Page 71 of The Deal Breaker
Iris:Ha-ha. I’ll save you some.
Dash:See you later.
Unfortunately, issues with the project continued. Dash missed Iris.
Dash:How was dinner?
Iris:Delicious. Janice, Leo, and Tony ate with me.
Iris:Oh, and I’ll send a pic of the yummy dessert.
Dash:Can’t wait to see it or you.I have more work to do. May sleep here.
Iris:Take care.
Dash:Don’t eat my slice.
Iris:I’d never do that.
Dash:Never say never. Sweet dreams.
Iris:Hope everything gets fixed.
He ended up sleeping on the futon in his office. Something he’d done many times before, but he wanted to be at home tonight. Not seeing Iris bugged him.
The next day, much to his frustration, the project was still off the rails. Dash did what he could to help the stressed-out team leader. He’d created the algorithms. No one knew them better, including the company’s Chief Technical Officer. The only good parts of his day were the texts from Iris. Not that he had time to reply.
That night, a bag containing a milkshake, cheeseburger, fries, and a cookie was delivered to his office from his favorite fast food place. She’d texted him earlier saying a surprise was on the way, so he knew this was from Iris.
His heart overflowed with warmth. Dash only wished he could see Iris. That reminded him. He still hadn’t answered her texts, so he sent two messages. One to thank her. The other a selfie. She replied with a photo of herself giving him the thumbs-up sign. Cute, but he would rather be in the pic with her.
Did they have any photos of them together?
He didn’t think so. A quick scroll through his photos confirmed that. They would need to remedy that when he was home tomorrow.
At lunchtime the next day, Dash went home to change clothes, but Iris was at school. He couldn’t say they were two ships passing in the night because until today they hadn’t been close enough to do that.
Standing in front of her bedroom door, he used his phone to take a picture. He texted it to her and wrote “wish you were here.”
Iris:Will I see you tonight?
Dash:I’m trying to get out of a business dinner.
Iris:Work is important.
Dash:So are you.
Iris:Awww.
Dash:I miss you.
Iris:Same. If you have to go, I’ll wait up.
Dash:I’d love that. Thanks.
He appreciated Iris’s understanding. His frustration, however, kept building. Not seeing her these past three days was driving him crazy. She wasalwayson his mind, too. He’d never felt that way before about anyone, and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Maybe he missed her so much because things were so new between them. Whatever the reason, he hoped to be with her soon.
Dash asked if his dinner scheduled for tonight with a potential customer, a CEO and her staff, could be postponed or if he could skip it. But his assistant, Fallon, and a VP told him he couldn’t unless a snowstorm shut down Portland. Unfortunately, the forecast predicted rain and temperatures in the forties when he needed a Snowmageddon.
