Chapter 10 #2
His mouth relaxed into a soft smile. “I think I have everything.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll be outside if you need me. Not outside, outside. I meant outside in the reception area.”
Turning around before my head exploded from the heat of my cheeks, I escaped to my desk.
I could have sworn I heard him chuckle.
I was deep into sorting out Keely’s calendar when a throat cleared right next to me. My body jolted and I pushed my chair back abruptly. If not for the arm stopping my descent, I would have landed on the floor.
Vance leaned down, plucking me up from my half-standing, half-sitting position on the edge of the seat. “Sorry for scaring you. I thought you heard me when I knocked on the doorframe.”
Standing up, I straightened my clothes, a red flush no doubt staining my cheeks. “Did you find everything you need?”
“I did. But now I’m hungry. Let’s go get lunch.”
The tips of our feet nearly touched, we were standing so close. The desk was behind me, so I couldn’t step back. And Vance made no move to put more space between us.
Is it hot in here?
I gripped my dress to stop my hands from fanning my face. “Lunch?”
“Yes, lunch. The meal you eat after breakfast but before dinner?”
Smartass.
“There’s a cute little diner a five-minute walk from here if you go in the direction of the police station. You can’t miss it. It’s bright blue.”
He put one of his giant mitts around my upper arm. “Good thing you’re coming with me so there’s no chance I’ll get lost on the way.”
I turned, pointing in the direction of my computer. “Actually, I have to work. Keely will be in soon, and I need to sort out her calendar. She’s hopeless at keeping up with all of her appointments. I’m still trying to figure out what ‘Chartlaatt coma’ means.”
He didn’t release my arm. Instead, I found myself standing outside the office, watching Vance lock the door.
Where did he get the key from?
“Have you had any more issues with your ex-husband?”
He growled the last word out as if it had offended him.
“No, nothing. Everything is A-okay.”
I gave him a thumbs-up with my free hand. God, I’m such a loser. My social skills are seriously rusty.
“Good. Tell me if you do. He’s only supposed to communicate with you through his lawyer.”
That was impossible since we saw each other when he picked up the kids. But I didn’t tell Vance that.
We entered the diner, Vance’s hand dropping from my arm and settling on my lower back. Claudine, the owner, greeted us with a smile. “Hi, Mae. Who’s your friend?”
“My lawyer, Vance.”
Vance nodded at her, and I pointedly ignored her raised brows. There was nothing wrong with having lunch with your lawyer.
She waved a hand at the busy diner. “Sit anywhere you want. I’ll be right over with some menus.”
Vance led me to a booth in the back, then waited for me to slide in before following. I shuffled over a little more. Being too close to him wasn’t conducive to me pretending to be a functioning human being.
Oh, who was I kidding? I would never reach the stage of “normal.” And what was normal anyway? But I didn’t need any more sweaty palms or stuttered words.
Claudine dropped the menus off, and I ordered an iced tea, Vance coffee.
He glanced at the lunch options, then put the laminated menu down. His gaze moved up, and my body jolted from having his whole attention. He really was a thing of beauty. Despite his gruffness, he made me feel seen. Made me think he genuinely cared about what I had to say.
And for someone who’d been fading into the background for years, being seen was everything.
“When’s your first open house?”
I cringed at the reminder that I’d been forced to sell my home. “This weekend. But so far, we’ve had more setbacks than gains at getting it ready. But it is what it is.”
He leaned forward, his attention never leaving me. “I can give you the number of one of my friends who’s a realtor in New York. He can talk you through the best way to go about this.”
“Sure. Thanks. Even though you should warn him that I’m pretty much a lost cause. Unless he knows how to get permanent marker off the wall and six years’ worth of kids’ stuff put away in closets that are already overflowing.”
I shuddered at the thought of how much I’d still have to get rid of. The apartment was tiny. I’d have to reduce our things by over half.
“Toothpaste.”
I must have looked at him in confusion—which was indeed my current state—because he elaborated.
“It’ll get the permanent marker off the wall.
” When the confusion remained, he explained how he knew something only a person with kids would know.
“My three younger sisters lived with me for a while. And despite being old enough to know better, they thought writing on their bedroom walls was a good idea.” He shrugged, one corner of his mouth lifting in a half smile.
“And you could rent a storage unit to get rid of most of the stuff in the house.”
There was no way I’d tell him I couldn’t afford the cost of a storage unit.
I was saved from answering by Claudine stopping at the table to take our orders.
Her eyes kept drifting to Vance even when she was talking to me. I couldn’t blame her. He was nice to look at. But the stab of jealousy that hit me when he smiled at her was so unexpected that she had to ask me a few times what I wanted.
Staring at me with raised brows, she popped her gum, her teased-out bleached blonde hair held out of her face with a headband. Today’s color was red, matching her lipstick. “Do you need more time?”
Vance looked at me, ever the gentleman.
Shaking off my confusing feelings and locking them away to never be dealt with again, I finally placed my order. “Can I get the pancakes, please?”
Claudine popped her gum again, nodding. “Sure, doll. Anything else?”
I shouldn’t be spending money on pancakes when I had a perfectly fine packet of instant noodles waiting in the office for me. Ordering anything else would mean there would be no money left for dinner.
Shaking my head, I passed her the menu. “No thanks.”
Vance grunted his assent, and she rushed away to greet the group who’d just stepped through the doors.
He turned his full attention back to me. “How long have you worked for Malena?”
I fiddled with the necklace my mother had given me for my sixteenth birthday and I never took off. It was a nervous habit that I’d never been able to break. “About six months.”
I didn’t mention that she’d basically forced me to take the job. I had no experience as a personal assistant. I had no degree. But my friends believed in me. And thanks to them, I didn’t have to find a low-paying job and end up with no health insurance.
Now, I was an assistant slash receptionist with excellent health insurance. I’d never be able to repay them for their help. And I’d never tell them how much I still struggled. Because despite the pay I so desperately needed, I couldn’t work full-time hours because I had nobody to watch the kids.
The money I earned simply wasn’t enough to feed myself and two little kids while also paying rent.
Childcare would chew up a lot of money. If I worked full-time, I would have to spend most of my money on hiring someone to watch the kids. We wouldn’t be much better off than before, and I’d spend a lot less time with my girls.
It wouldn’t be so bad if Cockalorum would pay child support. But since there was no way I’d ask him to and risk losing my kids, I had to do things on my own.
Everything would be better once I sold the house. Running the pool cost more than I would pay in rent at my new apartment.
“Do you like it?”
I’d never thought I’d end up there. But I did like it. I liked spending time with my friends. I liked talking to clients. So I nodded, a small smile on my face. “It’s been great. And I appreciate everything they’ve done for me. They took a chance on me when they didn’t have to.”
“It’s okay to let other people help you, Mae. You don’t have to go it alone.”
I guess there was a reason he was so good at his job. He knew how to read people. Annoying.
“If I hadn’t let them help me, I wouldn’t have accepted the job.”
“Yet you don’t think you’re good enough for the job. Which I know isn’t true.”
“You barely know me. I might be an absolute disaster of a receptionist and office assistant.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me.
I sat back in the booth, crossing my arms and raising my own eyebrow.
We kept staring at each other, neither willing to break first. Why did he have to be so damn good-looking?
I was a single mom going through a divorce. He was a highly successful lawyer who could have anyone he wanted. Yet I couldn’t fight the damn attraction I had for him. Feelings obviously didn’t care about practical things.
When our food arrived, I did the only logical thing and shoved the pancakes into my mouth as if I hadn’t eaten in days. But I was only human. There was only so much Vance I could survive. My only mission at that moment was to get back to the office so I could hide behind my computer screen.
“When are you moving into the apartment?”
I swallowed the giant pancake ball stuck in my throat, then took a sip of iced tea to help it slide down so I wouldn’t add choking to my list of accomplishments for today. “Next Saturday.”
“Did you hire someone?”
I wish. But I didn’t say that out loud. “Keely and Malena are helping, and Thad and Sebastian will be there as well.”
I knew he had met Thad, but when I mentioned Sebastian, his brow furrowed. “Who’s Sebastian?”
“Nora’s husband. She’s offered to watch the kids while we move.”
They seemed to be on a mission to have their own baseball team.
Vance visibly relaxed. Geesh, he was high-strung today.
“What time is everyone getting there?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Around nine or so. Why?”
“I don’t have anything to do that day. I’ll help as well.”
“You will?”
The disbelief that tinged my voice must have also shown on my face, because he nodded. “Of course.”
“But why?”
I was only his client. We barely knew each other.