Draft version - Russian Roulette - Family secrets

Ch. 70: I never thought Gareth to be that romantic

The few weeks after they had come back from Spain had gone by faster than Mackenzie had noticed. Gareth had been crazy busy with work, some big project he kept talking about at home and then of course all his usual business affairs. He had tried not to show how thinly he was stretched, some days she suspected he did not sleep at all.

Their routine was back.

Some days Gareth came home and ate with her, others he joined her for a drink later before bed. He had been a little more intimate in his kisses hello and goodnight, but he had not tried to touch her intimately or kiss her on the mouth, he had just held her tightly when he kissed her cheek in a lingering way.

It being Friday Mackenzie had wanted to go out with the girls, Gareth was still opposed to that, he had conceded when Mackenzie had told him that she, Alyssa and Nina were only going to the Friday bar across the street at Neville's before going to their place for dinner.

It was a compromise they both were ok with.

Entering Neville's Sportsbar Mackenzie did not have any expectations to what she would encounter. A company Friday bar sounded fairly casual and it fit her nicely with time to connect with her girls.

She had missed their clubbing.

When she entered, she was surprised by how many from Granston's were there. People were huddled in clusters around tables and at the pool tables and big screen tv's where different sport games were being shown.

"Mackenzie!" Eve, the receptionist, squealed when she saw her. She came running to Mackenzie and dragged her over to her table. She was introduced to people and the men made sure she had what she needed to drink.

"I'm so happy you chose to come," Eve said with a happy smile. "We all heard you had been sick, and you've not been back much. I hope you're feeling better?"

Some of the men nodded at Eve's comment.

"Yes, I'm all better now, and you made this sound like the place to be."

Mackenzie liked the atmosphere there. It was less tense than at the office and people relaxed after a long week.

Friday bars should be mandatory.

"You do this every week?"
"Yes," the dark-haired man, who had introduced himself as Dieter, answered. "It's a great way of mingling with the other departments."
"We do something like this at Abrams' too, but only once a month. Maybe it should be more, but with families and weekend obligations many might not want it every week."
"It's an open invitation. If people have plans, they don't show up but then they join the following week," Dieter said with a shrug.

He did not seem too into the conversation he was obviously more interested in appreciating Mackenzie's looks.

"So, how long are you going to be with us at Granston's?"
"I'm not sure, my involvement with a company can vary. It depends on what needs to be done, what my team and I decide to present to the leaders."

Mackenzie explained her job superficially not wanting to go too deep into her work methods with the people who would be affected by them in the end.

"Ultimately, it's up to Mr. Tempest if he decides to implement what we suggest."
"He'd be a fool if he doesn't, but I'll give him this, things have been improving since he took over."
"I don't think the man knows how to fail at anything," the other dark-haired mand named Christian added. "He's scary good at everything business related."
"True story," Mackenzie laughed.

Gareth was a natural. The way his mind worked had made her head spin a few times. But she liked the fact that he was wise enough to seek help when he needed it and never saw suggestions as being rude or inappropriate. He might not follow the advice he was given, still, he always listened and made his decisions based on the information he had.