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Still smiling, he asked, “What can I help you with?”
“I’m going to lunch.” She offered, “Wanna come with?”
“No, but thank you for the offer.”
“Come on! It will be fun,” she coaxed, while walking deeper into the office. Her hand stretched as if to grab his hand, but he pulled back so she wouldn’t touch him. Her smile dimmed, but she continued with her pursuit. “I’m buying, and my credit card has no limits.”
Barry was polite but firm. “Thank you, but no.”
“Okay, fine.” She sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. “But I’m not giving up. You’ll say yes to me eventually.”
“I don’t think so,” Barry said. But Misty sashayed out of the office while he was talking, making it clear that his words had gone in one ear and out the other.
After she was gone, Barry sighed. Good riddance!
Unfortunately, she was a persistent woman. Given that they were part of the same team, she also had unlimited access to him. She’d be back.
Next time, he promised, he’d add more heat to his tone.
His irritation with Misty lasted until after lunch hour. But then something happened to make him forget all about that incident.
“Barry,” George, the floor’s receptionist, spoke over the line. “Xolani Moore from marketing wants to talk to you. Okay, if I send her through?”
Barry’s heart immediately leapt in excitement. Why was she calling? Had she felt that electricity between them too? Was she calling to do something about it? Before he could remind himself that she was a certified no-go zone, his mouth took matters in its own hands. “Send her through.”
There was a click and then a familiar, lyrical voice came through the line. “Hello?”
“Hello.” His heart was in his mouth as he said, “This is Barry Hale.”
“Barry, it’s Xo.” She paused for a beat before saying, “Um… I don’t know if you noticed, but I kind of took your charger home with me.”
That’s what she was calling about? Disappointment shot through him. Still, he kept his voice jolly as he said, “Oh yeah, I noticed. I just counted it as loss and moved on.”
“Well, count it as found.” Xolani said, “I didn’t know we’d meet today, so I don’t have it on me. But I can bring it in tomorrow. Is that okay?”
“That’s great,” he said.
“Cool.” Then she hung up.
There was no ‘I was so happy to find out that we work together’. Not even an ‘I’d love to meet up so we can pick up where we left off’. Hell, he would’ve been happy with a mere ‘it was good to see you again’.
But she hung up. Just like that.
Was all the heat between them in his imagination? How could she be so curt and calm when talking to him? Meanwhile, his heart was still struggling to lower its beating rate even though it had already been several minutes since she’d hung up on him. Was it all in his mind?
No, it couldn’t be.
Despite his assertion that Xolani was a no-go zone, he decided that when they met the following day, he’d check if their chemistry was real or imagined.
UNFORTUNATELY, WORK GOT IN THE way of a smooth meeting. The following day, Barry’s team found out that there was a problem with the prototype of their newest vehicle. Barry and a few other members of the team headed to the factory to solve the issue. He called Xolani to let her know.
Xolani asked, “When do you think you’ll be done with the inspection?”
“Probably late afternoon,” he hypothesized. “But I’m not sure.” After a brief pause, he offered, “Why don’t I call you when I’m done, then we can meet wherever you are?”
She agreed, “That’s okay.”
“What’s your personal number?”
