She’s so far from being in touch with her fae side. Yet I can sense she’s intentionally holding it back. Keeping it deep within.
She lets go of my arm and stretches, then looks at me, relieved. “All right. I’m ready to head back now.” We turn back to walk in the direction of the restaurant but stop when she sees someone she knows.
I squint at the couple walking toward us, unable to recognize them with the sunlight behind their backs.
Eva keeps her distance from me as she walks forward to greet them, and I let out an internal sigh of relief when I see at least one newly familiar face.
“Eva, Tanner. I’m glad we caught up to you,” Ray Phillips, CTO of Qualtechnics and the one VP I don’t hate there, smiles at us, trying to catch his breath.
Next to him, a tall, lithe woman I assume is his wife pats him on the shoulder. “Calm down, dear.”
“Right,” he says, straightening. “Eva, we saw what you did back there. Amazing.” He gestures to the woman with him. “I’m sure you’ve met Dawn. But Tanner, this is my wife. Dawn, this is our new interim CEO. And if I’m not out of line to say it, I wish he’d be here for more than the interim.”
Eva looks up at me, almost hopefully, but I just shake my head with a laugh.
“I don’t know what I’m doing here. Eva would be a better CEO,” I say quickly.
Ray’s sharp eyes turn to her. “I wouldn’t doubt it. Eva has always been one of the sharpest people here.”
“What would you know about it, hiding down there with the techies in the basement?” Eva asks, clearly teasing.
Ray just shrugs. “You know I hate the other officers. I don’t know how you put up with it.”
“Honestly, Eva, we’re just glad there’s one other sane person at the company,” Dawn says, smiling warmly.
“I’m glad for the same thing,” Eva says. “Ray is one of the good ones, always happy to sign off when his vote makes a difference.”
Ray nods. “Happy to help.” He slides an arm around his wife, pulling her close, and looks curiously between me and Eva. “So what are you two up to?”
“Just a business lunch,” Eva says, putting some distance between us.
It’s a little disappointing after the progress we’ve made, but I understand she’s still nervous about anyone from work thinking she’s unprofessional.
Human customs are so strange sometimes.
“You two were eating there as well?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Yes,” Ray says, adjusting his thick glasses on his nose. “The waiter took forever to bring the check, so it took us a minute to catch up to you. Honestly, I was feeling a bit bad about not keeping up on my CPR.”
Eva grins, looking up at me. “You and Tanner can take a class together.”
“If you can get him to come out of the basement.” Dawn laughs, nudging her husband, and when he grins down at her, I can’t help but be jealous of the easy love between them.
The way they can just be together, so comfortable.
“Anyway, we should put it in the company newsletter or something. Eva the hero,” Ray says.
Eva shrugs nervously. “I wouldn’t want the extra attention, especially not right now with the board up in arms about my recent benefits proposal.”
“I read it actually. I think it looks very promising, even though I know the higher-ups are going to throw a fit over the costs.” He looks between us curiously. “Is that what you two were discussing over lunch?”
At that, I can see Eva bristle again as she glances at me awkwardly, even though I see absolutely nothing awkward about furthering the bond with my soul match.
But human customs be damned, I will defend my bond.
“We were going over a new training program for the sales force,” I say, drawing Ray’s attention to me instead. “Among other things.”
I stare at him, challenging him to make this any more awkward for us.
“Ah, splendid,” Ray says, adjusting his glasses again. “Sales is about as far as you can go from my department, but I’m glad one of our CEOs is finally taking his job seriously.”
“Interim CEO,” I reply.
“Well, in the interim, it’s nice to work with you, Tanner,” he says, extending a hand, which I shake firmly.
Eva and Dawn exchange a few more pleasantries, and then the two of them wave and cross the street, presumably to where they parked.
“Phew, that was a close one,” Eva says, fidgeting as she continues to look in the direction Ray and Dawn left. “Thanks for… you know.”
I glance down at her. “For pretending this is only business between us?”
Her cheeks flush. “Yes.”
“It was nothing,” I say, yearning for our bond.
She sighs. “I’m glad at least it was Ray who saw that whole thing and not Bill. Bill would probably have found a way to make himself the hero while also saying something mean about HR at the same time.”
“I hate Bill,” I say flatly. I’d like to send him to eternal darkness.
Bill’s father owns majority share in the company, and he’s COO but pretty much in name only, since he seems to be fairly useless.
He seems cheerful with everyone, but I can sense he’s not a nice person, despite his power at the company.
I can also feel chaos in his heart.
Eva looks at me with confusion. “You don’t hate Bill. After all, he hired you.”
“I still dislike him.” I’m too on edge from everything to pretend to like people I don’t right now.
Eva just smiles, and we head back in the direction of the Qualtechnics building, walking side by side now. “Well, your secret is safe with me.”
As we walk back to the office, I wait for her to bring up the subject she was about to broach before the choking incident.
But as she tells me about Ray and how he’s been an ally ever since he joined the company a couple years ago, I realize that perhaps she’s still not ready.
But I swear I saw in her eyes as she was about to ask me more that she’s close.
Close to realizing everything. Close to letting me show her what we are.
But until that time, I will remain vigilant.
After a few minutes, we’re back at her office, standing in front of it. The company is winding down for the afternoon, and the halls are empty as people at their desks finalize their projects for the day.
“Well, that was certainly an adventure,” Eva says with a grin.
“Yes, it was.” Her smile is infectious.
“I can say that was absolutely the most exciting business lunch I’ve ever attended.”
The word “business” hits me again, and I come closer to her, feeling the pull of our resonance as strongly as the day I first laid eyes on her. Eva’s eyes widen slightly, but she doesn’t back away.
“You feel this between us, do you not?” I ask. I want to pull off a suppressor, remind her what she felt for me earlier.
When neither of us was holding back.
She blushes, averting her gaze from mine. “You’re obviously very, very attractive. And kind. Any woman would be lucky to have you, Tanner,” she says neutrally.
“I don’t care if other people want me. I want you.”