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“Perfect.”

“I’ll get back with you on the training question.”

“What training question?” He paused and then added, “I’m kidding!”

She laughed, partially from embarrassment. When will I ever get used to this dating thing?

After they hung up, she sat there for a moment in disbelief. So much had happened today, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet! Then something struck her. What if Eric had told Nick that he’d planned to ask her out? Worse, what if he’d asked for Nick’s permission? That was a stretch; however, Jared had assumed she and Nick were together. Maybe Eric had too.

Aside from training Nick, Eric had seen them together at the bar. It was also possible that Britney had mentioned something about the party she and Nick had gone to Friday night. Maybe Eric had decided to check with Nick first before asking her out. It was a sobering thought.

Even though she didn’t owe Nick an explanation, he’d confessed to being attracted to her. If he found out she’d agreed to go on a date with Eric, it might feel like a slap in the face.

“Grrr!” she growled. She hoped nobody outside her office had heard, but if they had, they’d probably never guess what it was about. She had the reputation of being “all business.” She’d been diligent about keeping her personal life personal. It had been challenging, especially when she’d gone through the divorce, but she’d managed to keep her dignity intact. She hadn’t shared the gruesome details with anyone except Kelsey and Paige, and she trusted them implicitly. Any assumptions her other coworkers had made were simply that, assumptions. Likewise, she’d kept her dating woes to herself. Most of her coworkers probably thought she was either a man-hater or simply content being single.

She’d never given anyone the impression she was looking for love, and she hadn’t been—not really. Companionship and occasional sex would be nice, but she hadn’t expected to find love again. She was selective (she didn’t care for the word picky), though, and so far, she hadn’t found the right person to satisfy her needs for companionship, sex, or both. Still, that was nobody’s business but hers, and she intended to keep it that way.

After mulling it over, she was convinced she’d made the right decision. Going out with Eric, a man close in age who was not related to Fran, made much more sense than going out with Nick.

No matter how handsome, intelligent, attentive, and passionate Nick was, he was not the man for her. She decided to think of him like a chocolate shake, one of her all-time favorite desserts. She loved chocolate shakes, craved them, even. Whenever she saw one on a menu, she was tempted, but that didn’t mean she indulged in them willy-nilly! Did people realize how many calories were in a small chocolate shake? She’d looked it up on Google multiple times, hoping the number would go down or she’d misread it, but no. So, despite her affinity for them, she mostly steered clear of them.

She glanced out the window at the sunny spring day and shook her head.

What would Nick think if he knew she equated him with the sun and chocolate shakes? Would he be offended, flattered, amused? She’d never know because she didn’t plan on telling him. Just like she didn’t plan on sharing that she was going on a date with Eric. The only way he’d find out was if Eric told him, but she hoped he wouldn’t.

Finally, she went back to work, starting with researching business writing classes for Eric’s department. It was difficult to concentrate, though, especially when she kept visualizing Nick as a big, thick, delicious chocolate shake.

What does that make Eric, then? Vanilla?

Fourteen

Stacy didn’t come face to face with Nick again until Friday. Fran had decided that he could continue meeting with the managers while Stacy developed a business writing class to give to Eric’s department and anyone else who was interested. The managers had been instructed to give certain employees a little push if needed. She’d posted a sign-up online and, at Fran’s suggestion, had tacked a notice on the bulletin board in the employee lounge. She’d been pleasantly surprised at the number of people who’d signed up. She was working on her presentation when someone knocked on her door.

“Come in.”

“Do you have a minute?”

He stood in the doorway, looking gorgeous as usual in his casual Friday clothes. Since she’d barely seen him that week, everything stood out in stark relief. His skin seemed even darker against the yellow polo shirt, and his arm muscles more defined. His dark hair was freshly trimmed, as was his beard. When he looked at her with those soulful brown eyes, it was hard to remember why she’d been keeping her distance.

“Sure. Have a seat.”

Leaving the door ajar, he slid into the chair across from her, only, this time, he didn’t have his notepad with him. She got the impression he wasn’t there in a professional capacity.

“How’ve you been?” he asked.

Rattled, frustrated, worried, craving a chocolate shake. “Busy.”

“I heard about your business writing class.”

“Is that why you stopped by?”

“Not really. I just wanted to check in, I guess.”

“How’s your management training going?”

“Pretty good, but nobody else is as good a teacher as you.”

It might have sounded like a pick-up line coming from someone else, but she believed he meant it. “Thank you.”