Chapter 4 #2
I stroll through the floor and into my office.
The best part? The giant window overlooking the city, just enough skyline to trick me into thinking I matter.
My desk, on the other hand, looks like a crime scene: half-stapled reports, coffee rings and a plant I’ve never water that somehow refuses to die.
I guess I should be thankful I have plenty of space for my desk, bookshelf and two guest chairs.
Once I get that promotion though, it’s game over.
My new office will have a whole second side; enough room for a couch, maybe a sleek table, possibly even a flat screen so I can flip on the news or watch our latest ad campaigns in peace. Manifesting, as the TikTokers say.
Manny, one of my closest friends and one of the only people here who tolerates me, approaches my desk with his usual too-much-energy entrance.
“Man, you left too early last night,” he says, half-shouting.
“Why?” I ask. “Did I miss Beau dancing on the tables again?”
“Nah,” Manny laughs. “Beau was tame. But someone did say they spotted a Victoria’s Secret model.”
“Yeah. I saw her,” I say casually, opening my laptop. “Actually met her.”
Manny freezes. His eyebrows shoot up.
“What? Bro. You didn’t even tell me.”
I shrug. “She was with AJ’s ex.”
He blinks, stunned into silence.
“…Wait, why were you with AJ and her ex?” The excitement fades from his voice. Everyone knows me and AJ don’t exactly braid friendship bracelets in our free time. Six years of animosity isn’t exactly subtle.
“I wasn’t with them,” I say, waving a dismissive hand. “I saw her talking to them at the bar and walked over. That’s when I found out it was her ex-fiancé.”
Manny’s quiet, clearly trying to figure out what to say next.
“How was he?” he finally asks.
Right. Manny knows Marcus. He was invited to the wedding. He went. He’s also the one who gave me the play-by-play after the fact. After I made the brilliant decision to mock AJ three days later, without knowing she’d been left at the altar. Yeah, not my proudest moment.
“He seemed normal,” I say with a shrug. “Shorter than I expected.”
“Damn,” Manny says, his voice softer now. “That must’ve been rough for Abby.”
I nod, as my mind drifts. Not to Marcus. To her. To last night.
Her full, warm lips. That slow exhale she let out mid-kiss, like maybe, just maybe, she was into it. Did I turn on AJ with my kiss? Jesus. Now that curiosity is stuck in my brain like a splinter.
“Hello? Earth to Jonathan.” Manny waves a hand in front of my face.
I blink the thought away. “Sorry. What was the question?”
“Was Abby okay?” he asks.
“Oh. Yeah.” I nod, lying through my teeth. “She seemed fine.”
She wasn’t fine. She was spiraling. Fiery in that way I weirdly kind of like. But I’m not about to sit here gossiping with Manny like we’re swapping stories at a brunch table. I’m too classy for that and too busy to care.
“Go to your office,” I say, waving him off. “I gotta look over my presentation.”
“Right. Okay. See you in there,” he replies, shooting me his half-goofy, half-sincere smile before walking off.
* * *
Once I had the rest of my papers organized, I wander into the break room for a coffee run.
The scent of someone’s day-old Pad Thai fills the room.
I spot Tanya talking to Elaine, the office gossip hens.
God love ’em. There’s always one. Or in our case, two.
They stop whispering the second I walk in.
“Oh. Hey, Jonathan,” Tanya says, waving awkwardly like she was just caught hiding a body.
“Hi, ladies.” I flash them my best confident-peacock smile. “Whatcha girls gossiping about?”
I grab my usual cup, refill it with coffee, add a splash of creamer and stir like it’s the most normal morning ever; despite the fact that Tanya is blinking at me like I’d grown a second head.
“Well…” Tanya starts.
Elaine smacks her arm. “Nothing,” she adds quickly. “Just excited to meet the new partner.”
I pause mid-stir and glance over at them.
They’re lying, obviously. Elaine is the alpha, but Tanya oozes as the weaker link. The one who cracks first under pressure. I turn, zeroing in.
“Tanya,” I say leisurely. “What’s going on?”
Tanya’s eyes dart to Elaine like she’s holding in a secret and her bladder at the same time. Elaine rolls her eyes and gives a subtle fine, go ahead shrug.
Tanya squeals, then blurts it out. “I saw you and Abby making out last night.”
I nearly drop my coffee. The smell of rich, roasted caffeine is suddenly replaced with the stale whiff of the air conditioning. Like the very aroma of you’re so screwed, drifts around me.
The Yank isn’t exactly a massive bar, but it’s not tiny either and later in the evening, the lights get low, the vibes get flirty and I really thought we were in the clear.
The group of coworkers had been sitting way in the back.
I figured no one saw the first kiss. Or the second. Especially not the second.
I loosen my brand-new Brooks Brothers aqua-blue tie and clear my throat.
Tanya keeps going. “I got to the bar late and when I walked in, I saw you and her… you know. Making out. By the Yankee memorabilia wall.”
Ah yes. That kiss. The second one. The one that lasted way longer than it should’ve, mostly because I didn’t want to stop. I liked kissing AJ. As much as I despise her, I have to admit she’s a hot kisser.
“I see,” I say, calm as ever. I’m not a panicker. I’m an improviser. I’m a salesman. That’s why I’m great at my job.
“You see, ladies,” I begin again, slipping into full-on pitch mode, “AJ and I happen to share a very passionate love for baseball.”
They blink, therefore I press on.
“We got into one of our usual arguments and to get her to shut up… I kissed her.”
Tanya and Elaine trade a look that practically blares with curiosity, as well as possibly buying my bullshit.
“You know how AJ can be,” I add with a casual shrug. “Sometimes she just won’t stop talking. Figured I’d try a new tactic.”
Elaine narrows her eyes. “Did it work?”
I smirk. “Let’s just say she stopped talking… and now hates me even more. So yeah, I’d say it worked.” I wink.
They giggle, of course, then grab their matching neon-pink Stanley cups and head for the door.
Just as they’re leaving, Tanya tosses a glance over her shoulder. “Maybe I should keep talking to you, Jonathan.”
Elaine gasps. “Tanya! You’re so bad.” She slaps her arm as they disappear down the hall, laughing.
“Have a nice day, ladies,” I call out, plastering on my most charming smile.
Damn, that was close. So, now the two biggest talkers in the office know I kissed AJ. I should probably tell her before she finds out the hard way. I top off my coffee, ditch the pretense of a leisurely pace and head straight for her office.
When I walk in, she’s finishing up an email. She glances at me over the rim of her blue-light glasses, non-prescription, I know she has perfect vision. She likes to remind me of it every time she catches a typo in one of my presentations.
“What do you want?” she snarls.
“We may have a problem,” I say.
Concern flickers across her face, right before her sapphire-blue eyes shift toward the large glass wall at the front of her office. They widen and her entire body goes rigid.
I turn around to see what’s got her looking like she’s just seen a ghost.
“Everyone! Everyone come out quickly to meet the new partner, Marcus!” Victoria calls out, her voice entirely too cheerful for what’s happening.
She’s arm-in-arm with the one man who absolutely should not be here.
The same man I mocked last night for leaving his bride at the altar. The same man AJ was supposed to marry.
I spin back toward AJ, panic starting to rise in my throat. She looks at me like I’ve just detonated a bomb in her office. My jaw tightens as I white-knuckle my mug.
“Okay,” I say. “We may have two problems.”