"Cool your beans." Quinn held up her hands in surrender. "Out of all clinics, how was I to know you would walk in here?" She denfended herself.

Ricky had spent a good amount of oxygen sputtering on about her behavior the night before. How she had the gall to accuse him of stalking Jane. How she made him feel like a fool now, knowing that out of everybody - she was a nurse. It was useless noise to Quinn Sawyer. Ricky sounded more and more like a yapping chihuahua.

"I have to wear a mask here. We're in the pandemic, remember?" The blonde doctor reasoned as Ricky calmed down. "And I need my glasses to read and type up all those papers and I was EXTREMELY professional during our appointment." While explaining all this, Quinn ripped open her salad dressing package and slathered it over her salad. "Now that you recall who I am - let us talk comfortably."

"You told the police I was the stalker!" Ricky accused. He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

"My best friend was being stalked by an unknown man. She asked me to help her figure out who it might be. You were practically drooling over her - even sniffed her hair." Ricky blushed, embarrassed by the reminder. Merrily eating her meal, Quinn asked what had been on her mind since the start of this interaction. "What kind of boss follows his secretary at night? As a professional yourself, how would you read that?"

'She has a point.' Ricky bitterly agreed. He covered his face with a hand. 'I am a creep.' "That wasn't my intention -" He insisted, but he couldn't blame his actions on the 'heat of the moment.' There was no denying he felt a certain way towards his brunette secretary. He tried, but it wasn't working. "I just wanted to make sure she was safe but I ended up making a fool of myself."

"You did." Quinn agreed, not caring if her words cut through the man. "Everybody does when they fall hard."

"Who said it's love?" Ricky tried regaining any sort of masculinity he had. "You called it the 'love bug.' Won't that mean this will pass?"

It didn't work. If anything, the statement made Quinn mad. "So is what you feel a silly crush? Does she mean nothing more to you?" Leaning closer, Quinn warned, "If she's just a conquest to you then I suggest you walk the other way." Piebald eyes promised untold horrors she would rain on the lawyer. Her glare was equal to his secretary.

Funnily enough, however, Ricky didn't cringe back from the threat. If it were Jane, Ricky would be quick to apologize and beg for her forgiveness. The thought of Jane hating him tore his heart. He already had mini panic attacks when his secretary gave him the silent treatment.

Yet, Quinn's darkened expression didn't hit Ricky the same way. If anything, Ricky pictured the courtroom and the many witnesses he had to cross-examine. In that, he found the same confidence he needed during those cases. "Who said she was a 'conquest'?"

Quinn blinked, slighted amused at the assertiveness that emerged from the man in front of her. Ricky met her gaze, challenging her to read him as much as she needed. Sitting back, he confessed. "I can't place what I feel towards Jane, but I think about her all the time. She's not a conquest to me. Jane is -" He searched for the words. "She's amazing. It's not her looks or figure. She's authentic."

That was the right word. "Authentic." Quinn repeated. She read Ricky's microexpression. There was nothing malicious she could read. Easing up with the hostility, Quinn then asked, "Why can't you call it love then?"

Ricky's heart clenched. He believed in love and had longed for the kind of love he had seen between his parents growing up. Life didn't work that well, though. Ricky had sadly been used in his past relationships. Girls he had once felt affection for were only interested in two things: his body and money.

They claimed to love him, but they never cared to truly know Ricky Evens. He had dealt with that kind of attitude until Jane came along. She brought a piece of haven to Ricky's life. That was why he felt such ease treating her casually and not formally. She didn't care about his status as a boss. She didn't care for his money (though she was not shy about demanding overpay!) She had never tried getting in his pants!

She treated Ricky like everybody else: a human being, but she held secrets herself. Ricky didn't fully know Jane Blair. She kept things professional and Ricky was scared of undoing that delicate relationship. "Because what if my feelings change if I get too close?" Ricky answered honestly, feeling the weight lift from his chest. "People make fools of themselves when they fall hard." He returned Quinn's words to her.

He sagged in his seat. "If I call this love, I'll act foolishly towards her, and I don't want to burden her. Jane doesn't feel the way I do - I see that. I don't want to be rejected." He didn't want to do unto Jane what his past lovers had done to him.

The duo ate their meals in silence after that. Each was lost in their thoughts. Quinn had readied herself to rip this guy to shreds, but now she sort of wanted to pat the dude's back. His reply was genuine and though Ricky didn't realize it, Quinn noted how Ricky thought more of Jane's feelings rather than himself.

That was quite a different mindset compared to Jane's ex-boyfriend. Quinn remembered the devastating number Jane's ex had done to her. When confronted, the jerk continued claiming he was in the right. He had nearly destroyed her best friend. Jane had almost gone to jail too because of that douchebag.

It was only by God's mercy that Jane avoided that fate. Quinn imagined how different things would have been if Jane had fallen for a guy like Ricky. Ironically for a lawyer, he wore his heart on his sleeve and stood up for people who needed it - in and out of the court.

With her lunch break over, Quinn said her goodbyes. "Whether it's love or not; thank you for taking Jane's feelings into consideration." Picking up her mask and glasses, she gave Ricky some encouragement. "Jane's closed off in a lot of ways, but just so you know, she's the kind of girl who gives her everything to her loved ones. If you do realize you love her: win her heart and don't let go. You'll be sorry if you do." She picked up her garbage and left, throwing it in the trash bin by the door.

Monday came too soon for Ricky.

He had tried playing it cool, forcing his feet to walk in stride to his office. He waved to his employees, who greeted him and indulged in chit-chat with some of them. Outwardly, Ricky Evens was calm, handsome, and a personable boss. Ricky on the inside, however, wanted to scream at everybody to leave him alone already so he could hurry up and see Jane! Did his employees have to stop him EVERY second?!

'This is exhausting!' Ricky complained. He could feel his smile become more strained. He wanted to hurry up and see his secretary.

Thank God, Ricky finally made it to his office and everything seemed as if it had returned to normal. Jane was dressed in her usual attire, working diligently at her computer. There were no gifts today: no flowers or breakfast, etc.

It appeared that Jane had dealt with her stalker. Ricky eyed Jane, fascinated with how she swiftly nipped this situation in the bud. He thought he knew Jane - that she was as plain as plain comes. Now Ricky knew there was so more than what his secretary was willing to let on.

Quinn's words came to mind. "Morning, Mr. Evens." The Brunnet continued her work, pausing only to let Ricky know about his afternoon appointment.

Was what he felt truly love or was he easily carried away by emotions? "Morning." It bothered Ricky how estranged he felt with his secretary now. He wished for some way to walk into her life like she had with his. "I'll be in my office, Ms. Blair." 'What is wrong with me?' He asked himself for the gazillion times. 'What is it I want from Jane?'

There was only one answer to that - an answer that haunted Ricky Evens for the whole day.