Page 23 of The Dancer and the Grumpy Billionaire

We talk politics for a while, through most of our meal, before the topic swings back to his family and work.

“I have a buddy in the department who is training for field work. Nothing clandestine or anything, but enough that he increased his life insurance policy a whole bunch,” he says. “They offered me a slot but I just couldn’t do that. There are some bad people out there, Vasily. I just couldn’t do that to my family.”

“Yeah,” I say. “I know, just from the human rights work I did overseas after school.”

“Right,” he says, nodding vigorously. He orders us two coffees and asks, “So what about you? Any marriage or family in the cards for you?”

“Nah,” I say, brushing off the question.

“No one special?”

I hesitate. “Maybe. It’s new and…”

“And?”

“She’s younger than me,” I say.

“How much younger?” he asks.

“Almost nine years,” I say, cringing. “She’s twenty-one.”

“Well, it won’t matter so much later on, but for now, that’s a gap. Just from a maturity perspective. I mean, you’ve practicedlaw overseas and now you work for a Senator. She’s, what? In college?”

“She’s a ballet dancer,” I say. “A principal dancer at the Washington Ballet. Gigi Sokolov.”

“Oh, that’s impressive,” he says.

“She is impressive, but also kind of mysterious. I met her under, um,unusualcircumstances. I think she’s hiding something.”

Sean frowns into his coffee. “Well, that’s no good.”

I laugh darkly. “Indeed.”

“You always did like the weird ones,” he chuckles.

“I just don’t know if it’s even worth pursuing, you know? I like her, and I feel a connection, but maybe it’s just me trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole, or whatever that saying is. I reallywantto find my person. I want what you have – a wife and a family – but I always seem to want what I can’t have.”

Sean looks contemplatively into his coffee. “You know, I don’t know if it needs to be so complicated.”

“Oh?” I ask, not sure where he is going with the comment.

“When you find the one, you just know. You feel it in your gut. And if you feel it, then it’s worth fighting for. You figure out how to make it work.” He shrugs.

We finish lunch and I head back to the office, thinking about Sean’s words, about Gigi. I don’t yet know if she is the one, but she seems worth fighting for. I guess I would just like to know who or what I am fighting.

As if she senses I am thinking of her, Gigi texts as I am walking back into the office.

Gigi:I want to see you

Vasily:Will it require a chaperone?

Gigi:I will fake sick for evening rehearsal

Gigi:Pick me up at four where you got me for lunch

Vasily:I work, Gigi. For a Senator.

Gigi:Who is in his home state

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