Keeley enjoyed her sandwich and soda despite the taciturn food bringer beside her. How had she ever liked someone who talked so little? The silences between them may have been comfortable once but not anymore. Now it was really, really awkward.

"So, what do I owe you for the food?" she asked before taking a long slurp of her soda. She had every intention of paying him back.

"Marshmallow brownies. Nobody ever bakes for me," Aaron said resolutely.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Doesn't your food delivery service offer desserts?"

"Yes, but it isn't the same."

Not the same how? A professional caterer probably made better brownies than she did. Whatever. She didn't want to argue with him.

"Alright, I'll get those to you at some point. Why don't I bring them by your office—"

"NO!"

Keeley stared at him unblinkingly like an owl. That was a strong reaction. All these years and he was still too ashamed to let her be around his people. It stung more than it should have.

Aaron collected himself and spoke again. "It would be more convenient for you not to go out of your way since you don't have a car. Your schedule is more hectic than mine; I'll come to you."

"O…kay?"

He suddenly reached his hands out and held hers with a surprisingly earnest look on his face.

"I'm not ashamed of you, I promise. If you ever want to meet my coworkers I would be happy to introduce you over dinner or drinks sometime."

It was as if he read her mind. But why was he so concerned about what she thought? The way he was talking sounded like he was her boyfriend too. Bothersome.

She pulled her hands away. "You hang out with your coworkers outside of work?"

"I'm on friendly terms with a few of the shareholders but I only have two people I interact with outside of that. Everybody else is afraid of me. Those two…they could use a little more fear in their lives."

Keeley nearly spewed soda at the mental image of anybody being brave enough to mess with Aaron.

"Would one of these be the coworker who recommended Happy Paws?"

"Yes."

Aaron didn't really have what you would call close friends in either of her lives as far as she saw. He didn't even hang out with his lunch group outside of lunch.

He didn't seem to value human companionship at all, which was why she felt so special that he gave her the time of day back then. Keeley's interactions with him seemed different. What a joke. She was just like the rest.

So she had to admit a certain degree of curiosity about anyone Aaron willingly hung out with. What did they have that she hadn't?

"Did you know these people before they worked at Hale Investments or did you become friends through work?"

"I met one of them at Harvard. The other…we actually met online," he admitted.

Keeley was surprised. Based off of that information, it seemed like he was the one who got his friends jobs. It was an oddly sentimental thing for him to do.

"You gave them jobs because they were your friends?"

Aaron shook his head disdainfully.

"I'm a businessman; I gave them jobs because they're useful, highly competent individuals. One of them is the manager of the analyst department after only working there for four years and the other joined the IT department straight out of high school because he's that good with computers."

That sounded more like Aaron. The difference between them and her was that they were useful to him. Keeley's usefulness ran out long ago, which was why he kicked her to the curb.

Her mood soured. Being around him always brought back bad feelings eventually. It was why she preferred dealing with him over text.

"Right," she said neutrally, trying to hide her annoyance.

If she didn't remain friendly, he would get on her case even more. She learned that the hard way in high school.

Keeley stood and brushed herself off.

"Well," she began coolly. "I actually won't have time to make those brownies until after Halloween so I'll just drop them at your place. I need to get back to work."

Aaron stood as well. "Dinah will be happy to see you."

He held out his arms expectantly for a hug and she knew based on past experience that if she didn't do it herself, he had no qualms about grabbing her. Touchy-feely weirdo.

She hugged him as quickly as she possibly could before extricating herself and hurrying back inside the lab.

That was the price she had to pay to get food. And she still had to see him again in about a week. Suddenly she wondered if it would have been better to go hungry.

===

Aaron felt quite pleased with himself. His plan was working. Staying back and giving her space while still being a regular part of her life had paid off—she finally approached him first!

Her replies to his texts were encouraging enough as is but when she texted him first asking for a favor he got undeniably excited. She was relying on him. His role as her best friend was solidifying.

Plus he got the promise of marshmallow brownies out of the deal. It was a productive day.

He nearly slipped up when she asked about bringing the brownies to his office though. He panicked at the thought of her running into his father.

Alistair Hale couldn't know about her yet. A woman bringing him homemade dessert at work would be highly suspicious.

But if she came to his apartment…he had to come up with an excuse to get her to stay longer and spend the day with him.

Texting every day wasn't the same as seeing her though it was better than nothing.

Aaron made more progress in four months of hardly seeing her than he did in six of seeing her every day at school. There was really something to letting her do her own thing and being a supportive friend from the sidelines.

He wouldn't have to be on the sidelines forever though—he was certain he could win her over within a year at this rate.

Then he finally wouldn't be alone anymore. Things would be the way they should have been all along.