"Why am I here?"  Claire sighed and picked up her fork to poke randomly at her pancakes.  "I won't lie, it's a bit personal.  You're a good looking man, Mark."  She glanced up to let her eyes drift over his face before returning her gaze to the plate in front of her.  "I'll admit to having a crush on you, okay?  You were an amazing player who just always seemed to have his shit together.  You didn't seem like an asshole either."  Tired of poking at her breakfast, she finally used her fork to cut a bite before transferring the food to her mouth.  The whole time she kept her eyes directed downward.<br/><br/>After another bite was swallowed and chased with a sip of coffee, Claire finally looked up and let their eyes meet.  "So excuse me for having a moment where I thought it would be awesome to get to work with someone I used to look up to.  Maybe it was a bit selfish of me to think I could help you.  I think it's pretty obvious you don't want anyone to help you.  I'm not going to yell at you anymore.  You're an adult and you can make your own decisions.  You know how I feel and I know how you feel."<br/><br/>The waitress provided a welcome yet brief interruption as she swung by to top off their coffee and check on them.<br/><br/>"I'm sorry I wasted your time but at least you got a funny story out of it.  That time the pretty journalist knocked on your door and forced you to go have breakfast then scolded you throughout the meal.  Imagine how horrible you can make me sound."  Mirth danced in her eyes and a smile teased her lips as she lifted her coffee to sip it cautiously.