Page 44 of His Good Girl
“I see.”
“She also called Benjamin a tiny corporate falcon at one point.”
That startled a laugh out of me. “He’ll be flattered.”
“He won’t.”
“He absolutely will. He’ll pretend not to be for six to eight business… months.”
Avery smiled out the window, and I watched the reflection of it in the glass. That was safer than looking directly at her mouth, but only slightly.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Marcel’s.”
Her head turned. “That sounds expensive.”
“It is.”
“Callum.”
There it was. Just my name. Two syllables, soft in her mouth, familiar by right and dangerous by effect. I had invited it, even if I had not said so aloud. I could hardly resent the consequence.
“It’s dinner,” I said. “Let me buy you dinner.”
“I have a job now. Probationary, but still. I can buy food.”
“I’m sure you can.”
“I don’t want you to think I expect?—”
“Avery.”
She stopped.
I had not meant it to come out quite so firmly, but I saw the immediate effect, the little stillness along with the quick, attentive shift in her face. It pulled at something in me I had no intention of feeding.
I gentled my voice intentionally. “Tonight is not a test. It is not an extension of the interview, and it is not onboarding. Tomorrow, if you still want the job after Benjamin’s welcome packet tries to break your spirit, we can worry about the boss and employee stuff. Tonight, this is just dinner between you and me.”
She looked at me carefully.
I added, because I needed to put the proper label on it before my mind chose a worse one, “Between your godfather and his goddaughter, if we need a category. Or between two people who have known each other a long time and have not done a good enough job staying current with each other.”
Her expression softened at that, though something else moved beneath it too. Disappointment, maybe. Relief. Both? Neither? I wasn’t sure.
“Okay,” she replied. “Dinner.”
“Dinner.”
“We’re just catching up.”
“Yes.”
“No performance review with the entrées.”
“Not unless you order badly.”
Her smile returned, reluctant and lovely. “What counts as ordering badly?”
