Chapter 2

Third floor of the Summit Club. Two people, six dishes, one soup.

"Let me start over. I'm Burton Whitney."

I had to admit it: something about Carmen sat easy with me.

She wasn't the prettiest woman I'd ever seen, but she was the kind you liked looking at.

"Mr. Whitney, feel free to keep telling me about yourself. Or should it be ladies first?"

She was polished and courteous, and after I nodded, she introduced herself without any fuss.

"My parents are both still living, and I have an older brother who's already married."

"As for a place of my own, I think we're actually in the same complex."

"I work as a tour guide. Industry-certified, top-rated."

She stuck her tongue out, and it came off oddly endearing.

"Second half of junior year I dated a guy. He landed a government job and dumped me."

I ate slowly, and so did she, chewing without hurry. She finished and gave me a wink.

I set down my chopsticks and gave a serious, plain account of my own situation.

Then I thought about it and added one more thing.

"My mother set up this date. Honestly, marrying anytime soon wasn't part of my plan."

"And now?"

She tossed the question back but didn't wait for an answer. She stood, wiped her hands with a napkin.

"Excuse me. I'm going to the restroom."

While I waited, a small hope stirred in me.

If Carmen just walked out and didn't come back, that might be for the best.

Ten minutes later, she returned.

The rest of the meal went pleasantly enough. When it ended, I moved to pay, but she stopped me.

She waved a membership card.

"I put extra on it during a promotion. Waste not, want not."

"You're a little different from other women."

She blinked, then let out a small laugh.

"Anyone ever tell you how blunt you are?"

My assistant, Eve Chavez, who was also a year behind me in college, had said it more than once.

In the Summit Club parking lot, beside her red sedan, she put out her hand first.

"It was nice meeting you. Would you mind seeing where I work?"

I shook it.

"I respect everyone's line of work. Being a tour guide is a fine profession."

She smiled.

"In that case, want to come try it out with me?"

I hesitated, then agreed.

I rode in Carmen's car out to the Greenhill scenic area, a dozen or so miles away.

She didn't buy tickets. She swiped her employee card.

In her own favorite words:

"Staff perk. Waste not, want not."

We toured a good number of spots, and finally stopped in front of a rushing stretch of river.

"This is the real challenge our resort offers. You brave enough to try?"

She gave me a taunting look, and a man's pride wouldn't let me back down.

When she saw me nod, she smiled and swiped the card again.

【Payment successful. One thousand dollars.】

I frowned. She waved me off.

"I've got a bit of an alpha-woman streak. You don't mind, do you?"

I made up my mind to pay her back once it was over.

Once I was on the boat, Carmen called out to me from the shore.

"Good luck!"