A single dad flirted with the woman waiting in the lobby until everyone stood up for their CEO. What would make a single dad flirt with a woman he had just met? And what could possibly happen when everyone suddenly stands up for her? Why was she waiting in the lobby? And why did her identity change the entire atmosphere?
You look like you are waiting for someone who is already late. Daniel Carter said it with a small smile, expecting nothing more than a laugh from the woman sitting alone in the lobby. Instead, she looked up from her phone and smiled back. "Maybe I am," she said. "Then they are missing out," Daniel replied.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Is that your way of flirting with strangers? Only when they look like they need a reason to smile." For the first time that morning, she laughed. Her name was Clare Bennett, though Daniel did not know that yet. She was sitting beneath the tall glass windows of the Seattle office building where Daniel had worked for 6 years, waiting quietly with a leather folder resting beside her.
Outside, a light November rain covered the sidewalks, turning the city streets silver beneath the morning traffic. Daniel had been carrying a toolbox across the lobby when he noticed her. He was 38, a single father, and the kind of man who had learned to keep life simple. Work, home, Lily, repeat. His 8-year-old daughter had forgotten her lunch on the kitchen counter that morning.
So, Daniel had driven back three blocks before school, then spent 35 minutes in traffic trying to reach work on time. He was wearing a dark work jacket, sturdy boots, and the tired expression of a man who had already lived half a day before 9 in the morning. Clare, by contrast, looked composed, although something about the way she held the folder suggested she was carrying more pressure than she wanted anyone to see. Are you waiting for someone? Daniel asked.
A meeting? Important meeting? She glanced toward the elevators. Very. Daniel nodded.
Then you picked the right building. Clare smiled. Do you work here? Unfortunately. She laughed again.
That bad. Not the building. The people. Clare looked amused. And which category do you belong to?
Daniel placed a hand over his chest. I am one of the people who keeps the building from falling apart. That sounds important. Nobody thinks so until something stops working. Clare studied him for a moment.
You seem very confident for someone who says nobody notices him. Daniel smiled. That is because I am confident in my toolbox. She laughed softly. The moment felt strangely easy.
No business language. No careful introductions. No reason to impress each other. Just two strangers talking on a rainy morning. Then Clare looked toward the elevator again.
I suppose I should find the conference room. Daniel pointed toward the hallway. 31st floor. Follow the blue signs, then turned left. Clare stood and picked up her folder.
That sounds simple. It is, unless you take the wrong elevator. She paused. Would you show me? Daniel checked his watch.
He had a maintenance call scheduled upstairs, but he had a few minutes. Sure. They walked together toward the elevators. Clare looked at him. You know, most people would have just pointed.