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I knew she hadn’t intended to talk about Dennis, and only did because it was relevant to what we were all discussing.
“I promise she’ll be in good hands, man,” Glen assured me. “My daughters have been three times now and have had an absolute blast. And before you say it, Russell hires out at least a dozen nannies, plus he rents out the entire space for the night so no creeps or weirdos can get in. It’s completely safe. Well, if you don’t count that creepy animatronic band.” He shuddered before telling us he’d see us later and headed back to work. His friend quickly followed, leaving Dee and I alone.
“So, you like baseball?” I asked in search of something to talk about.
“I love sports,” she chimed as she downed the last of her cold coffee and tossed it into the trash. “I played soccer when I was younger.”
“Me too. I mean, I love sports too. Why wouldn’t I? I only played professional football for eight years.”
“My dad—my adopted dad, was a sports fanatic. He played professional baseball for a few years before he hurt his knee. He and I were always tossing a ball or kicking a ball into a net or whacking a tennis ball back and forth. He always took me to a game a few times throughout the year.”
“Did your whole family go or was it just you two?”
Dee smiled. “It was just him, my brother, and me. My mom and my sister, Runa, are girly girls. They hated sports, unless it was ice dancing. But even then they were more about the costumes and the music instead of the actual mechanics.”
“My family wasn’t much into sports when I was growing up, but that changed when I reached middle school and caught a wild hair to sign up for the football team. They all became huge football fans after that and never missed a game. I played every year from fifth grade all the way through college.”
“And a few years professionally after, too.” Her bright eyes shone as she nudged me in the ribs while wearing that smile I couldn’t resist.
“Yeah, and a few years after.”
“What about Amie? Does she like sports? I know she likes girly things. I saw her room and all I can say is wow! Good on you! You created a fairytale world for that little girl. I would have killed to have something like that when I was her age.”
Was I blushing? I felt like I was blushing again from how my cheeks burned. Reaching up, I touched my face with the hope that my cheeks weren’t crimson right now because of her compliment.
“Most of the thanks goes towards my mom and my sister. Mom dotes on Amie and Melissa, she's my sister, has three boys, so she literally spoils her rotten every chance she gets. When I asked her to help decorate Amie’s room, she literally jumped at the chance and showed up that following weekend with dozens of boxes in tow.”
“You’re a really good dad, Travis,” she said honestly. Now I was full-on blushing. I couldn’t help it. Hearing her speak so sweetly to me and to know she meant it was everything.
“That means a lot, Dee. Thank you.”
A protracted lull fell between us as she produced an insulated drinking cup and proceeded to fill it with ice and water. I, meanwhile, stood like I was frozen watching her every move.
“What are you doing for lunch?” I asked suddenly, wanting to know.
“I was going to order something in and eat at my desk. Why?” Those light denim blues met my eyes with a mixture of curiosity and bewilderment.
“There’s that new deli that opened up at the end of the block. I was thinking of going to try it. Would you perhaps like to join me?”
“Ooh!” Dee’s entire face lit up. “I saw that! I’ve been waiting ages for it to open. I’ve always been a sucker for a good sub, just as long as they don’t skimp on the meat and the veggies are crisp. I hate it when I get hot, wilted lettuce and a slice of underripe tomato.” I was fascinated by how quickly grew more and more excited as she rambled about how she’d been eyeing their menu online and that the last time she’d been eager to try a place was right after Jason’s French bistro, L’Orangerie, opened.
“I take it that’s a yes, then?”
“You bet your sweet ass, it is!” Dee half-hollered before she slapped a hand over her mouth.
“I’m so sorry,” she closed her eyes and shook her head as if embarrassed. “I shouldn’t have said that to you. We’re on the clock and calling your ass sweet really isn’t work-appropriate.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind. I’m kind of flattered you think my ass is sweet.” I grinned at how embarrassment made her even cuter.
“Don’t let it go to your head.” She side-eyed me before busting out into a fit of giggles.
“I promise I won’t,” I chuckled back. Admittedly, I liked this side of Dee. When she got over whatever her deal was with me and was just herself, it was like being with an entirely different woman. A fiercely independent, smart as a whip, super sexy woman that I wanted to bend over the table in the corner and bury myself deep inside her as she screamed my name.
“Meet me at the elevator at noon?” I glanced at my watch instead and saw we still had just over a half hour until our lunch break.
“See you then!” she chimed as she slapped the lid onto her water and walked off. I left the break room behind as I slowly made my way back to the office.
“What are whistling for?” One of the assistants, a decent guy named Chad who’d started a few months ago, asked as I passed by.
