Page 6 of Chasing the Dream

“Goodbye, Maria.” He disconnected before she could argue any more, even though he enjoyed sparring with her.

He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers together, thinking he was well and truly screwed. He’d just agreed to chauffeur Morgan to and from work and go out to dinner with her. So much for trying to keep his distance!

Chapter 3

Toward the end of the day, Gabe stuck his head in the door of the office Morgan was using. Stefan had stepped out to take a phone call, leaving her alone to review the requirements for the website they were working on.

“How’s it going?”

She was tired, and her feet hurt, but he didn’t need to know about that. “Great!”

“Stefan treating you okay?”

Aside from sitting a bit closer to her than necessary, he’d been informative and friendly. He might have been even friendlier if she’d encouraged it, but she hadn’t. “Um-hmm. He seems very knowledgeable.”

“He is.” Gabe stepped inside and shut the door behind him, looking like he had more to say on the matter. “If he gets a little too friendly with you, let me know.”

She cocked her head and studied him. Was he playing the overprotective big brother or just being a concerned boss? It was hard to tell, but either way, she kind of liked it. “Thanks, but I can handle it.”

He nodded and then glanced at his watch. She wondered if he had a hot date tonight, but what he said next shocked her.

“We’re supposed to meet Maria for dinner at five fifteen.”

“We?” She didn’t mind him coming, but he didn’t look thrilled about it.

“She invited me. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, but did she invite you or coerce you?”

He laughed, the richness of it filling the space. She’d heard him laugh often enough that she’d recognize it even if he were in a different room.

“A little bit of both.”

“Sounds about right.” She glanced at her own watch and realized it was almost five. The day had flown by. “I guess I should get ready to leave since she’s picking me up soon.”

“Actually, I told her not to. I’ll drive us there.”

She tried to hide her surprise, but to no avail.

“Is that okay?”

“Sure. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

Just then, someone knocked on the door, and she assumed it was Stefan.

“Wrap things up here and meet me in the lobby in ten minutes,” he said before opening the door.

Stefan looked at them curiously. “Everything okay?”

Gabe nodded. “Just checking in. See you both tomorrow.” With that, he squeezed past Stefan and walked away.

She found it interesting that he’d made a point of saying, “See you tomorrow,” when they’d be leaving together in just a few minutes. He obviously hadn’t wanted Stefan to know, but why not? By now, everybody in the office probably knew she was “an old family friend,” so what would be wrong with them going out to dinner?

“Well, I guess that’s it for today. We’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow morning,” Stefan said.

“Thanks for your help.”

“No problem. You’re a good student.” With that, he turned and left, and she heard the other employees preparing to leave too.