I stay at my desk until Alek appears at my side. “Doing okay?”
“Yes, sir. Need me to do something else?”
“Want to have lunch?”
“Is it lunchtime already?”
I look at the clock and see that it’s nearing noon.
“Want me to order something in or would you like to join me somewhere?” he asks, his uncharacteristic unease evident in the way his eyes bounce around.
I decide not to tease him about this being a date. “We can order in. Pizza? I know a place.”
“Okay,” he replies before turning around and heading back to his office.
I follow him in and we decide on what we want before I place the order.
“It’ll be twenty-five minutes,” I tell him.
He nods, focusing on his computer. I get on my phone to pass time, but he speaks up, stealing my attention.
“What are your plans for today?”
“Once you free me? I’m not sure. I’ll probably head back home, take a nap, then later I’ll go to my friend’s house. He’s having a pool party.”
“A nap? Are you sure you’re not the old one?”
I laugh. “An age joke? From you?”
He tries to stop from smiling. “So, a pool party, huh?”
“Yeah, he’s got a hell of a house. Well, his dad. You heard of Owen Anderson? Tech billionaire?”
“Oh, yeah. Of course. That’s your friend’s dad?”
“Yep. His dad works a lot, so he basically has the house to himself. Pool parties are pretty frequent when the weather’s nice.”
“Sounds fun.”
“Wish you could come,” I say with a wink. “I’d love to see you naked and wet.”
His lips draw up. “I don’t swim naked.”
“Well, mostly naked, then.”
“Hmm.”
“What about you? Plans?”
“I have business calls to make, emails to send, then maybe I’ll journey out to find a nice place to eat. Getting tired of room service.”
“Why don’t you go grocery shopping?”
He makes a face like the idea of it disgusts him.
“How long have you been here? Dad said this branch is new, but you seem pretty established here.”
“We’ve been running for nine months. I’ve made a few trips out here while it was getting started, but I’ve been here this time around for a couple months. Maybe three. What month is it?”