Page 29 of I Never Stopped Loving You

We each ended up getting two burgers and cut each of them into quarters to split. Some for now and some for later. Noah got his favorites, The Cataclysm and Purgatory. I got The Reaper and The Judge. We got a big plate of “No Judgement” fries. The first burger quarter I took a bite of was The Reaper.

When I say that this burger is gigantic, I’m not lying. The actual burger patty has bacon infused in it, plus it has two slices of peppered bacon and two slices of country-fried bacon. Yes, I said country-fried bacon. It also has this delicious whiskey-bacon-onion jam and smoked gouda. The sauce slathered on this baby is one of their Seven Deadly Sins sauces called sloth. It tastes like maple syrup.

“He said that you’re coming back for a second interview on Tuesday. How do you like The Reaper?”

“It’s amazing. You were right, I love it here.”

“I knew you would.”

I can see the smile he tries to hide when he takes his next bite of The Cataclysm.

The Cataclysm was the one with mac-n-cheese and pulled pork. I’ve had pulled pork mac-n-cheese before, so it’s probably amazing on a burger. I can’t wait to try that one.

“Yeah. He had me set up the second interview when I was there,” I say as I pick up a quarter of The Judge.

I’m about to take a bite when Noah speaks.

“Yes, you’ll be doing your interview with me.”

I freeze mid-bite.

“This isn’t a bribe,” I quickly blurt out.

“What?” he laughs.

“I didn’t ask you to dinner to try to bribe you with the interview coming up. I didn’t know you’d be doing my interview.”

“Are you saying that if you knew I was doing your interview before texting me, you would have bribed me with more than just dinner?”

My mouth goes dry when his lips curl into a half-smirk.

“No. That’s not what I meant. I mean…”

“Chill, Willow. I was just teasing you. I was the one who invited you to lunch even before your first interview. Remember?”

I take a quick breath, then a bite of my burger. How can this man cause my emotions to flip so easily?

“True. Sorry. By the way, that’s kind of why I said no to lunch. I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“And what idea would that be?” he asks as he props his elbow on the table and rests his chin in his palm.

“That I’d be willing to bribe you to get what I want.”

“So you’re saying you don’t bribe people, but what about taking bribes?”

His voice is different now, and the way he’s looking at me…

“I don’t take bribes either,” I quickly say.

I take another bite of my burger to shut myself up. Damn, this one’s really good too.

“Shame,” he says quietly, and I almost choke on my burger.

“What?”

“I said, it’s a shame. I was going to try to bribe you to accept the position now so we can avoid a second interview and just get you hired in.”

He cuts the last burger into quarters and places one on my plate. It’s Purgatory. The burger with the peanut butter sauce. The full description on the menu said bacon, cheddar cheese, and a chipotle peanut butter sauce. I can feel my face slightly shift. I’m so unsure about this one and he can tell.