#erolith

As the modern pendulum wall clock ticks past eight, Dalton finally looks up, breaking the silence. "E, we've been over this a hundred times.” The weight of his fatigue is clear in his weary expression 

“Well, make it a hundred and one.” The antique globe that sits atop my desk catches my attention as I let out a sigh. “The meeting is tomorrow and there isn't room for error.”

Dalton chuckles and leans back, propping his feet up on the edge of the desk. "And there won’t be. You, my friend, need to loosen up a little." He folds his arms across his chest, and his eyes twinkle with mischief.

A sense of contempt washes over me and it must be visible in my expression because as my gaze shifts to Dalton’s black oxford shoes, he lets out a low whistle. “I couldn’t be more right. Looks like the casting call for that show I’ve been telling you about is coming at a good time. Have you given it any more thought?”

“No.” I quip, my lips curling into a half-smile. The thought of participating in a reality show is absurd, never mind a dating show. I don’t have the time or the capacity for something so superficial. “My answer is the same as when you first mentioned it. It isn’t changing.”

“Come on…” He drawls while he straightens in his chair, the clack of his shoes sounds against the wood flooring. “It’s a dating show, not a life sentence. Besides, isn’t it time you put yourself out there? You say you want to settle down and have a legacy you are proud of, yet here you sit, day in and day out. Obsessing over details for a meeting you can easily hold with your eyes closed.”

His words are heavy as they settle, but it doesn’t weigh on me like he intended them to because I know it’s true. Dating and relationships haven’t been on my radar; my priorities have been elsewhere. My desire to change that was revealed during one of our many late nights at the office after one too many beers. It’s no surprise that Dalton would use it against me.

“And you think the solution is going on a reality dating show?” My curiosity piques as I shift my gaze to find that he is looking at me with the same interest.