Come with Me (Let It Be Me #2) (11 page)

“Trust me,” he said. He passed Liz his phone and she punched in her number.

“Go ahead,” he said, after Liz gave him back his phone. “Just answer your phone, okay?”

Liz nodded; she was dazed, as she made her way back to the table where Gary was busy eating.

“I love this restaurant,” Gary said, even before Liz’s backside touched the seat. Liz noticed that unlike her half-eaten plate of food, Gary has managed to almost finish his. He was quite an eater for someone with a lanky frame. She also wondered how he was able to eat so much while talking practically nonstop.  

“Just the other day, a colleague of mine and I were in West Village and we tried out this new hole-in-the-wall restaurant, but the steaks were tough. What a waste of money. We ended up passing by Denny’ afterwards. Imagine –“

It was then that Liz’s mobile phone rang. Seeing the unregistered number, she thought it had to be Ben. 

“I’m sorry I have to take it,” she said. It might have been rude, but she was grateful for any save from Gary’s endless chatter.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Okay, just do what I say,” Ben said without preamble. “Act as if I’m your best friend who’s pregnant and I’m telling you that I’m already going on labor.”

“What?!?” Liz exclaimed. She peered at Gary and saw that he was paying attention, probably for the first time that evening.

“That’s perfect,” Ben said, sounding like he was trying to stop himself from laughing. “Just say you have to leave immediately. Like right now.”

“Okay. I will be there as soon as I can.” She cut off the conversation and spoke quickly so that Gary wouldn’t be able to butt in. It helped that she was nervous – the rapid chatter came easily.

“I’m so sorry. My best friend is going on labor. I’ve promised her before that I would be there for him – her.” Trying not to be rattled by her almost slip, Liz stood up then said, “Thank you for dinner and sorry again. I’ll see you again soon.”

Liz quickly walked away with her purse in hand, proud of herself for making Gary speechless for once. She walked out but didn’t see Ben around.

“Over here,” Ben called. He was standing under the canopy of a restaurant next door where he was hidden by the shade. He was laughing.

“Oh my gosh, I’m such a bad actress, I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t believe me,” Liz muttered, still in disbelief of what she just did. She was even shaking a bit from the adrenaline from the past few minutes.

“You did just fine,” he assured, still laughing.

“Thank you,” she said nervously. “I better go before he finds me here. I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Ben said, his laughter finally over. “I probably ate too much in there. Also, it was that guy who was embarrassing himself, not you.”

Liz laughed. “Okay,” she said.

They quickly walked away; Liz looked back a couple of times to check if Gary has come out – he hasn’t. She wouldn’t be surprised if he finished the food she left behind.

The silly thought made her giggle.

She saw Ben look down at her, grinning. 

“How did you come up with that alibi anyway?” Liz asked, laughing.

“Kayla’s good friend is giving birth soon,” Ben explained. “So I thought about her.”

“That’s great quick thinking,” Liz commended.

Ben shrugged.

They walked together quietly for a minute.

“I need my caffeine fix,” Ben suddenly said. “I know a place around the corner. Come on. I’ll buy you coffee.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Liz said. “You’ve helped me more than enough.”

“I just came from a boring meeting,” Ben said. “I think hearing your story on what was going on in there would be quite entertaining.”

“Okay,” Liz found herself say. She did owe him for saving her from that chatterbox of a date.   Buying him coffee was the least she can do.

 They walked to a café nearby. It wasn’t one of those coffee chains. It was a quaint one that she hasn’t been to before, where they still had servers to get the customers’ orders.

Ben pulled up a chair for her. 

“Thank you,” she said, taking her seat. Ben sat down opposite her and passed her one of the menus.

“Let me know if you’ve chosen so I can call for the server,” he said. 

“I already know,” she said, after quickly browsing the menu.

“Okay,” he said, waving over a female server, who approached their table quickly. “I’ll have an espresso and –“ He looked at Liz.

“I’ll have the earl grey tea latte,” Liz said.

“Then please add an order of the salmon quiche,” Ben said, to Liz’s surprise.

When the server left, Liz turned to Ben. “You said you were full.”

“It’s not for me,” he said. “It’s for you. You hardly touched your dinner earlier.”

Liz looked at him, touched by his thoughtfulness.

“So will you tell me what you were doing with Mr. Late Night Show host?” he asked.

Liz giggled. Now that she was away from Gary, she was finding it hilarious. 

“We must have been interesting to watch, huh?” Liz asked. 

Ben chuckled. “So who was that guy?” he asked.

“The son of my friend’s client,” she replied sheepishly. “My friend Brian talked me into it. He said his job was at risk. In hindsight, I’m pretty sure he was exaggerating. That goes to show how gullible I am. Now I’m not sure how I will explain to Brian what happened tonight.”

“I’m sure he’ll understand,” Ben said. “So was it the first time you met him?”

“Of course,” Liz exclaimed. “If I have met him before I would never have agreed to have dinner with him.”

She looked up at him and saw a question in his eyes.

“What is it?”

“Not sure if this is an appropriate question,” Ben said hesitantly.

“You just piqued my curiosity by saying that,” Liz said, laughing. “So what is it?”

“The last time in the family day, I thought you had a boyfriend,” Ben said.

“Ah,” Liz said. She almost forgot how Ben was kind enough to wait with her for Jack to arrive even if he just needed to talk about work. “We broke up already.” She didn’t need to tell him that she broke up with Jack the very night of the family day.

“I see,” Ben said.

They were quiet for a while after that.

“So was the meeting you had foundation-related or movie-related?” Liz asked.

“Movie-related,” he responded. “Alex and I are going to start producing films. I was talking to a potential investor for a script we want to make into a film.”

“That’s great!” Liz exclaimed, fascinated. “A lot of great movies were produced by the actors themselves – Million Dollar Baby, A Bronx Tale, Argo…”

“You know your movies, I’m impressed” Ben said.

“I had to write about it in college,” she admitted. “And ever since I’ve habitually checked the credits of the newer films. But I do have a small collection of movies. My dad and I would watch them together at home.”

“That’s a nice way of bonding with your dad,” Ben said.

Liz nodded, smiling. Indeed she was lucky with her parents.

“So how do you like it in RHS?” Ben asked.

“I’m loving it,” she said. “I love the projects; and everyone has been so kind.”

“That’s good to hear,” Ben said. “We have a really low attrition rate, that’s why the people are quite bonded.”

“RHS is really like a family huh,” Liz said. “And everyone has a weird sense of humor. This morning everyone found a pepper spray on their desk. What kind of gift was that?” She laughed. She, Dana and Sarah laughed over it. Dana tried to find out who they were from, but didn’t succeed. Liz’s guess was Paul. He would sometimes come up with pranks.

“Ah really,” Ben said, smiling. “I wonder if I got one too. Anyway it’s handy to have one.”

“Yeah, I kept it in my purse,” she told him. 

“That’s good,” he said, still smiling.

The server came back then with their order. She placed the plate of quiche on the center, but Ben quickly pushed it towards Liz.

“You’ll get hungry,” he said.

“I can have it split,” Liz said. 

“Have the whole thing,” Ben urged. “I really am full. I treated the potential investor to a four-course meal. I feel like I ate two courses too many.”

Liz laughed. She didn’t really expect Ben to be this down-to-earth and funny when she first met him. He was proving her wrong.

Looking down at the quiche, she did realize that she was indeed still hungry. She started digging into it. It was smooth and had generous bits of salmon. She followed it down with a sip of her tea.

“You don’t drink coffee?” Ben asked.

“Hardly,” Liz replied. “I prefer tea. And I don’t know how you can take your coffee black. I would probably have palpitations if I take that.” She noticed how Ben ignored the milk and sugar cubes the server placed next to his cup.

Ben laughed. “It’s something you get used to.”

They were quiet for a while as Liz ate and Ben drank his coffee. Liz was surprised though that she didn’t feel awkward. She generally gets comfortable easily with people – her parents have always surrounded her with different kinds of people so she learned how to adjust with all types. It just took a while with Ben because of the beginning.

Liz was happy they have crossed that line.

She stole glances his way and thought that he really was handsome. Tonight he was dressed in a stylish grey suit and his brown hair was styled in a non-ostentatious way. 

It’s a good thing she wore a nice wrap dress for her date that night. 

“What did you do before joining RHS?” Ben asked.

“I was a working student,” she told him. “I was a teacher’s assistant for some semesters then I was also a researcher. I also worked in a senator’s campaign.”

“While you were taking your master’s degree?”

Liz wondered how he knew she had a master’s degree. She guessed he and Alex also had to check the qualifications of their applicants.

“Yeah,” she replied.

“You’re quite a geek huh,” he teased. Liz noticed his eyes crinkled when he smiled.

Liz laughed. “Yes I guess I am,” she admitted.

“It’s cool,” he said. 

“So you were the popular guy who was secretly smart?” Liz guessed. 

Ben laughed loudly. “Obviously it was Alex who was the popular one. I just happened to be his best friend.”

“So humble,” Liz teased back.

“As for smart? Hmm, not sure about that,” he said, smiling.

“Again, so humble,” Liz said, grinning.

Ben grinned back.

So do you go to the library every weekend?” he asked.

“Since I started, yes,” she said. “I want to be consistent.”

“And don’t worry, I’m not that much of a geek. I still go out evenings,” she added, grinning.

“And tonight’s an example of that,” Ben teased.

And Liz almost forgot about Gary until then. She smiled, embarrassed.

Ben was kind, generous and funny. She realized she was enjoying chatting with Ben. 

Maybe a bit too much.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.

She just focused on finishing the quiche and her drink – good thing there was only little left. She was done in no time. 

She also saw that Ben was done with his coffee.

“Please let me foot the bill for tonight,” she told him. It was the least she could do.

He shook his head. “I’m a bit old-fashioned. I always pay the bill; even if it was your birthday.”

 “Your parents brought you up well,” Liz said, but she immediately saw something change in his features. She must have hit a nerve.

“I’m sorry,” she said immediately. 

“No worries,” he said, smiling assuredly. “Maybe some time I will tell you about it.”

Liz smiled back, but she had to remind herself that he was her boss. She had to be careful.

“Shall I get the bill?” he asked.

Liz nodded. 

He settled the bill then they both stood up, making their way out of the café.

“Thank you again,” Liz said, as they were out on the sidewalk. 

“You’re welcome,” he said. 

Liz looked at both sides, orienting herself where she was.

“My car is in valet back at the restaurant,” Ben said. “I’ll bring you home.”

Liz quickly shook her head. Riding home with him wouldn’t help her case. “No need, there’s a bus I can take that goes direct to my place.”

There was worry in Ben’s face.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured. 

“Liz, I’m sorry I have to insist,” Ben said. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happens to you on your way home.”

Liz looked up at him, and knew he was serious. He was a bit old fashioned, but yes, he was quite the gentleman.

“Okay,” she found herself agreeing. She just hoped she wouldn’t regret it.

They were quiet as they walked back to the restaurant.

Just to make sure, Liz stayed at the same spot where Ben was hidden earlier – under the shade. She couldn’t be too sure if Gary had left already.

Ben gave the valet guy his ticket, then he joined Liz under the canopy.

“He should have left by now,” Ben said, guessing what she was up to.

Liz grinned, caught. They waited for his car silently.

It didn’t take long till Ben’s Lexus arrived. Ben, as usual, opened the door for her. She told him her address as soon as Ben got in.

“Okay, got it,” he said. He punched in the address at his GPS for directions.

“Or I could have just dictated how to get there,” Liz said kiddingly.

Ben chuckled. “I’m too used to using this, I sometimes forget the basics.”

“Ah, so the old-fashioned guy isn’t so old-fashioned after all!” Liz joked.

Ben laughed some more, as he drove. He kept the GPS on.

Her place was only ten minutes away since it was already late and streets weren’t as filled. The ride was silent except for the soft hum of the engine and the directions from the GPS. 

“This is me,” Liz said, even if the GPS already beat her to it.

Ben quickly turned off the engine. “Hold on,” he said. He quickly got out and went to her side of the car. 

Liz closed her eyes for a second, trying to crash herself back to reality. 

Liz stepped out of the car, as he opened the door. 

“Thank you,” she said. “I know I sound like a broken record already, but I really appreciate how you kind of saved me back there.”