96- Lovinng your inner grow up

“Y ou scared her off,” Allen says.
I watch her hurry away and don’t bother giving a response to the statement. “How are things?” I instead ask him as I put the phone down and pick up the menu to peruse. I don’t realize how my gaze moves one more time to catch a glimpse of her leaving.
This action, Allen most definitely does not miss. “Has my plan worked even a little bit?” he asks. My brows furrow. “What plan?”
“To get you to notice her brilliance and wit and be even a little bit attracted to her?” I gaze dazedly at him.
His hands immediately lift in defense. “Hey, don’t attack me. Meredith came up with the idea.” “What?”
“She said something along the lines of ‘If Grady won’t go to the girls, then you have to bring the girls to Grady.”
I’m speechless for a moment. “So you decided on the choice of my executive secretary, not based on competence but based on whom I would be most attracted to?”
“Hey, don’t get me fired,” he says. “Of course not. Competence was at the forefront of my criteria but unlike you, it wasn’t the only thing on the list.”
I shake my head at him, a slight smile tugging at the corners of my lips as my gaze returns to my menu. “Why are you so concerned anyway about finding me a partner?”
He goes silent for a few minutes and it catches my attention. Before even speaking, I’m able to guess who the culprit is. “Your father?”

He laughs at the very fond memory of the harsh abrupt man, who somehow still managed to radiate the most warmth whenever he was around.
I’m equally as amused and warmed as I lean back in wonder. “Really? What exactly did he say?”
“When he was in the hospital he told me, ‘make sure you get that boy married. If we allow him he’s probably going to spend his whole life at that desk, forever trying to prove himself.’ ”
“Ouch,” I say, albeit warmed by the concern.
The waiter arrives then to take our order and it gives us both the much needed quiet time to reminisce.
After the waiter leaves, I decide to admit some degree of truth. “Well, your efforts haven’t completely failed. I would be lying if I said that I haven't felt any attraction whatsoever towards her.”
His eyes light up like a brand new bulb. “I knew it!” He exclaims as his hand hits the table. This violently jostles the ceramic and glasses on it, along with drawing the attention of other patrons at the sudden bang.
“Calm down,” I say through gritted teeth.
He manages to rein in his excitement. He does however sit up to lean towards me. “So, what’s holding you back? Why haven't you made things official yet?”
I’m honestly confused. “Is that how things work with you? You feel a bit of attraction for someone and then you swear yourself to them for life?”
“Of course!” he replies. “That’s what I did with you.” I can do nothing but stare at him in wonder.





health.

pending time with Allen is as delightful as expected, however my mind is still unable to move away from my father, especially at the disconcerting news I received today on his

Andrew has been dismissed for the night, so I’m behind the wheel, alone with the silence of the night and a very contemplative heart.
It makes me think of Blair and of our morning together. I wouldn’t have minded her joining Allen and me but it most definitely would have made her uncomfortable.
I’ve already seen in her eyes the eagerness to leave the restaurant, so I left the decision up to her. Allen however was the one being problematic. No doubt, he had intended to turn this into some sort of forced date with the intention to leave midway through by citing some sort of emergency. This would have left Blair and me alone together... and I would have liked that.
The SUV comes to a stop at a red light and I turn to stare out of the window. Then I pull my phone out of my pocket and attach it to the dashboard cradle. Her speed dial is set to the number two so I press it and connect the call to the car’s speakers. I feel somewhat anxious, so I begin to put together what I want to speak to her about in my mind.
I’m not fast enough as the call soon connects. “Hello?” Her soft voice resounds in the vehicle. “Sir?” she calls again when I don’t respond.
“Did you get home safe?” I ask.
The car goes silent for a few seconds.
“Yes, sir,” she eventually responds. “I hope the dinner went well, and the food and ambience was to your liking.”
“You did good Blair. Everything worked out well.”

I hear her smile, and then notice how her surroundings are a bit noisy. “You have company?”
“Uh... not really,” she replies. “It’s just my sister and her husband. He’s just returned from his work trip, so they are catching up. There’s a lot of talking and laughing in the kitchen, so I moved to my bedroom to give them a bit more space to reconnect.”
“That's great,” I say, ready now to end the call. No doubt, she’s wondering about the sudden contact, and wants it over with.
She then stops me with, “Do you need something done?”
My immediate response is to indeed use work as an excuse, and although a part of me is hoping that it will not be the case, I still latch onto it. “No, but I did want to check on your plans with ABAX tomorrow. You mentioned it in the restaurant.”
It is a few more seconds before she speaks again, “Grady,” she calls and I’m a bit taken aback. “It’s after hours, so I’m allowed to call you by your name, right?”
I start to contemplate this but she speaks before I can respond, “I’m guessing that’s a no, so in that case I’m extremely sorry, sir. Please don’t fire me.”
I can’t help my amusement. “It’s fine. You can call me Grady.”
“Alright. Grady! Are you asking me about the project tomorrow because you don’t believe I can pull it off or because it’s my first time and you’re just concerned about me?”
“I’m concerned,” I reply, “because it’s your first time.” “Alright,” she says.
By her tone, I can tell that she is not pleased about something. “What is it? You don’t want me to be concerned?”
“It’s not that, it’s just... it doesn’t feel very good to be micromanaged, especially by a senior executive, which could throw feelings of incompetency into the mix.”
“I don’t think you’re incompetent.”
“I know,” she says. “Or at least I hope so.”
I release a sigh. “I called you tonight Blair because I wanted to talk to you, about anything even if it’s just for a few moments.”
The line goes silent, and then a panic stirs in my chest. “It’s because of my father,” I quickly add. “I received bad news today about his deteriorating health and at times like this, what one really needs is

a distraction.”
“Oh,” she says. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
I know she wants to ask about the details, but is probably considering that it might be too intrusive. “You can speak freely with me.”
“Okay,” her tone is breathy and uncertain. “How bad is it?”
“Cirrhosis, and if he doesn’t listen and keeps drinking, he’s going to end up needing a liver transplant soon.”
“I’m sorry.” Her tone is heavy.
“No need to be,” I respond. “With all his drinking it was inevitable.” “You sound like you need a hug,” she says.
The audacious comment makes me laugh aloud. What surprises me even more is my response, “I do need one.”
“Should I come over?”
I ponder on the question a little bit, and although the proposition sounds quite attractive, I realize that what I really want after this is to be alone to think. “There’s no need,” I reply. “I’ll be fine. I just need some time to rest.”
“Alright,” she says.
I don’t miss the disappointment in her tone. “Spend some time with your family.” “You too,” she replies.
I disconnect the call.