“My last relationship, a year and a half ago, was with a woman named Delilah,” he started, bitterness lacing his voice. “We only started seeing each other as friends with benefits. Maybe she saw me for what I could offer her. I wasn’t attached to her. She was the second official girlfriend I had amongst my occasional flings. We dated for a year before she cheated on me with my college acquaintance. She used to come by the company often, so my employees liked her. If you hear her name, if anyone so much as mocks you using her name, just remember that she meant absolutely nothing to me. I didn’t care for her.”
Daisy watched him carefully when he spoke. So that was the woman who she had seen kissing him the month before… She already disliked the girl. If she had cheated on this man, she must not have seen who he really was. She had no idea what she was missing out on.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said softly, shaking her head. “And I’ll be sure to remember that. Thank you for telling me, Arvil.”
Arvil merely smiled at her. This woman was truly something, huh? No wonder he was falling for her.
“Actually, I’m glad she did it,” he said, still looking at her. “I’m glad she cheated on me and I caught her in the act.”
“You are? You did?” Daisy asked, her lips quirking up in amusement as her brows drew together curiously. “I’m almost afraid to ask how that happened.”
“I’m not going to tell you how I caught her, love,” Arvil’s eyes crinkled in amusement. “I’m just saying I’m glad I got rid of her. If we’d still been together, I don’t think I would have gotten to know you. So, in a way, I was rewarded.”
Daisy chuckled a little. “I mean, I am a rather amazing person, so I think you were definitely rewarded,” she agreed jokingly, grinning at him.
“I think my confidence is rubbing off on you,” Arvil chuckled in amusement. “Which is good. I like it.”
“I’m actually like this all the time. You just never get to see it,” Daisy said with a shrug, her gaze flitting to the changing floor number. “That’s our floor, now.”
“I want to see it more often,” Arvil found himself saying, never once removing his gaze from her. “Different sides of you. I want to experience all of it.”
Daisy’s eyes shifted back to him, her face still pointed at the numbers above her as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She blinked and turned to face him, tilting her head curiously as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, you have the whole foreseeable future to do that, so we’ll see how much you can learn and how quickly,” she said with a tiny smile.
“I’ll learn quickly,” Arvil pushed himself off the wall and out of the elevator, looking at Daisy to join him. “If it’s you, I’m sure I’ll learn quick.”
Daisy felt her cheek warm up again as she followed him out. What was he doing to her? How could he so easily fluster her?
“I’ll bet that you will,” she mused, shaking her head with a small smile.
“I learn things easily when it’s related to something I’m interested in,” Arvil raised his arms in the air and stretched. “So, give me a fun fact about yourself.”
Interested in, huh? He was interested in her?
Of course he was. They were friends, after all… He should be.
“Uh… I had a pet turtle when I was ten. He was a tiny painted turtle named Galileo,” she said. “He died when I was twelve.”
“Oh, that must have been rough,” Arvil winced, turning back to face her. “When we get married, you can have as many pets as you’d like. Just not lizards. I hate those things.”
Daisy crinkled her nose and shook her head. “No. No lizards or snakes or spiders or cockroaches. Or rodents. Cats, dogs, and maybe turtles are okay with me.”
“Okay, does anyone keep cockroaches as pets?” Arvil scrunched his nose in disgust. “And good. I dislike those animals, too. And now that we’re on the topic… what’s your favorite animal?”
“Arctic fox. No competition… Unless it’s a fennec fox. Those are cute, too,” Daisy answered immediately, smiling at the bought of the cute animal. “You?”
Cute, was what ran through Arvil’s mind as he looked at her smile. You’re way more adorable.
“I like sparrows,” Arvil responded, pretending as if he wasn’t just looking at her like that. “I like them a lot.”
Daisy nodded slowly, shifting her gaze away from him when she caught him looking at her. Why did he have to look at her that way? Was he trying to fluster her?
“Sparrows are cool. They’re pretty birds,” she murmured.
“I like it when they chirp,” Arvil shrugged. “It’s pleasant to hear. Don’t you think so?”
“I don’t know which specific sound they make, so I wouldn’t know,” Daisy admitted with a shrug.
“We should go to the zoo sometimes,” Arvil mused. “There’s one that I’ve been to, and they let you feed parrots.”
Daisy looked up at him curiously. “Really? That sounds cool. We should definitely set up a date to do that,” she agreed, nodding.
“Definitely,” Arvil agreed. “I had a feeling you’d like the idea.”
