Chapter 153: Chapter 153 An Unexpected Proposal
Author
For the date, Nancy dressed professionally. A fitted blazer over a silk blouse, with a black pencil skirt and low heels.
Sharp, polished, and totally herself.
The hostess led her through the restaurant to a window table where Dr. Bennett was waiting.
The man looked older than his photos. He wore a loud striped shirt under a vest, with thick-rimmed glasses. He’d clearly overthought his outfit.
Nancy didn’t trust men who tried that hard to look ’quirky intellectual.’
She smiled politely. "Hello, I’m Nancy. You must be Dr. Bennett?"
"Finally. Miss Miller. I’m Bennett."
The man pushed his glasses up. "I thought someone in finance would be better with punctuality."
Nancy caught the condescending tone right away. "Excuse me? Dr. Bennett, I’m not late, am I?"
"No, you’re not late. But I got here forty-five minutes early."
[So you’re mad at me because you have poor time management? Great start, Professor.]
Nancy mentally wrote off this whole evening, but she’d get through it for her mom’s sake.
She didn’t argue. "Have you ordered already?"
"Yes, I took the liberty of ordering for you."
Nancy’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she looked out the window.
The restaurant was actually really nice. Too bad about the company.
[What a waste of a good bistro.]
"Nancy, I heard you were engaged before. Can I ask what happened there?"
Nancy’s eyes went cold. "Dr. Bennett, that’s a very personal question. I’m not going to answer that."
"Right, right. I just think it’s important to learn from past... experiences." His voice carried that patronizing tone she recognized from certain male colleagues. "You know, statistically speaking, people in high-pressure careers like finance often struggle with work-life balance in relationships."
Nancy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. "Dr. Bennett, I think I understand my own career pretty well."
"Of course, of course. I’m just saying, from an academic perspective, there are studies—" he continued, completely ignoring her response. "But anyway, let me tell you about my research. It’s quite groundbreaking, actually. Most people don’t really grasp the complexity of what I do..."
For the next twenty minutes, Bennett launched into a detailed monologue about his work, barely pausing for breath. When Nancy tried to share something about her own career, he’d nod distractedly and immediately pivot back to himself.
"My schedule is incredibly demanding," he said, cutting her off mid-sentence about a recent project. "Research waits for no one. I’d need a partner who really understands that my work has to come first. Someone supportive, you know? Someone who gets that not everyone can handle the intellectual demands of academia."
Nancy was starting to get a headache. She glanced at her watch.
"Oh, are you checking the time? I hope I’m not boring you with all this talk about meaningful work." His smile didn’t reach his eyes. "I imagine finance must be... well, quite different. More about numbers than ideas, right?"
Nancy smiled tightly. "Actually, there’s quite a bit of analysis and strategic thinking involved."
"I’m sure there is, I’m sure there is." His tone suggested he thought otherwise. "Though I have to say, Nancy, I’m a bit surprised by your... directness tonight. Most women are more... how should I put this... receptive on first dates."
Nancy opened her mouth to respond when a shadow fell across their table. "Nancy, having dinner?"
Nancy looked up, shocked to see Yardley standing there.
Bennett immediately straightened up, his entire demeanor shifting. "Mr. Wolfe! What an honor! Do you remember me? Dr. Bennett from the university. We’ve been corresponding about that research grant application—"
"Sorry," Yardley cut him off coldly, "I don’t discuss business during personal time."
His tone was ice-cold. Something about his presence made Bennett want to shrink back, though the professor couldn’t figure out why he suddenly felt so diminished.
Yardley looked at Nancy, his expression warming completely. "Nancy, would you like to grab coffee somewhere else?"
Nancy grabbed her purse and nodded. "That sounds perfect."
As they walked away, Bennett called out loudly enough for nearby tables to hear: "Well, good luck with that attitude, Nancy. You’ll need it."
Yardley paused, turned back with a look that could freeze hell, but Nancy touched his arm. "He’s not worth it. Let’s go."
--
Nancy followed Yardley out of the restaurant. "I’m sorry. You’ve had to rescue me twice now."
Yardley’s lips curved up slightly. "Not rescuing you. That was a blind date back there?"
"Yes." Nancy couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. "I thought I was doing my parents a favor. Turns out I walked into a nightmare."
Yardley raised an eyebrow. "Family pressure?"
"You could say that." Nancy’s face darkened. "My mother’s been having anxiety issues lately. My parents think it’s because I’m ’isolating myself’ after my broken engagement. They’re convinced I need to ’get back out there’ before I become some kind of hermit."
She tried to sound cheerful. "Anyway, Mr. Wolfe, where did you park? I’m in Section A, so I guess this is goodbye until next time."
Yardley’s intense gaze stopped her cold. Those eyes seemed to see right through every wall she’d built.
"Nancy," he said quietly, "if you want to avoid more disasters like today...maybe I could help you with that."
The words just hung there between them.
Nancy froze. She was sure she’d heard wrong. "What?"
