Chapter 18. A meal out of the ordinary
Jackson Johnson
JJ Steakhouse Club Restaurant
We arrived at the restaurant ten minutes from the office. I mentally went over and over the reason why I had invited my employee to have lunch with me. What was I thinking, inviting the new administrator to lunch? This isn't like you, Jackson Johnson!
"Nice place, and it smells amazing," Lilly murmured beside me as we followed the hostess to a private table, away from the curious diners.
"I hope you're not a vegetarian, since the main dish here is large steak." I automatically pulled out the chair for her to sit down. She thanked me, and then I took my seat across the table from her.
"I'm not," she replied with a playful tone. "And with the hunger I have, I could eat a whole cow by myself." I couldn't help but smile at her comment.
"And I could eat two," I said, and she smiled even more. We were handed the menus and then left alone. Lilly began to browse through it, and I noticed her eyes widen more than usual.
"I think I'll settle for a salad," she murmured softly, without taking her eyes off the prices.
"No, order whatever you like. I recommend..."
"I prefer the salad," she said, lifting her brown eyes to meet mine, the corners of her lips stretching into a smile. "And water. Lots of water."
"How about this: let me pay. Since you didn't have dinner the night we first met, I feel like I owe you one."
"It's really not necessary," she hesitated, and I saw it in her eyes.
"If it's about the prices..." I started to say, but she shook her head immediately.
"You know what?" She leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. "I'll accept you paying, but on the condition that next time, I get to pay."
"Deal." She smiled triumphantly, which made me feel a bit uneasy.
"I'll have the same as you."
"Call me 'you' when we're outside the office. It makes me feel like I'm fifty years old when you use 'usted'," I said, focusing on the menu.
"Aren't you?" I looked up at her comment. "Just kidding."
"Oh," I went back to checking the new dishes added this week. "Let's try this." I signaled to one of the waiters.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Johnson. My name is Victor, I'll be taking your order."
"Alright, Victor," I indicated on the menu. "We'd like these two dishes, and the wine..." Lilly interrupted.
"I'll just have water," we both looked in her direction.
"Don't you want another drink? If you don't want wine, I can order sparkling water." I gave her another option. It was fine to have water, but with her dish, a glass of the best Cabernet Sauvignon the restaurant had, which I had already tried, would pair better.
"Okay, yes, I like that," she smiled at the waiter.
"And this for dessert," I pointed out.
"Two or one?" the waiter asked.
"Two. Each on a separate plate." I handed the menus to Victor, and he politely left us alone.
"Do you come here often? It seemed like the waiter knew you."
"I usually come two or three times a week," she nodded slowly, probably thinking, "Of course, he has money." "I'm the owner of the restaurant and I come to check the numbers." Her eyes widened, and her long eyelashes fluttered. "Surprised?"
"No, of course not. It's just that you're... young."
"I'm thirty," I don't know why I said that. I never go around telling people my age, especially those I don't know well. What's wrong with you, Johnson?
"That's still young. The people I know who own businesses like this are older, over sixty. Widowed, married, or divorced, but older."
"But we're not all like that," I replied.
"He must have been a genius from a young age," I said, clearing my throat uncomfortably. I didn't like talking before or during meals. That's why I always ate lunch alone outside of work. I preferred the company of my iPad or my phone, checking sales, properties, and the stock market. So why did you invite her to lunch? I couldn't come up with a clear answer to that question. "Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed something I don't know."
"Oh," I cleared my throat again. "By the way, that night we met," I don't know why I brought up that topic, but it was too late to retract it. "Were you really not the person I was supposed to meet?" She visibly tensed, and her expression changed.
"That's right, but my sister had a lot of work and asked me to go in her place."
"But why not call and inform that she couldn't make it?"
"Are you that disappointed that I went to that dinner?"
"It seemed like it bothered you to do that 'favor,' plus you didn't want to eat. So, I think she could have just informed that she didn't want to go..."
"I'll say it again," she leaned a little towards me from her seat. "She had a lot of work and asked me to do her a favor." When did the atmosphere become so hostile?
"It was just curiosity," I said, looking around, hoping the waiter would hurry with our dishes. This would be the first and last time I invited her or anyone else to lunch. "You're not like this, Jackson," and I shouldn't change that.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude." I looked back at her, surprised. People rarely apologized, and since it was rare in my circle, it was something new to me.
"Don't worry," I said, trying to lighten the mood. "I shouldn't have..."
"Of course, you should have, they promised you a beautiful woman for dinner..." I frowned.
"It was a blind date my mother arranged with her new cardiologist. So, she didn't promise anything." She raised an eyebrow. "I mean," I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "It's why you don't do this, Johnson," I heard that little voice inside my head. "You're..."
"Relax," she let out an amused laugh. What's so funny about making me uncomfortable? "I know I'm beautiful," she said confidently.
"Of course, you are," I confirmed her words because she really was. She had a very beautiful face, light brown skin, brown eyes, long eyelashes, and her hair was in a low bun. I also noticed that when she smiled, her face seemed to light up, which, in my opinion, showed that she genuinely smiled and didn't fake it like people often did just to please others.
As I turned my head looking for Victor, he was already coming towards our table, and I felt a huge relief.
He served our food, and Lilly was surprised to see the plate in front of her. She picked up her fork and knife, looked up at me, and I couldn't help but smile a little. She was the first woman I had seen who showed admiration for a good plate of food and not just for lettuce.
"This looks delicious, Mr. Johnson."
"Call me Jackson," her smile slowly faded. "Just Jackson."
"I couldn't, you're my boss. I haven't even been working for two days and calling you that..."
"You can do it, as long as it's when we're alone." She blushed, still staring at me in astonishment. "I mean, I refer to when... God, you're breaking rules, Jackson! ...we're not working, maybe if we run into each other, I don't know, at a bar like when you interrupted in the men's room. Remember?" She burst out laughing.
"I know I shouldn't have, but I wasn't going to..." she stopped her words, but I knew what she meant. "You know."
"I know." After that, we started eating before the food got cold. I didn't like when that happened, and while we ate, we didn't talk. It seemed she wasn't much of a talker either, and that... for the first time made me feel accompanied. It was an unusual meal.