I walked even closer and stopped beside his desk. Clearly, he wouldn’t tell me until I dragged it out of him, so I braced myself and started pulling. “What happened?”

He shook his head. I tried a few more times, but he still wouldn’t tell me.

I was torn. I didn’t know what to do, but I didn’t want to leave him there like that, either. “Can I get you some coffee?” I asked, subtly trying to move the glass of alcohol away since I didn’t think he should drink any more.

“I don’t want coffee,” he said, a tinge of anger in his voice like I’d offered the wrong thing and he was annoyed by it.

“Water, then?” I walked behind the desk to search for the liquor bottle I knew he must have back there. “Have you eaten anything? I can order you dinner before I go.”

“You’re leaving?”

The way he asked tugged at my heartstrings. His tone made it sound like I was abandoning him in his time of need. “I was about to, yes. I have plans tonight and I’d like to change clothes first.”

“Plans?” he asked sharply, a little too curious.

I frowned faintly, looking down at him as he sat sprawled on his throne like a grumpy, spoiled king whose primary indulger was disappointing him. “Yes.”

“What plans?”

I froze. It was absurd to be so reluctant, but I didn’t like telling him when I had dates. I didn’t expect him to care, I just felt awkward about it for my own reasons. If I told him and he made a disparaging comment about my date—which he often did—it wouldn’t matter that he’d never met the man and was just being an ass. Lee’s words would be all I thought about for the rest of the night. I might even fool myself into thinking he was agitated imagining me out with another man, maybe a bit jealous, and that wouldn’t do anybody any good.

My silence lasted for long enough that he figured it out for himself. His lips curved up, but it wasn’t a nice smile. “Ah. You have a date.”

The way he said it made me feel a little dirty, like I was doing something wrong. I nearly offered to cancel my date and stay late if he needed me—it wouldn’t even be the first time I’d done it.

It wasn’t always to accommodate him. Sometimes I just couldn’t muster the enthusiasm to go out, and I was eager for the excuse to cancel. Dating was hard, especially when you compared every man you encountered to someone else and found them all lacking.

“Who’s this one?” he asked, pinning me with his gaze. “Not the chef, still?”

I shook my head, but I felt awkward about it. “No. We only went out once.”