“You're from Charles' business school days, right?” She asked. “When he attended a school in Salisbury?”

“The very same,” he said with a nod. “I have to admit, I was a bit surprised that he saw any point in going to a school so far away from his home, but I'm grateful for it; he's been one of my truest friends, and I feel as though I couldn't have asked for better council on matters.”

“He's always been like that,” she said with a laugh. “The whole reason he's the one set to inherit the business is because I didn't want to. He's always looked out for me like that.”

“He spoke of you before, mostly when you would have just hung up on a call with him back in college.” He laughed. “He was so pleasantly surprised that you sent him a care package of baked goods that he nearly cried into his brownies!”

“Oh!” She tittered a laugh behind her hand. “I had no idea those meant so much to him!”

“He insisted I try some of the things you made him,” Daryl said around another bout of chuckles. “I think it was so he wouldn't eat all of them.”

“Sounds like him,” she let her laughter die down with a sigh. “I haven't really baked anything since I sent him that package. I've mostly just gone spelunking in my spare time.”

“Spelunking?” He asked, eyes wide. “Like going to run down places and exploring?” She nodded. “That's incredible! But it must be dangerous!”

“Eh,” she shrugged. “I like to live on the wild side,” Clara said simply, slipping beside him against the railing, closer than they were before. “'After all, 'one way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure,'” Daryl threw his head back and let out a surprised laugh.

“Quoting William Feather on me? I was beginning to think no one else still read his work but me,” he chuckled again. “Consider me enamored,” his eyes widened. “I'm sorry, I didn't-”

“That's alright,” she smiled, “I'm more open to discussion with the real Daryl.” He smiled so broadly his eyes crinkled at the corners, and they continued their discussion. She smiled, listening intently to him mention some of his favorite literary works. Many of which, she realized with a start, weren't far off, or were, in fact, some of her favorites as well. Something akin to a knot of tension she hadn't realized had built up eased when she saw that they had several things in common.

“It's so refreshing to just talk about literature. I had no idea someone else enjoyed the deeper themes of the Hatter M series,” she said earnestly after she polished off her champagne. While she had been so adverse to speaking with him before, she found that she was steadily growing more relaxed with him, like they had known each other for years and could tell each other anything. The thought was as frightening as it was exhilarating, she had to admit.

“Oh, likewise,” he said with a decisive nod. “Besides Charles, I'm often stuck listening to older people drone on about the stock market, or their numbers for the quarter.” They chuckled softly.

“I'm so used to having to talk all business with my colleagues in the office, and when we aren't discussing business, I swear the only thing they want to talk about is how much they've been watching of the latest reality show! Why, it's enough that sometimes I just want to get away from it all,” she said with a sad, wistful smile.

“I can sympathize. Sometimes, it's all I can do not to just pack my bags, delegate all of my work, and buy a plane ticket to anywhere that isn't my office.” His heartfelt confession startled her, but she knew she felt that way more often than not after a long day at work- especially now that she had no one to tie her down. She gasped when he laid a warm hand on her arm. He sighed softly, mostly to himself. “Somewhere, along the way, we forget to try and find happiness outside of our work. And then, our work is all we have,” he looked into her eyes, really looked into her eyes, and she felt her walls begin to crumble. Damn him for his charms, and his stupid sexy accent! “I don't want to become that. Yet, any other time I've tried to let another in, they never stay because they share my interests – they always try to stay because I have money, and I'm a safe option,” He scrubbed a hand over his face, and she saw how much such things positively wore on him. Something in the hollow of her chest ached for him in that moment.