I had brought all my stuff because I wasn't sure if I would be working late. It was nice to be prepared. A book and a notebook didn't weigh tons in my bag anyways.
I finished up on some graphic work and went to the elevators around lunch.
Juan was meeting Cara, and Trisha was having lunch with Will, who stepped out as I stepped into the elevator.
I pushed the button and waited.
The first one to arrive went down.
I took a step back, arms loosely crossed.
Alexander stepped out of the elevator. Charcoal gray suit, and a vest, and went directly for me.
"We'll eat out," he said.
"Okay? I'll get my..."
"I pay," he said. "I want to."
I wasn't sure.
"I really want to, Christina," he said softly. "Just let me, please."
I sighed quietly and nodded. "Okay," I acquiesced.
He led me to the elevator where Jazz waited, and we went to the reception.
At some point during my long morning I'd been considering his proposal the following Saturday.
"I want to help you Saturday," I said.
Alexander looked at me, surprised more than anything.
"Yes, I'm sure," I said.
He smiled a crooked smile. "Jazz'll pick you up so you're at my flat at ten."
I sighed. Deeply. "No," I said. "I'll get there myself, but I'll be there by ten."
Alexander was glowering at me.
"Forget it," I said. We were actually walking towards the place he'd picked, I figured we'd be standing still, arguing. "You can inform me on the time and tell me when I'll be there, but I'll get there myself, when you want to dictate I have to be picked up."
"If I'd asked if Jazz were to pick you up, would that have changed your answer?" he asked.
"I would probably still want to walk," I admitted. "But it's nice to get the chance to decide myself."
He put his hands in his pants pockets. "We're going in here," he said and stopped at a restaurant which looked to be a tad more expensive than where I usually went.
"O-kay?" I said, drawing on the O.
He opened the door for me, his hands no longer in his pockets.
Hesitantly I entered before him. My clothes didn't feel nice enough. I wore a dress. Just a black dress I'd bought in H&M, but which seemed fine for working purposes. And then flats, nylons and a cardigan.
Alexander put his hand on my back and led me further into the restaurant.
The waitress wore shirt and black pants. "Mr. Greene," she smiled. "The table is this way." She turned around and led us to a table in the corner of the restaurant.
I slid into the comfortable seat.
Alexander sat down on the other side of the table.
"The food is the chef's choice," the waitress said. "I'll fetch the wine that goes the best with the food."
"I don't drink," I said before she had the chance to leave.
Alexander's eyebrows dived down and put his eyes in shadows.
"Oh, do you like a soda or water? Juice, maybe?" she asked.
"Water, please," I said. "Still."
She looked at Alexander.
"Water, sparkling," he almost sneered at her.
She nodded and left.
"Why won't you drink just one glass of wine?" he bristled at me.
"I don't drink," I said. "Not during work hours, not for dinner, not at any time." Okay, it did happen I drank something if I was out with girlfriends, but that was a completely different context.
He looked away from me.
"Did you choose the menu?" I asked.
"I stated, when I reserved the table, that we only have an hour, and that the food had to be cooked fast. That works best if they know what we're having. I had the chef decide." He said.
"Okay," I said. "Did you have a nice morning?"
"I fired the two idiots who couldn't make up their mind and lead the work," he said. "There is one I can promote, but that leaves me one middle manager short."
I smiled.
"What?" he snapped.
"What's eating at you today?" I asked. "Yesterday you were in a good mood."
He rolled back his shoulder and the waitress returned with our water.
She poured the water and put the lid back on the bottles before leaving.
"That was yesterday," Alexander said.
"Is it boys or girls? Your brother's kids?"
"Two boys and a girl," he said. "She's the youngest."
I nodded.
He leaned slightly towards me and looked at me. "Why did it surprise you that much that I'm adopted?" he asked. "You can google me, and it'll all be written somewhere online."
"I googled you once because I couldn't guess your age. That is the one thing I went for," I said. "It seems artificial, to google people."
He nodded without really nodding. "I'm not specifically out for an answer, but why is it you won't talk about your mother?"
Goosebumps covered my skin everywhere. "It's just a sensitive topic." I said quietly.
He nodded. "I have a therapists, he calls it abandonment issues," he said. "Breach of trust, if you will."
"That list of symptoms you listed for me?" I asked.
He nodded. "That's why I'm controlling," he said. "I know you don't like it, and I'm trying, but it's not because I'm deliberately trying to be an asshole."
I smiled with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure?" I asked innocently.
He actually smiled. "Totally." He said.
"Now I'm not into the situation at all, but can it, perhaps, be the case, that you fired those two people because they didn't live up to your, uhm, perfectionist demands?" I asked.
"How would you call someone a leader of any kind, if they can't lead and allocate different tasks?" He asked. "They had no idea what they were supposed to do, and they had no idea how to divide the tasks to other members of staff."
"So you just fired them?"
"No," he said. "I gave them an ultimatum. Either they could go back to their previous jobs. They are good workers, just not leaders. One of them wanted to go back to his previous job, the other quit based on that." He said.
Wow.
The waitress arrived with our food.
It was a bowl with a pasta dish.
"Enjoy," she said before leaving.
I looked at the food and took a deep breath. "It smells heavenly," I said.
Alexander looked at me. "They make a decent meal in here."
I nodded. "I noticed a few prices outside."
"Don't' sweat it," he said and picked up his cutlery.
"Even though you've got the money, it goes against all my principles that you have a housekeeper," I said and picked up fork and spoon.
"Why?" he asked.
"Sometimes, I do understand, now you work all the freaking time," I said. "But there are certain things I'd say you could do yourself."
He just looked at me without showing a single emotion in his face.
"What are you doing when you aren't working?" I asked.
"I work from home," he said. "Attend different events, meet up with my family, my friends. My personal trainer," he said.
"No hobbies?" I asked.
He slowly shook his head. "Do you have a hobby?"
"I invest in stock and bonds, and I read," I said. "And then I hang out with friends and all that."
He looked at his food before looking at me again. "What do you want me to do?"
"Nothing," I said. "I'm just thinking that having a hobby is a good way to think about something else for a while."
He nodded. "Probably."
I smiled and tasted the food.
"Have you had a nice morning?" he asked.
I nodded. "I finished some graphics." I went into detail, and he listened, and it appeared as if he was genuinely interested.