Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
I looked back at Pope. He watched me like he... knew me. And although I was being honest about not wanting a relationship, I was having such a great time that I actually would’ve loved to spend more time with him, even if my life was legit a wreck right now.
“I get it. Believe me.”
Silence filled the space between us, as if we both knew being in a relationship wasn’t really what we wanted at the moment. Although I didn’t admit I’d like to see him again, that I was having a great time and almost questioning whether I actually did want a relationship right now. Because that would be stupid. That would be insane.
He cleared his throat and shifted a little bit, bringing his glass to his mouth and taking a long drink. He was milking the hell out of it, whereas I was sucking them down like I was in the Mojave Desert dying of thirst.
“So what do you do?” Here we go. Time to be honest and tell him that I was unemployed, because I’d gotten fired and had been turned down at two interviews in the same day.
“Well, I’m actually in-between jobs right now, but by trade I’m an administrative assistant.” That sounded way fancier than saying personal assistant or secretary.
He gave me a genuinely warm smile, and I brought the glass to my mouth and finished off my beer. Where was the damn waitress? I needed a refill STAT.
“Administrative assistant... that takes some patience.”
“You’re telling me,” I mumbled under my breath. “What about you?”
“I’m a CFO.”
“CFO? Sounds important,” I said honestly.
He chuckled deeply. “Chief financial officer. I manage and oversee my company’s investment portfolio, as well as many other things that fall under the finance umbrella.”
Yeah. He was important at his business.
“But honestly, a lot of the time, it’s just a bunch of people kissing ass, because they think it’s going to help them in the long run.”
I nodded, understanding fully. “So you’re into numbers?” The look he gave me told me he was.
“Yeah, ever since I was little. I’m pretty good at them, so I figured I might as well make a career out of it.”
“Makes sense.” I smiled and felt my cheeks heat, which had a little to do with how I felt toward Pope, and a lot to do with me drinking. “So where do you work? I assume the financial district. Michael didn’t say much of anything before the blind date, to be honest. I got your first name and that was it.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, same thing I got from David. I do work in the financial district. The clothes give it away?”
I shrugged and smiled. “A little.”
He opened his mouth, presumably to tell me where he worked, but the waitress showed up just in that moment. Thank God. I needed another drink, because I was starting to feel antsy. It wasn’t a bad kind of nervousness, but the kind you felt when you were having a really good time with a really attractive guy.
“Can I get another beer?” I pushed over my empty glass and looked at Pope. I was hoping he’d get another one as well so I didn’t feel like such a lush.
He lifted his glass and nodded. “Another one, please.”
For the next hour, we talked about anything and everything, although I was pretty closed off on the personal side of things, as was he. And I liked it that way. I knew getting to know someone and what made them tick was pretty important on a first date, but I wasn’t about to admit I’d been fired or any of the other stuff that followed.
And I wasn’t going to let those shitty happenstances ruin the good time I was having. I hadn’t had one of these in a while and it was... nice.
I was on my fourth beer when I realized I needed to put a stop to it. I was starting to feel drunk. With the numerous beers on top of the numerous heavily spiked shakes, I was feeling really tipsy.
I probably should’ve been smart enough to stop two beers ago and switched it up to some water, but I had a feeling I wasn’t going to see Pope again, and I was having a good time.
And the fact that I wasn’t embarrassing myself yet made me decide I might as well just keep the party going.
Pope
It wasn’t my place to tell her to slow down, that she was drinking her weight in booze. I didn’t need her to tell me whatever was bothering her was heavy. But her smiles and laughs were genuine, and I liked hearing them. I liked the way they made me feel.
The truth was I hadn’t even wanted to go on this blind date. This wasn’t my scene. Dating was a here and there kind of situation, a “when I had time for it” thing.