CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Well, it’s here; the moment I’ve been thinking about for the past several days. I drop the curtain in the front window back into place. Dev is in the driveway getting out of his car. He looks nice, wearing khakis and a cotton, button-down shirt.
I look down at myself, glad that I splurged at the mall today and bought this dress when I went shopping with May. I’ve spent so many years in comfy, boring clothes, going to work in sneakers and jeans, I almost forgot what it feels like to dress up.
The kids are happily installed at Auntie May’s townhouse. It’s a rare treat for them to have a sleepover there. Usually, May prefers to watch my kids here, but when she offered to take them to her place, I’m pretty sure she did it because she was thinking that this date might go really well. But it can’t go that well; it’s not like I’m going to sleep with my coworker on a first date. Besides . . . it’s not a date. I lost a bet, that’s all.
The doorbell rings, sending my heart rate soaring. I check my eye makeup and teeth in the front hall mirror really quickly before I go to the door and open it. I try to affect an air of casualness that I don’t feel as I lean on the doorframe.
“Hey there, Dev.”
“Hello.” He stands on my porch towering above me, and if I’m not mistaken, he seems a little nervous. “You ready to go? Or did you want to stay here for a drink first?”
I do have a bottle of wine in the fridge, but I’m worried the conversation will stall out if we’re left in this empty, quiet house together for too long. “We can go. It’s fine. Unless you have later reservations . . .”
He shakes his head. “Nope. We’re all set.”
I grab my purse off the front hall table, double-and triple-checking that I have both my phone and my wallet. Since tonight’s dinner is on me, I made sure to stop off at the ATM to get some extra cash earlier. Every once in a great while my debit card doesn’t work, and I don’t want to suffer that kind of embarrassment tonight. Actually, I don’t want to suffer that embarrassment ever in my life, but because Miles gives me bouncy checks sometimes, it’s unavoidable. The bank doesn’t like fronting me money for some strange reason.
After I lock the front door behind me, we walk down the front steps together. “Where are we going?” I ask.
He accompanies me over to the passenger side of the car and opens the door for me. I’m charmed. I know it’s old-fashioned, but I can’t help it. Miles never did that for me, even when we were dating.
“You’ll see. Don’t worry, you’ll like it. I promise.”
I get into the car and smooth my dress down as he closes the door. I have a few moments to admire his amazing body as he makes his way around the front of the car and over to the driver’s side. I feel really lucky to be with him tonight, even if this is just a friendly date. I’m also feeling especially fortunate that we work together, because if we run out of things to talk about at dinner, we could always discuss business. I’m super curious about his friends’ backstories, so if nothing else, this dinner is an opportunity to get to know my own coworkers a little bit better.
Dev starts up his beast of a car and reverses out of the driveway, using the heel of one hand on the steering wheel to spin it around and around. We leave the neighborhood heading north, and soon we’re out on the main road that I know will take us to an area of town I don’t frequent very often. But I’m not going to worry about it, because I trust this man. I know he would never put me in danger.
“Great job at work today,” he says.
“Thanks. It was no big deal.” I was never very good at accepting compliments about my work. Performance evaluations are something I can deal with, because they’re mostly on paper, but when people compliment me to my face, it always makes me feel like I need to squirm around in my seat. I stare out the side window, waiting for that sensation to pass.
“Well, Ozzie thought it was a big deal. And so did I.”
“Toni didn’t.” I try not to sound bitter about that.
Dev shakes his head a little. “Don’t worry about Toni. She’ll come around. She’s just stubborn and protective.”
I look at Dev. “Does she actually think I would do something to harm you guys?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t think she believes you’d do anything purposely, anyway. But she does worry that having people on the team who lack training could be a liability. And she’s not wrong about that.”
I want to defend myself, but she’s probably right. This isn’t a regular job that you walk into and work for eight hours and leave. It’s a security company that deals with really sensitive information, and I’m about as far from security material as a person can be.
“But don’t worry about it,” he says. “We’ll get you whipped into shape in no time.”