The mortgage lender, also known as Malachi, waited for Maisie outside the restaurant. He was cute, in a generic kind of way. He hold out a hand to shake as she approached, and his three-piece suit looked like it belonged more in a boardroom than the Tupelo Honey Cafe. Maisie's jeans and nice t-shirt seemed excessively casual by comparison.
"Hi!" Maisie greeted him, a little too enthusiastically, overcompensating for her nervousness.
"Nice to meet you finally." He held the door open for her and gave his name to the hostess, who immediately showed them to a table.
"Looks like you found the only brunch place in Raleigh that takes reservations." Maisie accepted the chair Malachi pulled out for her. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Once they'd placed their order for two bloody marys ("Aren't you so glad they passed the brunch bill?" Maisie asked), Malachi got right down to business.
"What do you do for a living?" he asked.
"New Home Sales," she said. His entire face lit up and his posture changed so quickly an observer might have thought a wizard used a growth spell on him.
"Oh really?" He reached into his breast pocked and pulled out a stack of business cards. "You need to hear about the new loan programs we have available right now."
Maisie automatically took the cards offered, but had no intention of using them at work. "I already parter with some great lenders."
"They can't get you the same kind of deals I can. Let me ask you - do you own your home?"
"You know what? Let's leave the shop talk out of this. We're on a date. I just want to get to know you."
"Of course. What company do you work for?"
Maisie hesitated. She couldn't tell from his tone if he was continuing the getting-to-know-you conversation, or the let-me-sell-you-a-mortgage-loan conversation. "H&L Homes."
"Oh! You definitely need to hear about these new programs, then."
For the next hour, through two bloody marys, an appetizer he ordered without asking for her input, and the entrees, Malachi gave Maisie his best sales pitch. She had to promise to bring him at least one client meeting in order to get him to change the subject while they were waiting for the check to arrive.
"How do you want to split this?" he asked when the waiter laid it on the table. "Oh, wait! I'll use my company card. We talked about business - it counts." He actually winked as he pulled the card from his wallet and handed it to the server.
"We sure did," Maisie said flatly. "Well, now that that's covered, I think I'll head out. My friend is moving today and I promised I'd help. Thanks for brunch." She stood so fast it was as if the wizard from earlier had summoned her. Between Bastian and Caleb, she had learned that a good date was possible. That chemistry existed. She wasn't going to waste any more time on anything else.