Runaway

Lunch with the Boss

Although I felt pretty good this morning, given the circumstances, I still am finding it hard to be motivated this morning. I pull my hair into a simple bun, opt for glasses instead of contacts, and a black pencil skirt with a white button-up shirt and black heels. I wear a large black belt with my skirt and top that pushes my breast up while simultaneously flattening my tummy. I decided to pull out my pearl stud earrings and necklace that Drew gave me on our wedding day. The marriage may be over, but the jewelry is still wearable.  I considered wearing tights to hide my tattoos on my legs and smooth the cellulite on my legs, but honestly, I don't feel like wearing tights to sit behind a desk most of the day. 

As I walk into work I'm trying to give myself a little pep talk for the day. I know I'm going to feel a little awkward around my boss today after dreaming about him last night. Just after I step into the elevator I see a hand slip in and block the door just before it was about to close and in steps Kaylex. When he walks in we make eye contact and we both smile. 

"Good morning Ms. Brooks. How are you today?"

"I'm well Mr. Alston. And you?"

"Good, thank you for asking. Are you ready to jump into this new project?"

"Yes, after I got Alexis and Brian situated and my office moved I had a chance to look over a few of the files. I will start reaching out today and make contact so that we can begin to process. I hope to have reached out to all companies listed in the file you sent over and have a status report ready for you by Friday morning."

"Well Mr. Jacobs was correct, you are very efficient. I look forward to the report. Also, feel free to copy me on any emails that initially go unanswered. People tend to be more motivated when I'm in the CC: line of the emails."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The elevator opens and I step out and start towards my office. 

"Oh. Ms. Brooks, if you need anything feel free to ask."

"I will," I say as I nod my head and turn back towards my office door.

"By the way Ms. Brooks, when it's just the two of us there is no need to be so formal. When you call me Mr. Alston I feel so old. Mr. Alston is my father's name, you can call me Kaylex."

"I'll keep that in mind. You can call my Liz or Lizzy, whichever suits you." I reply before walking into my office. 

As soon as the door to my office closed I leaned against it unable to stop the grin from spreading over my face. I can't believe he is allowing me to be so informal with him. After our first introduction, I was convinced he was going to be an uptight jerk. But in the last 24hrs, it's like he has done a complete 180 turn around. Doesn't hurt that I also find him incredibly attractive. I would never act on it, but I can't lie, if the opportunity presented itself I would certainly be tempted. But for now, I need to focus on the task at hand. If I have any hope of being able to have a progress report ready by Friday then I need to start reaching out to the people on the list he gave me ASAP. 

---

Before I know it lunch has rolled around and I am starving. I've sat here at my desk sending emails and making phone calls since I arrived, but I've managed to schedule a few virtual audits. I don't mind working so hard when I'm at least making progress. I hear a knock on my door and wonder if I scheduled a meeting and forgot. "Come in," I say. In walks Kaylex "I was on my way out to lunch, would you like to join me?"

"Yeah. That would be great. Let me grab my bag and I'll be on my way."

"Good, so what are you in the mood for?" he asks as we step onto the elevator. 

"How about Another Broken Egg? I skipped breakfast this morning and I would kill for a plate of their shrimp and grits." I reply. He nods and says "Another Broken Egg it is then" with a boyish grin. 

"You know I fully expected you to pull the typical, "I don't know, you pick" thing. I'm glad your not that kind"

I burst out laughing "Jokes on you mister! I am exactly that kind. But on some occasions, I know exactly what I want and don't mind saying so. Other times I only know what I don't want. It used to make my ex so mad having to pick out somewhere to eat. The way I see it I meal plan and buy groceries for the entire week, so if he wanted to go out to dinner one night, then he could put in the effort to figuring out where we are going to eat. I know that probably sounds rude, but I guess that's on being married before." I say shaking my head as I think back on those times with my ex. Then I look up at Kaylex and get embarrassed thinking about the rambling rant I just went on involving my ex. "Sorry about that, that was probably more information than you care to hear. So... Regret asking me to lunch yet?" I say with a sarcastic laugh. My dry sense of humor is going to be the social death of me I think as I mentally facepalm myself. 

"No, not at all. It's good to get to know a little bit about my new office neighbor. Even if she does ramble when she gets nervous he says with a boyish wink." 

At that moment I prayed to every god known to man that the floor would open up and swallow me whole. How could he read me so well? This is our longest conversation and he has learned that I experience extreme word diarrhea when nervous. Way to play it cool Liz, I tell myself as I internally roll my eyes.

"Well, I've got good news for you then. I am overly talkative, especially when I am trying to fill an awkward silence. So before this lunch is over, you could know my life history and be permanently traumatized from the oversharing of information."

"Do you feel awkward around me?" he asks when scrunching his brow. 

"I feel slightly intimidated. I mean, you are my boss after all." I say as I look up from my feet into his eyes. I had no idea he was staring at me so intently. Almost like he was worried about my perception of him.

"Please don't feel that way with me. I want to you be comfortable around me. Try to think of me more as a co-worker than your boss. You can even complain to me about how your boss is such a jerk and I won't mind." He says looking me in the eyes, before looking down at my lips.  

Suddenly the elevator jerks to a halt and the bell rings signaling that we have made it to the parking garage. We step out together and he leads me to his truck. It's a brand new black Silverado with a crew cab, with a long wheelbase and towing mirrors. I can just see into the bed that he has a gooseneck hook up. "I hope you don't mind, I drove my farm truck today. It's a little messy but comfortable to ride in," he says as we both get in.

"You use a 70k dollar vehicle as a farm truck?" I ask with raised eyebrows. 

"Yeah, well the old truck finally gave out here a while back. So I decided it was time for an upgrade"."

"Well, it's a very nice farm truck. Im used to an old late 70's square body ford with rusted-out floorboards" I say laughing.

"You know, I didn't expect you to be the "farm" type. I thought you were all mergers and acquisitions. So what do you have on this farm?"

"We raise mostly cattle. Got a few hundred head that we try to sell locally as well as donate some of the meat to food banks," he tells me.

"You know I didn't exactly expect you to be the farm type either. Don't get me wrong, that accent is a dead giveaway to you growing up southern, but I thought somewhere never Nashville, Birmingham, or Atlanta. Not out in the country somewhere." he says as he looks over at me.

"Yeah, I grew up in rural Alabama. We didn't farm much outside of a large garden, a few pigs, and some cows. It was more for food than a source of income. But we still had the hard work that comes along with it. I loved it, except when it came time to take the animals to sell or to the butcher. I knew the meat would keep us feed for the rest of the year. But raising these animals, even having to bottle feed some of them. You get attached and it's hard to see them go off to slaughter. I know it's just the way of things, but I always had a soft spot in my heart for all the animals."

"So what made you decide you wanted a life in corporate finance rather than staying back home and settling in a small town?"

"I wanted to see more of the world than a one red light town, where the only thing to do is hang out at the Texaco or ride through the forest. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed growing up in a small town and I miss the community of it. But I had bigger dreams and my parents wanted me to see them come true. What about you? You choose the business route because you wanted to, or because it was what was expected?"

"It was what was expected. Growing up I would visit my parents at the office and think "this is what I want to do", but as I got older I enjoyed working the farm and being around others with simple honest values. In the business world, you can't trust anybody. But out in the country, most people are just honest people trying to raise a family and get by. I have a lot more respect for those kinds of people."

"Wow, I have to say. I didn't expect you to be so down to earth. Honestly, when your father first introduced you I thought you were going to be a total D bag." I blurt out without even thinking. Kaylex just burst out laughing and says "I hope that means I'm not a disappointment".

I blush from embarrassment at my outburst. "No, you certainly haven't been a disappointment."

"Well, we're here. Let's get a table and you can continue to tell me how I'm not a disappointment," he says with a grin.

As we walk in and request a table the hostess looks him up and down as if he's a cool glass of water on a summer day. I clear my throat to get her attention and request a table for two on the patio. She smiles politely and says "of course, right this way". After she seats us she turns to Kaylex and tells him the specials and who our server is without so much as a glance in my direction. I know the man is s*x on two legs, but that doesn't excuse poor manners. I just roll my eyes as she walks away and shake my head.

Kaykex looks at me with a mischievous grin and asks, "Is something wrong, Liz?"

"I find rude people to be highly irritating, that's all," I say with a forced smile.

"Oh, I didn't notice her being rude. She seemed very helpful to me," he says.

"I'm sure you didn't".

The waitress soon comes around to take our orders. I get the shrimp and grits, while Kaylex orders the crawfish boil. As we wait for our food we begin chatting again. It's easy to just talk to him and not feel pressured to talk about work. Although I'm having lunch with my Boss, it doesn't feel stuffy and business-focused. For some reason the more time I spend with Kaylex, the more relaxed I feel. I can feel that I'm becoming more attracted to him. I just hope I can hide it. There is no way a man like him would ever be interested in a woman like me. Not to mention I don't need the drama of a workplace relationship. In the meantime, I will enjoy the time we get to spend together professionally.

"So when you're not running your business empire, what do you do for fun?"

"Ha. Fun. What is that anymore? I have my friends I see and spend time with. But between the office and the farm, I have a lot of people that rely on me. So I'm always working and making sure everyone is taken care of. I'm constantly reminded that my failures are not my own and they affect everyone around me."

"That's incredibly sad. But I understand I guess. The Alston group employs so many people, that they and their families rely on the business's success. It speaks volumes about your character that that fact is not lost to you."

"Thank you Liz. It means a lot to me to hear you say that," he says with sincerity.

The way he looks into my eyes when he says that makes me feel like he's looking into my soul to confirm that what I said is true. I feel my cheeks heat up and I break eye contact and look at my empty plate before me. When he looks at me like that I feel a rush of emotions. So many that I can't comprehend. All I know for certain is this man makes me want to know more about him. His likes, dislikes, his favorite color, his favorite song, and his favorite movie quote. The seemingly mundane things about someone. I want to know it all about him.

I have to admit, I haven't felt this way about someone in a long time. So to be thinking these things again is ringing the warning bells in my mind. I need to keep my distance if I don't want to end up hurt again.

"Maybe we should be heading back to the office. I have a lot of work to do." I say suddenly.

"Yeah sure. If you're ready to head out then we will."

By the time we get to the truck, my nerves are already wrecked. I just want to get back to the office and get some space between us. I've had my life wrecked and had to rebuild it once. I can't go down that road again. For the entire ride back I sit in silence while I stare out the window. When we park Kaylex turns his body towards me so he can cool at me properly.

"Is everything OK? You got quiet all of a sudden back there and you look like something is bothering you. Did I say something wrong?"

"No. I just have a heavy workload and I just shifted gears into work mode. Thanks for lunch. I really enjoyed it." I say as I pull on the handle to open the car door.

"Oh ok. I understand. Well, let's get back to the office get back to work."

The elevator ride up was in silence and I kept my head down staring at my shoes. Once the elevator stopped and the door opened I quickly thanked Kaylex for lunch and made my way to my office. Getting into my office I sunk into my chair and buried my face in my hands. I know what I need to do. If I don't want to feel that pain again, I can't let myself fall for this man. Even though I hate to admit it I still have a bruised and broken heart. So no more lunch dates and back to formalities. Hopefully, that will send a clear message without causing problems.