Anna winced at his reply. "I'm sorry, I've made it weird…" She closed her eyes and took a breath. "I think we should make it a date. I would feel awful just taking your money and not repaying you in some way." Not even realizing it, Anna had managed to forget everything in the company of this man – the forboding email, Harry's debts, Daisy's schooling. He was helping her relax and forget about her problems, if only for a moment. It was a moment of reprieve that Anna desperately needed.
“No, no. If anything, I’ve made it weird. I was the one who asked you to do this in the first place,” he said. He took a sip of his coffee before he continued. “But a date sounds lovely.”
Anna smiled, genuinely smiled, and relaxed for the first time in a little while. "It's a date," she said, taking a satisfying sip of her latte. "Though I am curious… what do you do for a living?" She wanted to know where all of his money came from.
“Oh, I’m an engineer. It’s a hectic job, but it makes a good amount of money,” he said. “What about you? Some sort of office job?”
Anna winced a bit. She couldn’t blame him for assuming, but her job was modestly high-paying. The problem was that the money was usually directed elsewhere… like paying off Harry’s extensive debts.
“I’m an attorney,” she answered. “A criminal barrister.”
His eyes widened slightly. An attorney? Didn’t attorneys make quite a bit of money? Why was she struggling to afford her daughter’s tuition? Well, he had no room to judge. He had no clue what was going on in her life.
“Quite the job,” he replied. “Now that I think about it, you definitely look like the attorney type.”
Anna noted his eyes widening, and she could practically see the questions forming in his mind, but he was polite enough to not ask any out loud. For that alone, she was thankful.
“Indeed, it is,” she agreed. At his remark, her mouth dropped opened in surprise. “What is that supposed to mean?” she asked with a laugh.
“Mm… I dunno. You look smart. Professional.” He grinned at her. “Like you would make a good attorney. But that begs the question, do you like your job?”
Anna nodded in the affirmative. "Yes. I like what I do. My mother told me I had an overwhelming sense of justice as a girl. She also said I was good at arguing, and I only got better at it," she remarked with a quiet laugh. "But really, I discovered an interest, a talent, and a way to make money, so I pursued it."
“Mm. That’s always good,” he said, settling back in his chair. “If I need to, I can pick you up from your job tomorrow to go get coffee. I don’t want our little date to be too much out of your way.”
Anna hesitated a moment before nodding. He’s trying to be nice. “Alright, you can pick me up. I’ll write out my firm’s address for you…” She dug around in her bag to find a pen.
“Here.” He took out a pen and handed it to her. “You know, I never thought that when I entered this coffee shop, I would end up scheduling a date with someone I barely know. But you know what? No complaints.”
Anna arched her eyebrows and took the pen from him. Why did he always seem to have everything she needed? "Me either," she remarked, a small smile on her lips as she wrote down the name and address of the law firm she worked at. "Do you believe in fate?" She felt her stomach twist at the mention of 'fate.' It reminded her of Harry.
“Hmm… strange question.” He gave a simple shrug. “Mm, I suppose I do. I think we meet everyone in our lives for one reason or another, whether that’s fate or not.”
Anna blushed a bit with embarrassment. “It is… I’m sorry.” She shook her head, but her eyes met his with a look of understanding. “Yes,” she murmured thoughtfully. “I think you’re right.”
He snorted softly. She was the one saying sorry? “Why are you apologizing?” he asked. “I thought it was a good question.”
Anna’s mouth opened, then shut. Open, shut. Why had she apologized? She opened her mouth again to say she was sorry for apologizing, but she bit back the words. How pathetic would that look?
She blinked, startled. “You did?” Most people said it was silly. Fate was something for children and hippies to believe in, and she must be either immature or high to bring it up. But honestly, Anna did believe in fate, if only the tiniest bit.
“Pssh, yeah. I mean, it was a random question, but still a good one,” he teased. A small smirk crossed his face. “Do you think us meeting had anything to do with fate?”
Anna’s eyes widened as her cheeks heated up and turned pink against her will. Dammit!
“Oh… I’m not sure,” she replied, trying to sound indifferent. “Maybe. Though I’m not sure how much I can rely on fate based on what it’s seemed to give me the past few years of my life.”
“Hmm, well, maybe I can convince you otherwise.” He grinned. “After all, you haven’t been on a date with me yet.”
Anna gave him a disbelieving look. "Yes, well… good luck," she replied, a hint of a smirk decorating her features. "Are you really that powerful to fix a woman's life on the first date?"
“Oh, yes. Definitely. All your problems? Poof! Gone.” He laughed softly. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
Anna couldn't help but laugh in return. "That's some incredible confidence you have there." She propped her chin on her fist and gaze skeptically at him. "Would you despise me if I said I didn't? Because I'm afraid I don't. Not at all."
“Well, you may not believe me now, but I’m sure you’ll believe me later,” he teased, sipping his coffee.
Anna shook her head and lifted her own drink to her lips. "We'll see about that," she replied easily. She took a drink from her latte and sighed quietly as the liquid both warmed and energized her.
“Would you mind writing down your number for me?” he asked. “You know, just in case I need to get ahold of you for any reason.”
"Ah, yes. That would be helpful, now wouldn't it?" Anna remarked with a smirk hidden by her coffee cup. "Just in case…"
Still, she wrote it down – realizing now that the pen he'd given her earlier was still in her free hand – underneath the address of her firm. When she finished, she slid the pen and paper across the table in a single motion and sipped again from her drink.
“So, this is only for emergencies, right?” He smirked up at her as he quickly shot her a text that simply stated hello.
Anna glanced down at her phone and read the message before looking up at him. A small smile formed on her soft lips. "Yes. Only for emergencies."
“Well, that last next was definitely an emergency, love.” He grinned and sent her a wink. “I’ll be looking forward to our date.”
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