Melba toast and put a roasted pepper on it.
Max hadn’t responded the way she’d hoped. And she’d thought the mood at dinner would be a celebratory one. A happy, easygoing affair now that the business was out of the way. Instead, she’d ruined it with her forward behavior.
Max confused her. He appeared interested in her from earlier meetings. Especially when he asked all the personal questions.
Had she flat-out misread the message?
“I normally handle my liquor just fine.” With trembling fingers, Felicity reached for her water glass, knocking it over, the contents spilling all over the dinner plates, the glass rolling over to the side and crashing on the floor. Waiters scurried to the site busily cleaning up the shards of glass and wiping up the water. “Oh, gosh, I’ve made a mess.”
“No worries. I’m sure you’ll be fine once you eat a good meal. It’s okay. You’re just excited.”
Felicity could tell by his condescending glance her actions humored him. Her pride wounded, he suddenly infuriated her. She suspected he thought of her as an inexperienced child, hence his verbal slips with the nickname “kiddo.” Felicity decided to prove otherwise. “Jenny and I have adjusted quite well without parents all these years. With the salary increase, things won’t be such a struggle. I’m glad we can swing it, independently, without a guy around.”
Whoops. Now that was the alcohol talking. Damn. She wished she’d kept her mouth shut.
He patted her hand. “Calm down, dear. No need to get so defensive.”
“I’m not at all. But it seems like you think I’m a child or something. You keep calling me ‘kiddo.’ You know I’ve done things most twenty-four-year-olds wouldn’t dream of. By myself. Until I couldn’t any longer and I broke down and moved in with Brad. I think it was the worst thing for me and Jen.” Oh no! Now she’d gotten into the Brad story. There’d be no going back now.
The waitress delivered her perfectly cooked meal. Felicity noticed Max hadn’t started eating his and felt bad thinking it’d probably got cold.
“Dig in,” Max said as he quickly cut his meat and ate with apparent enthusiasm.
Felicity wished she could get her now quashed appetite back, but followed suit. She enjoyed the char-grilled taste and perfect mix of herbs and regained her desire for food. In between bites, she decided to undo any damage she may have done with her over-defensiveness. “I guess, Max, I’m glad I asked for your help. But I would have liked to know I could have done it myself.”
“You did this by yourself. You single-handedly created the entire concept. You know that half the battle in this business is getting the backing and timely breaks. That’s all I did to facilitate this deal.” Max finished more of his meal and then leaned in. “So, tell me about this Brad.”
Suddenly Felicity wanted the dinner over—and fast. But now she’d brought Brad up she needed to fess up. “Normally I wouldn’t consider moving in with a guy. I mean, not that I judge domestic partnerships as being morally wrong. It’s just I really need to feel like Jenny and I can do it on our own. We don’t need to depend on anyone and expose ourselves to disappointment. When our apartment building was taken over by new management they doubled our rent so we had no choice . . .”
“Go on. Don’t stop there.”
“We’d dated for a couple of years. I thought I knew him. But evidently I didn’t.” Felicity could feel the sadness of her old boyfriend’s betrayal creep into her mind. She drank a half glass of water. The waitress appeared and expertly refilled their water glasses asking if there was anything else they needed. Felicity thought she’d not only embarrassed herself with the ridiculous pass on Max, but now she’d over disclosed things in her personal life. “In short, he turned out to be a cheat. I frankly wish I didn’t bring up the subject.”
“That’s very disappointing. I
Max hadn’t responded the way she’d hoped. And she’d thought the mood at dinner would be a celebratory one. A happy, easygoing affair now that the business was out of the way. Instead, she’d ruined it with her forward behavior.
Max confused her. He appeared interested in her from earlier meetings. Especially when he asked all the personal questions.
Had she flat-out misread the message?
“I normally handle my liquor just fine.” With trembling fingers, Felicity reached for her water glass, knocking it over, the contents spilling all over the dinner plates, the glass rolling over to the side and crashing on the floor. Waiters scurried to the site busily cleaning up the shards of glass and wiping up the water. “Oh, gosh, I’ve made a mess.”
“No worries. I’m sure you’ll be fine once you eat a good meal. It’s okay. You’re just excited.”
Felicity could tell by his condescending glance her actions humored him. Her pride wounded, he suddenly infuriated her. She suspected he thought of her as an inexperienced child, hence his verbal slips with the nickname “kiddo.” Felicity decided to prove otherwise. “Jenny and I have adjusted quite well without parents all these years. With the salary increase, things won’t be such a struggle. I’m glad we can swing it, independently, without a guy around.”
Whoops. Now that was the alcohol talking. Damn. She wished she’d kept her mouth shut.
He patted her hand. “Calm down, dear. No need to get so defensive.”
“I’m not at all. But it seems like you think I’m a child or something. You keep calling me ‘kiddo.’ You know I’ve done things most twenty-four-year-olds wouldn’t dream of. By myself. Until I couldn’t any longer and I broke down and moved in with Brad. I think it was the worst thing for me and Jen.” Oh no! Now she’d gotten into the Brad story. There’d be no going back now.
The waitress delivered her perfectly cooked meal. Felicity noticed Max hadn’t started eating his and felt bad thinking it’d probably got cold.
“Dig in,” Max said as he quickly cut his meat and ate with apparent enthusiasm.
Felicity wished she could get her now quashed appetite back, but followed suit. She enjoyed the char-grilled taste and perfect mix of herbs and regained her desire for food. In between bites, she decided to undo any damage she may have done with her over-defensiveness. “I guess, Max, I’m glad I asked for your help. But I would have liked to know I could have done it myself.”
“You did this by yourself. You single-handedly created the entire concept. You know that half the battle in this business is getting the backing and timely breaks. That’s all I did to facilitate this deal.” Max finished more of his meal and then leaned in. “So, tell me about this Brad.”
Suddenly Felicity wanted the dinner over—and fast. But now she’d brought Brad up she needed to fess up. “Normally I wouldn’t consider moving in with a guy. I mean, not that I judge domestic partnerships as being morally wrong. It’s just I really need to feel like Jenny and I can do it on our own. We don’t need to depend on anyone and expose ourselves to disappointment. When our apartment building was taken over by new management they doubled our rent so we had no choice . . .”
“Go on. Don’t stop there.”
“We’d dated for a couple of years. I thought I knew him. But evidently I didn’t.” Felicity could feel the sadness of her old boyfriend’s betrayal creep into her mind. She drank a half glass of water. The waitress appeared and expertly refilled their water glasses asking if there was anything else they needed. Felicity thought she’d not only embarrassed herself with the ridiculous pass on Max, but now she’d over disclosed things in her personal life. “In short, he turned out to be a cheat. I frankly wish I didn’t bring up the subject.”
“That’s very disappointing. I
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