He studies me without saying anything.
“Am I fired?” I ask.
“No. Fuck no. If you need to upgrade your skills so that you’ve got the qualifications listed on your resume and that extra 5 or ten per cent you don’t have now, I’ll sign off on you expensing extra courses.”
I do not want to burst into tears right now. But I might if I don’t get out of here.
“I’m doing one part-time, but that’s good to know. Thank you.”
He nods. “And if shit gets too amped you can take some time off or work from home until it all blows over. Maybe I’ll hire you some help, too.”
I blow out breath. Blows over? If only this was an uncomplicated storm that’d blow over on its own.
“Thank you. Okay, is that it?” I ask.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“Let Carly off the hook. She loves you, and she’s flippin’ out. She didn’t sleep a fuckin’ wink last night which also means I didn’t because she did not stop tossin’ and turnin’. I want to fuckin’ sleep tonight, Pinky. Make sure that’ll happen because she knows you two are good.”
“Is that an order?” I ask, but my voice breaks and my attempt at snark falls flat because my eyes fill up, too.
“Damn straight,” he tells me. “Get back to work.”
I stand up and grab my coffee.
“Thanks, Aiden,” I whisper and then turn around and go back to my desk, drop my coffee and notepad off, and then I go into Carly’s office and shut the door.
She closes her laptop lid and gives me her attention.
“I’m still mad,” I say. “You’re in the bestie penalty box.”
She bites her lip.
“But I’ll get over it. I get it, Car.”
“Okay,” she whispers. “I’m just so worri-”
“I don’t wanna talk about anything right now. I’m…” I use Jude’s word, “digesting.”
She nods.
“Love you,” I say as I turn around and leave her office.
I hear her make a choking sound and then she clears her throat.
I move quickly, holding my breath so that my throat doesn’t make the same noise and go back to my desk to fight with that software some more until I figure out what I’ve been doing wrong.
An hour or so later, I get up to go to the bathroom and see a guy in the cubicle beside me.
I stop cold. Oh. Right.
He’s looking over his shoulder at me, looking alert.
“Hey,” I whisper.
He turns around fully and rises, then shakes my hand.
He’s a tall Asian guy with dark hair and looks like he could be Japanese. He’s extraordinarily hot and his suit looks bespoke. I can make out thigh muscles that would likely have no problem cracking walnuts.
“Fred?”
“Nice to meet you,” he says.
“Ally. Hi. I figure we should meet since we’re temporary cubicle neighbors.”
He nods. “Good idea.”
“Have a, um… good day. You want a coffee or something?”
“I’m good.”
I drop the volume of my voice. “I’m working late tonight but you don’t have to. I’ll get my cabbie to pick me up and take me home.”
“I’ll be here until you get in that cab,” he says. “And followin’ close behind. Or until your man picks you up. You wanna save the cab fares, I’ll drive you to your man.”
My man.
My eyes roll.
***
When I’m out of the bathroom later, I see him at the water fountain.
Bill and Sonia are behind him, waiting to refill their water bottles. Bill’s eyes are on my hickey.
Sonia’s eyes are on Fred. They hit mine and she mouths, “Who’s that?” Then gives me a big o-face and fans herself.
I shrug and head back to my desk. She follows, chatting happily, missing my mood. She asks me about my hickey, and I wave it off, telling her it was a one-night stand and that I can’t even remember the guy’s name.
She sees I’m distracted so the chit-chat doesn’t last.
Lunchtime rolls around and Carly texts me to say she and Aiden are going out for lunch and she’ll bring me something back if I want. I reply and ask her to text me a picture of the menu and I’ll reply with what I want.
She and Aiden rarely go for lunch together. I mean, they work together, live together, so at least a little separation is nice, but I get the feeling he’s doing that to cheer her up because of me.
I wonder what Jude’s up to.
As I have that thought, my desk phone rings with a number I don’t recognize.
“Ally Kingston,” I greet.
“Hello Ally, this is Mira Kokotovic, your Baka.”
My baka? Not really, but I greet her back.
“Hi Baka. How are you?”
“Jude asked me to go shopping for food for his house and says you’re staying with him for a while. That there’s something wrong at your apartment and you can’t go there. What’s going on?”
Panicking, I answer the only way I can think to answer. “Uh, I don’t know. I’ll have to… um… phone him and find out.”