Page 29 of Awakened
“And ridiculous.”
Zach braced his arm on top of the wall of my cube and leaned. “But you love it.” I scoffed, and he added, “Admit it. You missed me yesterday. Didn’t you?”
I rested my hand on his chest and batted my eyelashes. “Oh, Zach, how’d you know?” I tilted my chin up and pushed himback at the last minute. He stumbled a bit, but his smile never faltered.
“Cain! Spencer! Good morning!”
I startled but put on a pleasant smile and turned to my new boss. “Good morning, Mr. Hastings.”
“Celeste, please call me Aaron.”
“In that case, you can call me Les.”
I spent the rest of the morning having Zach show me the ropes while being assigned a few clients to get my feet wet. After the clusterfuck that was the last few months, a calm settled over me as I planned out my work week.
Numbers were clear and precise, and the bureaucratic nonsense I worked through was orderly and controlled. At the same time, the client-facing portion of my job kept me from becoming a total nerd hermit, which was a blessing and a curse.
Around noon, Zach reappeared in my cube. “Lunchtime. Let’s go.”
The ride in the elevator was just as uncomfortable as the one after my interview. Never one to allow an awkward moment to go unnamed, I said, “Déjà vu. I feel completely normal right now.”
Zach chuckled. “At least you aren’t ignoring me.”
With the tension broken, we walked to the Sushi Bar across the street. After ordering and getting our food, Zach started the interrogation.
“Tell me something about yourself. Anything.”
Of course, he asked right after I shoved a California roll in my mouth, so there was a long pause before I answered. At least it gave me a moment to come up with something. “I’m a winter person. I love snow.”
Zach quirked a brow. “I guess there had to be something wrong with you.”
“Oh, there’s plenty wrong with me.”
He laughed and gracefully put a piece of sashimi in his mouth.
“What about you? What’s your fun fact?”
He tapped his chopsticks against his lips as he chewed. Those damn dimples popped as his jaw worked. After he swallowed, he took a drink of water. “I own more books than I could possibly read in the next year.”
Unbelievably good-looking, and he loves books? That’s just unfair.
“Are you a big reader?”
I nodded, covering my mouth as I chewed.
“What kind of books are you into?” He popped a piece of sushi in his mouth.
“All kinds of stuff, but right now, I’m deep in comfort rereads. I just finishedBreakfast of Champions. I’ll probably start an Austen reread binge next.”
“I love a good Jane Austen adaptation.”
“Next, you’ll tell me Pride and Prejudice is your favorite book.”
He shook his head. “Nope. It would be impossible to pick a favorite book. But if we’re talking Austen, I’d have to go with Persuasion.” Shrugging, he poked at the ginger on his plate. “I’m a sucker for a second chance romance.”
Before I could stop my mouth, I asked, “Why are you single?”
Zach let out a whooping laugh. “I don’t know. Why are you?”
