8. Xavier #2
"Thanks." I leaned against the doorframe, reluctant to end the moment. "Couldn't have done it without you. Those reports you put together were crucial."
"I just organized the data. You did the hard part."
"Still." I held her gaze. "Thank you."
Then Kim looked away, breaking the spell. "I should get back to work. And you should probably tell Sebastian the good news."
"Right. Yeah." I straightened. "I'll do that."
I walked back into my office, but I couldn't focus on anything. The high of closing the deal had merged with something else, something that felt suspiciously like happiness.
I was in so much trouble.
At five o'clock, Kim started gathering her things.
I intercepted her at the elevator. "Let me give you a ride."
"Thanks, but I have to go to the bar."
"The bar?" I frowned. "I thought I asked you to quit."
"You did." She pressed the elevator button. "I didn't."
"Why not?"
"Because I need the money, Xavier. The arrangement helps, but it's not forever. I need to keep my options open."
The elevator arrived. She stepped inside. I followed. "Let me drive you there, at least."
She hesitated. Then nodded. "Fine."
We walked to my car in silence. I opened her door for her, earning a raised eyebrow but no comment. The drive to Rosie's took twenty minutes in evening traffic, and I spent most of it working up the courage to say what I needed to say.
"Quit," I said finally.
"We talked about this."
"I know. But I'm asking again." I glanced at her. "You're exhausted. You work all day, and then you work all night, and you never rest. It's not sustainable."
She shrugged. "I do what I have to do."
"You don't have to do this. I can increase your pay. Cover whatever you'd lose from the bar."
"Xavier…"
"Please, let me help you."
Kim was quiet for a long moment. I watched her profile in the passing streetlights, the tension in her jaw, the way her hands twisted in her lap.
"Fine, I'll quit."
"Really?"
"Don't make me change my mind."
I pulled up in front of Rosie's. Kim got out, and I watched her walk inside. Twenty minutes later, she emerged with her bag over her shoulder. It was then that I realized I’d half-expected her to grab an apron and start working.
She climbed back into the car. "It's done."
"How do you feel?"
"Terrified." She buckled her seatbelt. "Also relieved. Is that weird?"
"No." I pulled away from the curb.
"So," I said as we crossed into Brooklyn, "now that you're not working two jobs, what are you going to do with all your free time?"
"Sleep," she said immediately. "So much sleep."
"That's it? No secret passions?"
"Sleep is my passion."
We pulled up to her building. I parked, but neither of us moved to get out. The car felt warm, intimate, a bubble separate from the rest of the world.
My phone rang. I glanced at the screen. Grandmother.
"I should take this," I said to Kim. I answered. "Hello?"
"Xavier, darling." My grandmother's voice filtered in. "I hope I'm not interrupting."
"Not at all. What's up?"
"I was hoping to get Kim's number. I'd like to invite her to dinner. Just the two of us."
I glanced at Kim. "She's actually right here. Want to talk to her?"
"Even better. Put her on."
I handed the phone to Kim. "My grandmother."
Kim's eyes widened slightly. She took the phone, pressing it to her ear. "Hello, Mrs. Dubois."
I couldn't hear my grandmother's side of the conversation, only Kim's responses. "Yes, ma'am." A pause. "That's very kind of you." Another pause.
Kim covered the phone with her hand and mouthed, She wants to have a private dinner with me.
I nodded. Why not? This was the point, after all. Convince my grandmother. Win her approval.
So why did my stomach twist at the thought of them alone together?
Kim uncovered the phone. "I'd love to. Thank you for the invitation." A pause. "Yes, I'll see you then. Goodbye."
She handed the phone back to me. "Thursday night. Some restaurant called Le Bernardin."
"That's her favorite." I pocketed the phone. "You'll like it. The food is incredible."
"I've never been to a place like that."
"You'll be fine. She already likes you."
Kim didn't look convinced.
I walked her up to her building, up the stairs, down the hallway to Dani's apartment. Kim knocked, and a moment later the door swung open.
Dani took one look at me and grinned. "Well, well. If it isn't Prince Charming."
"Dani," Kim said warningly.
"What? I'm just observing." Dani leaned against the doorframe, still grinning. "You know, Kim talks about you all the time. Xavier this, Xavier that. It’s never-ending."
"Dani."
"I'm flattered," I grinned. "I was worried she didn’t like me."
"Oh, I didn’t say that she liked you." She gave me an impish smile. “Just that she talks about you a lot.”
“Ouch.” I made a gesture like she’d stabbed me in the heart. “On the other hand, I’d love to hear what she’s been saying about me. May I interest you in a fancy dinn—”
Kim made a strangled sound. "Okay, that's enough. Where's Zoe?"
"Living room. She's been asking about you all—"
"Mr. Xavier!"
A small body hurtled out of the apartment and collided with my legs. Zoe wrapped her arms around me, squeezing tight, her face pressed against my thigh.
"You came to visit!"
The force of her hug, the complete trust in her grip, did something to my chest. That feeling again—the paternal one, the one I didn't know what to do with.
I crouched down to her level. "Hey, munchkin. How was your day?"
"Good! I drew a picture of a kite. Want to see?"
"Maybe tomorrow, baby," Kim said. "It's getting late."
Zoe's face fell slightly, but she nodded. "Okay. Bye, Mr. Xavier." She hugged me again, tighter this time. "Will you come fly kites with us again soon?"
"Absolutely." I hugged her back, breathing in the scent of strawberry shampoo and childhood. "It's a date."
Kim gathered Zoe and her things. At her apartment door, she turned back to look at me. Our eyes met.
"Goodnight, Xavier."
"Goodnight, Kim."
She disappeared inside. The door closed.
I stood in the hallway, staring at the space where she'd been, thinking one word:
Progress.