Zack was smiling hard and felt his heartbeat racing. He then turned back to the worker quickly because he had to keep his composure.
"Give this beautiful lady whatever she want".
Zac moved to the side so Fatima could finish ordering her sandwich meal adding her chips and drink. The worker put their meals on the tray. Zac paid for their meals and carried the tray to the table Fatima had picked for them to sit.
"Why you didn't wait for me before you sat down so I could have pulled out your chair", Zac said while taking their food off the tray.
A little smirk came across Fatima's face. "Because my feet was hurting in these shoes. I already had to walk allllll the way across the street to get here".
They both had a little chuckle and Zac went and put the tray up in its spot in the shop. He walked back over to the table and sat down. He noticed that Fatima hadn't started eating yet.
"Why you haven't started eating? Did they mess up your sandwich"?
"Nope. I'm waiting on you to say grace and blessings over our food".
"Oh. My bad".
Zac said Grace over their food and they began to eat when Zac said.....
"So, you were mentioning how you had to walk allllll the way across the street to get here with those shoes on. Why don't you wear those shoes when I pick you up and take you out to dinner Ms. Wilson"?
"That would not be a good thing to do Mr. Taylor".
"Please call me Zac. And why"?
"Well, first I have a man and second, I don't like to mix business and personal".
"Oh ok. Well I'm not going to get into you and ole dudes business or step on any toes. He lucky to have you".
Fatima didn't respond and changed the subject quickly. "So, Mr. Taylor, with you volunteering to take me to dinner, I'm guessing you don't have a special lady in your life".
"You guessed right".
"I'm surprised"!
"Why are you so surprised"?
"I would have thought a young football player with a status like yours would have women flocking to you".
"I do have that, but that is not what I want. I'm a one woman man and I want something long term and not just for the moment. I want to build something with that special lady in my life. I'm a BIG romantic and have a lot of love to give".
"Oh wow! That's great to hear. I can tell you love hard".
"I do love hard and my momma raised me right".
"I can tell".
Zac and Fatima were gazing at each other before Fatima broke the gaze and suggested they get back to the law firm to meet up with his last teammate. Zac got up and pulled out Fatima's chair for her. He then got their lunch trash and threw it away. They walked to the door and Zac opened it for them to walk out. As they walked to the light to cross the street back to the law firm, Zac said...
"You know I can go get my car to drive you over so your feet won't hurt". Fatima laughed at his statement.
Zac loved her laugh and to see her smile. He felt her smile could light up any room and make any sadness go away.
"Shut up Zac".
"I'm just saying".
They made it back to the law firm and were getting off the elevator when Zac saw Jalen sitting in the waiting area. Fatima walked to Angela at the receptionist desk to see if her or Andi had any messages. Zack walked over to Jalen.
"I'm glad you made it bro", Zac said as he fist pumped him and gave him a hug.
"Yeah. Sorry about being late".
"It's cool. Let me introduce you to Ms. Taylor".
"Excuse me. Umm, Ms. Taylor. This is Jalen, my teammate".
"Hi Jalen. Nice to meet you".
"Nice to meet you too."
"Follow me and we'll get started".
Zac and Jalen followed Fatima to the conference room. Fatima told Jalen to have a seat opposite her and Zac and begin explaining what was going to happen during this process. She turned on the camera and begin asking him the same questions she asked the other teammates.
1. Please state your full name.
2. Are you aware of the date in question?
3. Can you tell me what you recall on that night from beginning to end?
4. When was the next time you spoke with Mr. Taylor?
5. Is there any information you would like to provide that was not mentioned previously?
As Fatima was asking Jalen these questions, Zac noticed how Jalen was acting strange and acting all nervous. He looked at Fatima who was looking at him. Zac shrugged his shoulders as if to say "I don't know". They decided to blow it off for now and Zac will ask him about it later.
"Well Mr. Hurts. That is all the questions that I have for you at this moment. Do you have any questions for me"? said Fatima.
"No ma'am".
"Ok. You may leave and I will be in touch".
"Ummm, how do I get back to the front?"
"I'll take you back up there bro".
Zac and Jalen walked back to the front.
"Thanks bro for coming today. I really appreciate it".
"You're welcome. I'll talk to you later".
They hugged and Zac watched Jalen walk out of the front door to the elevators. He turned around shaking his head because Jalen was displaying some weird behavior. Zac walked back into the conference room with Fatima.
"Do you know what that was all about"? she said.
"What you talking about?"
"Your teammate Jalen. He was showing some nervous behavior. Do you know why he would be nervous"?
"I have no idea. I admit that his demeanor was really strange. I am going to have to go over to his house and talk to him about it. I need to see his face when I ask him".
"Ok. I understand. If you find out anything additional, let me know".
"I will. I gotcha. Ok. You need me for anything else?"
"That will be it for today. I have a lot of information to go through and a lot of note taking. It is going to be a long next two days. I'll call you in the next couple of days to set up our next meeting".
"Ok cool. I look forward to your call Ms. Taylor".
Zac was about to walk out of the door when...
"Mr. Taylor", said Fatima.
Zac turned and walked back in the conference room.
Fatima and Zac were in deep eye contact.
"Thank you so much for lunch and since we are going to be working closely together the next couple of weeks, please call me Fatima".
A smirk then turned into a smile on Zac's face.
"You are very welcome and I will definitely do that. You have a great day".
"You too Zac".
Zac walked out of the conference room with the biggest smile on his face. As he passed the window of the conference room to walk toward the front, he looked in the window to see Fatima was still looking at him. He waved and she waved back. They both were feeling some pretty good vibes.
