Come with Me (Let It Be Me #2) (9 page)

“I come with semi-bad news,” Brian said dramatically. “Dave and I won’t be able to join you for dinner, but we’ll definitely follow for drinks. Dave’s boss invited their team for dinner and dates are welcome.” 

Liz and Emily met Dave already a week ago over drinks and they liked him. He was slightly a bit more reserved than Brian – but was also artistic. He was quite insightful and he made an effort to get to know Liz and Emily. He also seemed to genuinely like Brian.

“No problem,” Liz said. “At least we still get to see you!”

“Thanks, hun,” Brian said. “Don’t worry, we will be there. I’ll call Emily too to inform her that it will just be the two of you for dinner.”

“I’m sure she’d be fine with it,” Liz assured him. “See you tonight!” 

“Thanks, babe, see you!” he replied.

She ended the conversation, putting her phone back into her purse. 

“Sorry about that,” she told Philip.

Philip smiled. “No worries.”

Liz looked at Philip then an idea popped into her head. Philip was tall and pretty good-looking if she said so herself. He had a really nice smile, and had that boy-next-door look. He had a good job, and wrote pretty well. Emily loved to read too, though Liz hasn’t had her read Philip’s book yet. Philip was single, she knew that. When she was still with Jack, she freely asked him and he said he wasn’t seeing anyone.

Emily and Philip might hit it off.

“Hey, why don’t you join me and my friends tonight?” she asked. “I’ll introduce you to my friend Emily.” She added that last part in case he might think she was asking him out.

“Thanks, but I don’t really have much of a night life,” he said embarrassedly.

“It’s just dinner and drinks!” Liz exclaimed. “It’s the break you need. You gotta do something fun!”

Philip looked skeptical.

“I’m not asking, I’m already ordering you to meet us there. When you write your next paragraph tomorrow you’ll thank me!” she said, winking.

Philip laughed, and Liz knew he was going out with them tonight.

* * *

“Hey Em!” Liz greeted outside the restaurant. They chose a Greek restaurant for tonight.

“Liz!” she greeted back, hugging Liz back.

“Were you waiting long?” Liz asked. Their reservation was for eight. It was only two minutes past. 

“Nah, just five minutes?” Emily said.

“Alright, let’s go in then,” Liz said, hooking her arm with Emily’s. They took a couple of steps when Liz stopped short.

“What is it?” Emily asked, peering at Liz with worry in her face.

She grinned at her friend sheepishly. “I invited someone to join us. I was thinking you might get along.”

Emily eyes widened. “Liz! I could have worn a better dress!”

“You look great!” Liz said. Emily was wearing a nice floral dress with spaghetti straps. Liz was with her when she bought it at Nordstrom. “You always do. Come on. He’s a nice guy.”

“He better,” Emily muttered.

They were led to their table, and Liz saw Philip was there. He stood up as he spotted them. It was the first time she saw him wearing something a bit dressier – long sleeved button-down shirt over slacks. He looked pretty good; she hoped Emily though so too.

She stole a glance at Emily and Emily was looking at Philip with some interest.

Definitely a good start.

“Emily Perkins, this is Philip Mendoza,” she said. 

“Hi, nice to meet you, Emily,” Philip said, offering his hand for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Emily said. Liz knew Emily so well to know Emily was nervous even if she was projecting a cool front.

Liz watched as he pulled the chair for Emily. He was about to go to the other side of the table to do the same for Liz but Liz just raised her hand to say she was fine seating herself.

“Did you have a hard time finding the restaurant?” Liz asked Philip.

Philip shook his head. “There was a map in their website. I was also already familiar with the area.”

“That’s good,” Liz said. “Shall we order first? I’m starving.” 

After ordering their hummus and gyros, Liz turned to Emily. “Philip is one of the volunteers at the library.”

“Oh, that’s great of you,” Emily said, smiling at Philip. 

He shrugged. “I benefit from it too,” he said humbly.

“Philip is a grade school teacher, but he’s also a published author,” Liz clued Emily in.

“That’s cool,” Emily said, impressed. “What kind of book was it?”

“Young adult fiction,” he replied, smiling humbly. 

“I’ve read it, it’s pretty good,” Liz said. She may have been selling Philip too hard, but knowing Emily and her standards, she had to spell out how much of a catch Philip was.

“I should read it some time,” Emily said.

“Thanks, that would be great,” Philip said, smiling. “Liz did say you read a lot too.”

“I actually do,” Emily said. “I’ll look for your book.”

“I can send you a copy,” Philip offered. Liz looked at Philip, impressed by his generosity. It must have been a good sign too that he was already offering her a gift.

“Thank you, I would appreciate it,” Emily said, and Liz found her friend blush.

Liz grinned. Looks like she got lucky with her first time playing matchmaker!

Chapter 14

Ben

 Ben just arrived in the RHS office and was walking at the hallway when Henry came out of his office. 

“Hey Henry, I’m joining you in the Stones Homes site meeting,” Ben told him. “It’s in an hour right?”

“Oh I won’t be able to go,” Henry said. “I have some other meetings with sponsors. I already told Liz she was going on her own.”

“I can go with her,” Ben said automatically.

“Okay great,” Henry said. “I’m sure she could handle it, but at least you’re more familiar with the history of the project.”

“Sure it wouldn’t be a problem,” Ben said.

“Just tell her then,” Henry said, then walked away.

Ben walked further down until he found Liz’s desk. 

“Liz,” he called, resting his hand on the low table divider.

Liz looked up; he caught her by surprise. 

“Yes, Ben,” she responded.

“I will be joining you at the site meeting,” he informed her. “Let’s meet at the reception in fifteen minutes?”

“Sure,” she said, smiling. “See you then.”

Ben went to his office to quickly check his email messages. He was only halfway through when he checked the clock to see twenty minutes have passed. 

“Shit,” he muttered, standing up, and checking if he had his phone and his car keys.

He rushed out of his office, quickly greeted Miranda, and then headed to the reception area where he found Liz chatting with Steve who was doing reception duty.

“Liz, sorry I’m late,” he said apologetically. 

Liz shrugged. “It’s okay,” she said, giving him an assuring smile.

“Let’s go,” Ben said, then nodded at Steve before heading to the office doors.

As they went out to the elevator lobby, Ben quickly looked at Liz’s shoes and noticed she was wearing flat ankle boots. “Shall we take the stairs?”

Liz nodded, grinning. “Definitely.”

They both jogged down the stairs.

“My car’s at the basement,” he informed her.

“Oh, sure, no problem,” she said.

They reached the basement level, then he led her to his car.

He walked to the passenger door and opened the door for her. “Hop in,” he said smilingly, to make her feel more comfortable.

“Thanks,” she said, getting in.

Ben walked to his side of the car and got in. He started the car, with the music playing softly.

“So what’s the latest with Stone Homes?” he asked, as he made his way out of the building basement parking. He opened the car window to wave at the parking security personnel. “Henry said we’re on schedule?”

“Yup,” Liz said. “We had the topping off ceremony for the three buildings last week. Sorry you missed it.”

“It’s okay,” Ben said, smiling assuredly. “Price to pay for having more than one thing on my plate.” 

“Finishing works at the ground floor have been going on for the past months,” she continued. “Windows will be completed within a couple of weeks.”

“That’s great,” Ben said, as he made his way through Broadway Street. “Alex and I have been following some of the emails – not all though since Alex is in the middle of filming and I’ve been meeting a lot of people in L.A.”

“You do your best,” Liz said. “And that’s why there’s Henry and the rest of us to run things for you.”

“It’s hard letting go of all of the responsibility,” Ben admitted, as they reached a stop sign. He looked at her. “Alex and I started the foundation probably with our heads in the clouds. We were quite hands on then. But we vied to come up with larger projects to fulfill more dreams, but it also meant we had to hire more people to help.”

He wasn’t sure why he was revealing more than he should; he and Liz hardly knew each other. But Liz looked really interested in what he was saying, and somehow he felt she would understand.

“But you were generous enough to share your dreams with all of us in the office who believe in your advocacy as much as you do,” Liz said.

Ben looked at her, as her words sunk it. He never thought about it, but she was right.

“You’re right,” he said aloud. He smiled at her in gratitude.

The stoplight turned green so he started driving again.

“So do you have to be in L.A. the whole time Alex is filming scenes?” Liz asked. Then just after a second she said. “I’m sorry, that question was inappropriate.”

Ben laughed. “No worries, everyone in the office are friends. And to answer your question, no, I don’t have to be there in the set. I sometimes just get called in for production meetings sometimes so I might as well be in the city. I make use of the time to set my own meetings.”

“That’s pretty hectic,” Liz said. “Then you also keep track of what’s going on in the foundation.”

“Well it could be, but Alex and I are very grateful,” Ben said.

“It’s good you’re quite positive,” Liz commended.

Ben grinned. “You haven’t seen the other side of me yet.” 

It was only when the words left his lips that he realized that she may have already seen that side of him when she first started with RHS. 

He frowned. He owed her an apology. He was about to, when Liz spoke.

“Maybe I can set a meeting with Kayla about the New Jersey lot?” 

“Yes that would be great,” Ben said, exhaling out. “Set the meeting outside office hours – Kayla is only doing it voluntarily and not under their firm. The foundation will pay for the meal of course. You can leave the office early or come in late the following day to make up for the time. I’ll inform Henry.”

“I don’t mind, but thank you,” she told him.

“Alex and I are quite excited about all your proposed options,” he continued. Liz submitted the proposal last week and Alex and Ben were both impressed with her in-depth study of the site. She even interviewed some of the people who lived nearby, also the owners of the mom-and-pop stores in the vicinity, to find out what uses would complement what already existed. She came up with a sports complex, a social enterprise compound, and a mixture of both that offered housing as well.

“Thank you,” Liz said excitedly.

“Alex and I couldn’t make up our minds,” Ben said, smiling. “We need Kayla’s technical knowledge to help narrow it down. There’s no rush yet though. We still have to raise enough funds for the school project before the plans for this site. So it’s really early stages for this one. Sorry if we’re already asking so much from you. Alex and I, well, we just get so eager with these projects.”

Liz shook her head vehemently. “I’m glad to help,” she said. “I like that I’m part of a project from the ground up.”

And Ben knew she meant it.

“We’re here,” he said, as he turned the car to the side of the site. The guard opened the gate for him, and Ben drove the car through the rocky pathway.

Ben noticed Liz looking back, probably to see the guard close the gate behind them. “It’s the first time I’ve seen this part of the site,” she said

“The contractor especially provided the driveway and parking so Alex could come in without being noticed by any photographers,” Ben informed her.

“Oh.”

“Come on, we’re just in time,” he said. 

Liz followed him as he led the way to the multi-purpose room. On their way, he looked around and saw the significant progress since he visited the site more than two weeks ago. All the buildings were up and already partially painted. Windows were being installed. He was elated with how they were getting closer to the completion. 

As they reached the multi-purpose room, Ben had Liz enter first before he followed in. He saw Kayla talking to one of the engineers. Kayla turned as they entered and Ben saw her eyes light up.

“Glad you can join us, Benjamin!” she exclaimed. 

“You know Alex and I can’t be away so long from this site,” Ben said, grinning, taking a seat next to the one Liz has already occupied. Kayla sat beside him.

The meeting started immediately. The contractor confirmed what Liz has informed him – everything was on schedule.  They were done before an hour has passed.

They all stood up, and Ben turned to Kayla. “It’s your birthday this week,” he said, grinning.

Kayla blushed, as usual not wanting any attention directed on her. “Alex shouldn’t be telling people that.”

Ben laughed. “Are you working on your birthday?”

Kayla nodded, guiltily. “I have a couple meetings Thursday that I couldn’t miss, but I promised Alex I would leave the office early.”

Ben smiled. Ever since Alex and Kayla met, Alex has been trying to get Kayla to relax more. 

“A good compromise,” Ben said, winking at her. If she only knew that Alex was going to propose that evening. 

They walked out, and Ben looked back to look for Liz, but she was no longer in the multi-purpose room. He looked around until he found her outside the library talking to a guy who was unfamiliar. 

“He’s one of her fellow volunteers in the library,” Kayla said, breaking into Ben’s thoughts, making him turn his head back to her probably with a question mark on his face. “Liz’s been volunteering in the library, didn’t you know?”