Page 23 of No Match Found
“Providing you’re open to the very reasonable terms I have in mind, there’s no need for you to worry about that.” In for a penny, in for a pound, right?
Brooke gave me a thumbs up.
“Very open,” he replied. “Can we discuss those terms over lunch on Monday? Say, noon?”
“I’ll email you the details of where to meet.”
“Perfect.”
“See you then.” I clicked off the line, ready to take on the world and—more importantly—Grant Wilder.
EIGHT
I was never late.I showed up for meetings between two and five minutes early.
I was making an exception for Grant Wilder and planned to show up six minutes late.
It was Katie’s idea—a power move to set the stage for this next phase of Threadline’s exploration of Matchify. I’d seen the value in it and agreed.
But I’d underestimated habit.
When I showed up, it was 11:57.
Chase was right. I was too intense. I couldn’t even show up late on purpose for a business lunch.
I debated going inside, but Katie had made me solemnly swear to stick with the six-minute parameter on pain of death. “It’s not so late that it’s rude, but he’ll definitely check his watch and wonder if you’re going to show.”
Grinding my teeth, I slipped between two topiaries to count down nine interminable minutes.
I watched for his arrival from my topiary fortress and caught sight of him at noon on the dot. Through the window, I watched Grant talk to the hostess, who shook her head, then led him to a table for two.
Table for two. The phrase glitched in my brain, and I wondered if I should’ve chosen a more stark, less mood-lit location for our business lunch. Given the good food and proximity to Matchify offices, this had become our go-to place, but I was second-guessing everything at this point.
Grant looked over the menu for a minute, then glanced up.
Heart hammering, I retreated into the topiary and waited a second before peeking back inside.
His focus was back in the menu.
I checked my phone. 12:03.
How did peopledothis? It was torture.
To be fair, most people didn’t do exactlythis. They waltzed in late like nobody’s time but theirs mattered.
Why had I listened to Katie? She always had the most hare-brained ideas that worked out fine whenshedid them but weren’t meant for people like me.
I put my phone back in my purse, determined not to look at it until it was time.
When my gaze came back up, Grant’s seat was empty.
Had he gone to the bathroom? Left because he’d given up on me?
Not likely after just three minutes.
“What’re we watching?”
I spun around and came nose-to-nose with Grant.
