into the hallway and Javier is chatting with Leena. Great…no doubt she is questioning him about my team. I know Javier trusts my judgment but I wouldn’t put it past Leena to try and lean into his ear and offer up herself for one of the spots.
“Ready?” I raise my eyebrows at Javier.
“I’m starving. First day back from the holidays I’m always famished. Though I could stand to lose a few holiday pounds.” He pats his tummy and we head towards the elevator. As we turn the corner, Leena is still where we left her and her fake smile has been replaced by a scowl.
Javier pushes the button of the elevator. We’re on the fourth floor. Elaine rushes up to meet us. She reminds me of a value brand Lucy Liu.
“So glad I caught you. How about we ride together? I just got my car detailed over the weekend. I’ll drive,” Elaine says, as we enter through the open elevator doors.
“Fine by me,” Javier says.
“Me too.” I smile. Elaine is about the same age as me, but she transferred in from another division and has been a manager for a little over a year. We’ve exchanged general greetings in the walkways before but nothing more than that.
We make our way to Elaine’s car and the lights flash from the front and rear of her jet-black Mercedes XLS. Javier opens the passenger side and immediately I am a third wheel. I’m not entirely sure why Elaine is going with us.
“All right, where should we eat? I’m only eating clean this month, so how about En Salatas on 10th?” Elaine puts the car in reverse and steers the vehicle out of the garage.
Javier lets out a sigh. “I guess…I need to cut back on the calories, but a salad? Do they have anything else? I need something with meat.”
“Javier, you might want to consider a healthier lifestyle and go vegan…at the very least try for Meatless Monday.” Elaine stops the car at the red light in front of us.
Javier lets out another barrel of a laugh. “Elaine, not only are you ranking in every level as an ML Manager, you are funny to boot. I like it.” Javier runs his hand through his dark hair. “I do, but seriously do they serve meat?”
“I think they have grilled chicken there.” I offer. Even though I’m like a child in the back seat, I’m not going to sit back and be quiet while the adults chat. I fiddle with the straps on my purse.
“Hmm…grilled chicken. I guess I can try that.”
“Perfect, because we are here.” Elaine takes a right into the parking lot of En Salatas and finds a space in the very back of the parking lot.
“Why did you pass up those other spots?” Javier glances back at me with a raised eyebrow.
“We can use the exercise walking, don’t you think?” Elaine turns the car off and we all get out.
“I suppose a bit of a walk is healthy.” Javier kicks a chunk of gravel along the path.
“Lauren, have you been here before? They have several lighter calorie options.” Elaine blinks her eyelashes at me.
I alternate between biting my cheek and tongue. Is she insinuating that I need to opt for lighter calorie options? I did indulge over the holiday but it was a non-calorific item…Jack. I sigh. I can imagine him here. He would scoff at Elaine’s comments and definitely her lunch choice.
“Oh, great, do you have a favorite?” I beam back at her.
Elaine laughs. “I always opt for the lighter calorie options wherever I dine as it is the wiser choice, wouldn’t you agree?” She cocks her head to the right at me.
Javier pulls open the door and we step into the restaurant. I’m going to let her quasi-question sit there. Javier requests a table for three and we follow behind him as the host leads us to our table.
We all sit down as the host passes out menus to each of us. My stomach is clenched tight. I’m still not sure why Elaine is with us.
Javier raises his eyebrows as he inspects the menu. I can’t decide if I want to go with the lower calorie choice or find the most calorific dish possible. Maybe even order two. I might consider this if Javier wasn’t here, but I can’t act so silly in front of him. I close my menu knowing exactly what I’ll order and wait for the waiter to return.
The waiter strides over to our table. Javier nods at me.
“I’ll have the Caesar salad, and can you add spinach?”
“Absolutely.” The waiter turns to Elaine.
“Yes, I’ll get the kale salad and please add the goji berries and soy nuts, and the dressing on the side.”
Javier nods and makes a duck face. “I’ll get the Southwestern salad—extra chicken and bacon for me.”
The waiter nods and grabs our menus.
“Oh my heavens, Lauren, is that an engagement ring?” Elaine grabs my hand and inspects my ring as if she is a trained gemologist and trying to determine the four Cs.
I let out a slight laugh and retract my hand. I reach for my glass. “Yes, it is.” I take a sip of the water.
“Well come on, don’t be shy. We’re all professionals here. How did it happen and when?”
I laugh yet again and eye Javier. He has a pensive stare on his face. He’s reading the situation. I’ve seen this face in meetings when our company was determining if two separate divisions should merge.
“Uh well, over Christmas.” I take another sip of my water. It’s half empty. Yes, half empty because I’m about to empty it completely. Using it as a stalling tactic is going to be gone within three sips.
“Over Christmas?” Elaine jerks her head back. “This Christmas? As in just a week ago?”
“Yes, exactly.” I tug on my skirt underneath the table. And reach for my portfolio of résumés with the candidates I’ve chosen for my team. “Javier, would you like to go over these résumés?” I hold up my stack of papers. My throat is so dry and my water glass is empty.
Javier takes the stack and begins scanning through them. As he reads about each of their accomplishments he nods or shakes his head in agreement or disapproval over what they have listed.
“So when is the wedding?” Elaine asks.
“Oh, um I’m…we’re not sure. We have a lot of things to figure out.” I flat line my lips. I hope she can pick up on this cue and realize it’s the universal sign for not wanting to continue on with the current topic at hand.
“Like what? What does he do?” Elaine asks, as she takes a sip of her water.
“He has a few businesses.” I purse my lips to the side and nod.
“What kind of businesses?” Elaine inspects my face.
“He owns an architecture firm and a retirement home.” I glance at Javier. “What do you think about the candidates?” I would normally wait for him to speak first, but this Q & A with
