Page 13 of Earl

“Do you have a gym membership or a home gym?”

“I have a club membership and a home gym.”

“Hmm. Fancy.”

She had not asked him anything else and he wondered if that was deliberate.

“Shoot.”

“Feel free to tell me to mind my own business.”

“Oh, I will.”

“You mentioned something about failed relationships.”

“Yes.”

“How bad was it?”

There was a pause, and he waited with bated breath, wondering if he had gone too far. He was sacrificing his workout for the conversation, and it wasn’t really a sacrifice at all.

“Okay, so here is the thing. I am in a very demanding field. One that takes up a lot of my time. It’s not just a job for me, it’s my career and I love it. I would go hours doing what I do and forget to eat, much less remember that I have a date, or I promised to make dinner. It happened enough time to be less than cute.

I would try and rectify the situation by making it up to the person, but it was not appreciated. I have been accused of being intimidating as well, because I happen to know some high-profile people and my work has been recognized. I am also not your typical size zero, far from it.

Those combinations have not been ideal. I also have a lot of baggage because of my upbringing. Any man I settle with has to welcome all of that and I am not certain anyone can.”

Earl took in all of that and started processing. He was very intuitive, which made him an exceptionally successful businessman. He would look at a product or a spreadsheet and know whether or not they would yield a profit. He sometimesdoes not carry that over to his personal life, however. But this time, he was reading between the lines.

“Is it fair to judge all men to the few that have disappointed you?”

“Well so far, they have been true to form. Look, I am not trying to turn you off or anything like that. I am just stating fact.”

“When do we graduate to phone calls?”

The pause again and this time it was longer.

“Not yet.”

He hissed out an impatient breath. “May I ask why not?”

“I need more time.”

“It’s just a phone call Cathy. I want to hear your voice.”

“And then you are going to want to meet.”

“Would that be such a bad idea?”

“Right now, yes. I am not ready.”

“What if I promised that I will not pressure you? That talking on the phone will be all until you say when? I think all this typing is giving me carpal tunnel. Just phone calls Cathy and that is it for now. I promise.”

He found himself holding his breath as he waited for her answer. They had exchanged phone numbers at the beginning of the conversation as was required.

He was about to tell her to forget it when his phone started ringing.

His head whipped around at the intrusion of the loud noise and his heart picked up speed when he recognized the number. Picking up the phone, he had to take a breath before sliding the icon.

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