Alex sighed… but then he nodded. “Okay. But just one drink.”
“I promise,” Grace said. “We’ll start with just one drink.”
Alex raised his eyebrows with a laugh. “One drink total.”
“Yes. Definitely.” Grace winked, and Alex smiled.
“I don’t know if I trust you, but fine. If you’re sure.”
Grace nodded. “I’m sure. It’ll be fun.”
A small voice in the back of her head asked what she thought she was doing. She wasn’t the kind of person to ask out her boss. Not that she’d asked him out. A drink to celebrate a professional win certainly counted as a normal, non-romantic activity.
But Grace hadn’t asked him out because she wanted to celebrate her work achievement. At least, that wasn’t the only reason. She wanted to spend more time with Alex, make him laugh, and just forget about all her careful plans for one night.
Alex headed for the door, and Grace grabbed her bag and followed. She wished she’d dressed a little nicer—she wore jeans and a T-shirt she’d thrown on, not expecting to meet anyone at the office, while Alex was in a suit from his event.
“Oh!” Alex turned back. “Before we go, make sure to sign the laptop back in.”
“Right!” Grace grabbed the laptop, and they took it to his office to return together. “Thanks for the reminder.”
“Nowwe’re ready.” Alex held out his arm, and Grace smiled as she took it. “Let’s go and get that one drink, and one drink only.”
“Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 7
ALEX
She’s just being nice,Alex told himself sternly as he and Grace stepped into the bar. The room smelled of beer and French fries. A bar stood at the front, where patrons could sit on swivel stools to place their orders, and the walls were lined with red vinyl booths. There were a few small round tables on the floor, but the middle of the room had been cleared out, as though the bar owners were hopeful that people might start dancing to the loud music playing over the speakers.
It wasn’t the kind of place Alex usually enjoyed, but he was happy to be here now, because he was with Grace. He just had to be careful. The only reason Grace had invited him out was because she was trying to acknowledge his achievement as well as her own, which was very nice of her. It didn’t mean that she was interested in him in any meaningful way.
Alex still couldn’t believe he’d said yes. It was inappropriate for him to be out with his employee, even if it was Grace, whom he’d spent hours and hours with over the past couple weeks. Or maybe all the time they’d spent together made this even more of a bad idea, especially given the way she made his heart race.
“Table for two, please,” Grace said to the waitress, who led them to a booth near the back. Alex sat across from Grace, who accepted a menu with a smile. The warm smells of fried food overtook Alex, and he suddenly realized that he’d left his takeout on the desk in his office. He was hungry.
“I might get something to eat,” Grace said, as though reading his mind. “I forgot to eat dinner.”
“So did I,” Alex admitted. He met her gaze across the table, and she smiled at him and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear.
“Good. We can both eat, then.”
She’d seemed confident when she’d asked him to join her for a drink, but now, the way she messed with her hair and smiled made her appear nervous. Alex was nervous too. He just knew that he had to finish his food and drink fast and head back to the office before he said or did anything he might regret, like tell Grace how beautiful she looked this evening or reach across the table to tuck her hair back for her.
“Maybe a burger,” Alex said. He managed to sound normal, casual, as though they did this all the time. It wasn’t like this was the first time they’d shared a meal, even. It just felt different because there was no work to distract them.
“Mmm, nice,” Grace agreed. “Same.”
When the waitress returned, they placed their orders then sat back.
“So, what work do you have to do tomorrow, other than testing?” Grace asked.
“Let’s not talk about work,” Alex said. “We both need an evening off to think about other things.”
“Okay.” Grace bit her lip, and they both looked away. Alex instantly regretted his suggestion. They should have just talked about the update all evening and kept from getting too personal—or letting the silence grow too awkward. Thankfully, their drinks arrived just then, and Alex took a long, fortifying sip of beer. Grace also sipped her drink, which was pink and had a wedge of pineapple on top.
“So, what do you usually do to celebrate a win at work?” Grace asked. “Like this update?”
