He knew. He knew the day-to-day business was wearing on me, and it embarrassed me deeply to have to admit it, even in a generic quiz. Dean lived and breathed business ownership. What must he think of me?
He kept his face blank as he typed out notes, adding no commentary on my answers. I wanted commentary. Even a good scolding would be better than my own assumptions.
“This feels an awful lot like a doctor’s visit.”
“Hmm.” He typed some more. “Yes. We can definitely rule out type 2 diabetes.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
“Maybe I can help make this feel less clinical for you. Next question, on a scale of one to ten, how attractive do you find me?” His eyebrows rose in expectation, and the more I sputtered, the bigger his smile grew. This was not the pivot I’d had in mind.
“Dean.”
“Grace.”
“I’m not answering that. Wait, why are you still typing?”
I moved to shut the tablet on his dancing fingers, and he pulled it out of reach, resting his back against the driver-side window with the tablet protected by his knees. All scrunched up like that, I could see his socks had sleeping sloths on them. And he had on a new yellow silicone bracelet under his dress shirt sleeve. Nerd.
“Your time is up for answering that one. A non-answer means ten. Good to know.”
“You’re not a ten.” He was totally a ten.
He laughed, enjoying this way too much. “Okay, on a scale of one to ten, what are my chances with you?”
“Chances of what?” His flirting was so outrageous. I wanted to hate it, but there were few things that got my heart pumping these days, and this one didn’t even involve fighting my way into a sports bra or telling myself to do ten more reps and then I could pause the workout video.
“You know what.” He locked eyes with mine, and it felt like every fantasy I’d ever had about him was falling against the door of the utility closet where I kept it all. The mops, the buckets, the brooms, the gallons of floor cleaner. And I was holding it shut with willpower and prayer.
“I definitely don’t know what.”
“Deflection,” he murmured, typing some more. He was probably typing gibberish just to annoy me. “Client is calm but flushed in the face. Will require further inquiry. Next question. How many more days are you going to continue to pay for GoWithFriends while not using the app?”
I scrubbed my hands down my face. “I don’t know.”
Dean closed his tablet and looked up at me. “Please come back. Everyone misses you. And they also rightly blame me for driving you away. Jackson told everyone what I did to you. I’m getting called a dastard pretty much daily. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you who I was. It was selfish of me.”
“How was it selfish?” Dishonest was the word that came to mind.
“Because I wanted a clean slate with you, and I took it when the opportunity presented itself. The Grace in the app isn’t afraid of Knead, and I liked that.”
“I’m not afraid of you.” It was mostly true. I’d never been afraid to put Dean in his place when the moment called for it, but that wasn’t the fear he was referring to, and we both knew it.
He smiled. “Glad to hear you say that. Because I’d like you to go with me to Jessica’s wedding. Piper, too, if you plan to bring her. I’ll take care of flights and get us a rental car. I’ll take care of everything. All you have to do is say yes. Jessica wants you there, and so do I.”
I shook my head, letting my irritation take full rein, because on its heels was temptation, and that needed to be squelched. It was too much. HE was too much. As a businessman who understood negotiation tactics, it was his job to look for weaknesses, and in this case, mine were overwhelm and indecision.
Of course, he’d take care of everything. Even the decision to go. Poof. All taken care of. And in return, he’d get what? The pleasure of my company? What did that even mean? This was just like flirting. All subtext and subterfuge. Why couldn’t he just say what he meant?
Would you let him?
No, I would not let him, because he was Dean and I was me. I was a mess. And how could I even go on vacation with my business in jeopardy? What if I was needed here? And how had the subject changed to this?
“What were the results of the quiz? The real questions?” I tried not to sound snooty, but I was holding in so much emotion I was sure ice queen Grace was on point.
Dean swallowed. “I think you’re in a position to sell under the right circumstances. So, if you’re in agreement, we should get the paperwork together for them to look at and let them make you an offer.”
“Okay.”
