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“That’s fine, but I need to be back to the lab in an hour.” I looked at my watch, wishing it were already time.
He motioned for the waiter. “Any dietary restrictions?”
“I don’t eat beef, pork, or chicken.”
He smiled and my stomach tied itself in a knot. “Fish and shellfish okay?”
I nodded, trying not to be flattered by his careful attention. “Thank you for asking.”
“You’re very welcome.” His smile broadened, and I noticed a lone dimple located on the left side of his face. For some reason, this annoyed me. A lot.
He ordered all manner of things, some of which I’d never heard of before, and he also ordered wine.
I stopped the server when he went to fill my glass. “No thank you.” To Gabe, I said, “I don’t drink alcohol when I’m working.”
Gabriel motioned to the waiter and my glass was immediately filled, against my will. “You don’t have to finish it. Just enjoy it to taste.”
I frowned at him, but he continued to smile at me pleasantly. “I’m not trying to boss you around, I swear. I just want you to enjoy your lunch.”
I wanted to enjoy it too. But he might have been too handsome to eat across from.
The servers placed sashimi and lobster dumplings in front of us, along with a delicious-looking salad with roasted poblano peppers and shaved Parmesan.
Gabriel held up his wineglass, and I raised mine too.
“Cheers to finally meeting.”
I tentatively tapped my glass against his. “Cheers.”
I took a sip of the wine, which was heavenly, as he started putting food on my plate. I took a bite of the sashimi and tried to ignore its simple deliciousness. I could feel myself getting wrapped up in the food, the wine, our sunny seats in the restaurant, and the man across from me. But I needed to stay focused on Paragon and all the work waiting for me back at the office.
Gabriel was saying something about the food when I cleared my throat. “I don’t mean to be rude, but if we’re going to talk about business, we should do it soon.”
“I’m sorry. I get a little excited about taking a break during the day. Especially with a beautiful woman.”
I almost choked on my dumpling.
“Once I go back to the office, I’ll be there until ten—and I’ll forget to eat dinner.”
I finally managed to swallow. “You do that too?”
“Of course. I do it most days.” He took a sip of wine, and I tried not to watch him, but I found myself staring nonetheless. His handsome features smoothed out as he sat quietly for a moment. It looked as if he were considering what to say next. “So…regarding why we’re here. I’ve been wanting to meet you for a long time. Paragon’s an interesting business.”
I took another sip of wine. “It’s not that interesting. It’s just a laboratory, really. It’s only interesting if you’re a scientist.”
He nodded. “I’m a scientist. And I went to school in Cambridge too. Harvard.”
“How did you know I went to school in Cambridge?”
He looked at me as if I might be a little bit crazy. “Everybody knows you went to MIT.”
Everybody? Everybody who?
“I didn’t graduate,” I said quickly. I never wanted to pretend to be someone I wasn’t.
“Me neither. I attended Harvard. Sporadically.” He chuckled. “I came out to California to start my business. My undergraduate studies weren’t going to help me get the funding I needed to research and implement my technology. So I decided to cut my losses and come out here to see what I could make of myself.”
“That’s exactly what I did.”
