
I had noticed, but I didn’t answer him.
“It’s just not something I’m comfortable with. I’m here to work, not make friends. Being their superior, it doesn’t feel right. And I’m not good at small talk about things I don’t know or understand. I’m sorry if you feel that will hurt my chances of staying on after the trial period.”
It wasn’t clear how to answer him. That was more words than he’d said to me all week, and I was parsing all of them out.
Scenes of him eating alone in the dining hall at UCSD, never joining group conversations, working at his desk while the other students were taking videos and selfies bombarded my mind like a movie. But along with those were just as many scenes of him and me working on our project, laughing and talking about everything under the sun.
“No, of course I won’t hold that against you. It was just an observation.” I rubbed my hands together, altogether flustered.
“Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. I’ll let you get back to work.” He looked at me for a few more moments, then turned abruptly and walked out the door, closing it softly, leaving me frozen in disbelief.
The interaction conjured up another thought of him sounding like Mr. Darcy from Sofia’s favorite Jane Austen movie. My head hit the desk with a groan.
Great, now I was just a hand flex away from insanity.
CHAPTER NINE
Nikolas
As much asI loved my job, I was never so happy to see the weekend roll around. The R&D team and I made great progress on our workload. We had a long road ahead of us with the ambitious goals for the year, but it wasn’t my co-workers who had my mind spinning.
Saturday morning, I headed to La Jolla to meet Mike for some much-needed surfing. He was initially reluctant to surf when we became friends, but several years ago, I finally talked him into it. Now he was as addicted as I was.
I was putting on my wet suit in the parking lot when he walked up to me, grinning as if he knew a secret. I waved away a car full of girls ogling me as they looked for a parking spot, letting them know I was staying. One of them yelled something inappropriate out of the window, making me blush.
“You should be used to that by now. What did they call you at UCSD? A Turkish god?” he said with a wink.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Anyway, ready to hit some gnarly waves?” he asked, tucking his board under his arm.
“How many times have I told you how silly you sound when you talk like that?” I quipped. Poor guy tried so hard to emulate every California surfing movie he’d ever watched. The man was from Milwaukee.
He just let out his signature howl, ignoring my chastisement. One of the many things I appreciated about Mike was his ability to never be offended. It was a good thing because I had to work on not being so blunt over the years.
He, on the other hand, was outgoing, loud, and at times bordering on obnoxious. There wasn’t a shy bone in his body. He welcomed the attention that women gave him, but had never settled down or gotten serious with any of them.
We were quite a pair. But I loved that he never judged, quietly corrected me if needed, and never held it against me. The fact that he accepted me as a friend just as I was had been an answer to prayer.
“Nah, the Cali girls love it when I talk like that,” he joked, watching me grab my board off the top of my Jeep with practiced precision.
A few minutes later, we were walking through cool sand, the long workweek a distant memory. Spring in San Diego was perfection. Cool mornings, perfect sunny afternoons, and beautiful sunsets. On the beach this time of year and at this early hour, the few visitors were bundled up in jackets and running from the cold water as it washed ashore.
I had grown up on these rugged cliffsides. Although we lived quite a distance from the upscale La Jolla area, this was where I felt most at home in the city. The waves, the fellow surfers I recognized from time to time, and the long pier that served as a backdrop for gorgeous photography made me breathe deeplyevery time. Everything got quiet, and I could hear my thoughts better out here.
