Page 41 of Fierce-Ivan
In the past week they’d talked or texted daily. Nothing major but enough to keep in touch. They’d both been busy since returning from the holiday. Him more so since he’d been on vacation.
“I hadn’t realized you paid that much attention to me,” he said, grinning. He was trying to be nice.
“Oh, there are a lot of us that pay attention,” she said, winking at him.
Yep, he knew where this was going and had to avoid it. He couldn’t very well say he had a date. Or maybe he could. Why not? It’s not like anyone here knew Kendra. He didn’t talk about his family much either.
“I’ve got plans,” he said.
“Are you going on a date, Ivan? I didn’t know you were seeing someone.”
Cynthia was still grinning so maybe he’d been reading her flirting wrong. She didn’t seem upset or jealous and he wasn’t sure why he thought she might be.
But the fact she was almost excited over it was enough for him to dial it back. “Does it matter what I’m doing?” he asked with a straight face. “I’ve got plans. It could be anything.”
Cynthia laughed. “You’re right. It could be. No one knows much about you here. You keep to yourself, but my guess is you probably aren’t going on a date. You don’t seem the type to do it during the week.”
They’d been walking together as they left the building and were in the parking lot now. “Excuse me?” he asked.
“Come on now, Ivan. You’re always working and so...I don’t know...practical. You don’t come across as someone to go out on a date during the week. I guess we just all figured you’ve got a routine that you stick to and on the weekends you are more likely to do things.”
What a pathetic way to have his employees see him.
The sad part was...it was all true.
He wouldn’t argue with her though. It was best to keep it as is.
“Then I’m sure you can figure out what I might or might not be doing tonight.” He got to his car. “Have a nice night and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He drove home and showered, then changed. He was going to Kendra’s house tonight for dinner. She said she’d take care of it and he didn’t argue. Well, he wanted to, since she’d taken care of dinner on New Year’s Eve. In his mind it was his turn.
She’d told him no. That she could get something on the way home from work. She wanted to see him and he was touched that she was making the effort.
He was going to bring it up but wasn’t sure how she felt about seeing each other during the week and was thrilled she’d taken that step.
He knew in his mind he wanted to make plans over the weekend but was starting to realize that plans meant leaving town to do something or staying in so they couldn’t be seen.
The guilt again over that and he had to tell himself to get over it.
He got home and put his laptop in his office, then went upstairs to his room to shower and change. He’d gotten up earlier than normal and worked out.
Well, not earlier. He just didn’t go into work as early as normal, spending thirty minutes on the treadmill.
He was a creature of habit and worked out during the week and took the weekends off most times. If he was bored he’d lift weights, but during the week he ran on the treadmill for thirty minutes, lifted weights for another fifteen alternating upper and lower body.
A routine.
Yep, boring like everyone said he was.
Too freaking bad, he thought as he grabbed his jeans, a shirt and fresh underwear.
Boring or not, he liked who he was and it seemed to him Kendra did too.
He wasn’t sure what time she normally got out of work, but she’d told him to come to her place by five thirty. She was only about fifteen minutes away, but it was a little after five at this point since it took him twenty minutes to get home from work.
He puttered around the house for another ten minutes, then grabbed his keys and left.
She had a nice long wide driveway, and since he knew she had tenants, he pulled behind her car knowing he wouldn’t be blocking anyone else in.