decided to call to see why J.J.’s mother was late. And every response to my very basic questions resulted in him oversharing about his parents.
“My mom is late again,” he started, ready to continue telling his mom’s business. “She buys me ice cream when she’s late. Even though it makes my dad mad, I like it when she’s late because I get ice cream!”
I checked the time. “Ice cream is good,” I agreed. “What’s your favorite?”
“Strawberry! Are you my dad’s new girlfriend?” he asked, catching me off guard with the abrupt shift in direction.
“No, no,” I said quickly. “We—well, we’re going to be working together. Maybe.” I noticed J.J. looked perplexed, so I changed directions completely. “We’re friends,” I answered plainly.
He nodded. “All of my friends are at my old school. Did you and my dad go to school together?”
“No, we didn’t.”
With a thoughtful expression, his brows furrowed. “Because of segregation?”
I flailed wordlessly for a second. How old does this kid think I am? And what the hell?
“What?” I sputtered. “No!”
He looked so confused. “Oh! Mrs. Mitchell said that when she was young—”
“J.J., your mom is here,” Josh called out to his son.
“Okay!” J.J. exclaimed, grabbing his backpack. “Bye, Zola!”
I lifted my hand. “Bye!”
The little boy ran to the double doors where his father stood, and they walked to the sleek luxury car that was parked in front. A blonde woman who looked like she walked straight from the set of The Real Housewives of Richland greeted her son.
“I’m sorry about that,” Josh apologized as he entered the building again. “She knew I had a meeting and she prioritized her hair appointment and—” He shook his head and took a breath as he slowed to a stop in front of me. Giving me his sexiest smirk, he added, “I’m sorry.”
I stood. “Apology accepted. We have a little less time since I have to go to the office, so we should get started.”
“There’s still enough time to cover some bases,” he added, gesturing for me to follow him. “I owe you a good meal and some marketing tips.”
“Well, let’s eat!”
My eyes swept Josh’s profile as we entered the restaurant. He was an attractive man with dark hair and dark eyes that held a broodiness that intrigued me. His thin lips trapped a nice smile that he flashed often. But I wasn’t interested. I didn’t think he was interested in me either, but between Kia alluding to our meeting as a date and J.J. asking me if I was his girlfriend, I needed to make sure we were on the same page.
“My apologies are always better with wine,” he stated flirtatiously as he pulled my chair out for me.
Trying to ply me with wine over lunch in the middle of the day… does he think this is a date?
“Thank you,” I murmured as I took my seat. “I have to go to the office when I leave here, so I won’t be drinking. But I already accepted your apology.”
“Well I’ll have to take you out some time to make up for how this started on the wrong foot.”
Is he asking me on a date? Really?
“Josh, it’s fine. I promise.”
He sat across from me with knitted brows and a prominent frown. “But we are supposed to be meeting to discuss business and all of a sudden you’re thrust into the middle of co-parenting drama. This isn’t how I like to conduct business at all. I meet here because it’s easier due to childcare issues that have come up lately, but I never intended to waste your time.”
I relaxed a little. Okay so maybe he does recognize it’s just business between us.
“It was just fifteen minutes.” I waved him off. “It’s fine.”
He sighed. A look of relief turned his lips upward. “I hope J.J. didn’t talk your ears off.”
I shook my head. “No, but he said some interesting things.” I picked up the menu and looked over it.
“Geez,” he groaned. “What did he say? He has a tendency to be a little more chatty around pretty women.”
Hm… was that a keen observation of his son or was he low-key flirting with me?
Closing my menu, I decided on the chicken sandwich and truffle fries. “He told me you were divorced and asked if I was your girlfriend.”
I watched as his olive complexion reddened.
“That’s… I me-mean,” he stammered. “That’s not true. I mean, we are divorced, but …” He let out a nervous chuckle.
Wait… I eyed him suspiciously as he seemed embarrassed. What would possibly be