So far from what Dax could tell, the dinner was going well. He was kind of blown away by the prices – he could have made six meals for the price of one, and probably cooked them better to boot – but he was glad Hunter had pointed him in this direction. He could tell Jennifer was enjoying herself here, but there was something weighing on her mind. He wished she would just talk about it, but at the same time he was afraid to ask. What if it had something to do with him? Was she not sure about him? Maybe she had only gone out with him to spare his feelings. Or, she just liked him and hoped to have another night like the one behind the bar.
No, he would be able to tell if she was that kind of girl, Which she wasn’t, so what was it she wasn’t telling him?
“So how is work going for you?” Jennifer asked before he had the chance to investigate. “I don’t even know what you do.”
“Oh, work… well,” Dax said, taking a deep breath. “It’s not exactly the easiest thing in the world. I work for Alan Blair.”
“Really? The Alan Blair?”
“One and the same,” Dax said, pleased despite himself that she had heard of Alan. He was a good guy, and gave shifters a good name. He did work that he loved, no matter how overwhelming it might be.
“So what do you do for Alan?” Jennifer asked, her beautiful eyes sparkling mysteriously in the candlelight. No wonder humans liked this sort of thing.
“A lot of things. I’m actually up for a promotion right now. It would be a big relief if I got it. Raising a daughter on my own was never really something I’d anticipated and it would be more work, but it would really help me provide her with a good future.”
There was something heavy in Jennifer’s eyes now, something that had been coming and going all night. What was pressing so heavily on her mind?
“You must be a really great father,” she said quietly.
Was it Marnie? Was she upset he had a daughter?
“I don’t know,” Dax said with a halfhearted shrug. “She likes having me around, so I guess I can’t be that bad.”
“I’m sure the feeling is mutual,” Jennifer said, smiling now.
“Absolutely. I think that without Marnie, my life would feel meaningless.”
Her face was still withdrawn and unhappy, but he still couldn’t tell if it had to do with Marnie or not. He didn’t want to make presumptions but at the same time, anybody who wasn’t fully on board with his daughter didn’t deserve any space in his life. It was occupied fully by Marnie and his love for her was what got him through most days. Nobody else would ever rival that, no matter how sexy she looked in the candlelight.
“Are you the only one up for a promotion?” Jennifer asked finally, trying once again to hide the heaviness within her and have a light conversation with him.
“No, there’s another guy. Fucking Vince.”
Jennifer laughed, a light, tinkling sound that brought the bear to attention. He liked her. He liked her a lot… but only if she was okay about Marnie. Maybe if they met. Well, that was still a while away. He would never introduce his daughter to someone he wasn’t serious about.
“Who is ‘fucking’ Vince, if I may ask?’” Jen took a sip of her water and studied him, her sexy eyes sparkling.
“He’s the biggest prick in the world. He gets away with doing nothing because he goes around hunting ideas that he can steal and take credit for. He’s nothing but a damn parasite, really, but the board doesn’t see it that way.”
“Why don’t you tell them that?” Jen asked, frowning. “Has he stolen your ideas before?”
“I want him to get caught being an asshole without making me look petty about it. It’s a pride thing. I doubt you’d understand,” Dax said with a chuckle. “And he’s stolen a lot of my ideas. That’s why he hasn’t been fired yet. He got hold of a flash drive I lost once. Marnie had been playing with it at a company dinner. The piece of shit must have had his eyes peeled on it the entire time. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if he snatched it from her when I wasn’t looking.”
Jennifer gasped. “Who would do such a thing?”
“Fuckin’ Vince!” Dax exclaimed, though they both laughed at the way he said it. She was fun when she wasn’t brooding over whatever it was that was weighing on her mind. He would love to find out and relieve her of the burden, if only she would let him.
“So, he just took all your ideas off the flash drive and used them as his own?” Jennifer asked, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Every last one of them,” Dax confirmed. “And of course, it was my only copy. There was no way to prove it to the board. Even if they investigated, I don’t want to be the guy who narcs on other guys for doing business the way they were taught to do it by the cutthroat types he comes from.”
“Still, it’s immoral.”
“It’s flat out wrong.” Dax agreed. “Now I’m under all this pressure to compete with him. This guy has the perfect fuckin’ life too. He’s got it made. The perfect wife, the perfect kid, a huge house, a nice car. A lot of savings. He’s everything the elders are looking for in a man for a position of power and prestige. Me though?” Dax scoffed. “I don’t hold a candle to that.”
“I think you’re pretty great,” Jennifer said, looking down at her napkin shyly. Dax smiled.
“Well, thanks. Unfortunately, whether I get this promotion or not depends on what the board thinks. And most of the members of the board are old fogies who want their next board member to be able to check off all the boxes on their list, and I don’t. I’m going to need all the luck I can get to get this promotion.”
“Wait, so they want to hire you based on what you’re like outside of work?” Jennifer asked, frowning.
“We can all do the job, but it takes a certain type of character to qualify for such a prestigious position. Anything they see about me and my personal life is going to be grounds for disqualification. I have to do everything right and measure up to their standards of what a moral and responsible man is supposed to be like.”
Jennifer opened her mouth, a look of shock and sorrow etched deeply on her face.
“It’s not a big deal,” Dax said quickly. “I mean, I have as good a shot as anybody, I just have to try to clean up my personal life a bit and we’ll just have to see what happens. If they don’t want me for the job, they don’t want me. It’ll be fine. Life moves on. I just know it would really help to get it, so I’ve been working my ass off.”
“I’m sure you have,” Jennifer said quietly.
The conversation seemed to lull there as Jennifer slowly and softly withdrew deep into herself. The food arrived and they ate quietly, making casual conversation. It was not as easy and forthcoming as the previous conversation, and Dax concluded that the girl was no longer interested in speaking. Whatever she was keeping to herself, it couldn’t be good. Whether it was about Marnie or not, one thing was certain, she wanted nothing much to do with him. He had wasted his effort that night.
But that was all right. He had a little girl at home who loved and needed him, and she was all he could ever want or need. He would just have to remember not to try to go out of his way for a human again. That, or he would have to learn more about them before he tried asking her out again because no matter how hard he tried to talk to her, all she seemed to want to do was stay shut down.
By the end of the night, he was mentally and emotionally frustrated.
“Well, I guess it’s time to get you back.”
“I guess so.”
Dax frowned, sighing inwardly. So much for that. He would just have to be a little more careful next time about who he let the bear talk him into claiming. But that was all right. At least this way he would be able to focus more on work now. Lesson learned.