Trivial Pursuits Ch. 04

"You drew me?" she continued to ask with a thoughtful frown, her finger tracing the etched lines defining her nose, her mouth. "You're very good," she offered with admiration and surprise in her voice as she studied the lines of her likeness. She looked back up at him, a smile of pleasure on her face.

He realized she wasn't troubled that he had been sketching her, but rather, was impressed with his ability. "Thanks," he said with a soft smile.

"Where did you learn to draw?" she questioned as she began eating her food again.

"I've always enjoyed drawing. Have drawn as long as I can remember. When I was little, of course I drew cars and robots. In high school I became very interested in buildings, architecture. Actually, I lightly considered it as a career. Took a few art classes in college."

Alessa's expression was intrigued, and then took a look around his office. She saw all the great pen and ink renderings that tastefully decorated his office walls, even an art piece resembling a skyscraper made of wire sat on the small coffee table in front of his sofa. She could clearly see his décor as a holdover from his first aspirations.

"Then why law? Why not architecture? Knew you couldn't make it?" she questioned with one of her cheeky grins, repeating his own bombastic line of questioning from her interview back at him.

Denny gave a self-deprecating smile and accepting shrug. "No, things just change."

"What sort of things? You clearly still like it," she argued, indicating with a nod around his office to all the architecture elements.

He sighed. "Well, my father convinced me to give law a try. And I found I liked it well enough."

"Really? Is he a lawyer?" she asked before taking the last bite of her soup.

"No. He's a rancher. But he always wanted to be one, I think. He's interested in politics."

"Then why's he a rancher?"

Denny chuckled. "I think it's the same reason I'm a lawyer. My grandfather was a rancher. Actually, it's my mom's father. When my parents married, he gave them the family ranch, sort of forced my father into it."

"I can't imagine anyone just falling into ranching. It seems like a lifestyle you're raised in to, and less of something you choose, like mechanic," Alessa mused with a frown.

"Well, my dad's from Texas. He came from farming so it wasn't alien to him, but I think he had wanted to do something else with his life. Met my mom while working in Dallas. When they got married and my grandfather gave them the ranch, I think she sort of influenced him to come here. And you're right; it's a way of life and it leaves very little for anything else, like pursuing a law degree."

Alessa nodded in understanding. "And now you're the lawyer your father always wanted to be."

Denny nodded.

"You resent it?"

"No, of course not. Well, not really. I enjoy my work. I'm good at it. I'm of the belief that everyone should go to law school, even if not to be a lawyer."

Alessa was considering his words when he asked, "How about you?"

"Isn't that a question you should have asked me at my interview?" she said without looking up from her bulgolgi.

Denny's face broke into a sheepish grin. He noted her voice held little bitterness, and so he teased back, "I suppose I was distracted by other things."

"Hm, like what?" she asked, herself absorbed by her yummy food.

"You," he answered simply.

That drew her attention and she lifted her head with a mild look of shock before her eyes narrowed. "As I recall, you were distracted with being a jerk," she commented drily and looked back down at her food.

Denny replied with a smile of his own before rebuffing, "And I would argue that if I acted like a jerk, and I'm not admitting that I was, it was only because I was distracted by you." She didn't look up, but he could see her beginning to blush. Her head sank a little lower on her shoulders.

"You shouldn't be so easily distracted by unimportant things," she mumbled, still not looking at him. "And besides, you already did admit it when you apologized," she returned, unable to let him have the last word.

But Denny was not to be out done, and after storing her first statement away for future pondering, replied. "I would point out that if you will remember more accurately, I only apologized if you took offense to any of my words. I didn't expressly label my behavior in such terms as 'jerkish.' But, I would only make that last point if I were interested in the argument," he said, squelching any further discussion on it. "But I'm not. I am more interested in why you still haven't answered my question," he reminded her.

"Well, it was just one of those things, you know? It's a career and I had to pick one," she supplied.

"Then how about your parents? You said they lived in Walnut Creek?"

Alessa sighed. "Yeah. My mom does."

"Not your father?"

"Parents are divorced," she reported flatly.

"I'm sorry," he offered, though he knew it probably sounded obligatory. "So where does your father live then?"

"Here in the city." He watched her read what was in front of her, noting the matter-of-fact manner she gave her answers.

"So any brothers or sisters."

Alessa gave a gentle head roll before taking a deep breath. "Yeah. A sister."

"Oh, really? Younger or older?"

She gave a hint of a smile. "Younger."

"And where does she live?"

"With my dad. She's my half-sister."

"And how much younger?"

"She just turned fourteen. She's quite something," she admitted, finally breaking into a genuine smile.

"Something, huh? How?"

"Well, she's talented in just about everything. She's very intelligent, beautiful, sweet." She was still smiling as she looked off into the distance, dreaming of her sister.

"Are you sure you aren't talking about yourself?"

Her eyes flew to his for a split second before she lowered her gaze, her cheeks flaming red.

"So she lives near you. That must be nice you can see her so often."

His behavior as though nothing untoward had been said pulled her from her embarrassment. "Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, it's not actually that easy. I didn't get to see her a lot growing up because I lived in Walnut Creek with my mom. And by the time she was a kid, I was in college hell-bent on doing well in law school. And now I work here. It's hard splitting the very little free time I have between her and my mom."

"Your mom remarried?"

"Bill. He owns a small engine repair shop."

Again he noted the flat affect of her voice.

"Of course I want to hang out with Cadence all I can, but my mom needs me," she supplied, a little sadly.

"And why is that?"

She gave a little shake of her head and frowned. "She doesn't do well."

"And she doesn't have any other children?"

"No. Just me. She couldn't really have kids after me. In fact, I think she was lucky to have me," Alessa answered thoughtfully.

"Anyone would be lucky to have you," he stated with all the sincerity of a sunrise.

Alessa's eyes lifted to his, their intensity making her chest tighten. Without another word, she turned her attention to their work. She spoke to him as he ate, and together they devised a very rough idea of a marketing strategy to expand in Korea and Japan.

The following week, rain poured down on the Bay Area, forcing Alessa to stick to the treadmill and carry an umbrella everywhere. On Tuesday morning, Clare stopped by Alessa's desk to inform her Denny wished to speak with her. She nodded and shut down her work with clenched lips.

She had tried to convince herself that he was only a work colleague, that nothing out of the ordinary was happening between them, in her. And yet, as she knocked on his door and watched him sitting there, her eyes casting about to look over the art on his walls, something more intimate than colleagues flared in her. She knew she was being fanciful, but then he spoke.

"Alessa, come in. I have a deposition this afternoon, and I thought it would be good if you joined me. It's for an architecture firm that deals with restoration projects. They're suing the Sloan and May Historical Preservation Trust that finances restoration of historical properties here in the Bay Area. Philip-that's the CEO of the architect firm and my friend-thinks the trustee, Mr. Arnold Sloan, has emptied it, and that's why they've refused to pay this year. Today I'm building a case to petition for access to the bank accounts. The client is one of our smaller ones, and so I haven't burdened the firm with assigning too many underlings to it. But I thought perhaps it would be good experience for you. Interested?"

It was a great chance for something new, and to get out of the office. She nodded. "Yes, that sounds good. What time?"

Denny looked at his watch. How many people still wore a watch, she wondered. "We'll need to leave by one-fifteen at the latest. And it will probably take all afternoon."

Again she nodded, already arranging in her head what she needed to prioritize and organize so she could leave her work guilt-free. "Yes, I think I can manage that," she said, the prospect of getting out of the office and yet working at the same time suddenly making her excited. She smiled.

"Good," he nodded once, but then caught her with his gaze, and she suddenly wondered if it was a good idea to go anywhere with him.

Alessa returned to her desk and worked until Denny sent her an IM at one, asking if she was ready to go, to which she replied she would meet him at the elevators in five. She wasn't certain what she needed to take with her, especially as she had done none of the work for the case, but decided her laptop was always handy, her legal-pad a no brainer, and various supplies, such as pens and post-it notes, but didn't know beyond that. Slipping her phone into her rain jacket, she made her way to the door.

On her way, she bumped into Josh Caplin who immediately asked her where she was bound. "A deposition."

"Hm, got cases of your own already?"

"Not quite. I'm being allowed to sit in. Maybe I'll help out if Mr. Ashbury needs me."

He smiled at her. "Good. Hey, I was wondering, when you get back this evening if you wanted to go out for food instead of ordering take out? You know, break the monotony of our late nighters." He was smiling, and though the offer seemed harmless enough, she could tell by his posturing this was his first step down the path to an official date.

Alessa had had to decline numerous offers over the years, and had learned to tailor each answer to the context of her preexisting relationship to the guy. Random men in bars or at parties were a lot easier to reject, with a simple 'no' or short sentence that she was 'unavailable,' but those with whom she had some sort of working or academic relationship required delicacy if she was to avoid a hostile turn in their treatment of her. They were likely in a position to know if her refusal was based on a lie and would need a stern enough word to end any further pursuits, but not so brutal or unkind as to offend them. The key was to leave them with their manhood intact, to make the rejection not about her attraction to them or their masculinity, but some external situation she couldn't control.

"No, thank you. I brought my dinner, as usual. I try to avoid eating out as much as possible," she replied, turning to look at the numbers clicking up above the elevator, wishing it would go a little faster, wishing Denny would show up and scare him off. As she was puzzling over her desire for Denny to save her, Caplin continued on.

"Don't you ever break that rule?" he pushed with a grin meant to be charming.

"Not often, and certainly not to simply break monotony. Plus, I really have a ton of work, especially now that I have to leave the office this afternoon. I'd better stay and push through."

"Okay, but you have to let me take you out this weekend, help you relax. You need a life outside the office, you know," he continued to insist, as he turned to leave.

Alessa was just about to speak when Denny rounded the corner, his expression terse. He came to stand next to Alessa and gave Caplin a look that sent the associate running. Neither said anything as they waited for the elevator to arrive. Though he didn't look at her and said nothing, she could feel his near-angry displeasure, and didn't understand her need to explain that she had no intention of dating Josh. In the end, she satisfied herself with the argument that nothing unprofessional had been said by either she or Josh, that she wasn't interested in Denny so she didn't need to salvage his feelings for her, and it was none of his business at any rate.

The tension didn't fade as the afternoon proceeded, but seemed to grow in hostility as she bumped him with her umbrella when they got out of his car, and he introduced her as "just an associate." He didn't look at her once during the entire proceedings, making her feel small and inconsequential, and the he snubbed her offer of a pen when he couldn't find his own.

It was rush hour when the deposition was completed, and the two still hadn't spoken, as Alessa continued to repeat to herself that she had done nothing wrong and wouldn't be the first to break the silence, no matter how childish it made her. The rain had finally let up, but traffic was heavy as they stood on the sidewalk waiting for Denny's driver, the sound of a thousand car tires rolling over the wet pavement filling their angry silence.

Alessa was stewing, her irritation growing with each minute at what she perceived was his immature reaction to another man mildly hitting on her. She felt him look at her, and, determined to give him the full force of her ire, she turned to glower at him. She only registered his look of fear and surprise the moment before he grabbed her and spun them around so he placed his body between her and the street. It all happened so fast, but as the town-cross bus roared past, Alessa was protected in his arms from the giant, plunging wave that rose higher than Denny's head, before crashing down upon him to completely drench his entire back.

For a second, the two only stood wrapped in each other's arms, stunned by the assault, their eyes wide and mouths agape, and then Denny's face broke into a huge grin and Alessa couldn't contain the laughter.

"Oh, Denny," she gasped between peals, reaching up to wipe the water from his brow and eyes. "You look like a drowned rat!" As she touched him with firm, slow swipes, his grasp around her waist tightened, pulling her closer into him. And then Alessa felt herself instantly heat as she was held in his intense eyes, his smile shifting into something infinitely warmer. For just a moment, she allowed the natural progression of things, allowed him to pull her into complete contact with his body, allowed her palms to drift to his firm chest, allowed him to lean down to her, his lips drawing nearer.

"Sir! I am so sorry!" his driver called, rushing up from the car he just parked. "You're drenched!" he exclaimed, failing to notice the almost-kiss he just interrupted.

Denny watched Alessa quickly regain her wits, the fleeting moment now gone. He hated the trepidation he saw in her face, her discomfort, not just mild embarrassment at being caught nearly kissing the boss, but fear of the intimacy itself, the disquiet of a would-be-kiss. She quickly pulled herself from his arms, her hands quickly brushing down herself as though she wished to brush off the feeling of his body against hers.

"Yeah, that's what I get for being chivalrous," Denny replied drolly, his eyes finally leaving Alessa to look at his own soiled state.

"Should I take you home now?" the driver asked him.

"Uh, that's okay," Alessa allowed. "I can catch a bus back to the office," she offered, eager to simply get away from him.

"No. I'm not made of sugar; I'll survive a little water. Plus, it isn't out of the way to drop you off on my way home," Denny maintained, not allowing her to get away from him so quickly. He could tell she was about to argue so he took a step toward her, grasping her gently at the elbow. "Don't argue. I insist. Now, come on," he guided her back to the car, both sliding in the door the driver had opened.

Again, the ride back to the office was quiet, but the tension between the two backseat passengers was different. Alessa sat as far against her door as she could, her body leaning towards it with her eyes focused intently out. Denny looked over at her, studying her, his eyes drifting down her arm to where her right hand rested on the seat next to her. Next to him. The impulse to place his hand over her slender one was strong, making him sigh as he looked out his own window.

Alessa kept repeating to herself what an idiot she was, and Denny kept replaying the fear in her eyes as she backed away from him. What he saw convinced him it wouldn't be a simple case of wooing Alessa, he needed to know more, to outsmart her, to play her into his hands.

"Thank you," she had whispered just before the driver opened her door and she slipped out without looking at him once.

Denny watched as she scurried up the few steps to the entrance of the building, a disappointment filling his voice as he instructed the driver to take him home. On the way, he pulled out his phone and called Max. If anyone could take his mind off Alessa, she could.