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He’d heard she was unpleasant—brisk had been the nicest way someone had put it—and coming in early had not only seemed considerate, but it might also save him from having to deal with her complaints. So when she’d cleared her throat, he’d thought, Oh, shit.
“Thanks for the bookshelf. I don’t want to get in your way, so I’m going to get myself a cup of coffee. Would you like one?”
Her tone had been brisk, maybe even cold. But the offer had been nice, so he’d said yes while wondering where she was going to get it, since the cafeteria downstairs didn’t open for another hour. Amazingly, she’d returned with a cup of coffee for each of them and a sack of warm muffins.
“How’d you do that?” he’d asked as he accepted the paper cup, still a bit in shock.
“I’m a good tipper at the shop downstairs.” For a moment, she’d stuck to the same matter-of-fact tone, then her face had softened and she’d said, “And I was the alumni interviewer for one of the gal’s kids. Good kid. She’s got a full scholarship. Real smart.”
In that moment, Jason’s opinion of Marsie had shifted with the speed of a light switch and the power of a Fourth of July fireworks display. It was too easy to confuse curt with lack of caring. Marsie had plenty of the former, but also an overabundance the latter.
His new opinion had been confirmed over and over. While people who knew Marsie as an acquaintance thought she was brusque, people who worked with her closely loved her. And since that morning, they’d gone from strangers to occasionally sharing a cup of coffee together. The lunch a couple days ago was unusual, but he stopped in her office to see if she wanted coffee whenever he was over this way and, if she passed him working, she’d offer to get him one, too.
“Hey,” he said.
She started, then smiled a little as she turned her chair around. “Hey.”
“I’m getting a cup of coffee. Want one?”
“God, yes. I feel like I’ve been here forever.” She grabbed her phone and looked at the time. “It’s ten. I guess I have been here forever.”
“What time did you get in?”
“Six. I’ve got another date tonight, and I have a pile of things to do before then.”
“What are you going to do when you’ve got someone in your life? Work late? Bring work home?”
Confusion and then something that looked like it might be sadness crossed her face. “I don’t know, honestly. Maybe the joy of having someone to go home to will make me work more efficiently, but I think any man I end up with is going to understand why I work long hours. He’ll probably work long hours, too.”
“That doesn’t sound like much of a relationship.” He looked forward to the days when he could curl up on the couch with someone and watch Bob’s Burgers after dinner. Being shunted aside for a computer and spreadsheets didn’t sound like much of a life.
“No.” She sighed. “My ex and I had a relationship like that. It wasn’t great. But—and this is embarrassing to admit—I don’t know how you do anything differently.”
“Sure, you do. You’re the smartest person I know.”
To his surprise, saying that embarrassed her. Given the red in her hair, he expected her to blush more, but the tips of her cheeks reddened and her forehead flushed. “Thanks,” she said with a shrug. “This is an office of smart people.”
“Yeah, but you know you’re special.”
She pressed her lips together and seemed at a loss for words.
“If I said too much, let me know. I can ask something mundane like if you’ve seen any movies lately.”
“No. It just makes a me a little self-conscious to hear you say that, but it’s worse that I think about how much I’ve not done. Or who’s more successful than I am. Or who got a grant I wanted.” She laughed. “It’s a curse, right. This constant feeling that you’re not good enough. Dating only makes it worse.”
“Good date last week?”
She pushed away from her desk. “Let’s go get coffee. And no. He ordered for me.”
“Maybe he thought it was polite,” Jason said as he stood back from the doorway to Marsie’s office so that she could go through first. Also polite.
