Page 22 of The Office Games

“We can stop for as long as you like, Taryn.” I don’t need to distract her with an argument; it might make her drive even worse.

As we approach the next ramp, she turns so wide that we nearly hit the yield sign.

Jesus Christ.

She slams her foot against the brakes, just in time for us to avoid rear-ending a postal van.

“Ugh!” she says. “People can’t drive to save their lives these days.”

Don’t say a word. Don’t say one fucking word…

When she pulls into the gas station, I immediately get out, grateful to feel my feet on solid ground.

“Do you want a coffee from inside?” she asks.

“Sure.” I hand her my credit card. “Take your time.”

I wait until she’s inside before checking my phone.

There are seven missed calls, all from my mother.

Relenting, I call her back.

“Hey there, James!” My brother Tucker’s voice greets me instead. “I was beginning to think you weren’t alive anymore.”

“Feel free to keep thinking that,” I say. “Put our mother on the phone.”

“She told everyone you were coming to Colorado this Christmas. Is that true?”

“I told her I wouldconsiderit,” I say. “She’s the only person I want to see.”

“Ouch.” He laughs. “So, you’re still not over that little thing that happened between us?”

“You’re calling it a little thing?”

“In the grand scheme of life, it’s not something that matters all that much.”

“You slept with my fiancée, Tucker.”

“You weren’t emotionally into her.”

“So why did I propose?”

“Because you felt like youhadto,” he says. “You were just dragging her along as a rebound girlfriend.”

“So, that makes you dating her and proposing in front of the entire family during the following Christmas okay?”

“Ugh…” He groans. You always get hung up on the wrong part of the story.”

“What parts am I missing?”

“Look.” He sighs. “It was several years ago, and I don’t know what it’s going to take for you to see the light and let it go, but I do know that I don’t want our son to be born in a world where his Uncle James hates him.”

I hang up and see Taryn standing right outside the car, armed with a full cupholder and more snacks.

The pained look on her face lets me know she heard everything, but I don’t feel like addressing it at all.

Leaning over, I push the door open.

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