Mystery Of You (Pub 5)

20 - Dating

It had surprised Ian when Ainsley left a voicemail on his office phone. He smiled at the generic message and thought of her voice when she told him what she liked. Her reason for contacting him contributed to one big headache. Ian should be glad there were no other complaints, but he didn't like his guys targeting Ainsley. He didn't want them targeting any staff, but Ainsley was what? Not his girlfriend. Date? Friend? Regardless, she was the girl he had had sex with. His cock remembered.

He wanted to go up and fix her laptop. Smiling, he envisioned flirting with her, but he decided to fix it remotely. Ian had no plans to discuss his new friendship with Henry, and Ainsley asked to keep their friendship quiet. He ended the conversation quickly when his network guy appeared. They discussed some hardware concerns while Ian fixed Ainsley's connection remotely.

His day included setting up a meeting with human resources to discuss his help desk. As much as he wanted to take the T and possibly see Ainsley, he took an Uber. Felix greeted him like every other day. As usual, he had food to eat and exercises to do, but nothing felt right. Their lack of definition created an internal debate. The prospect of an evening alone when she was in the building left him restless. He called her before he changed his mind.

He took his time before knocking on her door. She should eat without him looking at her. He didn't want to be creepy. He was already a hypocrite for seeing her four days in a row.

She called him out on it immediately. "Guilty."

"Don't plan on day five, I made plans for tomorrow with my old roommate."

"Going to a bar to turn every guys' head?" He needed to chill.

She shook her head. "She's married. We'll hang here. I'm, um."

"What?"

"I have enough ingredients I could make you dinner another night." He smiled. She quickly added, "I'm no Mrs. B."

"Seriously? No dumplings?"

"The only dumplings I eat come fried with my Chinese takeout."

Ian laughed. Skipping a night was good, but sharing a meal was better. "I have PT on Wednesday so maybe your culinary delight should wait until Thursday or even Friday to kick off the weekend." He frowned. Unless her plans changed, his mother was coming for the weekend.

"What's wrong?"

He sighed. "I need to call my mother. She might be in town this weekend."

Ainsley nodded. "I hope she isn't as annoying as mine."

He lived away and missed her enough to want to see her. "She treats me like an adult, except lately with my knee."

"I think it's okay for a mother to worry about your health."

It didn't bother him. "How was your day?"

"Besides my laptop being tampered with?"

He nodded and sighed. A part of him wanted to tell his employees to leave his girl alone. She wasn't his girl.

"I ate a limp salad from the cafeteria because someone kept me busy this weekend."

He smirked. "Should I feel guilty? I feel for you because I hate shopping, that's why I have groceries delivered."

She pointed to him. "Director." Her finger aimed at herself. "Peon whose daddy subsidizes her rent."

"I lived at home with my dad until I could afford my rent."

"That must have been great for your dating life."

"What dating?" He chuckled. "I do a good job of messing it up on my own."