“He’s so handsome,” one of the ladies said. “Too bad he doesn’t sit with us. I could just stare at him ordering food and watch him walk out.”

Out of curiosity, I wanted to turn to see who they were talking about, but I thought better of it. Since I had just met them, I didn’t want to be a part of their drooling session. It was really none of my business.

“He looks so delicious in his suit and tie. I’m wondering what he looks like without it,” the brunette with short hair said.

“I heard he dates a lot of women and never stays with one. I wonder why that is?” another asked.

“Guys like him like to fool around,” Jake said. “And why not? Nice car, beautiful women. Women throw themselves at him all the time. He’s loaded. He can do what ever he wants. Yup, I’m jealous.”

“If he’ll take me, I’ll throw myself at him,” one giggled.

As the sound of footsteps approached us, Lisa and her friends’ eyes grew even bigger. “Oh my God, I think he’s heading our way,” one said.

“Hello, Mr. Knight. Would you like to join us?” Lisa asked sweetly.

Mr. Knight! I stiffened. I was about to meet the person behind the company I worked for.

“May I?” the voice said.

Great. Why next to me? Then I froze. I knew that voice, as if it were the sound of my own heart beating. Peering up, Max stood right above me. Mr. Knight? Surely I’d misheard, but how would Max know all these people?

Max pulled out the chair next to me and sat way too close for comfort. I gasped inwardly as an electrifying feeling sparked from his knee touching mine. When I moved it away slightly so they would not touch, he moved closer to me without trying to make it obvious underneath the table.

“Please, eat your lunch. I hope everyone is having a great day.”

“Yes we are, Mr. Knight,” one blonde said, a little too bubbly.

There was that word again. The word Mr. Knight rang in my head. Surely it couldn’t be the Mr. Knight?

Max turned to me, and I felt the heat from his gaze fixated on me. “We meet again. How’s Knight treating you so far?”

Gazing at him with mixed emotions, my mind started reeling. I had told him I started my new job at Knight. If he was the president or even worked there, why didn’t he tell me? Now it was all clear. He must have gotten my address to send the flowers. He looked into my profile…grrr! I didn’t know how to feel about this. He hadn’t been honest with me from the start. It was a very bad sign.

“Fine, thank you. I enjoy working with my team,” I said flatly, turning my eyes from him. For reasons unknown, the heat was now brewing inside me as anger. What if I had told him things I shouldn’t have? I had opened myself up to this no good, good-looking stranger who wanted to have lunch with me and I was swept away. Not any more.

The muscles of my shoulders were tight as I looked straight ahead. The ladies giggled when Max said a few words that I didn’t recall from tuning out of their conversation. My mind was not there. It was at our last lunch conversation. Suddenly, not meaning to, my body twitched from the warmth of his hand on my lap underneath the table where no one could see.

“Ms. Mefferd, I’ll see you at the department meeting in your office at six.” Then he lifted his hand away, while turning his attention to the rest of the group. “Have a good rest of the day. Thank you for allowing me to join you. I have a meeting to attend in ten minutes.” He stood up, lighting up that irresistible smile he did so well, and left.

“Oh…look at that fine man go,” one whispered, making her friends giggle around her.

Watching him walk out the door was not my cup of tea, especially when all I could think was that I was unaware I had a meeting at six. I looked at Lisa. “Did I miss something?”

“I’ll check for you, Jenna. Sometimes it happens. Maybe you missed an email.”

This wasn’t good. I would’ve almost missed a meeting had Max not spoken about it. Then my worries turned into stress. Confirming a meeting clearly stated that he did work for Knight. What was even worse was that he was my boss. But what was most upsetting was the fact that he was not honest with me from the beginning.

I didn’t understand why I was feeling that way, but I felt betrayed, lost, and confused. My heart felt as though he had twisted a dagger into it. He had already hurt me, and we hadn’t even gone out.

“Thanks,” I said with a smile, trying to hide whatever it was that I was feeling.

After lunch, we all got up and walked back to our office building.

**

At five thirty Lisa, Rachel, and the rest of the team left for the day. Sitting behind my desk, I waited for the meeting that was supposed to happen in my office as I searched the email frantically. Though I had already searched for it when I arrived back from lunch and couldn’t find it, I didn’t want to spend the rest of the afternoon looking for it.

Not wanting to look unprofessional, I told Lisa that I had just gotten the email when we got back from lunch, and that I hadn’t checked my messages before we left. By ten minutes past six, no one had showed up. Had I misheard him from being so distraught to find that he worked there?

Staring at the computer, searching again for the meeting email I might have missed, I heard the door close. Stealthily, footsteps came toward me. Then I heard the sound of a chair rolling quietly as if he or she was purposely trying to keep the noise level down. I guessed the meeting was about to start.