Ainsley sat in the company cafeteria with Rhys eating lunch together for the first time in weeks. It was sad, because there was a time when they ate together every day and it was Lilli they had to drag away from her desk. It had been fun when the three of them worked and lived together. Maybe not fun for Lilli because she worked for bosszilla.

Rhys groaned. "I had to deal with Lilli's old boss this morning. She hated the mock up cover we came up with for the Gibbons book."

"I want to see it since I'm promoting it."

"You will. For now it's back to the drawing board. So tell me about your date."

She smiled. "He was cute, professional, well spoken."

"Teeth."

Ainsley laughed. "He's not a horse. Straight."

"So are you seeing him again?"

She shook her head slowly. "I kissed him."

"That bad?"

"Let's just say he is already in love and I have no interest in competing. I thought about using him for sex, but the kiss didn't sell me."

"Who is he in love with? His ex?"

She shook her head slowly and smiled. "His mother."

"God no! You don't need that. Let's look for a new candidate."

Ainsley sighed. "Just to let me down again?"

"Don't be so glum. Chin up. Let's scroll."

Reluctantly, she opened the app on her phone. Rhys took it and addressed each profile with a 'no' or a 'maybe' or in one instance a 'hell no'.

"I think I know your problem."

She tilted her head. "Besides all the good men are taken."

"No." He giggled. "You need to be open to younger men."

"Younger men only want sex."

Rhys pointed at her. "And you don't."

She did. It had been too long. "Okay. Fair point."

"Not juveniles, but dip into the late twenties. Here, fix it."

Reluctantly, she changed her search parameters in her settings.

"We're going to see little Lilli and her hotty this weekend."

"Are you boys going to Maine?"

"No, we're meeting them at an Almost Heaven concert. Backstage with all the perks."

"Seriously, you and your country music." Rhys scanned through the new search results. He had more maybes. "Now he's gorg with a familiar look."

Ainsley exploded. "No f-ing way!"

"Why?" Rhys frowned.

"He's the jerk I work with. Let me see his profile and then I'm changing mine, so he can't see me!"

She could admit he was a good-looking guy. She scoffed at the picture of him in front of a rock wall. He had some muscles. Too bad he was a jerk.

"So hot!"

"Stop." She changed her profile to eliminate twenty-eight-year-olds. "He treats me like a beginner when I have three years on him."

"Keep doing your work and let him bury himself."

She smiled because he hadn't been a formidable opponent. In fact, his lack of effort took some steam out of the rivalry. Some steam, not all.

When Ainsley returned to her desk, Henry looked up from his. "I wish I knew the right people so I could have a long lunch too."

"I was gone for forty-five minutes. You take a long lunch every day."

Nina snorted. Henry glared. "So are you sleeping with the guy from art?"

Ainsley looked at Nina. "What did we learn in the HR training? Is that an inappropriate question?"

Nina nodded. "And I'm a witness if you want to report him."

"Let me think about it." She opened her desk drawer and pick up a chocolate. Slowly, she unwrapped the silver foil and popped it in her mouth. Her moan was just loud enough for the jerk to hear.

"That's harassment. Nina, you heard that." Henry sounded five.

"Since when is eating chocolate a crime?" She turned to her laptop.

As much as Henry drove her crazy, when she was busy working, she forgot about him. He was such a hypocrite, because when Catrina left early for an appointment, he left not long after. Ainsley looked up to see his back moving towards the door.

"Unbelievable."

"Maybe he is really the boss's pet." Nina raised her eyebrows.

"Don't even say that. I have too much respect for Catrina." She was tempted to tell Nina about his profile but she knew how to be professional, most of the time.

Just before five, Nina started packing up. "You walking out?"

"No, not yet. I have a few more things to do." She tapped on her touch screen. "Damn, is your Wi-Fi down?"

"Not before I logged out."

Ainsley groaned. "Why me?"

It was two minutes to five; the guys were probably gone. She knew the extension by heart and dialed but the phone kept ringing. Just as she was about to hang up a voice said, "Help desk."

"Hi, it's Ainsley. It's out again."

"Excuse me? What's out?"

"Oh, you must be new. My internet goes out regularly."

"Regularly?" The voice was laced with doubt. "Where are you?" When she told him, he said, "I'll come up."

"Ethan knew how to fix it the last time."

"Good to know."

She wasn't sure if his frustration was with her or Ethan. "It can wait until morning. You probably want to go home."

"I'll just take a look before I head out." The line went dead.

She checked her phone while she waited. Rhys had swiped on a profile, and the guy wanted to meet her. She tapped a message suggesting the restaurant bar she preferred.

When she looked up, she did a double-take as mystery man walked towards her. He looked equally surprised to see her.

"You work here? On the help desk?"

He smiled. "Not the help desk but it is in my department."

"Your department?"

"IT." He casually let his messenger bag slide off his shoulder and put it on the floor. "You have this problem a lot."

She sighed. "Yes, and no one else does. It's like an off switch keeps getting flipped."

He frowned. "Let me have a look." He walked towards her.

"Your. Your limp seems better."

"It is unless I overuse it. Today I sat most of the day."

He leaned over her desk with the faint smell of aftershave. It was nicer than she imagined. She tried to focus on what he was doing but his fingers were fast and competent. She snickered, and he looked at her.

"What's so funny?" His green eyes sparkled with amusement.

Fast and competent went with wet and dirty. "I did not know you worked here."

He smiled. "An interesting coincidence."

"You could say that, but you always take the green line."

He nodded. "To Government Center for the blue line."

She laughed. "Red to orange at Downtown Crossing. Sometimes I walk."

"I'm just starting to walk." He frowned. "Maybe restarting will do the trick."

"Nope. I know that much, but not much else."

He turned his head and smiled at her. His face was close enough if she leaned in, she could kiss him. Instead, she looked at the laptop and tried to ignore her body as it went haywire.

"Um. I remember something about a wrong address. I couldn't change it if I tried."

He abruptly opened a window and mumbled under his breath. It sounded like a curse. "I agree. This was not a user error."

"Should I request a new laptop? This one is defective."

He straightened up and took a step back. "There is nothing wrong with it. I'll fix it." He typed randon numbers in boxes. "If you have any issues at all, call me instead of the help desk."

She watched as he leaned over and pulled out a business card. Their fingers brushed as she reached for it. He cleared his throat.

"Ian Gillespie. Director of IT. I think you emailed me when I couldn't get into the sales data."

He nodded. "That one was on me."

She dismissed his mistake with a wave of her hand. "You fixed it. Thanks for helping today. It must be below your pay grade."

He chuckled. "It's all my responsibility."

"Well I think Ethan, Logan and Quincy are lucky to have a boss like you."

"You know their names?"

She shrugged. "I have to call them a lot."

"Now you can call me."

"I might break it on purpose." His eyes grew wide. "Kidding. I have a warped sense of humor."

He nodded. "I remember." Her cheeks heated. "I take it you're planning to work longer."

She nodded. "I'm diligent."

"Me too. Good night, Ainsley Douglas." He slung his bag over his shoulder and waved.

Once he left, she breathed and touched her warm cheeks. "He works here, and he knows my name!"

Even better, she knew his too. Ian, a nice powerful name. It was a lot easier to write in kindergarten. Three letters beat out seven. Did he try to joke about when she said she was wet? If he did then did he say dirty on purpose? She could never ask.

Twenty-four hours later, she left work to meet a new guy. Katie laughed when Ainsley walked in.

"Another one? What happened with the last one? He looked like he had potential."

"Mommy. His one true love."

"No! You can't make this stuff up." She poured Ainsley a red wine without her even asking.

The room was more crowded, but it was Friday. Ainsley didn't look around, instead kept one eye on the door. He walked in ten minutes late, dressed in jeans and a tee shirt. There was one empty table close to the door. She slid off her stool and greeted him.

"We can sit there."She pointed to the table.

He looked and said, "Sure."

"You can order with Katie."

He laughed. "You know the bartender."

She smiled and threw up her hands. "I'm a regular."

He looked at her oversized bag. "If you were hoping to spent the night, I have roommates."

"What? No! This is my work bag. I carry my shoes. See?" She lifted her Sketchers.

"Sorry. I sounded like a jerk. I'm really not. What do women carry besides shoes in their huge bags?"

Ainsley hadn't quite forgiven him. "Tampons. Lots of tampons."

His neck turned red. "I deserved that."

She nodded. "Let me guess, no sisters?"

"Nope. Three brothers." His eyes wandered to the flat screen above the bar. "Yes." He fist pumped.

"You like baseball?"

"And football. Last night was a great game."

"Did the Patriots play?"

"What? No. They play on Sunday."

"Oh."

Katie put the two drinks down. He ordered a tall. Was it a sign he liked her? She liked how he apologized, but not how he watched the screen. It wasn't even a game.

"When does the game start?"

"In an hour." He sipped his beer and looked up at the screen.

She sipped her wine and pulled out her phone to text Rhys. Younger guys suck. He's more interested in sports on the flat-screen.

Her friend responded with laughing emojis. She was just about to pull a Lilli and flee when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

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Ian's way: Park to Government Center to State and reverse.

Ainsley's way: Park to Downtown Crossing to State and reverse.