Chapter 12 - THE MAN WHO NOTICED THE WOMAN BEHIND THE NUMBERS
I met Adrian Wells at a professional compliance conference in Milwaukee.
He was a forensic accountant.
Forty-one.
Divorced.
Quietly funny.
And completely unimpressed by corporate titles.
We were seated beside each other during a panel discussion about internal controls.
I made a comment about the presentation slides.
He leaned toward me.
“You noticed that too?”
I smiled.
“The numbers don't reconcile.”
He laughed.
“I thought I was the only person bothered.”
We spent the next hour discussing payroll systems.
Then the conversation drifted toward books.
Travel.
Chicago restaurants.
His terrible attempts at gardening.
My inability to keep orchids alive.
By the end of the conference, he asked if I'd like to have coffee sometime.
I hesitated.
He noticed.
“No pressure,” he said immediately.
“I know.”
“We can just exchange professional contacts.”
I smiled.
“Coffee sounds nice.”
Our first date was at a small bookstore café.
Adrian arrived early.
He asked about my work.
Actually listened to the answer.
Didn't interrupt.
Didn't turn every conversation back toward himself.
When I mentioned that I had recently divorced, he didn't ask for dramatic details.
He simply said, “That must have been difficult.”
I nodded.
“It was.”
He smiled gently.
“I'm glad you're here.”
I looked at him.
The sentence was simple.
But it stayed with me.
We took things slowly.
Dinners.
Walks.
Weekend museum visits.
Adrian never tried to impress me with expensive gifts.
He remembered what I liked.
He noticed when I was tired.
He asked before making plans.
May you like
And when I told him I wasn't ready for anything serious, he respected that.
For the first time in years, I discovered that affection didn't have to feel like a negotiation.
