Page 9 of Finding My Charming

I shot Sherrie a look that I hoped conveyed my lack of trust in her. Spinach tortillas? Who orders that when there are perfectly good flour ones available?

“Sorry? Was that not right?” The poor guy looked confused now.

Sherrie stood from her chair and accepted the bag of food. “No, no problem, dear. Elise, here, is not one to try new things, and I ordered for her, so now I must suffer her wrath.”

She knew me well.

The guy looked surprised for a minute then started laughing. “Oh. Well, E-lise.” I loved the way he drew out my name. “It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.” He winked and before I could ask what he meant he moved on.

“This is one of my favorite items on the menu, so I’ll back Sherrie up on this one.”

The casual way he said her name threw me off.

“Thanks, Dallin.” Sherrie smiled at him like he was another one of her adoptive grandchildren. Hey, that is her smile for me.

“Yes, Dal-lin.” I hope he sensed my sarcasm when I copied the way he said my name. “I appreciate your vote of confidence in Sherrie’s choice. Now, what does she owe you?”

I wanted Sherrie to know there was no chance I would be eating a green burrito, and plus my dad pays for our lunches so I could pretend to be a brat without her actually having to suffer for my attitude.

They both gave me a weird look before Dallin looked down at his phone. “It’s eleven dollars and thirty-four cents today.” He plugged a small card-reader into his phone and handed it to Sherrie.

I watched him while she paid. He was tall, like over six feet, and had sandy-blond hair that looked like he’d run his hands through it a few times and called it good for the day. It wasn’t a bad thing. It was long enough to stand in different directions without looking like a mess.

It was so stupid how easy guys had it. Not that I had really done anything with my hair this morning, but I was lucky enough to have naturally straight hair that required very little maintenance.

Crap! He caught me staring. I dropped my gaze back down to my computer and pretended that a super-important email had come through.

“Hey, Dallin!” I looked over to see Mike, one of the attorneys, wave to the delivery boy. Why was everyone so chummy with this guy?

I’ve been here all morning, and barely anyone has said anything to me, besides Sherrie of course. Suddenly, this Dallin guy comes in, and people go out of their way to say hi? That’s not fair.

Sherrie thanked him and wished him a good day while I remained focused on my screen.

“Nice to meet you, E-lise.” Ugh. There it was again. How did he make my name sound like something special?

I glanced up from my computer and offered my professional secretary smile. “You too, Dal-lin.”

He leaned forward until his face was just inches from mine. “In a zombie apocalypse, what weapon would you want?”

What had he just said? His smile confirmed that he had in fact asked me the weirdest question ever.

“A gun?” His smile grew and he nodded once before stepping back and waving. “Have a great day, ladies.”

“Bye, hon! Let me know when you hear back on your paper.”

“I will. Bye, Sherrie.” He smiled at her and shot me one more look before walking out.

Paper? Who is this guy, and why did he and Sherrie act like they were best buds?

Sherrie unpacked our lunches with a calm smile on her face. When she handed me a burrito, she noticed my scowl. “What’s with the face?”

I focused on unwrapping. “You know my feelings on suspicious food.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “I do know, but I also know you’re a big girl who can try new things.”

“Well, I’ll have to now since that’s what you and some stranger recommend.”

“Dallin is a nice boy. I can’t understand why you were so put off by him.”