Connexion

Part 85

"For goodness sake, it was my decision." She looked at him, and smirked, "Look, if you want to pay Sophie, you employ her!"

Perhaps because he was tired from his business trip, or because she was getting away with this by running circles around him,  he muttered, "You are very stubborn."

"Thank you. Assume you will add it to arrogance..."

Caleb glared and grinning at the same time, "And don't forget or forgive..."

"True." Her eyes flashed with humour.

"You are really obstinate!" She was definitely running circles around him.

"Thank you."

"I do not know whether to laugh or strangle you!"

"Hey, I am feeding you!"

"I know. That is the problem. You shower me with kindness, and ran circles around me today. I am sure my office will be laughing at me if they were around."

"Just accept it." She wiggled her eyebrows. "It was my decision to employ Sophie. So my responsibility."

 "You are tenacious. Fine." They ate in silence for a few minutes, before he said, "Reached a decision! No argument. I will take you out for dinner."

"That is silly."

"I owe you. I always pay my debt."

"Oh for goodness, there is no debt. I told you, my decision to employ Sophie and my responsibility. And from my position, she is doing really well. So no debt."

"I am talking about this meal. You made dinner for me. I owe you a dinner."

"a, remember you bought our last meal! And b, I did not make this meal. Matthew made the lasagna. You could take him out for dinner." She waggled her eyebrows. "But I am not sure you would meet his standards!"

Caleb ignored the red herring. He paused before he picked up a morsel from his plate, "Are you scared?"

"Of what?"

"Going out with me?"

She started to chuckle and told him, "Definitely."

"You are scared of me." He frowned. "Why?"

She said frankly, "Because you will make mince of me!"

It was his turn to laugh. "You are kidding, right. You have just run circles around me!"

She heard her phone. "Excuse me."

He could hear her end of the conversation and it sounding like another problem. She returned to the deck five minutes later,

"Everything ok?"

"Yes." She picked up her plate. '"Finished?" She nodded at his bare plate.

"Yes, thanks."

"Hokey-Pokey ice-cream?" She asked. Not sure why she was extending this dinner.

"Coffee, if possible."

"Unfortunately I do not have Coffee ice-cream, just Hokey-Pokey ice-cream."

He got to his feet. "Funny!" He smiled, "I meant Coffee, the drink."

"Oh." Obviously her mind was still on Mary's husband's situation. They had just agreed to swap jobs for tomorrow, an emergency: Mary needed to stay home tomorrow. Mary would do the paper jobs that Jena was going to do tomorrow, and Mary would do that at her home. Tonight Jena would email files to Mary, and tomorrow Jena would make the cup cakes Mary was going to make, then would drop off the cupcakes to an office for their lunch party, drop off the paper files at Mary's to support the email files, then return to the kitchen and bake the tiers for the next wedding cake on Mary's ticket.