Only Box Set

Chapter 2

Chapter 2As Darrell slid into the booth across from Travis at the Mexican restaurant they’d stopped at, he reminded himself to play it cool.

The waitress approached their table immediately. “Señor Travis, it is good to see you.”

Travis smiled. “You, too.”

“It’s slow tonight with the rain.” She glanced at Darrell and smiled. “Oh, you brought a handsome friend.”

Darrell’s cheeks heated and he was glad for both his brown skin and the low lighting of the restaurant. He kept his gaze on the menu.

“Darrell works at my firm,” Travis said.

“Welcome. What can I get you to drink?”

“I’m driving and it’s raining, just an iced tea for me.”

Darrell nodded. “Make that two.”

“I’ll be back with your drinks.”

“You could have had something.”

Darrell lowered his menu to look at Travis. “I’m not really much of a drinker, to be honest.”

“Nothing wrong with that. What are you thinking of having?”

“The chile relleno.”

“Good choice. I think I’ll have the carne asada.”

They gave their orders to the waitress and then Darrell started stuffing his face with the chips and salsa on the table. He had no idea what to say. He’d never been good at small talk on dates, which this wasn’t, and he never felt comfortable talking with employers either.

“I have to tell you, Darrell, I’ve been very impressed with your work.”

Darrell had a salsa covered chip about halfway up to his mouth. He paused and blinked. “Um, really?”

Travis smiled and nodded. He couldn’t help but admire the gentle curve of the man’s sensual lips as they turned just a bit upward. Darrell usually noticed men’s lips first, even before he noticed their arms or their asses. And Travis had a fine ass, too.

“We had some issues with the person we had in your position before. Some discrepancy problems as well as just letting work go. I didn’t like the idea of anyone losing their job, but we didn’t feel like we were left with much choice.” Travis paused to sip his iced tea. “To be honest, when Mark brought your resume to us I was a bit skeptical.”

Mark Stevens was one of the firm’s other partners and the man Darrell had interviewed with for the position in the first place. The third one being Nathan Llewellyn. Like himself, Mark was African American, and for a moment Darrell wondered if that might be the reason Travis had been skeptical. Almost all his life, Darrell had been dealing with assumptions about his education and work background simply because he was black and originally from south central Los Angeles.

“But,” Travis continued, “your lack of experience in a law firm didn’t end up being a factor. Your education was excellent. I wasn’t sure we could take the time to train you on our weird billing programs.”

Darrell shrugged. “They were a piece of cake.”

“I know. Like I said, obviously my reservations were unfounded.” He held up a hand. “Now, to be honest, Mark had once insisted we hire an intern who was the daughter of a friend of a friend and she ended up being a disaster, so he didn’t have the best track record.”

“But Mark didn’t know me prior to sending in my resume.”

“Exactly but I was leery of his choices at that point.” Travis smiled disarmingly. “The point is you’ve been a terrific addition to the firm.”

The waitress arrived with their meals, refilled their iced tea, and disappeared once more.

“I’ve been talking with both Mark and Nathan about you.”

The bit of food Darrell had just placed in his mouth suddenly tasted like sawdust. He chewed and swallowed. “You have?”

Travis laughed. “Don’t worry. You look like I just said we’ve been planning your murder.”

His ears heating, Darrell attempted a smile. “Well, I…what were you talking about?”

“All good, I assure you. I’ll make sure Barnaby gives you the details when he returns to the office, but we definitely feel a raise is in order.”

Darrell blew out a slow breath of relief and maybe a touch of disappointment. Now it all made sense taking him to dinner. It was merely a way to thank him for his hard work and to tell him about the raise. A part of him, tiny though it was, had sort of hoped Travis was interested in him. Well, that was before he’d basically confirmed he was straight when they were talking about Barnaby earlier.

“Thank you very much,” Darrell said. “That’s a great surprise.”

“You’re welcome. You’ve earned it.”

Travis took several bites of his food without saying anything else for a few minutes and Darrell wondered if he should find some way to break the silence. He was sort of a social geek, really. Not that he liked admitting it. He decided in the end to take his cue from Travis, eat his dinner, and wait for the other man to say something.

Travis was nearly done with his meal when he said, “So, tell me about your family.”

“My family?”

Travis’s bright smile dimmed just a fraction. “Unless you don’t want to talk about them.”

“No, it’s just…I didn’t expect you to be interested.”

“Why?” Travis looked genuinely puzzled.

Because I am boring old Darrell and you’re sexy as sin Travis.

“I don’t know.” Darrell cleared his throat. “Um, well, my daddy-er-father died when I was fourteen, so after that Mama raised me and my two brothers by herself. She worked as a hotel maid mostly, though she did some other odd jobs now and again. My oldest brother plays basketball with the Detroit Pistons. And my little brother is still in college.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool. Your mother did a fantastic job. Sorry to hear about your dad.”

“Yeah, he got in a bar fight and ended up hitting his head on the asphalt in the bar parking lot. Got a brain hemorrhage,” Darrell explained.

“Oh, my God.”

He nodded. “Yeah, it was tough.”

“Was the guy he fought with charged?” Travis pushed his mostly empty plate toward the end of the table.

Darrell piled his plate on Travis’s. “That’s just the thing. The fight was with his best friend. It got out of hand. Uncle Jim, we always called him that, never meant to hurt my father. We all understood that, even my mama. It was just a bad accident.”

“It’s amazing you and your family can be so forgiving.” Travis shrugged. “I’m not sure I would be in the same circumstances. You’re lucky to be close to your family.”

Travis looked suddenly sad and Darrell opened his mouth to ask Travis about his family, wondering if that was too much prying, when the waitress came by and handed Travis the check, slipping away after saying, “See you next time, Señor Travis.”

Travis plopped down money and slid from the booth. “I’m sure you’re anxious to get home in this bad weather.”

Darrell followed Travis to his car, trying to keep his gaze from straying to the man’s tight ass. He wasn’t terribly successful either. Travis might as well be wearing a sign that said, “Look at my great ass.”

“Hey, do you want me to pick you up in the morning?” Travis asked as he unlocked his car.

Darrell shook his head. “I appreciate that, but I can make other arrangements. Thanks for the offer, and dinner, too.”

“No problem.” Travis frowned. “If you’re sure.”

Darrell figured he’d already imposed on him enough already. ”Definitely. I’ll get one of my neighbors to drop me off. And then I’ll get a garage out to look at my car.”

Travis smiled and pulled out of the restaurant parking lot.

Darrell remembered to program his address in Travis’s Garmin. It distracted him momentarily from the erection pressing against his dress slacks. He shifted in the passenger seat, turning slightly so Travis couldn’t tell he was sporting a woody. Or he hoped so anyway. He prayed the drive to his condo would be quick.