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again. Wouldn't he? Otis sighed, knowing it'd been too good to be true. At least for an afternoon, Garret had allowed him to dream.
    A Lie I Can Live With - 27
    For Me?
    Monday morning Otis sat alone at his desk,
    skimming catalogs and preparing a purchase order when a young man in a brown uniform stepped into the office, carrying a single crimson rose in a vase. Ah, Steve must have made quite the impression on his young lady over the weekend. "Put it over there," Otis said, pointing with a pen toward the table that served for breaks whenever one of the guys brought in lunch.
    "Could you sign here, please?" the man asked, handing over a clipboard. Otis paid no attention to what the form said, signing his name where instructed. Steve received flowers from girlfriends on a regular basis --
    among other things.
    He didn't even think about the rose again until Steve and Danny arrived at noon, handing over the morning's work orders and lugging pizza boxes. Tomatoes, pepperoni, and spices perfumed the air. Otis' stomach rumbled loudly.
    "Aha! What's this?" Steve exclaimed, holding up the vase.
    "Oh, that came for you a little while ago," Otis responded, squeezing past Danny to grab three sodas out of the office mini-fridge.
    "It says 'Otis Tucker' on the card."
    "What?" Otis whipped around to find matching gleeful grins.
    "Whoa-ho! Bossman's holding out on us. You got a secret admirer, Boss?" Steve raised the vase out of Otis'
    reach.
    Thinking they were joking, Otis dropped the drinks on the table and lunged, snatching the vase from Steve's hand. Ignoring his employees' good-natured taunts, he fumbled with the card pinned to the ribbon wrapping the A Lie I Can Live With - 28
    vase. Sure enough, a tiny envelope read "Otis Tucker."
    Placing the vase on his desk, he ripped open the envelope to find the card within. "I had a wonderful time and would love to see you again -- Garret."
    Garret had had a good time? And wanted another date? Although the day outside the office windows appeared cloudy and gray, heralding more snow, for Otis a bright ray of sunshine penetrated the gloom. He happily munched pizza, recalling chocolate strawberries and bright blue eyes.
    A Lie I Can Live With - 29

Getting to Know You
    That evening Otis raced home and logged onto
    GetaDate.com , dying for some word from Garret, who'd been on his mind all afternoon. He hadn't trusted himself to be able to finish the workday if he'd checked from the office.
    Sure enough, he found a message that read:
    I've been kicking myself since yesterday for not getting your phone number. I don't know your weekly schedule, but how about dinner tomorrow night? Do you know where the Japanese restaurant is on Hudson?
    Garret wanted to take him to dinner? So
    nervous his hands shook, Otis tapped out a reply: I got your rose. Thanks! Does seven o'clock work for you?
    After microwaving a dish of frozen manicotti, he returned to his laptop to find:
    You're welcome, and it's a date.

    ***
Otis had often passed by the popular restaurant of the unpronounceable name, never once feeling the temptation to enter. With its gold painted walls and sloped roof, it appeared designed to resemble a Japanese shrine. What a shame he hadn't come here before. Inside was warm and cozy, silk lanterns hanging above each table, the atmosphere further enhanced by the delicious scent wafting from the grills set up at each table.
    Garret's hand low on his back didn't hurt, either.
    "Two?" a smiling hostess asked.
    Garret nodded. "In the back, please."
    At first Otis thought that maybe Garret didn't want to be seen with him, until arriving at a table located in the A Lie I Can Live With - 30
    restaurant's back dining room. He hadn't realized you could see the lake from the restaurant, but the moon and houselights shimmered on an inky pool of water. "I love looking out over the lake," Garret explained.
    The fact that they were several tables away from the nearest couple meant they could talk openly. Though ten