“Take your time. It’s okay. If the vanilla makes a comeback, though, I’ll send a search party for you.” Alex smiles at her, playfully.
Lisa grins. “Hopefully, we won’t resort to that.” She stands up and walks outside. As the outdoor breeze blows gently against her and seeing the name on the screen, she swipes her finger to answer her call. “Hi, Samuel.”
“Lisa, I have some great news! When you get back from lunch, we have some celebrating to do! Hell, where are you? I can come get you and we can get started early!” Lisa can hear the excitement in his voice. She recalls when they were kissing the other night. The excitement that comes from kissing Samuel was just that…exciting. However, she doesn’t want to be put into that situation again. He’s her boss. She doesn’t want to go down that route with him or her career.
“I’m not in a position that I can meet with you right now, Samuel, but as soon as I’m back at the office, we can discuss your news. Will that work?” She bites her lip, turning to look into the restaurant. The waitress is back at the table and the look on Alex’s face just makes her want to giggle.
“Umm, yeah, that’ll be fine.” Lisa turns away and she can hear the disappointment in Samuel’s voice. “I’ll see you then.” He hangs up.
Lisa furrows her brows. “Whatever,” she mumbles to herself. She turns to walk back into the restaurant and puts her phone away. Seeing her approach, the waitress turns to leave the table, leaving a cloud of vanilla in her wake.
“Everything good?” Alex questions. Lisa can see the relief on his face now that she has returned.
She nods. “Yeah, everything’s fine. That was my boss. Apparently, we have something to celebrate when I return.” She raises a brow to Alex with a mischievous grin. “So, do you have a hot date planned later with your vanilla girl?”
Alex shakes his head, grinning. “Hardly but, if you play jealous, we can… no never mind.” He shakes off the thought, then raises his brow. “So, what does he want to celebrate with you?” Lisa picks up on something in Alex’s voice. Looking to him, she’s curious what it is. Worry, maybe?
“He didn’t go into detail on it. I’ll be meeting with him when I get back to the office.” He nods and they continue their meal.
When they’re done, Lisa waves down the waitress, and hands over her MasterCard. “You didn’t have to buy my lunch.”
“I know. I wanted to.”
The waitress returns with Lisa’s card and a pen. She wishes them a great afternoon, and her eyes remain on Alex’s a moment longer than necessary. She smiles at him as she turns to walk away, swaying her ass a little too much. Shaking her head, Lisa signs the slip and leaves a tip. She’s tempted to leave her a handwritten one of “lay off the vanilla”, but decides against it.
As soon as they’re outside, Alex pulls Lisa into his arms, hugging her to him. Lisa’s arms move around him and she breathes him in. “It was great to see you,” he tells her. “Can I see you tonight?”
She smiles, nodding against his shoulder. “I’ll call you when I get home, okay?” She pulls back slightly and smiles up at him. He leans in and kisses her softly. She feels him cringe slightly when he pulls away. She looks up at him, but sees contentment on his face.
“I look forward to it.” Reluctantly letting her go, Alex hails down a cab for her. Pulling to the curb, Alex opens the door for her and she gets inside. Giving the address to the driver, she turns and waves to Alex as she takes off down the road, back towards her office.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The driver pulls to the front entrance of her office. Handing the money over, she steps out onto the sidewalk just as Samuel pulls around in his car. His window rolls down and Lisa bends over to look inside. “Come on, you’re just in time.”
She raises her brows. “Just in time for what?”
“We have somewhere to be. Now get in.” He smiles and unlocks the door for her. “Come on.” She sighs and opens the door, then gets inside. He’s wearing a gray three-piece suit with a blue button down shirt, accented with a gray-and-blue tie. He looks Lisa over as she gets in, almost undressing her with his eyes. “You look nice.” He smiles at her. “I’m taking you to Dance 52.”
Lisa bites her lip and closes her eyes. Turning to face Samuel, she takes a deep breath to calm herself. “Look, Samuel, the other night…” Lisa starts.
Samuel raises his hand, interrupting her. “There’ll be none of that. We both had too much to drink. All water under the bridge and stuff. Okay?” He grins and Lisa’s demeanor softens.