Currently wearing a sensible pantsuit,
Lawyer Girl
To: RLindt
From: ChefG
Dear Ms. Lindt,
That is dangerous territory, but I am a man of great bravery and will take on that risk. Imagination engaged. I will call you tonight.
Currently wearing a smile,
Wes
The quick exchange was simple and silly, but it made Rebecca’s lips lift into a stupid grin and made the marathon day stretching out before her look a little more manageable.
She took a long sip of her coffee, stood, and headed out to the conference room to meet with the first client of the day.
When she got back to her office past lunchtime, there was a package on her desk. She leaned out of her doorway and got her assistant’s attention. “Hey, Marian, what’s with the package?”
Marian looked up from the pasta salad she was eating and turned Rebecca’s way. “Oh, I’m not sure. It just arrived a few minutes ago. The man said not to disturb you, but that it was perishable so it shouldn’t be stacked with the rest of your mail.”
“Perishable?”
Marian shrugged, and Rebecca stepped back into her office. She picked up the maroon-colored box and examined the logo of a local gourmet store. Probably a client thank-you. She grabbed her letter opener to free the tape and opened the box. Inside, there was a small jar of fig jam and a sleeve of fancy crackers, but it was what sat in the center of the display that made her grin. Tucked inside was perfectly packaged, super-pretentious…cheese.
She picked up the folded note inside and opened it, finding scrawly handwriting.
If anyone throws another pen today, just toss this bottle of jam at them. No one should be denied the opportunity to eat their pretentious cheese in peace. Talk to you tonight. —W
Rebecca held the note in her hands and sank into her chair, some weird combination of giddiness and fear going through her, like that feeling of plummeting down the tracks of a roller coaster.
“Everything okay?” Marian asked, poking her head inside Rebecca’s office.
Rebecca looked up and offered a small smile. “Yes, it’s just a gift.”
“From a client?”
Rebecca shook her head. “No, from a…friend.”
Marian’s eyebrows went up. “Well, if it’s the same friend who dropped it off, I know why you’re smiling.”
Rebecca laughed. “Marian.”
“What? I’m old and married, but I’m not dead.”
Marian left with a playful grin on her face, and Rebecca leaned back in her chair. A friend. She needed to remember that. This thing with Wes was a friendship with some added benefits. Just because the man had brought her a snack didn’t mean anything more than that he was a nice guy who wanted to sleep with her. A guy who wanted to sleep with a woman did nice things for her. She couldn’t let that hopeless romantic teen she used to be surface and pin meanings and feelings onto this thing with Wes that would only lead to her getting burned.
It was just a damn box of cheese.
chapter
FOURTEEN
Wes slipped on the generic black chef’s hat and adjusted it, the hat feeling foreign even though he’d had to wear one often enough in his early years of cooking. This one was mainly for show, though, at the Sunday brunch event.
“Looking good, Garrett,” Suzie said, walking around one of the big prep areas in the event space’s kitchen and grinning his way.