“Mare—”
“Stop. Let’s not do this right now, OK? We have work to do, and that’s what we should be focusing on.” She went back to her tablet and started tapping away. “If you pull up the email I sent you about an hour ago, it will have six resumes I’d like us to go over.”
We spent the next few hours going through the resumes and discussing the candidates. I behaved and kept my focus on the task at hand, trying to prove to her we could do this. It was probably the most productive I’d been at PFA in quite a while, if I was being honest.
“I think it’s about time we break for lunch, dontcha think?” I asked.
She looked at her watch and her eyes went wide. Grabbing her phone, she typed out a text.
“Yes, I’m actually running late.”
I didn’t think I did a good job of hiding my disappointment because she gave me a pitying smile.
“We are not having lunch together, Chase. I usually have lunch with a group of girls on Mondays, and I’m already late.” She gathered her things and headed for the door.
I quickly followed. When she reached it, I held it closed and lifted my other hand over her head. She turned toward me, our faces almost touching. Her breath hitched when she saw how close we were.
“Chase,” she whispered.
Ignoring her protest, I bent down and put my lips on hers gently. A small kiss. That was all. When I pulled back, her lips spread into a small smile.
“I’ll see ya later,” I told her. My hand reached for the handle behind her and opened the door.
She simply nodded as she slid out.
“So, you’re telling me you got her to agree to a relationship? With you? You’ve got an ugly mug and were the biggest womanizer I know. Shit, if I knew she’d hook up with you, I’d have thrown my hat in the ring with her.” Mitch roasted me between bites of his burger and chugs of his beer.
I knew he was joking, for the most part, but hated even thinking about him having an interest in Maryellen.
“Shut the fuck up, man. And my womanizing days are over.”
He raised his eyebrows at me.
“What? You don’t believe me?” I asked.
He guffawed at me. Literally guffawed.
“Dude, I went home with a girl from The Velvet Rope the other night and didn’t get laid. Left her place. It was weird, but I didn’t feel like doing the frat guy shit anymore, ya know?”
He literally threw the rest of the burger onto his plate and sat back against the booth. His eyes went wide before he took a long chug of his beer, draining the pint glass. He raised his hand for our waitress, and she came right over.
“You want another?” he asked.
I lifted my empty mug as my answer, and he ordered us both another drink. He settled back against the booth and stared at me, then began shaking his head again.
“What?” I asked. “I’ve had relationships.”
He resumed eating and had a mouthful before answering.
“Nothing.” Then shook his head yet again. “I don’t know, I guess I never thought it would happen for real, that’s all. We all knew, except for you, that Amy wasn’t it for you.”
Now it was my turn to shake my head. But he was right.
“You were the ultimate bachelor, man,” Mitch said. “You took home multiple girls a night sometimes. We all wished we could’ve been you, and you turned a girl down? While in her apartment? You’ll have to tell me how that went over.”
All I did was shrug. He didn’t need to know the full truth, and I wasn’t about to bare my heart to him about my feelings for Maryellen. He knew all he needed to know already.
“Alright, alright,” he said. “I can take a hint. She’s the one, and I hope it works out for you guys. But if she’s not willing to go public, that might be a struggle.”
