Love Fool

One

               "Three years of working for us and you never once thought of us that way?" Vale stopped doing pull ups when he noticed that he wasn't able to get her full attention. He grabbed the towel off the bench and wiped his face and neck. He had been working out for a full hour before she walked in to use the tredmill. "You seriously cannot just keep ignoring us and keeping your nose in the work."

"If I don't keep to my work, I will lose my job. I hope you're aware of that."

Vale went over to the tredmill and stepped onto it, reached out and hit the stop button. She turned to face him with a glare on her face. He stepped up completely onto the machine and took a hold of the hand rails. She turned to face him and looked up into his dark brown eyes. "I'm the reason why you got the job to begin with. There's no way I'm going to allow the boys to let you go. You have to trust me on that."

"It's not the boys I'm worried about."

"My father adores you and is still confused on why you won't marry me."

"Because I work for you and I have standards."

"In other words, you don't find me attractive."

"You're very attractive, if you want me to be honest. I don't see us being able to work out. Vale, I have always respected you..."

"And I, you."

"Thank you for that. I just can't see me and you as endgame."

"And who would you see as your husband if not me?"

She sighed. "Someone who can make me laugh."

"I've made you laugh."

"Cracking jokes about somone who works for your father doesn't count."

"Fine. What else are you looking for?"

"I'm...I'm not sure. It's not like I think about this every day."

"Come with me to my friend's tonight."

"No, I can't. I've got to file those papers."

"The papers can wait till morning. I want you to meet them. Maybe one of them may impress you enough to want to date."

"Vale..."

"Lacey, please. If you do this, you won't have to worry about being my date Friday night for the dinner meeting."

She was taken aback by hearing that. "What? Your date?"

"My father was going to pay you extra to play as my girlfriend for the night."

"Uh, no."

"Okay, I'm not going to argue with you. I figured you wouldn't anyway. But please come with me to my friends' place."

She sighed. "Fine I'll go with you to your friends."

"Thank you."

"What am I supposed to wear?"

"You could go like that and they wouldn't mind." He looked down at her chest.

"Vale."

"Hmm?"

"Stop looking at my chest, they're not that great anyways." She noticed that he wouldn't look at her face and smacked his arm. "Vale!"