Chapter 9
Emily
I slippedinto an old habit with him last night. And I have been chastising myself for it.
What? We’re two colleagues sharing a meal. We did nothing unprofessional; we didn’t touch on purpose, and we talked about work the entire time. But parts of me wanted to revert to the way we were in Mexico. I wanted to reach out and wipe the cheese attached to his lip. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck. I wanted to bring him back to my condo and kiss him until the morning. And I wanted to slip into bed with him, only to wake up beside him. Instead, I shook off the desire and we walked back to the office buildings, went into the parking garage, and went our separate ways.
As soon as I got home, I sent a message to my friend, Valerie, who works in accounting and urgently needs an early morning meeting. I needed someone to talk to.
“Girlfriend. Why the early meet up? Couldn’t we hang out over lunch?” she asks as soon as she sits down. “I hate being in the office when no one is here.”
“I needed to talk to you before the day started,” I tell her, taking the seat beside her in front of my desk.
“Are you in trouble?” she whispers. “I take it that this isn’t something that could have been done over the phone?”
I shake my head. “No, and no. I need to tell you about my vacation.”
She releases a breath and sits back in her chair, relieved. “Jesus! This really didn’t have to get me out of bed so early, thinking it was a life-or-death thing. We could have totally done lunch.”
“We could have. But I needed to talk to you right away as soon as I could wrap my brain around everything. Circumstances from my trip have come and slapped me back here in reality.”
“Circumstances as in what? You sure you didn’t get into trouble while you were down in Mexico? It sounds like something went down.”
“Something went down. On me. I met someone.”
“Oh, say no more. Tell me everything.”
“He is tall, devilishly handsome, looks like he would be a good time, and boy, he sure as hell was.”
“More details, please?”
I look around, make sure that the door to my office is closed, and turn my chair to face her.
“We met at the airport. Had a drink together, and then he ended up on the same plane as me. It was as if he was a present that was wrapped especially for me. We ended up at the same resort and everything. On our first night there, we had dinner together, and I presented that we have a no-strings-attached fling. And so, we did.”
“Oh wow. Do you guys have any pictures together? I want to see how hot this guy is.”
“No need.” I shake my head slightly.
“What? Oh c’mon. Why not?” she pouts.
“I mean, I do. But there’s no need for one.”
“Why not?” she asks again.
“Because his office is right over there.” I point.
Her head follows, then returns with a slacked jaw.
“You’ve got to be shitting me. The guy you hooked up with is the new guy that everyone is talking about?”
“Everyone is talking about him?”
“I mean, yeah. You know what he looks like. No, of course, you do. I mean, wow. You hooked up with that fine piece of specimen?”
“Well, I mean, yes. But what are people saying?”
“Oh, not much. Everyone on my floor has been talking about the hot guy working up here. How he looks in his pants, with his sleeves rolled up, you know. The typical locker room conversations.”
“Wow. I did not know. Guess the rumors never got up here, because I have heard nothing.”
“Oh honey, I’m sure they have. You just are on a different feeding ground than everyone out on that floor. I’m sure they all have heard and have contributed to the gossip around here.”
“There’s even gossip?” I’m learning more than I expected.
“Nothing really that I’ve heard. Most of it sounds like high schoolers talking about the hot quarterback.”
“Cute.”
“Okay, so I haven’t seen him yet. Is he here yet?” I look in his direction covertly, just in case, and shake my head.
“His office is still dark. He doesn’t usually get in until nine.”
“Nine? Who the hell gets here at nine?”
“He does. He’s been here late every night since he started. So, it’s not like he’s slacking off.”
“Well, are you guys going to rekindle this thing that was going on between you two?” she asks.
“Absolutely not. We laid out the rules. We’re just peers now, nothing more.”
“But you want it to be.” She states, not questions.
I don’t answer her right away. “I do. Fuck. I do.” I throw my head back.
“Well, the bonus is, you don’t really need to carve out time away from work to see him. He’s right over there, as you so pointed out. Maybe dating someone here at work will be the best thing to do since all you do is work.”
“Hey. I resent that. I do things.”
“When was the last time you went and saw a movie?”
“When was Titanic in the theaters?”
“Exactly.”
“Shit. There he is. Hide.” I say and immediately regret it.
What am I, a teenager? There’s nothing that I have to hide.
“Oh, no! He might have caught me looking. He’s gonna know that we’re over here talking about him,” she jokes.
“Shut up.” I roll my eyes. Did he really see us looking?
“You sound like you’re fifteen. Woman up. So, he’s cute. But he looks like a baby. How old is he?”
“He’s of age. He’s a grown man too, not some PB Preppy or surfer wannabe.”
“Grown man, eh? Married? I mean, what kind of grown man goes on vacation for a week alone?”
I never thought of that. It wasn’t something that either of us discussed. I wouldn’t have considered asking him, but then again, I told him we should share personal details, or that I wanted to know anything specific about him. Could he be married? Nah, I haven’t seen a ring, and he has had no one visiting the office or any phone calls that I’ve noticed of a personal nature. No, he’s not married. He seems like the type to disclose that kind of information. And besides, he was the one who sat next to me. But that doesn’t mean he’s not a scumbag cheater or anything.
“No, he can’t be married. At least as far as I know.” I shake my head.
“Are you sure?”
I bite at the skin on my thumb nervously.
“Yes,” I reply, determined. “While we didn’t talk about anything that was too deep and personal, I can tell by his character that he’s not a complete douchebag and is pretty single.”
“But did you ask?”
“When was the last time you met some guy and straight up asked him if he was married?”
“You have a point right there.”
“Wait, you are close with Regina in HR, yeah? Can you ask her if his paperwork says anything about being married?”
“You know damn well that I cannot do that without raising eyebrows.” She shakes her head.
“Not true. You said that there’s gossip about him on other floors. What if the question of his status was incorporated in gossip?” I suggest.
“Who is his assistant? Just ask them.” She stands up, and looks out onto the floor, then heads to my desk and pulls the phone to her ear. “Looks like it’s still Melinda.”
“Melinda, hi, this is Val from accounting.” She pauses and smiles, “So, help me settle a bet down here on our floor. There’s a lot of hot gossip about your new boss.” Another pause, “is the new guy married or seeing anyone?” pause and she nods. “Okay, great. Thanks for the intel.”
I wait eagerly for the answer that I should know the answer to.
“Well?”