thebottom, I turn to find him standing halfway down the stairs, staring. âWhat?â
âYou know, I suggested a sandwich because I thought it might be less complicated than going for a coffee.â
âCoffeeâs not complicated.â I give him a letâs-go gesture and he comes down the last of the stairs to hold the entrance door open for me. Great. Itâs even darker outside now, so I have even less of an excuse to be wearing sunglasses. âCoffeeâs the most basic thing in the world,â I continue, happy to have a safe topic of conversation on which to park my nervous energy. âItâs complex, but not complicated. Thereâs a difference. Roasting fine Kenyan coffee beans is complex. You, youâre complicated.â
âComplicated, am I?â From behind the protection of my enormous shades, I risk a glance at his face. I thought Iâd find the glowering teacher whoâs stared me down in class. Thatâs not who I see at all. I see a surprised, somewhat intrigued man with a disarming glint in his eyes. Thereâs a word for the way he looks, but I canât quite think of it. A spark behind his eyes that makes you want to spar with him because you know it will be so much fun. I should back down, apologize, pretend I meant to say something different, but his demeanor (or is it mine?) just wonât let me.
âHighly,â I reply, enjoying this.
âWell, one certainly canât resist an explanation for that. Will I be sorry if I ask exactly how it is that I am complicated? Or donât I want to know?â
Come on, thereâs not a woman on the planet who could resist an open door like that. I place my right hand in front of my face as if spreading out a marquis. âWilliam Grey III. Banker. Three-piece suit. Files with typed labels. A dozen freshly sharpened pencils lined up on his desk. Efficient. Organized. Driven.â
Grey looks a little disturbed to know I saw the dozen lined-up pencils, but seems to be enjoying my description.
We turn the corner and I raise my left hand, creating another marquis. âWill Grey. Rugged. Gets dirty for a good cause. Competitive. Heroic. Captain of the guard. Capable, Iâm guessing, of very good pranks in school. But never caught.â
One look at Grey and I know Iâve nailed it. Iâm good that way. Intuitive. Thatâs important in the coffee business. Youâve got to know how much cream is too much, how much sugar is not enough. When the woman who says to only put a âsmidgeâ of whipped cream on her latte really means for you to pile it on.
Will chuckles. âOnce,â he says, looking at me sideways. âI was caught only once.â
âAnd what did little Willy Grey do to get caught at boarding school?â
He raises an eyebrow. âAnd just how do you know that the incident in question was at boarding school?â
I point to his finger. âThe ring. The attitude. Plus, I read enough to know that all proper English ladsget into mischief at boarding school. Besides, I imagine after you got caught the first time, you made very sure you were never caught again.â
Will stares at me. âYouâre rather frightening, you know. Has anyone ever told you that?â
âMy three brothers tell me all the time.â
Willâs eyes pop. âThree. Brothers. Well, that certainly explains it.â
Now itâs my turn to stare. âExplains what?â
âYou are, without a doubt, the feistiest person I have ever met.â
I canât resist. âWill I be sorry to ask why?â I mimic his earlier response. âOr donât I want to know?â
Will grins, pulls open the restaurant door, and says, âYes, Iâm quite sure now coffee would have been less complicated. Even with you.â
I donât even want to get into what happened in the pit of my stomach when he said you. Letâs just say it was complex.
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