He gave me a quick thumbs-up as we exited the boardroom, and once we were out of earshot, I held my hand up, and his palm met mine. The high-five echoed through the empty hallway.
“I think we should go out for a celebratory burger and drink. The best burger place in the city is nearby. Would you care to join me?”
“Sure. I’d like that.”
HeidelBurger was a small family-owned bar and grill. The dark interior had brown leather booths and dark shiny wooden tables. The décor and the aroma reminded me of the places I frequented in college. Instead of t-shirt clad students, we were surrounded by men and women in corporate attire. It wasn’t even three-thirty, and the happy hour crowd had already packed the place.
“The only seats available are at the bar.” The hostess was a petite brunette with heavily lined eyes and a no-nonsense attitude.
“Jasmine, are you okay with sitting at the bar?”
“Yes. That’s fine.”
“Seat yourself.” The hostess yawned.
Garrett gave me a quizzical, yet humorous look before he gestured for me to lead the way. I guided us to the first available barstools. I hung my purse on the brass hook and inched my way onto the seat.
In the bar area, a group of younger women took shots like it was a sport, a few tables of businessmen drank beer while pretending to ignore their presence, and then there was Garrett and me, looking awkwardly around the bar.
“Hot greasy burgers are their specialty, and there’s a wide assortment of beer on tap.” He handed a long slender menu to me.
“What’ll you have?” The tall, dark-haired bartender asked.
“I’ll have a Coca-Cola,” I answered.
“I’ll have a Tito’s and Soda. Make it a double.” Garrett smirked before turning his attention to me.
“Oh. In that case, I’d like to add a glass of The Seven Deadly Zins.” I hadn’t been sure if this was a business outing. I couldn’t let the man drink alone.
“Good choice. I’ll be back in a second.” The bartender walked away.
“I’ll have a Coca-Cola.” Garrett mimicked in a high-pitched voice. “I love your Southern accent.”
He loves my Southern accent. I stifled my grin but failed miserably. Instead, I looked down at my menu and pretended to read it. After a few moments, I turned to face him. He eased back on his stool and turned his body toward me. I felt brave and safe sitting with him at the bar, so I asked what was on my mind.
“Do you have any sisters or brothers?”
He raised a brow, but then shrugged and indulged my effort at getting to know him.
“Why don’t I show you?” He pulled his phone out of his shirt pocket, scrolled through photos, and turned the phone toward me. The picture was of his family, dressed in matching white shirts and blue jeans. “My parents, Julia and Andrew. My brother Kyle and sister Amaya.”
“You are the all-American family.”
“I’ve heard that before.” He looked at the photo with pride. “As a kid, I was a scholar-athlete, All-American in lacrosse. My parents would tell you I was an absolute joy. Kyle was the handful. To my parents’ dismay, he would run around the neighborhood performing tricks on his board or bike. Then came the bleached blond hair and tattoos.” He swiped his finger to the next photo and presented a picture of a blonde mohawked skateboarder catching air.
“He’s a beast. Three years ago, he dropped out of college to join the pro-skateboarder circuit. Now he lives in a corporate-sponsored mansion in Los Angeles with six other guys. He’s engaged to a photographer he’s known since high school.”
“That’s awesome. You two are so different.”
“That we are. Amaya is more my twin. She attends Michigan.” He looked me in the eye and laughed. “She’s in her second year of the pre-med program. She wants to be a dermatologist. She’s goal-oriented and driven. You remind me of her.”
He thinks I’m goal-oriented and driven. He’s a smart man.
The bartender returned with our drinks. “A Coke and a Seven Deadly for the lady and a Tito’s soda for the gentleman. Have you two figured out your orders?”
“Yes, I have. How about you, Garrett?” I asked. Garrett nodded, so I ordered. “I would like a bacon mushroom with American cheese, medium, hold the tomatoes, and steak fries. May I have a side of mayonnaise for the fries?”
“Hardcore. I like it.” The bartender smiled appreciatively. “For you, sir?”
“I’ll have the same. Make mine a double, and I’ll have ketchup.” He pointed to a neighboring bottle.
He held up his vodka soda. “Here’s to work—may we never be without it.”
“Here, here!”
I took a taste of the wine and instantly loosened up.
“Your turn. Tell me about your family. Do you have siblings?” He took a sip of his drink and smiled, laugh lines highlighting his face.
“My father is a federal judge. My mother is a homemaker. I have a sister, Alexandra. She’s married to an attorney and a mother of twin boys.”
“So, your mother and sister are both married to men of the law.”
“Yep. That’s why Alex is the favored child.” I didn’t mention that I’d tried to go down that route and had failed miserably.
“Oh, please. You’re a parent’s dream; you’re hard-working, smart, and well-liked.”
“I was the eccentric, smart child. Alexandra followed the path my mother laid out for her. She’s three years older. We’re almost twins, but we couldn’t be more different. She made good grades in high school and college, met a nice guy, and got married before the age of twenty-four. During my junior year in high school, I became a pot-smoking, computer geek who preferred robotics to beauty pageants and computer programming to shopping.”
“Pot?”
“Yes. In high school and the first couple of years in college. Took the edge off.” I winked and swirled the wine glass before taking another sip.
“You and Lilah are close.”
I chuckled. Lilah was loyal to a fault. I knew that she liked Garrett but wouldn’t allow herself to show it until I liked him.
“She’s my best friend. Five years ago, we met at the new hire orientation. We were the only women in our class, surrounded by several young, eager hotshots. We gravitated to each other and vowed that we would work together to dominate the training seminar. We achieved the highest scores on the exit exams. We’ve been kicking ass at ER Wallace ever since.”
The waiter returned with our plates. “A single and a double. Please let me know if you need another Tito’s or Seven Deadly.”
“I’m okay for now, but I would like another pour later.”
Garrett gave a little sliver of a grin. “Same here.”
I took care to cut the burger in half and bit into one semi-circle of what smelled like heaven on a bun. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. The burger itself was juicy and savory. A buttery, crispy bun wrapped and caressed the layers of meat and vegetables.
“Mmm. This is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. Great choice.”
“I told you.” He bit into his burger.
Between bites, I asked, “Are you excited to begin the IPO?”