Danielle sat by herself at the restaurant Toby asked her to go to. She played with her side braid a bit, as he waited for him to show up. The waitress came by for the second time, and smiled warmly.

"All set to order?"

Danielle looked at the menu in front of her as it sat on the table. She glanced at the other menu from across the table, and sighed at the empty chair before her.

"I'll just have some Strawberry Lemonade, if you have any," Danielle said as she opened her menu.

The waitress gave a quick nod. "Be right back with that."

Finally, her eyes lit up when she saw Toby arrive. He pulled out his chair and cleared his throat.

"Sorry. I know I'm late."

She didn't quite know how to maintain a friendly conversation so she replied, "It's okay."

The restaurant was lovely. White table cloths, round tables, fancy menus, and a bright chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The waiters wore tuxedos and their was a pianist playing slow music on the other side of the room.

"This place is really nice," Danielle commented.

Toby smiled a bit. "Yeah, it is. My ex-"

Danielle quickly lowered her eyes to the menu to avoid bringing attention to his mistake. Toby also grabbed his menu and cleared his throat. "D-Did uh. you have trouble finding it?"

She shook her head. "No, it was okay."

Toby put his menu down when he saw the waitress coming with Danielle's beverage. She smiled at the waitress and thanked her.

"Sorry, I just ordered a drink. I was..kind of thirsty," Danielle apologized to Toby.

"It's fine," he assured her.

She felt embarrassed. "I didn't know what drink you wanted. I should've asked-"

He held up his hand and tried to smile it off. "It's really fine. I'll just have a water with ice."

The waitress wrote that down and asked, "You two ready to order or do you still need a minute?"

The two of them were ready, and they ordered. Once the waitress was gone, Danielle sipped her drink. Toby rested his arms on the table, and stared at her. "So...h-how's everything?"

She tried not to smile so big. "Everything is going well, thanks. How about you?"

"Good, it's good."

She just noticed he was wearing a suit. Nicer than the one he normally wore to work. His hand reached for hers as the waitress came back with Danielle's salad she had ordered, as an appetizer. He blushed and pulled away. Danielle moved her hand as the waitress placed the plate on the table.

"Here, you go, honey. Be right back with yours, sir," the waitress smiled.

Danielle tried not to have noticed his attempt at holding her hand, and stared at her salad.

"You can...go ahead and eat," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, no, I can wait for yours to get here!"

He didn't expect that and smiled a bit.

"H-How long have you worked at Dunder Mifflin?" Danielle asked, sipping her lemonade.

Toby chuckled a bit as he shook his head. "Too long."

She knew he would say that and smiled, amused. Toby sat up straight and watched to see if the waitress was coming.

"Any plans besides working in HR?" Toby asked her.

Danielle gave a small shrug. "Not really. I like photography, but that's not really a solid thing, from what I hear."

The waitress brought Toby's salad and thanked then for their patience. When she left, they started eating. Toby ate slowly, and Danielle did the same. He noticed her gazing at the pianist playing from time to time. He smiled a bit at that.

"You like piano?"

"A little. I used to play a lot when I still had mine. It's at my mom's place, and I don't see her much since she's kind of far away. But I always liked classical music," Danielle replied as she slightly covered her mouth with her hand to hide her chewing.

Toby looked impressed. "You should play for me one day."

She admired his attempts at being charming and smiled. They continued eating, as the main dishes arrived. Danielle had ordered sushi with a side of shrimp. Toby had a steak and a side of shrimp.

"This sushi is really good," Danielle gasped as she ate.

He couldn't help but take in her glowing smile. Everything seemed to bring her joy or amazement. As if she was born yesterday. He noticed her hand on the table again, and debated reaching for it. As the night went in, they continued their small talk. Danielle gave a small yawn, and Toby glanced at his watch. It was nearly eleven.

"Should I get the check?"

She blushed. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm so tired."

"All the food, probably," he replied with a smile.

They made their way out after they paid, and he walked her to her car. Danielle unlocked the car door, and tossed her purse inside. She turned to face Toby and say goodbye.

"I'll see you at work tomorrow, then," she said, with a small smile.

He nodded at that. "Yeah, sounds good."

His eyes looked at her lips, and he slowly leaned forward. Danielle felt her stomach tighten when she saw his eyes close. His face leaned in and she gulped.

"Toby.."

He froze and opened his eyes. Shamefully, he stepped back and scratched his ear. "Sorry."

She tried not to make him feel more embarrassed and shook her head. Slowly, she got in her car and closed the door. He stepped aside as her car backed out. He didn't even look at her as she drove away. Sluggishly, he made his way to where he parked. Sitting in his car, he remained with his thoughts for several minutes. It wasn't a total disaster, but he always made things awkward or difficult. Turning his keys in the gear, the car started and he sighed aloud.

He drove off into the night, and dreamed of his HR assistant.