Chapter 2

After a long day of learning what Arec needed to be done around the office, Eve made her way back to her apartment. 

 Going inside, she shut the door and leaned against it, sighing. 

 “What a day,” she muttered as she straightened and kicked off her shoes. 

 She dropped her bag on the table next to the door and walked into the kitchen. 

 Opening the refrigerator, she peered inside and shook her head at the lack of food on the shelves. 

 “Who does the grocery shopping in this place?” she asked. “Oh, yeah! It’s me, and I need to go.”

 Shutting the refrigerator, she leaned against the counter and crossed her arms as she stared at the cupboards. 

 “You know what?” she asked, standing straight. “I need some company. I’ve got a lot to talk over.”

 Taking her cell phone out of her pocket, she opened her list of contacts and scrolled through it until she found the name she was looking for. 

 Tapping the number, she put the phone to her ear and waited. 

 “Hey, girl!” the voice on the other end greeted her. “How was the first day of work?”

 “Linda, it was weird!” Eve told her friend. “I need to talk and get a drink but not necessarily in that order.”

 “Lucky for you, I’m free tonight,” Linda said. “Do you want to meet at our usual spot for dinner and drinks?”

 “That sounds lovely,” Eve said, smiling with relief.

 “Does half an hour sound good?” Linda asked. 

 “That sounds great,” Eve told her. “It’ll give me time to get ready and head out.”

 After Eve disconnected the call, she walked to her bedroom to get ready, taking her hair down while she walked. 

 Taking off her jacket, she walked to her closet and hung it up before going through her clothes to pick out an outfit for the evening. 

 “Ooh! I haven’t worn this in a while,” she said, taking out a short sparkly dress and holding it up in front of her.

 “Even though it’s just dinner with Linda, I want to look nice, so I’m wearing it,” she said with a nod. 

 Putting the dress on, she redid her makeup for an evening look, grabbed her heels, purse, and jacket, then left, locking the door behind her. 

 She drove to the restaurant and walked up to the door. A familiar figure stood in the doorway. The figure spotted her and shrieked before running toward her and engulfing her in a perfume-scented hug. 

 “Eve!” Linda said, stepping back and looking at her friend. “Look at you! You look so fancy!”

 She looked down at herself, wearing jeans and a floral blouse, and added, “And I look so plain.”

 “You do not,” Eve told her with a frown. “You look as beautiful as always. I love what you’ve done to your hair.”

 Linda’s light brown hair was pulled back from her face but cascaded down her back in ringlets. 

 “Thanks,” she said, reaching up to pat her hair. “I had time to hit the salon today.”

 “Well worth the cost, whatever it was,” Eve said, linking her arm through her friend’s and walking into the restaurant. 

 The host led them to a table in the back of the room. It sat near a window overlooking the trees behind the restaurant. 

 “I’m glad we got to sit here,” Linda said, draping her jacket over the back of the chair.

 “Same,” Eve said. “I’ve always loved the view from here.”

 “Can I get you two ladies something to drink this evening?” 

 They turned to see the server standing beside the table with his notepad, ready to take their order.

 “What do you think?” Linda asked. 

 “I’ll take a margarita, please,” Eve told the server.

 “So, that’s how we’re playing it tonight?” Linda asked with a raised eyebrow.

 Eve nodded with a firm look. 

 “Make that two,” Linda told the server. 

 “Two margaritas,” the server wrote. “Are you ready to order, or do you need a few more minutes?”

 “A few more minutes, please,” Eve told him. 

 He nodded and walked away to put the drink orders in. 

 Linda leaned forward and said, “Spill it, girl. If it was a margarita kind of day, I need to hear about it.”

 Sighing, Eve leaned forward and put her clasped hands on the table. 

 She shook her head and said, “I need to get some food in me first before I tell you about it. I’m wasting away here. Someone, namely me, didn’t get groceries this past weekend, and I’m starving!”

 Linda chuckled and shook her head. 

 Picking up the menu, she opened it and said, “Then, let’s decide what we want. I’m dying to hear what happened!”

 Grinning, Eve picked up her menu and looked at the food items. Each one made her stomach growl. 

 “I can’t decide!” she said. “They all sound good!”

 “Which one does your stomach want more?” Linda asked, peering at her friend over the top of the menu.

 Eve looked at her friend and said, “Fajitas.”

 “There you go,” Linda said, nodding. “Get the fajitas, and if we’re still hungry after we eat, we’ll get a slice of this delicious-looking chocolate cheesecake to share.”

 After getting their drinks, placing their order, and getting a basket of tortilla chips and salsa, Linda looked at Eve.

 “Okay, we’ve ordered, and you have chips and salsa to keep your stomach happy. Now, spill! What happened today?”

 Eve bit into a salsa-laden chip just as Linda asked the question, so she held up her index finger. 

 Chewing as fast as she could, she swallowed and took a sip of her margarita. 

 Once she could talk, Eve told her, “It was exhausting!”

 Linda put down her drink and asked, “That bad?”

 Eve shook her head and said, “It’s not really all that bad, but the main receptionist is a real bitch. She kept looking down her nose at me every time I walked by her, which thankfully wasn’t all that much.”

 “I wonder if she was just intimidated by your good looks,” Linda said, picking up a chip and dunking it in the salsa. 

 Eve shrugged and said, “She might have been jealous that I get to work with the hunky boss all day.”

 Linda’s eyes lit up at the mention of the hunky boss. 

 Leaning forward, she said, “Oooh! Tell me more about him!”

 “He’s so good-looking,” Eve said, reaching for another chip. “He’s tall, has short dark hair, the most intense blue-green eyes I’ve ever seen-”

 She broke off as she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.

 Her eyes grew wide as she looked toward the other side of the room. 

 “And he’s over there!”