Page 36 of Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World
We walked for a while in silence through the usual press of harried pedestrians before Eric’s hand tightened on mine. “Tell me more about your job.”
I floundered as I tried to think of a suitable response. “There’s not much to say,” I finally replied. “It’s just a job.”
“Do you like your coworkers?”
“Our office can be pretty cutthroat. It’s hard to make friends with people who would happily send you to Hell.” I caught myself, then laughed in a weird, strained voice. “Just kidding. No one is sending anyone to Hell. That’s just an expression we use sometimes. Around the office.”
“And the bank you work for? Are they decent, do you think?”
I hesitated. “Decent?”
“Do they do good things?” He looked over at me. “A lot of banks do shady stuff.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t know if—I mean,goodis a relative concept, isn’t it?”
“Is it? Okay.” He shrugged and gave me a smile. “Your turn again. What else do you want to know?”
Desperate not to talk about my job, I asked impulsively, “How did your last relationship end?”
“Badly,” he replied, tone rueful. “You?”
“I’ve never really had one.” My face heated with embarrassment. “Not a real one, at least.”
“How come?”
I shrugged uncomfortably. “Never found the right person, I suppose.” Trying to keep my tone light, I said, “I bet all of your past boyfriends have been models, or European royalty, or dashing men with attractive scars and mysterious fortunes.”
Eric laughed. “No. I’ve definitely never dated anyone like that.” Pausing, he added thoughtfully, “I wouldn’t mind a couple of attractive scars, though.”
I tried to laugh as well, but nothing happened beyond a nervous grunt. I had no scars, attractive or otherwise. In fact, I had nothing to offer at all. The idea of Eric jet-setting around the world, meeting an endless parade of hot men in far-flung locales, made my insides shrivel.Whyhad I asked about his past relationships?
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, breaking the strained silence that had fallen between us.
“Nothing,” I muttered with a shake of my head.
“Hey,” he repeated, more softly this time. He came to a stop, tugging me gently to stand next to him, forcing people to veer to either side. “Did I say something wrong?”
Staring fixedly at his shoes, I shook my head again. “No. I’m sorry. I just—” My throat closed around what I wanted to say. For a moment, I stood there, struggling. Then he wordlessly took my other hand in his, and that made me look up into his face. “I don’t know what you’re doing here with me,” I said, words tumbling out of me in a rush. “On a scale of one to ten, you’re…I don’t know, a forty-three? You’ve traveled the world. You have, like, actual biceps, and probably a set of washboard abs as well. And I’m literally the most boring person in the world. I’m wearing acardigan, Eric. You can see this cardigan, right?”
“Yes,” he said seriously, “I can see your cardigan. I think it’s very nice. The color suits you.”
“So what are you doing here?” I asked helplessly.
A faint line appeared between his eyebrows. “Why would I want to be anywhere else?”
I stared at him.
Gripping my hands in his, he pulled me even closer. “Colin, this isn’t a pity date,” he told me as he gazed into my eyes. “I’m not stringing you along.”
“But—”
“I think you’re super cute,” he broke in gently, “and funny, and sweet. And if you can’t believe that, at least believe that I want to be here. Because I do.”
Iwantedto believe him. I really did. In the world I knew, though, people like Eric didn’t slum it with people like me, not unless they had some dark and nefarious purpose in mind. I searched for anything nefarious in his gaze but found nothing but sincerity.
After a long pause, Eric said, “C’mon. Let’s keep walking, okay?”
“Okay. Yes. I’m sorry.”
