Page 54 of Breathless Recruiter

Orion: Yes, like a job interview. Ask him questions.

Felipes’ tinted windows made it impossible to see inside. The towering silver door in the middle was almost as intimidating as what waited on the other side. Wyatt Supreme was about to have his first official date. I gave a slight clap.

When I tugged at the door, a gentleman in a black suit appeared as if out of thin air. He gave a quick up and down. His eyebrow jumped as he gave a discerning glare. I suddenly felt out of place. Glancing down, I made sure I hadn’t misaligned the buttons on my dress shirt.

“I’m here for Dustin Stark.”

He didn’t speak as he gave a slight bow, directing me further into the restaurant. As I walked down the aisle, diners stole glances out of the corner of their eyes. Arthur had once pointedout that I looked like a bodybuilder who spent all their time at the gym. It explained why people gawked wherever I went. I lifted my shoulders and pushed out my chest. I wanted them to watch, then they’d see the handsome man I was about to sit with.

Dustin stood, gesturing to the chair across the square table. Sitting in the middle of the white tablecloth, three candles flickered. I had never been to a restaurant this fancy. They had thegoodcheeses, I could tell.

I reached for the chair, and the maître d' pulled it out. “Could I get you anything to drink?”

“Just water.”

“Sparkling? Distilled? Alkaline? Mineral? Or Purified.”

I didn’t know water came in so many forms. “From the faucet?”

Dustin didn’t speak as he stared. It got to where I had to reach up and make sure I didn’t have traces of a jelly donut on my face. The edge of his lip turned upward as I wiped my beard, hunting for traces of frosting.

“You’re fine. It’s just nice seeing you outside of work.”

“I haven’t seen you in a suit before.”

“I had to make a good impression on your first date.” He handed me a menu. I was surprised it wasn’t coated in plastic to protect it from spills. “I ordered us a charcuterie board.”

“A char — what?”

“It’s fancy speak for appetizers.”

For a normal human, it might be weird to have their first date as a grown man. I appreciated he didn’t make a big deal. This was already turning out better than my date with Zaster. I’d like to scrub that event from my brain.

Orion and Drew talked about their first dates. They described in great detail how badly they had gone. I’d break their streak. I just had to remember to be polite like Earth Mom taught me and ask questions.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” My boss at Coffee! Coffee! Coffee! asked me this every few days. I wanted to say serving coffee, but I don’t think that’s what they meant.

“Getting right to the big stuff, huh?”

I crossed my arms on the table and straightened my back.

“I haven’t given it much thought.” He chewed his top lip as he thought about the question. I maintained eye contact, letting him know I was interested in his answer. “I think I want to run my own security company. Helping people is in my DNA.” Mine, too. “It also dovetails nicely with myotherjob.”

I nodded. More eye contact. “What do you think is your greatest strength?”

I leaned back as a server set a slate tray on the table. On top of the stone plate rested three stacks of food. Crackers. Cheese. Meats… I think. I reached for a fork and found there were three on the side of my plate. On the other side were two spoons. Wait, why did I have so many utensils?

“The one on the outside.” He picked up a fork. “You work your way in.”

I gave a slight nod like he made sense. Following his lead, I picked up pieces from the char— slate and dropped them on my plate. I tried maintaining eye contact while I took a bite of fancy cheese.

“Going with the flow.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“My greatest strength. Life’s complicated. I try to not let the little stuff bother me. I think that’s what I like about my other job. It’s a reminder that the day-to-day stuff isn’t a big deal.”

“If you had to?—”

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