Not Scared Anymore

Chapter 41 - Kevin

"Come on in Kevin! I've got something to show you before the food gets here. Nancy, send it in as soon as it arrives." Uncle Dean had just returned from a long trip out of town, and looked like he was bouncing off the walls with excitement.

Nancy looked at him, "Of course, Sir. Enjoy your lunch!"

Kevin smiled at her as he followed Dean, "Will you be here when I leave?"

"Maybe, depends if I can go grab a quick sandwich from downstairs, or if he needs me."

Kevin nodded and the door closed between them. David lingered by her desk, a steely look in his eyes.

Kevin turned his attention to his Uncle Dean then "Alright, what have you got this time?"

"It is a signed Jean Beliveau stick! I won it at a silent auction in Montreal on the weekend."

"What were you doing in Montreal?" Kevin asked as he took the stick from Dean.

"Oh, some Charity gala. One of my college friends was running it and needed to fill a table. Stopped in on my way back from Europe. But isn't that a beaut!"

"It's magnificent! Another star of your collection I'm sure." Kevin failed to hide his smirk. His uncle's enthusiasm for the Montreal Canadiens was infectious.

"Oh, absolutely! And on that note, it looks like our sandwiches are arriving, Montreal Smoked Meat! The best I've found outside of Montreal!"

They bit into their lunches, silent for a few minutes.

"So, Kevin, have you made any progress with that friend of yours yet?"

Kevin paused with the sandwich halfway to his mouth, genuinely confused. "Pardon?"

"You know, the woman you were sweet on, who works in this building."

"Oh, yeah." He couldn't help the smile that came to his face, "We've gone out a few times. Hit a rough patch at the beginning, but I think it's going well now."

"Ah, you're in love!"

Kevin coughed on the bite of sandwich he was chewing. "What? No, it's too early for that."

"I can see it. You're in love. She's the one for you." He stuck another French fry in his mouth. "So, bring her for lunch next time."

"I'm not sure about that Uncle Dean."

"Why not?"

"Just, not yet. Maybe another time."

Uncle Dean narrowed his eyes at Kevin. "Wait, she's not a Leafs fan, is she?"

"Honestly, I don't even know." Kevin laughed, "Would that be a deal breaker on lunch if she was?"

"I might be able to look past it. Could you look past it?"

"For her? Definitely."

He winked at Kevin. "I told you it was love! You'll have to bring her around eventually. I won't keep taking no for an answer."

"Alright. Some other time then." They finished the rest of their lunch in silence.

On his way out, he noticed Nancy sitting at her desk eating a salad.

"Oh good, you managed to go grab some lunch then?"

She seemed startled by his question, but a big smile lit her face. "No! David bought me lunch. He's so sweet! He said he wanted me to eat something healthy today so he bought me a salad." She was radiating happiness, and Kevin couldn't help but smile.

She continued, "He can't actually eat lunch with me though, he says it will look bad since he's new and I'm the boss's assistant, and he wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea."

"Huh, well, I'm glad you got lunch at least. I've got to go, I'll see you in a couple weeks!"

She waved goodbye to him and he headed down to the sixth floor. He got off the elevator just in time to see a familiar figure dashing into the stairwell.

"Steph?" he called into the echoing space. He heard footsteps stop, and saw her turn her face back towards him from the landing.

"Kevin! What are you doing here?"

"I was just coming to say hi. Had lunch with Dean."

"Oh right. I knew that." She smiled, but didn't come back up the last flight of stairs. Kevin decided to go down to where she was.

"Where are you going?"

"Uh, well, it seems David is taking Charlotte out to lunch. He stopped in, then he left. Then Charlotte disappeared about two minutes later acting squirrelly, but she left the note from him asking her to meet him for lunch on her desk."

"How did he get in to her desk?"

"Oh, I'm sure someone let him in. Apparently he's 'part of the team' now. Which to some people means he can come and go whenever he pleases." The disgust was evident in her voice.

"Huh. Weird. He just bought lunch for Nancy. No wonder he couldn't eat with her, he already had a date."

"Who's Nancy?"

"Uncle Dean's assistant. Apparently, David thought she needed to have a healthy lunch today and bought her a salad."

"Oh, is this the girl who gave you the cactus?"

"Yes, that's the one." Kevin laughed at the memory now.

"She should be careful. She sounds too sweet for David. Do you think she can handle him?"

He shuddered. "Nope. He would chew her up and spit her out without even meaning to." 

"You've got to say something to her to be careful."

"How can I do that without like, leading her on? Is he just a serial womanizer or something? He's actually taking someone else out for lunch. All he did is buy Nancy a salad. And leave her alone to eat it."

"I don't know. Mark never mentioned any long-term girlfriends or anything. I think he just dates."

"Except you. He wants you." With horror he realized something else, "Wait, why is he taking someone else on your team out for lunch then?"

"Who knows? I'm sure there's some sort of a master plan. Last time I saw him, I told him in no uncertain terms, I only wanted a professional relationship with him. Nothing more."

Kevin snorted at that. "I thought you didn't want to see him at all."

"I don't, but that decision was taken away from me. Do you have time to grab hot chocolate and sit outside with me?"

He wrapped her hand in his and continued down the stairs. "Of course. It's a long lunch kind of day today."