Page 41 of The Dreidl Disaster

“Depends,” he said.

“On what?”

“On if you’re ready to explore what’s going on between us,” he said. “But if all you’re ready for is business, and massaging contacts, that’s fine too.”

“Do you want a business meeting, or do you want a date?” And that was a question she didn’t realize she was going to ask until she actually did. “I mean…”

“It’s fine,” he said. And then he paused, looking up at her, making her heart stop. “Are you ready to jump off the cliff with me, or are you in the mood to simply drive to the parking lot?”

She laughed, and it wasn’t a bad thing. It was…good. It was nice. He definitely was going to be the death of her. “Can I put a hold on the decision?”

He nodded. “Just let me know as soon as you can.”

“Will do,” she said. “Though I will say if I was going to agree to something, the idea of a kosher backyard barbecue in Rivertown would be a better choice.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he continued as if he’d caught the thoughts running through her head. “I’ll keep everyone on a need-to-know basis.”

“I appreciate it,” she said. And then all she could do was watch as he finished packing up his stuff before he headed out the door.

She had things to do and choices to make.

Quickly.

Chapter Fifteen

Shabbat dinner withAbe and Batya was supposed to be a welcome distraction from the barrage of thoughts running through his head. Except he had to go and ask Liv if she wanted to ‘explore what was going on between them’ at a barbecue party that didn’t exist.

Yet.

Because he had to convince Abe to host it.

“What’s up?”

He blinked, looked up at Batya as she brought the brisket to the table. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You were supposed to update me on the meeting,” she said. “And you’ve been making ridiculous noises all night. What’s up?”

Aah, right. He hadn’t spoken to Batya because he’d pulled an all-nighter and then ran off to Liv’s office to debrief before dealing with the pretzel of that meeting in Levitan’s.

“Come on,” Abe said, that undeniable expression on his face. “I made matzah balls, so you need to talk.”

Sacred reminders of their long-term friendship. He was, in fact doomed. Which meant he needed to spill. “I need help,” he said, getting to the point of the matter, “I might need you to create something.”

Abe raised an eyebrow and looked at Batya before turning back to him. “This is the most coherent you’ve been in a long time. Usually you beat around six bushes and expect me to dig under bush number seven for a surprise.”

“Sorry,” he managed. “I’m in a pickle.”

Abe raised an eyebrow. “Dill? Kosher? Bread and butter?”

“Kosher. Definitely kosher.” He swallowed. “Two of them.”

“Two of them, huh?” Batya asked as she brought the challah to the table. “Let’s make motzi over this beautiful loaf, and then you tell the story over dinner because I want to hear it.”

And so they said the blessings: first over the candles on the counter, then over the bread.

“Now,” said Abe as he passed the challah around. “Tell the story and then we’ll talk more.”

Artur proceeded to tell the story of what happened; about Liv, about working with her, the weird actions by the chamber of commerce and Leo…and his fascination with her despite all of that.

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