“Rhapsody?” I clarify.
“Does she have somewhere to go?”
“Not yet,” I say, Sacha shifts in his seat, and a bright realization sparks through me. “Are you interested in adopting?”
“It’s why I originally wanted to talk to you on Friday.” He gives a sheepish smile.
“You weren’t going to fire me, or fuck me—you were just going to ask about adopting the cat I am fostering?” My heart melts. I’m such an idiot asshole for assuming the worst.
“If you think it’s appropriate? You aren’t afraid I’m going to pull an A.L.F. and eat her?”
“Pull a what?”
“As long as you think it’s safe to let a big hairy monster adopt an animal?”
I laugh lightly, but he doesn’t smile. “There are people who’d think that wasn’t safe?”
He shrugs.
“I think you’d probably be great at taking care of an animal.” I can’t look at him when I say it. “She’d be lucky to have you.”
“You really think so?” His tone makes it seem like he isn’t talking about a cat. Luckily, the server shows up and saves me from having to figure out how to answer that.
We order dinner, and it’s delicious. Sacha is clearly pleased because he orders at least seven platters of the salmon sashimi. He apologizes to the waitress every time he asks for another one. My California roll and seaweed salad are great. Sacha only looks at his phone three or four times throughout dinner. It’s hard to really blame him when he runs a huge company the way that he does.
But when I plant my credit card down beside the bill, I manage to get his full attention.
“I can’t let you pay for everything,” he says. “I ordered way too much!”
“I said this would be my treat.”
“Let me leave the tip then.” He pulls out his wallet and places several crisp hundreds on the table. It is the entire bill a few times over.
“Big tipper?” I think it’s oddly sweet the way he quietly throws his money around, but this does seem excessive.
“I kept asking the server for more. I think she was irritated with me.”
“You know you don’t have to pay people to like you,” I say with a laugh.
His eyes dart to me and then away. My stomach churns. I opened my big mouth and stuck my whole foot into it.
“You do that a lot? Give people money when you want them to like you?”
“I did it to you, didn’t I?” he asks.
“Oh.” I blink several times. “I didn’t see it that way.” I already liked him.
He doesn’t speak while the server returns the bill.
“It won’t come out of your payment, I promise.” He slips the bills under the edge of his plate with a little smile that breaks my heart. The night could be over now. I’ve done my duty. He owes me half a million dollars. I can walk away right now.
“Let’s make an agreement.”
“We already have an agreement.” He smiles.
“An amendment then. If you agree to put your phone away for the rest of the night and give me your undivided attention, then I’ll show you that I like you by spending a little more money.” I offer him a smile.
“More time with you?” He shoves his phone into his pocket. “That sounds like a very agreeable deal.”
