He shrugged the wide shoulders. ‘I’ve told Alice’s parents the situation now. I’m not too fussed about what people in general think. Are you?’ he asked, folding his arms across his chest.
‘No. Not particularly. But also I don’t want people to think I got the job by sleeping with you.’
‘Believe me, nobody would think that. They know me too well.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Can I get you anything else?’ the waitress asked.
‘Just the bill, please.’
‘No problem. Two secs,’ she replied and headed off to get the card machine.
I pulled my bag from the chair onto my lap.
‘I hope you’re not thinking of trying to pay.’
‘Half. Yes.’
‘No need. It’s a business meeting.’ He pulled a card from a slim metal wallet. ‘Company credit card.’
The girl returned, he checked the bill, tapped on the screen a couple of times, I assumed to add a tip, and then held the card against it for a moment. The waitress smiled widely. I guessed she’d seen the tip now and handed him the paper receipt that chugged out from the machine.
‘Thanks very much. Have a lovely afternoon.’
‘Thanks,’ Jesse replied as we prepared to leave.
‘Jesse Woods, is that you?’ a disembodied voice called, followed shortly by a tall, willowy brunette. ‘I hope you weren’t planning to visit and not stop to say hello.’ Her hand went to her hip, but the smile was wide and dark eyes full of laughter.
‘Marie! I didn’t realise you were here. How are you?’ Jesse’s smile matched hers and his strong arms wrapped around her in a hug.
‘I’m great, as you can see!’ She laughed, her hand flowing down her body as she did so. And she was right. ‘You’re not looking too shabby yourself.’ Her gaze moved to me. ‘Is that because you’re finally dating? Thank goodness for you!’ she said, laying a hand on my arm. ‘Such a waste of a good man otherwise, and God knows they don’t come along that often. Am I right?’
‘I… err…’ I definitely agreed with her on the latter comment, but wasn’t sure how to handle the first part. Luckily, Jesse took care of it.
‘Nope. Business lunch.’
Marie took a considered look at the both of us. ‘Shame.’ She waved her finger between us. ‘You look good together.’ Her accent had a faint hint of Greece.
‘I’m pretty sure you’d say that about anyone I brought in,’ Jesse returned, a knowing smile teasing his lips.
‘True. But happily this particular circumstance…’ she waved between us again ‘…means I don’t have to lie.’ She tilted her head. ‘Think about it at least.’
‘Felicity is our new interior designer.’
‘Oh, right! I heard Gina was emigrating. Has she left?’
‘Yep. I had meetings with several other designers but none of them really clicked.’
‘Until now?’
‘Until now,’ Jesse confirmed.
‘Congratulations. He’s a great guy to work with. Honestly, the job he did here was amazing.’
‘Yes, he was just telling me about it. It sounds like it was quite a transformation from the old building.’
‘You wouldn’t recognise it! And Jesse kept it all under budget and within the original quote. Believe me, that can’t be said for all property developers I’ve had dealings with.’
