Page 45 of No Match Found
Tanner was doing most of the talking, while Grant looked, dare I say it, mildly embarrassed.
His gaze flitted to me once, and I cocked a teasing brow. It was nice to see him experience a bit of discomfort for once.
Still talking, Tanner motioned toward me, and Grant’s expression morphed to open-mouthed awkwardness.
Tanner motioned again, more emphatically this time.
Oh my gosh. He was inviting Grant to come over to our table.
Grant looked at me as if to sayhelp.
This wasn’t on the vision board for my date with Tanner, but what was I supposed to do? If Tanner preferred having Grant join us, I wouldn’t do myself any favors with him by taking it in bad grace.
Tanner looked at Grant looking at me, then hurried back to our table. “Hey,” he said breathlessly, “would you mind if he came over? It seems crazy to have him over there by himself, especially when there are people waiting for seats and he’s observing us anyway.”
Sure enough, there were a couple groups of people at the door, waiting for tables to open up.
Behind Tanner’s back, Grant shook his head at me significantly.
That was enough for me. “I wouldn’t mind at all.” Smiling extra widely, I motioned for Grant to come over.
The way his lips pressed together made it clear he was not amused, which only thrilled me more.
He thought he could sit there, sipping on margaritas while he watched me bungle through dates?
No. He deserved this.
Tanner turned to nod at him, and Grant’s evil eye transformed into a tight, polite grimace. He got up and walked over as Tanner stole a chair from the nearest table.
“This is just…insane,” Tanner said as he took his seat again. “I can’t believe I’m talking totheGrant Wilder. I’ve read every word you’ve written.”
Grant cleared his throat. “That’s really nice of you.”
I reclined in my seat and folded my arms, thoroughly enjoying myself despite the strange turn the date had taken.
“That piece you wrote about CoreSync?” Tanner shook hishead in awe. “Master class in precision reporting. And the one about Optix?” He blew a breath through his lips, marveling at Grant like he was Michelangelo. “How do you do it?”
Grant lifted a shoulder. “It’s just a matter of asking the right questions and fitting together the answers.” His gaze flitted to me for a split second.
My amusement flickered for a moment as I thought about what answers I’d given him and what picture they were painting for him.
Tanner gave a sequence of quick micro-nods like he was absorbing Grant’s wisdom as quickly as it was offered. “And now you’re doing a piece on Matchify?”
The fact that Tanner had just mentioned two articles where Grant had publicly lambasted companies made the segue an awkward one.
“Correct.”
“Lucky us,” I said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be a glowing piece,” Tanner said.
Grant’s gaze held mine, and I quirked a brow, waiting for his response. It didn’t come, but I could’ve sworn there was the promise of revenge in his eyes.
Given the sequence of questions that followed, you’d have thought Tanner had prepared for this beforehand. And maybe he had—maybe he’d dreamed of this moment like most people dreamed of meeting their favorite celebrity or historical figure.
I sat, quiet and content to watch Grant navigate the situation. It was more obvious than ever that he liked to be the one asking the questions.
Tanner wasn’t letting the opportunity go to waste, though, and I suspected he might not notice if I ducked out.
