Page 111 of Misfortune and Mr. Right

“Do I have something on my face, Pennington?”

“No. Uh, I was just thinking about executives on their lunch breaks. How much they’ll appreciate an ad on LinkedIn telling them about the deli.”

“That’s exactly what it looked like you were thinking about.”

I wad up a piece of scratch paper and raise my hand to playfully toss it at Logan.

He captures my wrist and plucks the paper from my fingers. My hand slides down, and our fingers interlock. Our eyes are riveted together in a playful challenge.

“You look exceptional today,” Logan says without cracking a smile. Stoicism at its finest. “And I admire your thoughts on how the campaign will feel to the target audience. You’re not only beautiful, you’re insightful, excellent at your job … ”

“Are you saying all of that as my boyfriend or my coworker?” I ask, not even caring which way he identifies. I give his hand a little squeeze, and he lowers our enjoined hands to the table, leaving mine resting there while he pulls his back into his lap.

“Both.” He smiles at me. “And I think we should give this client a visit for lunch. My treat.”

“That sounds good,” I agree.

My phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket and look down at the screen.

“Lynette,” I tell Logan.

“Hey, Lynette,” I say into my phone. “What’s up?”

“I have a favor to ask,” Lynette says.

“Sure. What is it?”

“I lent my car to a friend. Could you possibly swing by to grab Cassidy after school?”

“Sure. But how will you get home?”

“My friend will have my car back about an hour after Cass is out of class. I’ll just do some work here until he gets back.”

I hold up my finger to Logan and mouth the words, “I’ll be right back.”

I step into the hallway to continue my conversation with Lynette.

“He? Who is this friend, Lynette?”

“Agh. Did I say he?”

“You did. So?”

“It’s Denny, the second-grade teacher.”

“Denny?”

“He just needed to borrow my car. He’s a friend. I decided, as a grown woman, to lend it to him. But it turns out he’s running later than he expected. Do you want me to call Mom to get Cassidy?”

“No. No. Of course I’ll get her. I just haven’t heard you mention him before.”

“He’s a friend. But if I wanted to date someone would that be so awful? Or are you the only one allowed to date?”

“No. Of course not. I just want you to be careful.”

“Just like I want you to be careful.”

“Right.” I chuckle.

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