Chapter 4 The Proposal
CHAPTER FOUR
The Proposal
Sophie sat upright in her seat at the table, the candlelight flickering on the wall beside her.
Chez Moi was a classy French restaurant in Helena that the upwardly mobile frequented.
The small handful of times Sophie’d been there, she got the impression it was trying too hard to be a Manhattanite restaurant, both in menu selection and price.
It wasn’t worth the stuffy waiters and over-inflated wine costs, but she had to admit, sometimes it did the trick in reminding her that there was a great big world outside of Butte, where she lived with Jackie.
She watched the shadows change form as the waitstaff flitted around her, ducking in and out of view. Her hands were sweaty, a constant annoyance of hers when she was nervous. As if it wasn’t bad enough she was inwardly uncomfortable, her body had to betray her by letting the world know.
She ran her palms across the lace sheath she’d ended up with from her earlier shopping trip with Jackie.
God, please don’t let the dampness show on the dress.
If one more person asked her if she was “alright,” or wanted “to move to a table for one,” she would dump the remainder of her wine on the offender.
It had been almost twenty minutes since Drew had called to tell her he was running late, he was sorry, that she should order a drink and settle in.
Didn’t he know that it was impossible to settle in when she waited on him?
Too many times, he’d caught her bent over the table, or slouched in her chair and chastised her with a waving finger and the disappointed look of a stern schoolteacher.
No, she wouldn’t relax, but she’d taken him up on the idea of starting with a glass of wine.
Against her normal tastes, she’d ordered a glass of Chardonnay, reasoning that she didn’t want a purple-stained mouth when she smiled and said the emphatic “YES!” she’d practiced in her room the half-hour before dinner.
Most of the way through her second glass of wine, Drew still wasn’t answering any of her texts. She glanced at her phone again, just in case. Nothing. Ugh.
She wrung her hands. If she sent another text she’d look too needy.
Surely she could be by herself for twenty minutes in a restaurant without completely freaking out.
She was a high-powered lawyer, for goodness’ sake.
She could do without the pity-filled looks the servers kept giving her, though.
“He’s running late,” she wanted to scream at them, if only it didn’t make her sound about as pathetic as she felt.
Sophie’s phone buzzed on the table and she snatched it up eagerly.
“Hello?” she said into the phone. “Drew?”
When she didn’t hear a reply, she looked down at the screen. Her long, brunette bangs kept falling in front of her face no matter how many times she tucked them behind her ear. She tried one more time in vain, squinting at the phone.
It was a text. Oh boy, she was losing it. A server came by and reached for her empty wineglass, asking if she wanted another, but Sophie waved him off. No more wine for her.
She opened her texts and saw a new message from Jackie.
Any news yet?? I’m dying over here!
Sophie hit reply.
He’s not here yet. Call you later tonight. Wish me luck.
She hesitated before she put her phone down. Should she try Drew one more time? He was almost half an hour late. Just as she was about to call him, a gruff voice from behind her made her freeze.
“Sorry I’m late. Meeting at the office ran over.”
Sophie looked up, her bangs blocking her view again.
She blew them out of the way with a puff of air from her mouth.
Drew stood over her, his suit impeccable, even after his day at work.
Her annoyance slipped away as his hand settled on her shoulder.
That is, until he let his hand fall and added with a snap of his fingers, “Damn. I forgot to get you flowers. I meant to do that but got caught up with work. Anyway, are you really on the phone here? That’s a bit tacky, isn’t it? ”
“So’s leaving your girlfriend alone in a nice restaurant. And don’t worry about the flowers. They die in a few days anyway.” She put on her best smile, forcing the past half hour behind her.
“Touché. Anyway, I didn’t have a choice. Last minute phone meeting.” He leaned in to kiss her but turned at the last second to brush her cheeks with his lips. “You smell like wine. I take it you had a few before I got here.”
Wow. Was he really judging her for having a couple glasses of wine when he’d told her to relax, have a drink?
“Objection. Two. I had two glasses. At your suggestion, I might add.”
“Okay, Counselor. Let’s not let this ruin our night.” He sat down and snapped his fingers in the air, summoning a server.
“Yes, sir?”
“A dry Grey Goose martini for me, and…” Drew looked at Sophie. She’d relaxed when she first saw him, but now, under his constant scrutiny, she was more anxious than before he’d arrived. How did he manage to always unnerve her?
“I’ll take the same,” Sophie added, her foot tapping double-time. She might as well dull her senses the easy way if he was as well. Drew raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything.
“What phone call were you on?”
“With Brannigan. The Miller case.”
“I thought you were going to hand that over to me?” She leaned forward, her arms crossed on the table.
They had just talked about this the day before.
Because it was such a high-profile case, Miller had personally asked her to take it on since she had the winningest record, including Drew, his father, and Brannigan.
In fact, she’d spent most of the past seventy-two hours filing initial briefs for the case, sending requests for discovery, and making sure she got subpoenas in order for her key witnesses.
The case was mostly underway thanks to her diligence and sleepless nights.
“Yes, that was the plan, but things have changed. I’ll discuss it more with you Monday at the office.”
“Well, did you at least tell Miller? She deserves to know since she asked for me personally.” Her confidence was back, but it was short-lived and only related to the topic.
One way, the only way really, Drew had never managed to get under her skin was when it came to the job.
There, she was ruthless, precision-perfect, and nothing could crack her veneer.
She only wished she could turn that on outside the office and courtroom.
“I did. She understands. Now leave it alone.”
“That’s it, then?”
“Sophie, can you please just let this be a good night for us?”
Before she could answer, the server arrived with their drinks. Sophie didn’t wait for hers to get to the table, snatching it from the server and taking three gulps of the vodka before setting it down on the table.
“Sure,” she said, breathless. “Let’s have fun. I even got a new dress for tonight. Look.” Sophie stood, and twirled. The tight fabric clung to her, and even in her inebriated state, she knew she looked good. He only scowled.
No amount of showing off would matter to Drew. It never had, now that she looked back.
“Sit down, Sophie. Now.” Drew’s voice was firm, his hands clenched around his menu. She furrowed her brow at him, but obliged.
“Do you at least like the dress?”
Drew didn’t even look up from reading the menu. “It’s fine. Now, can we please think about what we want to eat? I’m starving.”
Sophie bit her lip, pushing back tears. All that work shopping, getting her nails done, and he didn’t even care. She was starting to realize that maybe he never did, at least not the way she needed him to.
“I had twenty minutes alone with the menu, so I’m good,” she said, her voice sharp. She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, determined not to crack. “But go ahead.”
He narrowed his eyes at her over the top of the menu before putting it down gently on the edge of the table signaling to the server he was ready to order.
Sophie was so annoyed that even when frustrated, Drew did everything by the book.
God forbid he show a little emotion, some small crack in his Ivy-League armor that might make him appear more human.
Drew ordered for both of them despite her protest. What if she had a special request for the cooks or wanted something other than the salmon he thought she’d like?
He was in fine form tonight. She just wished he’d ask her so she could say yes, go home, and forget about this entire evening.
Not exactly the story she wanted to tell her future children.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping their drinks and looking in opposite directions.
She knew he was waiting for her to apologize, but the closest she would get was sitting up straight in her chair, taking her elbows off the table, and putting her phone back in her purse.
It’s not like he was rushing to make amends for acting like an overbearing jerk or being horribly late for a date he’d asked her out on.
Besides, if he thought she’d forget about the Brannigan comment, he had another thing coming.
Finally, the server returned with their entrees. Sophie dug in, not realizing until the aromatic food was in front of her how hungry she was.
“Slow down, Sophie. This isn’t a cafeteria.”
“Drew,” she said, closing her eyes. The third drink was starting to get to her, and all she wanted was to dive into her fish. “Can you take a break from the criticism, please? Just tonight?”
His face softened, and if Sophie didn’t know better, she’d have sworn she saw the hint of regret in the corners of his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Soph. You know I mean well. I just want to take care of you, make sure you’re doing what’s good for you, for us.”
“I’m fine, Drew. I just thought you wanted me to come out tonight for something special. You told me to dress up, meet you here, and all you’ve done is make me feel like an insubordinate employee.”