"Ma'am, please. We can squeeze in thirty minutes." Blake had been at this for an hour, but then at this point he knew to start early because of well…this.
"I'm not hungry, Blake."
"Ma'am. It's after lunch and I'm not entirely sure coffee and a bite of a glazed donut counted as breakfast." He'd been following her quickly and closely, so when she stopped and turned suddenly at his words, he nearly crashed into her.
"I fully recall that donut got eaten."
"Ma'am, it was my donut you stole a bite of, I am the one who finished it."
"Oh." He could see her try and think as they resumed walking. "Well, I had breakfast this morning with Henry and the kids."
"I received a text from Henry after you left that you left a plate of eggs and bacon on the counter without so much as a bite from it." This time when she stopped and turned, he was prepared.
"You and him, how often does this happen?" She squinted up at him.
"Ma'am, with all due respect, I get the impression at times that I speak to him more frequently than you do."
"And you all handle me."
"Ma'am, it comes from a place of love." He paused. "His love, Ma'am."
A teasing smile spread across her face. "You love me, Blake, you know you do."
"Perhaps we could debate that over lunch." He segued.
She huffed. "Call detail, pick a place. If you're going to force me to eat, I want something good."
"Yes, Ma'am." It was all he could do not to start celebrating right there.
"Find something greasy."
"I'll do my best." He turned to return to his desk.
"Nothing with only healthy food!" Her voice carried down the hall after him.
Blake sighed and picked up the phone to get ahold of her detail.
Blake frowned at the menu. Aside from perhaps the tomato on the sandwiches, he couldn't see a single thing that wasn't greasy or cheesy. Just his boss's kind of place. "Ma'am, your next meeting got bumped, so we aren't in a rush today." It had gotten bumped because he'd called and bumped it.
"Oh goodie." Her eyes lit up.
At least in the office he could call in for healthy options, though she had a tendency to wander to the staff breakroom and find pastries; and in meetings over meals, social protocols pressed her into not only eating, but choosing light and healthy, but out like this, just the two of them, well then, Blake had accepted long ago that some meals just weren't worth the battle. And that was how he ended up watching her eat a bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a banana milkshake.
"Aren't you worried about eating all that… Ma'am?" He'd asked the first time they'd eat out together. She'd smirked at him and given a teasing response.
"I'm starving." Was her only comment today as she dug in. He raised a brow, which she determinedly ignored.
"We should make this a regular thing, you and me. Sneak off and find some normal place to eat lunch. Maybe once a week if it fits." Her words took him by surprise.
"Sure. And will it be this much of a fight to get you out the door and eating each week or are we done with that now?"
She pointed a fry at him but didn't verbally respond.
"I am sorry, Ma'am, but you are harder to feed than a three-year-old." That made her smile.
"Jay have you help with Chloe again?"
He sighed heavily, perhaps slightly dramatically. "And as much as I'm uncomfortable looking after Jay's delightful daughter, it is still endlessly easier to feed her three meals and two snacks a day, proper meals for her size, mind you, and to get her to eat things that are healthy for her and will not drive her to serious health problems." He frowned at the burger she was eating.
She only laughed though. "Henry reminds me at every meal."
He nodded, opting to put more food in his face before he stuck his foot in there again.
"Okay."
He was confused. "Okay? Okay, what?"
"I will accept that you have my best interests at heart and that includes eating and drinking when you take the energy to remind me to do so."
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
"Wow, made Blake Moran speechless, who would have thought a little cooperation could make that happen." She teased.
He felt himself smile, but anything he might have said in reply was lost as she spoke again.
"And exactly what does 'proper meals for size' mean?"
"Um." He really wished that the earth would go ahead and swallow him up. "Nothing, Ma'am." When she didn't continue interrogating him, he finally looked up and met her gaze. He held it a moment before sagging back in his seat. "When I took this job, I promised you that I would look out for every aspect of your needs, professionally of course, but also personally as needed. You are constantly on the go, sometimes pulling sixteen-hour days or more and the last thing we need, you need, is to not be at your best at the wrong moment."
"And that's why you push so hard."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Well, I thank you for that."
He only response was a nod, but he knew that either way, he wouldn't have stopped. It was the job after all.