Page 25 of Off Limits

Jean-Luc

“HEY, MAN.” COMES Bob’s voice from the doorway to my office.

I look up from my desk in surprise to see my partner Bob leaning in the doorway. I was so deep in thought I didn’t even notice him open the door.

“Hey…” he says again, more gently this time. His expression changes to one of concern. “You all right, man? You have a late night or something?”

Christ. I must look like shit.

“Yeah,” I say half-heartedly. “Couldn’t sleep last night.”

He nods, only partially concealing his concern. “That’s rough, man. You’ll have a good sleep tonight if you power through today.”

“Yup,” I run my fingers through my hair, wondering how tired I really look. I don’t think I even looked in a mirror this morning.

“Hey, uh, apparently Sarah needs the name of your plus-one?”

“Huh?” For a moment I really have no idea what he’s talking about. All I can think about is how much I want him to leave.

“For the wedding,” he prompts. “It’s next month, remember?”

“Oh, right, of course.” I shake my head quickly, feeling like an idiot. I received the invitation to his daughter Sarah’s wedding months ago. In deference to my newly-single status, I’d been granted some leeway on providing the name of my date for the occasion…but apparently, the time was up.

And unfortunately, I hadn’t fulfilled my end of the bargain. I’d been so preoccupied with Dani’s situation and return to the house that I’d barely had dating on my mind—a little surprisingly, considering that when Melanie and I first separated, I’d been very busy trying to keep my bed warm.

“I, um, I’m actually still not sure,” I stammer. “Sorry.”

“Oh?” He leans forward through the doorway, in a pantomime of whispering. “I thought…you and the new Junior Architect, maybe…?”

For a second, I’m not following. Then I realize what he’s saying. “Oh! You mean Cynthia? No. That’s…that didn’t really pan out.”

“Ah.” He presses his lips together as he nods, and I can read his concern all over his face.

“It’s all good,” I add quickly. “We had a nice time but I realized it wasn’t a good fit. Besides, I don’t think I should date anyone we’ve hired.”

Unable to resist the bait, Bob steps all the way into the office and closes the door behind him, leaning against it. “Fuck, that’s too bad. I was hoping to live vicariously through you.”

“She is hot,” I concede with a laugh.

“Dude,” he stage-whispers. “I had a meeting with her in my office yesterday, and after she left I jerked off under my desk—right there in my office! Something about her perfume or something, I don’t know. I’m lucky no one walked in.”

I force a laugh, and refrain from rolling my eyes. Ten years older than me, Bob is a distinguished, respected architect. Married, two kids, paragon of society. Until you get him behind closed doors. Then Bob is a fucking dog.

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“Damn,” he shakes his head, and opens the door again. “Anyway, I need to give Sarah a name for the seating chart. Why don’t you bring Danica? It would be nice to see her and the food is going to be amazing. At least…it fucking better be. It cost a fortune.”

Danica. Jesus. Just hearing her name is enough to twist my guts.

“Sure,” I answer, unable to think of a reason why Dani shouldn’t be my date. “She’d like that.”

“Great.” He raps the doorframe twice with the palm of his hand. His right hand. The one he probably jacked off with in the office just next to mine. “I’ll let Sarah know.”

When he leaves, I stand and look at my reflection in the mirror above the console against the wall. Besides the dark circles, and redness of my eyes, I don’t think my appearance merits any concern about my well-being. Maybe it was my expression.

But I wasn’t lying when I said I hadn’t slept the night before. I hadn’t.

Nor the night before that.

---