I looked down feeling the embarrassment that I had felt at the time creep back up in me. I smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t quite understand how things worked back then.”
At least some of the tension between us was lower. If I had to relive past embarrassments to achieve that, I would.
“I promise this time I can afford the meal and a good tip.”
She smiled, but it didn’t seem like it was real. I didn’t see it in her eyes.
Our waitress showed up, and we ordered. I added a bottle of wine also to relax us.
“So, what is this job you have?” she asked, clearly wanting to keep this dinner professional.
Inwardly I sighed. I’d asked her to meet me about the job, I couldn’t be too upset that she was holding me to it.
“Cyrus and I just opened a security consulting firm. We had our first client this morning and he recommended that we hire someone to manage the front of the office. Someone friendly and welcoming.”
“A greeter?” She quirked a brow and I worried that I was offending her by offering her a job that clearly was below her education and experience.
“Not just that. We need someone to deal with the books, invoices, bills, that sort of thing. Some of it will be general admin type things, filing, answering the phone. Cyrus and I are good at what we do, but we’re not necessarily organized or office minded. We’ll need someone to keep us on top of what needs to be done.”
She nodded. “What’s the salary?”
I froze. I’d been all about seeing April for dinner, I hadn’t given much thought to the details of the job, beyond basic admin. I certainly hadn’t thought about salary. I hadn’t even contacted Cyrus to let him know what I was doing.
“What would be fair for someone of your experience?” I asked, hedging my bets.
She told me what she earned right now, which seemed awfully low considering her father started the firm and she worked for her brother. Did she even have a financial interest in the firm or had August finagled that from her too?
“This sounds like it has a little bit more responsibility,” she said. “My job will be to make sure you’re doing yours to the best of your ability, and dealing with all the incidentals so you don’t have to worry about them.”
I nodded. “Yes.” Then I offered her twenty percent above what August was paying. Granted, I was probably doing it to get back at him, but I was certain she’d be worth it.
She countered with a figure that was thirty percent more than what August paid her. At one time, I wanted to give her the world, but had nothing to offer. Today, I had something to offer, but not that much. Not without more than one client.
We haggled a bit while we ate dinner, and I was impressed, even proud, that she was able to assert herself and advocate her worth. In the end, we settled on an amount that was twenty-five percent above what she currently earned.
“Does that mean you’ll take the job?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes. If you’re offering, and will pay that amount, then yes.”
Halle-fucking-lujah. “Let's toast.” I waved the waitress over and ordered a nicer bottle of wine.
Her smile seemed more genuine when she said, “The wine we have now is better than the bottle I stole from my parents the night we went to the river to watch the stars.”
It was ridiculous how happy it made me that she remembered we’d once been a couple. For a time, I wondered if she’d forgotten. I was thinking I was so insignificant, that I hadn’t warranted space in her memory bank. My time with her had probably been pushed out by all the men who’d come after me while she was in college.
I pushed that thought away and went back to the night along the river with the stolen wine, and how I’d touched her. I told her I loved her that night. I’d hinted that this was more than a summer fling.
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I watched her eyes from across the dimly lit table wondering if she was remembering it like I was. Like that night was significant in our relationship. Surely that was why it was still in her memory. I wondered what she’d do if I suggested we drive there again.
She picked up her wine, sipped and put her glass down. Her lips were moist with the wine, and I longed to take her mouth, to taste her. I had to rein in my longing. I needed to take our trip down memory lane slowly. Lead her down the path from when we became friends, and then how we became more. Would that work? Would seeing me and going over the memories bring back her fondness for me? Would it lead her to want to see if the sparks were still there between us? There was only one way to find out.
“Remember when August and I hid with water balloons behind the garage and ambushed you?”
She rolled her eyes. “I got you back. I found the hose and soaked you both.”
I laughed. “You did get us good.”