Chapter 13 - THE FIRST REAL DATE
Z
Gabriel asked me to dinner on a rainy Thursday.
I was reviewing staff schedules when he knocked on my office door.
"Matilda."
I looked up.
"Yes?"
He seemed unusually nervous.
"Would you have dinner with me?"
I frowned.
"We eat dinner in the same house all the time."
He smiled.
"Not like that."
My heart quickened.
"Oh."
He took a breath.
"A date."
I stared at him.
Then laughed softly.
"You're asking your employee on a date?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
I considered.
Then said, "That complicates things."
Gabriel's smile faded.
"I know."
We talked for a long time.
About work.
Power.
Boundaries.
The difference between gratitude and love.
I didn't want our relationship to begin while he controlled my livelihood.
Gabriel understood.
We agreed that I would move into a separate leadership position with independent oversight and no direct reporting relationship to him.
We also agreed that neither of us would rush.
Three weeks later, we went to dinner.
A small restaurant near the river.
No bodyguards at the table.
No private room.
No expensive performance.
Just two people trying to know each other.
Gabriel asked about my childhood.
I told him about my mother, who had worked nights at a bakery.
About my father, who left when I was eight.
About the years I'd spent believing that if I worked hard enough, nobody would notice how little I had.
Gabriel listened.
Then told me about his own childhood.
His father had been harsh.
His mother had been gentle.
His brother Michael had been the only person who could make him laugh.
When dinner ended, we walked beneath the streetlights.
Gabriel stopped beside the river.
"Matilda."
I turned.
"Yes?"
He hesitated.
"May I kiss you?"
My heart raced.
I smiled.
"Yes."
His kiss was gentle.
Careful.
Nothing like the frightening man the city whispered about.
When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine.
"I've wanted to do that for a long time."
I laughed softly.
"Then you're very patient."
May you like
He smiled.
"Only with things that matter."
