Sebastian found himself looking out the windows on the south side of the house more than usual. He wanted to catch a glimpse of her. See her walking around or passing by a window. Something. He saw lights on and movement, but that was it. She’d gone grocery shopping. He’d seen her take the car he put at the guest house and return with grocery bags. She must be in there cooking.

It was killing him not to go over there. He wanted to knock on the door and see what she was up to. What had she cooked? Somehow, everything about her fascinated him. He’d managed to resist going over to knock on the door, but in the morning, he thought he’d go over and offer to drive her to the office. Carpooling was something people still did, right?

When he was ready, he went over to knock, but saw the car gone. She must’ve gone in early. Impressive.

From his office, he almost called down a few times to see how she was doing. But it’d only been a few days. Not long enough for Jacob to have any sort of report on her performance. There was something else he could do, though. He picked up his phone.

“Hi Jacob,” he said. “Can you tell me what time Miss Foley’s lunch break is?”

“11:30.”

“Thank you.”

At 11:20, Sebastian took the elevator down to the floor where the accounting department was. He walked to Amelia’s cube and knocked on the wall. She looked up from her computer’s screen, then jumped when she saw him.

“Hi Sebastian,” she said.

“I was hoping you’d join me for lunch.”

She hesitated, then smiled and said, “I’d love to.”

He drove her to one of his favorite lunch places in the city. It had a two-month waiting list to get in, but they always got a table for him, even with no notice, like today. They were seated shortly after arriving and placed their orders.

“This is really nice,” Amelia said. “Fancy place.”

“It’s one of my favorites.”

She looked around the decor, then back to him. “You’re really something, Mr. Farrelli. You sure know how to charm a girl.”

He chuckled, but her statement worried him. Did she think that’s what he was doing? Charming her?

“How are things in the accounting world?”

“Great. I love my new job. Thank you for helping me get it.”

He shook his head. “You got that all on your own. Jacob said he would have hired you even if I hadn’t recommended you.”

“Really?”

Their food arrived and they took the first few bites in silence.

“This is so good.” She closed her eyes and chewed.

Her simple pleasure of it made him smile. When she opened her eyes again, she caught him smiling at her.

“I just hope no one thinks that I got the job through other means,” she said.

“I wouldn’t worry about that.”

“Well, if people find out we’ve been out to lunch and I’m staying at your house… It looks like something is going on, you know?”

“I can see that. But nothing is going on. I think most people who work for me know my reputation.”

“What’s that?”

“That I don’t do relationships. Not in the traditional sense.”

She pulled her eyebrows together and her face fell slightly. “What does that mean?”

“It means, I have ladies that go to events and things with me, but I don’t get emotionally involved with anyone. Ever. It’s too messy.”

She nodded slowly and continued to chew her food. “So, I don’t have to worry about anyone thinking we’re in a relationship or anything.”

“Right.”

“Good to know.”

He thought she sounded disappointed. And looked it, too.

“It’s nothing personal,” he said. “I don’t let myself form interest in anyone like that. If there are never any feelings, it keeps things simple. I need simple since so much of my life is complicated.”

“Right,” she said again.

She didn’t say much the rest of the meal, and he was sure he’d upset her. Which also meant she was thinking about and hoping for more with him. He had done exactly what he hadn’t wanted to do. He’d made her think he had feelings for her, or at least some sort of interest. She’d thought something could happen between them. And it never would.

From now on, he’d have to limit his interactions with her. He didn’t need to discuss anything work-related with her, since Jacob was his contact in her department. When it came to her staying with him and her expense account, there shouldn’t be much there that he needed to discuss. If he cut off contact with her, it would be better. Before he did start to feel something that he shouldn’t.