Behind all of this was a simple question: why would he lie to me? Why would he tell me his name was Rex Blue? I felt a little betrayed, although I realized I had no real right to. Did he plan on telling me the truth later, or did he hope I wouldn’t recognize him? The contrast between the man I had been texting with, and the man standing in front of me with a surprised look on his face, the one who lied to me about his name and his identity, was like a hurricane inside my head.
Before the moment got too awkward, Shane put his hand out.
“Shane Green. Nice to meet you, Miss Woodall,” he said. His confusion shifted into a devilish smile.
I wasn’t sure how to play this. He obviously recognized me too, or at least I was pretty sure he did, but Royal Brown was watching us closely. I reached out and shook.
“Hello, Mr. Green,” I said. His hand was large and strong in mine, but it wasn’t soft like I expected. For a brief moment as we shook, my face turned bright red as I remembered describing how I wanted him to tie my hands behind my back while he took me from behind. I couldn’t believe I said that to my potential future employer. We released, and Shane went to sit by Royal.
“Well, you look a little flustered,” Royal said.
“Does she?” Shane answered. I thought he sounded disinterested, which confused me.
“Almost like you saw a ghost.” Royal laughed.
“I’m just a little nervous,” I managed to say.
“Well young lady, that’s totally natural,” Royal said. Shane’s gaze was piercing into me, and he wasn’t looking away. His face was impassive. I nervously sat and shuffled through my notes, trying not to think about how badly I wanted his lips pressed against mine.
There was a brief lull, and Royal looked between Shane and me.
“Well then,” Shane said finally, clearing his throat. “Shall we get started, Miss Woodall?”
6.
I didn’t need to be nervous. Royal took control of most of the meeting, and he was easy to get along with. He passed me contracts detailing the offer, exactly how much they were willing to pay, which was more than enough, and the terms of my employment. My stomach did backflips when he said ‘employment,’ and Royal must have noticed my joy because he couldn’t help but smile back. Meanwhile, Shane stayed quiet, and only spoke when it was clear he had to break in. There was something strange about him, almost brooding, and I felt like I was only seeing a drop in the bucket.
I didn’t understand this man. He was pretending like we didn’t know each other, or worse, like he was disappointed in me. Maybe the texts and pictures gave him a different idea, and once he met me in person, I wasn’t living up to his idealized version. I really had no clue what his passive silence meant, and it was all I could do not to reach across the table and grab him by the shoulders, maybe shake him slightly, and yell all the questions I had buzzing through my mind. Instead, I sat as patiently as I could and listened to Royal explain the deal, while Shane remained the epitome of passive professionalism. Royal was leading the meeting, but it was clear that Shane was in control. Even though he hardly spoke, Royal always looked to him before anything got signed.
How didn’t he recognize my profile picture? Didn’t he research me before buying my app? And why was he lying about his name on a crappy dating site? The answers were obviously not happening at this meeting. At least Royal seemed blissfully unaware of the issues between us as he droned on about insurance packages and salaries. Normally, that would have been the happiest moment of my life, but there was too much turmoil inside of me to enjoy it.
Toward the end of the meeting, we signed the final contracts. Royal passed me the papers first, and with a sharp bite of self-doubt and fear, I signed my name on the dotted line. Then, when I pushed the papers over to Shane, our fingers briefly touched. A slow shock tingled up my tips and through my hand, and our eyes met briefly. He looked away, pulled the contracts toward him, and signed as well.
The meeting ended soon after that. We all shook hands again, but I could still feel that brief touch between us. It was the first time we made casual contact, and although we shook hands, it didn’t have the same spontaneous shock that his fingers grazing mine did.
I was elated and confused. On the one hand, I just landed a job at the largest company in the city, a job I had wanted for years, while also selling an app that I had labored over since I was in school. My student debts would all be repaid and I would have some extra income to help pay my Dad’s medical bills. On the other, the first man I felt anything for in a long time, and maybe the most gorgeous one I had ever seen, lied to me about who he was, and seemed distant and distracted.