Mr. Berkshire (Book 1 in the For Better Or Worst Trilogy)

Chapter 11

     The rest of dinner goes differently than a dinner at my house. Everyone has varying personalities, making the conversation entertaining. There was never a passing moment of silence. Elijah continued to flirt with me over dinner while also boasting about his job. The details of this job were vague, but he was proud of his sales. Every now and then, William would chime in with a comment or two. Apparently, the two did business together. Isabella made snarky comments when she could, but otherwise was silent. Then there was Scarlette, who knew how to turn the conversation from business to any direction she liked. The girl had endless entertaining stories that made the entire table laugh and question her choices. She was the life of the dinner. Though, every now and then she would stumble over her words when the younger Mexican girl would make an appearance. Roman was rather talkative. Well, more so than i've seen him. He would laugh at Scarlette's stories or tell some stories from work. Many of them were from before I started, so I was just as surprised as the rest of the table. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed so hard that I snorted, but there I was doing exactly that. All the while, Charlotte sat at the end of the table, quietly admiring the scene before her. So, this was a family dinner. Back home, when we did have family dinners, they were silent besides some small talk here and there. For the briefest of moments, I actually felt like I was a part of something. How sad is that? 

     After dinner, Roman decides it's the end of the night. However, Charlotte tries to find any way to coerce us into staying a little longer. First she announced there was still dessert. Then she wanted to show me more baby pictures. At last, all she could do was out right beg for us to stay another hour longer. Though, it was already well past eight. Roman insisted that it was time for us to leave. And, so we did.

     Back in the car, the tension that was first there when we left his home was long gone. It was like we broke past that wall of boss and employee, but I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. We mostly talked about his family, specifically his mother. After awhile, we found a comfortable silence until he dropped me off. 

     "Thank you for...everything." I said as soon as he parked. Tonight made me feel a lot of things that I never felt before such as comfort, pure happiness, warmth. Admittedly, it was strange, but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. 

     "Thank you?" He chuckled. "I think I owe you an apology. My mom sucked you into her vortex. It wasn't appropriate."

     "But it was fun. And you don't know how much I needed that." Another quiet moment passed, his eyes searching mine and mine searching his. There was nothing more to say. We both knew things had shifted. Though, we weren't exactly sure how, it did. With that, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. 

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     Monday, I show up to work bright and early with pep in my step. The weekend left me with a wave of confidence. I'm excited for work and even more so excited to see Roman. Something shifted in me over the weekend. His smile, laughter, baby photos, pageants, the way he helped me while I was drunk, dinner. All of it changed me and my feelings for my boss. Today, I have butterflies in the pits of my stomach at the thought of seeing him. Will he be different too? What will he say? Do we even talk about the weekend? 

     I catch myself looking in the reflective napkin holder, attempting to draw back the loose hair strands that escaped from my bun. Sighing, I drop my hands in defeat. Who am I kidding? It's a silly crush on my boss. It's naturally expected when he looks like he stepped out of a hot stuff magazine. But even I know that it's more than that. More than his looks. There's that smile that makes rare appearances. The way he unravels in the presence of his sister and mother. Talking to him makes me feel like I made the right decision moving here. Oh, and let's not forget that laugh. Yup, i'm crushing over a guy who showed me human decency. Thanks to all the losers that gave me such high standards.