Page 61 of The Meeting
She shook her head. “I would like to go on a date with you.”
He took a step toward her and reached out, putting his hands on her waist. “Would you go out with me on Saturday?”
The smile that took over her face was so big she knew she had to look like a dork. But, at that moment, she didn’t care. “I would love nothing more.”
16
Kailynn threw herself into her work. Her thoughts constantly drifted to Chase, but she tried to keep any nervous jitters out of her system by focusing on her company. Now that the company had been signed over to her, she worked on finding someone to hire to market her designs.
She posted an ad on a local job website and was astonished at the number of applicants she received. Trying to decide who to interview was tough, as most of the applicants seemed to be more than qualified.
She rifled through the resumes compounding in her inbox and before she knew it, she had spent an entire day doing only that. Six p.m. rolled around, and she stared at the pile of fabric lying around the room waiting to be assembled into pieces. It had been lying untouched for far too long.
But this was important. She couldn’t market her items without someone who understood the operations of the site. And she clearly didn’t know enough to feel like she could do it on her own for any long period of time. She did it for a few pieces already, but the entire process intimidated her.
Despite not getting anything done, she slid her laptop away from her and left her workspace, closing the door to block out work for the rest of the evening.
Her date with Chase was tomorrow, and she was already struggling with what to wear, how to dress, and what to discuss. It didn’t matter that they had already spent countless hours together. This time, it felt different. They would get to know each other on a more intimate level.
Her phone pinged. A message from Chase came through.
How is the hunt going?
She smiled.
Good, I think. I’ve narrowed it down to about 50 people. Haha!
At least you aren’t short on applicants.
Good point.
The dots danced across the screen, showing he was typing a reply, but it never came. She stared at the phone, willing a response to come, but the dots would appear and disappear as if he were deleting what he was writing and starting again.
After several minutes, a reply finally came.
I know our date is tomorrow, but would you like to hang out tonight?
She looked down at her sweats and sweatshirt and immediately ran into her bedroom, pulling out different outfits. After yanking on a pair of jeans and a blouse, she ran into her bathroom and jerked her hair out of the elastic ponytail holder and flipped on her hair straightener.
Sounds fun! What were you thinking?
While she waited for the reply, she put on her makeup.
You’re welcome to come over. We could just order a pizza. Keep it simple since we are going out tomorrow night.
Sounds perfect. Be there in 10?
See you then.
She finished her makeup and ran the straightener through her hair before she checked herself out in the mirror. Not bad—with time to spare. She grabbed her keys and walked next door.
He pulled the door open and smiled at her. The green long-sleeved shirt he wore fit him perfectly, showing off his sculpted muscles below. A pair of fitted jeans hugged his hips. She immediately pictured what he looked like with those jeans coming off his incredibly chiseled hips. She mentally slapped herself and redirected her eyes up to his face.
He gave her a quick hug and welcomed her inside. She laughed nervously and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear as she stood next to him, unsure what she should do.
He held an arm out and motioned toward the living room. “Shall we?”
She nodded and sat on his couch. It was a simple act and something she had done before when they were discussing her case. This time, though, it felt different—now that they weren’t talking strictly business.
