“Let’s go get sushi.”
“Sure,” I agreed, letting myself out.
I would just have to wait a little bit longer. Returning to my own office, I forced myself to concentrate. I had a meeting with a client at eleven, but then my schedule was open until the afternoon. I managed to pull myself together for the client’s meeting. We went over his portfolio, and since I was doing well with his nest egg, he approved almost every suggestion I made.
The hours crawled by until finally it was one and I could join Gavin for lunch. We met in the lobby, but he refused to give me any details.
“Wait until we get to the restaurant” was all he said.
The sushi place was a bit of a walk, but it was too close to get a cab. We talked about the White Sox while we walked. Patrick was back on rotation, and there was a game that night. I didn’t envy him the long hours, but the thought of working with all those famous athletes was a bit exciting. It was a tossup. At least my work was nine to five, meaning I had evenings and weekends free. But there was very little glamor in what I did, so I had to make my off-time count.
Reaching the restaurant, we put our names in for a table. They called us just a few minutes later, showing us to a spot near the door. It wasn’t ideal, but the joint was packed, and we had no choice.
“I’ll take the spicy tuna and the California rolls,” Gavin said, handing the menu back to the waitress when she arrived.
“I’ll have crab and vegetable,” I put in my order. She topped off our water and walked away to help another customer. I had waited long enough. “So, tell me how your meeting with Petra went.”
“We scared the hell out of her,” Gavin laughed.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Pat forgot to call her or even text her to let her know we would be there. It was quite a shock when she found us lurking outside the bakery.”
I shook my head, worried about Petra and her reaction. Of course everything was fine, but my heart went out to her. Finding a strange car in the parking lot and not knowing it was her brother, she must have been terrified.
“What did she do?” I asked.
“Oh, she figured out pretty quickly that it was Pat,” Gavin recalled. “He went up to her window, and I think she saw him. She had a few choice words for him, though.”
“That’s my girl,” I said approvingly. “So, what did you think?”
“I can see why you are so interested in her. She’s definitely hot,” Gavin replied.
I fought down a surge of jealousy. Petra wasn’t my girlfriend, and I had been the one to ask the question. What was I expecting? That Gavin would shrug and tell me she wasn’t all that? I wanted him to appreciate her; I just didn’t want him to want her.
“So, what did she say about the investment?” I asked, changing the subject.
“I think she’s interested.” Gavin took a sip of water. “She mentioned that she’s not happy there and that she is thinking about leaving. She even said she was looking for another job.”
“Oh?” I hadn’t realized that Petra had gotten that far. The last time I’d talked to her, leaving the bakery was more of a general desire and not an actual plan. I wondered how bad it was. Probably pretty bad if she was willing to make a move. “Did you talk her out of it?”
“I think so. I could see the wheels turning in her head. She has ideas about how to improve the place, and our offer seemed to resonate.”
“Did you tell her that we want her to take the lead?”
“I did.”
“And what did she say to that?”
Gavin grinned, remembering his conversation with Petra. “She said, and I quote, ‘If you can make Chad less of a douche, I’ll love you forever.’”
“Sounds like my girl,” I observed.
Our sushi rolls arrived, and we dug in. Gavin used chopsticks like a pro. I had to struggle to get them to sit right in my hand and eventually gave up and used a fork. He continued talking about his observances, saying that the kitchen was up to specs. It seemed like it was only the front facing part of the store that needed any help.
“I like the way she does her hair,” Gavin said thoughtfully.
I narrowed my eyes but didn’t respond. I didn’t want him thinking about her in anything other than a professional manner. Her hair was one of her signature looks, and by commenting on it, he proved that he was interested.