Lunch with Pete

It felt weird walking side by side with Pete outside of the office. I had worn flats that day, because of the mental exhaustion I experienced from having to say goodbye to Scott, so Pete was easily towering over me by at least 6 inches. I clutched the strap of my tote with both hands as I tried to keep up with his long strides.

The burger place Pete wanted to go to was about two blocks from our office and while I had passed it before, it never caught my interest enough to go in. It kind of looked run down and I never thought Pete would eat at a place like this. When I imagined him dining out, he was being served $300 bottles of wine and surrounded by blonde models.

Pete held the door open for me, which felt strangely intimate. I awkwardly smiled before stepping in. Then, I waited for him to lead me to a booth by the window.

A young, chubby brunette walked over to take our order, but Pete didn't even have to say anything before she asked if we wanted the, "Monday Special Burgers." Pete nodded and I followed his lead before she walked away.

"Does everyone pretty much get this amazing burger you speak of?" I asked with a smile. I don't know if it was the laid back feeling of this particular restaurant or if it was the time I had now put in with Pete, but I was finally beginning to feel comfortable around him.

"I come here at least a couple Mondays a month," Pete said while glaring out the window. "Sometimes, you just need a cure for 'the Mondays,' you know?"

I giggled and nodded. Who would imagine that someone as handsome as Pete ever felt gloomy?

We received our waters and Pete wasted no time before diving in to work related talk. I was surprised by how much information he was throwing at me. I mean, I knew most of it, since it was information about my performance, but I was surprised at how on top of it Pete was. He definitely gives off the impression at work that he's a laid back manager and it always made me feel like he didn't actually know what was going on. I was wrong. He sounded so smart as he went over the information with me.

Once he was done rambling on, he pulled a small cloth notebook out of his pocket and clicked a pen in his right hand. "So," he began. "What do you attribute your success to? How are you connecting to the customer base so well? Do you have any tips on how we can improve the service so far?"

My heartbeat sped up a bit. I know this lunch was because I was doing well, but I felt very on the spot. I didn't have a list prepared of reasons why I was doing well.

I pushed a piece of hair before my ear before I opened my mouth and just spoke what was on my mind. Whatever I was doing was obviously working, right? So I just talked about trying to really connecting to the customers I talked to, even if that meant telling them that this particular service might not be completely right for them. "I'm not good at doing hard sells, but I do want to help people find happiness. I feel like this service is good enough for me to just tell it how it is."

Pete seemed happy with that answer. We went back and forth for a while about basically everything that I had taken from the job the past couple weeks. I was beginning to feel a lot better than I had that morning. Lunch with Pete was reminding me of exactly why I moved to California, even though I missed my life back in New York.

Our burgers came and I was especially careful not to get anything on my white blouse. It tasted interesting to say the least, but it was definitely good.

"I can see why this cures your 'Mondays,'" I said after my first bite.

"Right?" Pete said and I swear his eyes actually got bigger. "I'm glad we got to get lunch, today." He picked up his burger and got ready to take another bite. "I like to really get to know my employees."

"Thanks for inviting me," I responded as he took another bite. "I'm looking forward to my future with the company. I had no idea I was doing so well."

Pete nodded while finishing his bite. "Yeah, my bosses are impressed. I had a feeling you'd be a star, though."

I smiled and continued eating my burger. I figured the faster I ate, the less time we'd have to make awkward small talk, now that the work portion of the conversation seemed to be over.

"So, do you miss New York?" Pete asked. I guess I wasn't going to finish fast enough.

I shrugged. "Yeah," I honestly answered in between bites. "It's a weird feeling. I grew up on Long Island and until now, I never lived anywhere else. It's an adjustment, but so far, I'm happy."

"You said your boyfriend was in town," Pete continued. "I'm guessing he's from home?"

I nodded. "I started dating him around Thanksgiving."

"Wow," Pete replied as his eyebrows went up. "So that's a relatively new relationship. How's long distance going?"

Way to kick me while I'm down, Pete. "It's rough," I said as I uncomfortably giggled. "But, you know, we're making it work."

 "Well, it's tough," Pete replied. "But good for you."

The way Pete said, "but good for you," really rubbed me the wrong way. It was so condescending. "Thanks," I began. "For me, it's worth it. I know it will be difficult, though."

We finished up lunch and made our way back to the office. Despite Pete's one rude comment, I felt good about getting to know him better.