I didn’t know what to say, so I just thanked him.
As we ate, the conversation slowly moved away from work. He asked about my family again, about how my mother was doing. When I told him the medication was helping, he nodded and said, “That’s good. You shouldn’t have to carry everything alone.”
There was a short silence after that.
Then he added, almost casually, “If you ever need more stability… there are better arrangements than side projects.”
I looked at him. He didn’t explain further. He just held my gaze for a moment before looking away and changing the subject.
When lunch ended, he insisted on dropping me closer to my area. Inside the car, the air felt heavier than before. He didn’t touch me. He didn’t say anything inappropriate. But the silence between us carried something I couldn’t ignore.
As I stepped out of the car, he said, “I’ll message you later about the next phase of the project.”