Grant’s eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his lips were tightly closed.
The door opened then with a chime that sounded far too loud, and I shot out of there, saying a quick, “Goodbye.”
When I returned to my desk, I was relieved to see that Grant wasn’t back yet. I sat comfortably and rearranged my desktop.Next, I logged in and got to work. Then, the end of the day came, and Grant hadn’t showed.
As I walked to my car, I texted him.
Me:Did you take a sick day?
Grant:Yes. I’ll be out tomorrow too.
Strange. He hadn’t looked sick, only… off.
But there were bigger things to worry about. Like the date I’d spent the entire afternoon pretending wasn’t occupying all of my thoughts.
Colin had texted a few hours earlier:I’ll pick you up at seven.
I had two hours to get home, shower, pick out something to wear, and get ready.
Totally doable.
Except my nerves were getting the better of me. I hadn’t even been this nervous before the trip to Chicago or before the meeting that never happened.
My mom called me right as I was drying myself off after my almost scalding shower.
“Hi, Mom,” I said, putting her on speaker while I ran a comb through my wet hair.
“Hello, sweetie. How was the weekend?”
I gave her a general summary. I didn’t leave out much, and she quickly understood where I was going with the story.
“Oh, he sounds enchanting! Are you enchanted?” she asked with a singsong quality to her question.
“I guess I am. When we got off the airplane, he asked me to dinner. We’re going out tonight.” I waited for her reaction.
“Well, that’s… interesting. Hmmm. And he’s your boss?” Her voice hinted at suspicion and concern rather than glee, as I’d expected.
“He’s my boss’s boss. He’s a vice president. But it’s not a big deal. Or is it? I’m being stupid, aren’t I?”
“No, you’re not stupid, but you should be careful. Things can get complicated fast.” It was unlike my mom not to tell me to take a chance on something. How many times had she tried to get me to go out more?
“Yes, I will. I’ll take things slow.”
“Okay, well, I hope you have a nice time. Call me tomorrow?”
“Yes, I will. Love you.”
“I love you, Katie.”
By the time I was ready, it was just minutes to 7, and I stared at myself in the mirror, pleased with what I saw. The only thing missing was a purse, and I rushed into my closet to find a small black one.
My doorbell rang as I was stuffing my lipstick, credit card, and ID into the purse. My stomach tangled up in a knot with nervous energy.
I smoothed out my dress and opened the door.
Standing there, looking impossibly gorgeous, was Colin Slade. The grin on his face put me at ease. And then I realized something else helped to calm my worries.
“You’re not wearing a tie!” I exclaimed with a laugh. “I’ve only seen you with a tie!”
