“That was kind of him.”
“Very.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced back down the sidewalk, seeing a red spot getting closer. Butterflies filled my stomach. Should I say something? Should I offer to buy his coffee if he was stopping here, or would he even remember me? All these questions started running through my mind. I wasn’t even listening to Caleb anymore. Even as I slid my plastic coffee cup and sandwich off the counter, I kept staring down the street.
Oh my God, I could’ve sworn the Russian just saw me. His dark eyes caught mine for the fraction of a second.
“So, are you in?” Caleb asked.
“Sorry?” I snapped my focus back to the boss.
He had said something about dinner, but I wasn’t sure what.
“Would you like to have dinner with me and my friend?” Caleb repeated. “We got a standing drinks and dinner thing at this one place in Chinatown.”
I tore my gaze from the man in the red jacket to see those pale blue eyes looking eager and expectant. This wasn’t new territory. More often than not, I was invited to dinner parties and department events by the people I worked with. I was combing through their notes, highlighting their findings, and organizing things in a way that would make sense to both the professor and the public. The work was more intimate than many understood, and he needed to know me better. He, like many before him, needed to trust me before he could really open up. Only after we broke through those barriers could we really get in sync.
“Sure,” I replied.
“Great,” he continued while tearing off a piece of his cookie. “Warren teaches over in the literature department. I think you’ll really like him.”
We both turned away, back to our shared office and to what we knew, yet I couldn’t help but look back. The Russian business professor had definitely seen me. His dark eyes found mine as I glanced over my shoulder. In that fraction of a moment, I didn’t expect his face to change. I didn’t know I was going to see that small smile again.
So, he did remember me.
My steps slowed for a second. My feet wanted to go back, but Caleb and I had work to finish. He had classes to lead, and I needed to get firsthand information for the shorthand I didn’t understand. As clever as he was, I still had to pry some direction from the creative mess that engulfed him. Even though it would be months and months before we were ready to publish anything, I knew Caleb was going to be one of the best assignments I’d ever had. This project was going to be special. It deserved my attention.
Looking ahead, I sipped my coffee and left that haunting figure behind. Our paths had crossed more than once now. I could only hope they might cross again. One way or another, I was going to get my words out for him, and I was going to hear that Russian accent for myself.