The Only Shark In The Sea (The Date Shark Series Book 3) (2 page)

Chapter 2

The Deal

“Good evening, Mr. Sullivan,” Pierce said when Vance approached the host stand at his favorite restaurant in Chicago. “How are you this evening?”

“I’m doing well, Pierce. How’ve you been?”

Smiling, Pierce said, “Very well. Thank you for asking.” He glanced down at the screen built into the stand for a moment before bringing his attention back to Vance. “So, you’re going solo this evening? Mr. Saint Laurent called to change the reservation from three to two. I was sorry to hear his flight was delayed. I know how much he worries about being away from his lovely wife.”

“Charlotte’s in between rounds of chemo, so she’s been doing really well the last few weeks, which is why he felt confident enough to go to the conference. If she’d been in the middle of chemo, he’d have never gone.”

Vance smiled as he thought about his friend and how much becoming a husband and father had changed him. It was a good change, and despite Charlotte still being a year away from completing chemo and hopefully going into remission, he had never seen him so happy.

“How is Miss Charlotte?” Pierce asked. The honest concern in his expression was touching.

“She’s been doing so much better now that she isn’t working. They’re hoping she’ll go into remission sooner than expected with how effective the chemo has been lately.”

Pierce beamed. “That’s wonderful to hear! Please let them know I’m thinking of them.”

“I will.”

Vance stepped back to let a couple approach Pierce and check in for their reservation. It spoke to how much Vance and all his friends loved
Dolcini
that Pierce knew them so well and truly cared about their wellbeing. The restaurant, owned by another friend of theirs named Conrad, had been their favorite meeting spot since before they could really afford it. Well, except Guy. He was the only one of them who had grown up with money. Eli and Leo, like Vance, had grown up smack dab in middle class.

His thoughts were pulled away from his friends when a young, nervous woman stepped in from the cold. She had a black dress coat pulled tight against her body and her gaze darted from face to face anxiously. Vance hadn’t met her previously, but the picture Guy had provided was enough to make him confident that he had just spotted his first solo date shark client.

Watching her as she approached, Vance noted how careful she was not to touch any of the other patrons. Her avoidance was subtle, well-practiced. She would turn just enough to miss someone passing by, tuck an elbow in to avoid someone brushing against it, or take a quick step back to dodge accidental contact. She kept a polite smile on her face the entire time, but her hands were trembling when he finally reached her.

“Natalie Price?” Vance asked as he approached her cautiously.

The woman jumped at the sound of her own name and spun to face him. Wide-eyed, she said, “Yes, that’s me.” Natalie swallowed hard. “Are you Vance Sullivan?”

Vance nodded, and she sighed in relief. He didn’t extend his hand, as Guy had already warned him that it would only frighten her, but he did risk taking a small step closer to her. She tensed at the movement. Vance didn’t try to move any closer.

“Would you like to step up to the front, out of this crowd? Our table should be ready shortly.”

Nodding quickly, Natalie took a hesitant step forward. It was enough to tell Vance she was at least willing to follow him. Vance led her through the most open areas so she didn’t have to try so hard not to touch anyone. When Pierce spotted them, he immediately left the host stand and walked in their direction. Natalie must have noticed his approach, because she scurried behind Vance just enough that she wasn’t immediately within reach.

Pierce was all too familiar with the date shark business, and immediately slowed. He stopped several feet short of the pair and said, “If you’ll both follow me, I’ll show you to your table.”

Vance heard Natalie sigh behind him and his concern grew. There was definitely a reason she refused to touch anyone, and it had nothing to do with germs. Something, or someone, had scared Natalie badly enough that she wasn’t willing to let anyone get near enough to do it again. Pierce led them to a table at the back of the restaurant, away from the other diners. Guy had requested the table specifically, and Vance was glad to see some of the tension drop away from Natalie when she saw it.

Sensing she would want the chair farthest from the other diners, Vance pulled the chair out for her and then stepped away from it. The gesture helped her relax a little more and she sat down with a quiet word of thanks. After Vance took his seat, Pierce ran through the specials being offered that night and promised their server would be with them promptly. Natalie kept her eyes down and arms folded tightly against her body the entire time.

The table was almost solemn for the first several minutes. Vance didn’t want to intrude while she composed herself, so he looked at the wine list, even though he knew it by heart. When Natalie was ready, she said, “Did Dr. Guy’s flight get situated so he could get home?”

“He texted me a while ago and said his flight would be in later tonight,” Vance said.

“Oh good.” Natalie smiled hesitantly, but it seemed less forced than he expected. “How did you end up covering for him?”

Vance stifled a smile. “Guy and I went to school together, and I occasionally help him out when he needs it.”

“That’s nice of you,” Natalie said. She moved her fork nervously, then put her hands in her lap. “I just want you to know, I’m not like, crazy, or anything. I’ve heard a lot of the women Guy sees have some serious problems, but I’m not like that.”

Leaning back in his chair, Vance looked at her with a polite interest he had perfected over the years. “I never thought you were crazy.” He smiled when she sighed in relief and he found himself feeling profoundly glad he’d been able to relieve some of her anxiety. “I am curious, though, why you came to Guy for help.”

Natalie’s eyebrows rose. “It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?” When Vance didn’t say anything right away, her shoulders dropped. “I’m afraid of…well, people.”

“What…?”

Before he could finish asking her about that statement, Megan approached the table and Natalie went very still. Vance refocused on watching Natalie’s reactions to Megan. She was just as leery of her as she had been when Pierce first approached them, but an edge of some kind seemed to have been taken off her nerves. She didn’t scurry away as she had with Pierce, but she held so still, like prey trying to avoid a predator’s eye.

Megan disappeared after taking their drink order and Natalie visibly relaxed. Vance intended to finish his question, but something unusual happened before he could. An elderly couple, who had just stood up from the table nearest them, stopped when the woman tugged on her companion’s arm. Her eyes were fixed on Natalie, a warm smile on her face. Startled as he was by the attention, Vance was still acutely aware of the way Natalie’s breathing picked up. Vance wasn’t sure what to do when the couple shuffled over to their table.

“Your hair is so lovely,” the woman said in a soft voice. “My daughter’s hair had the same lovely bronze color, though her hair was so curly you could barely brush it.” She turned and looked up at the man. “Doesn’t she look just like Alice did when she was young?”

The man smiled and nodded. “You’re a very lovely young lady.”

They seemed to expect Natalie to say something in response, but judging by the way her hands were gripping the edge of the table, Vance guessed he needed to step in. “Thank you,” he said politely. “That’s very kind of you to say.”

“Yes,” Natalie finally managed to squeak. “Thank you.”

Seeming pleased by her words, they excused themselves and continued their slow walk to the front of the restaurant. Vance couldn’t even guess at why Natalie would be afraid of a cute elderly couple. It was time to start asking questions.

He waited until Natalie had calmed herself back down before taking the first step. “Can you tell me about how you function at work?”

Startled by his voice as much as his question, Natalie curled her arms around her body. “I have an understanding with my boss. I get to work early, leave late, and stay in my office all day. If there’s a meeting, I conference call in. Only when I really, really need to be there in person does he insist I show up, but he makes sure I’m as far away from other people as possible.”

Captivated that her boss would be so accommodating, Vance considered his next comment. “You must be very good at your job for your boss to be willing to make so many concessions.”

“I am,” Natalie said. That was her entire response, no explanation or detail, but Vance pushed a little more.

“You’re an internal auditor, right?” When she nodded, he asked, “What all does that involve?”

Natalie settled back in her chair, giving up her tense posture but not completely relaxing. “The company where I work analyzes projects from other companies that want an outside review of what they’re planning to implement before it actually goes live. Everyone has an area they like to specialize in.”

“What’s your specialty?”

“Risk management, especially for new projects that will involve significant amounts of money.”

Vance nodded, finding her line of work quite appropriate given what he had observed already. “What made you interested in auditing?”

Shrugging, Natalie didn’t answer right away. She fiddled with a few items on the table before giving in. “I guess I just think people should know what risks they’re facing.”

“That’s important in business and life, don’t you agree?”

Her eyes popped up to his. They narrowed, scrutinizing him before dropping again. “It’s only fair, right?”

“Fair,” Vance said slowly. “That’s a tricky concept.”

Natalie ventured looking up at him again. Her lips pressed together, though he couldn’t tell if it was in fear or annoyance. “Some things are always unfair,” she said.

The sudden heaviness surrounding them was broken up by Megan approaching with their drinks. She took their entrée order and disappeared again, but Vance decided not to press Natalie any further. Guy had explained how one of his coaching dates usually went, but he had suspected working with Natalie would be different, and he was right. This woman didn’t need dating advice, she needed someone to talk to, someone to trust.

Vance didn’t return to any topics that might upset Natalie for the rest of the meal. Instead, they simply talked. She told him about her little pug, Gypsy, and how she had rescued her three years ago when she moved to Chicago after graduation. He couldn’t help but be interested in hearing her talk about enjoying the peace of living on her own. As much as she seemed to enjoy being by herself, the quiet of being in an apartment alone at night had prompted her to seek out her furry friend.

From what Vance could gather from the discussion, Natalie had little to no social life. She did her best to avoid her neighbors at all costs and had as little interaction with her coworkers as she could manage. Which was too bad, because Vance actually found her to be delightful and rather engaging once she started to feel more comfortable with him. Questions about family were skirted, and anything having to do with her life before coming to Chicago got a vague answer. A few theories were starting to unfold for Vance, but he risked one more question as they finished their desserts.

“Natalie, what prompted you to call Guy?”

Everything she had said during the evening pointed to her being perfectly happy staying away from, well, everyone. Vance wasn’t sure why she suddenly wanted to start dating. So far, he was the only person she hadn’t had a straight up aversion to. He imagined that if some poor man did try to ask her out, she’d faint or run away to hide in her apartment with Gypsy.

Natalie was clearly uncomfortable with the question, yet she surprised him by answering. “I know Guy isn’t just a dating coach. He’s a psychiatrist.”

“And that made you feel more comfortable working with him?” Vance asked, though it didn’t sound right even to him.

Confirming his suspicions, she shook her head. “I don’t really care about dating. I want to be alone. I just…” She glanced down at her hands twisting around each other. “I just don’t want to be afraid all the time.”

“You thought Guy could give you tips on overcoming your fears.” Vance nodded, seeing how her thought process had brought her to this meeting. He still didn’t fully understand her choice, though. “Why not just go to a psychiatrist from the beginning?”

Natalie took in a deep breath. She tried to hide it, but Vance could hear the way it quavered. Keeping her eyes down, she said, “This was less risky.”

His next question should have been why talking to a psychiatrist was a risk for her, but he didn’t ask. He had no idea what this woman had been through before moving to Chicago, but it had affected her deeply. For whatever reason, revealing her experiences was terrifying. Knowing that didn’t stop him from saying what he needed to say.

“Natalie, the reason I’m here tonight isn’t just because Guy’s flight was delayed.” He paused when she looked up at him, clearly startled. “Guy asked me to come to this meeting last week after your initial interview.”