Page 28 of Sugarplum

Chapter 19

Tanya dragged herself into work, looking as if she'd just spent the weekend building a house with her two bare hands. The only sign of a ski vacation was the sunburn on her nose. The rest of the work crew trudged in one by one with the same dead as a zombie expression. Something told me it was going to be a long day of grumpy arguments and terse words. But it seemed everyone had come back in one piece. With the exception of the new girl, Jordan, who looked more angry than tired. She walked past Tanya and me without so much as a hello.

I shot a questioning look at Tanya. She got a sudden burst of energy as she grabbed my arm and pulled me past the offices and through the workroom to my station. I hadn't turned on my computer yet because I was a coward. I just wasn't ready to look into the all too familiar eyes of the video game character on my monitor.

Tanya took a quick peek around. "I guess the new conquest fell flat. Stan and Jordan did not hit it off at all. She is super whiny. You know how Stan gets that little tick in his cheek when something irritates him only he's far too cool to lose it?"

"I know the tick, yes."

"Well, that little twitch was going off all weekend. And it was because of Jordan. Apparently, a nice pair of boobs can only get you so far. There's tons more to tell you, but I want to hear about your weekend. I got your message from a strange phone number. Tell me everything."

"The strange phone number," I said to myself. "I could call him. No, I won't. He left without a word."

Tanya stuck her hands on her hips. "Hello, earth to Jen. Care to cut me in the conversation? Whose number and why the heck did he leave without a word? And what word would that have been?"

"Jen." Stan's voice echoed through the workroom and caused all the half-dazed techies to look up bleary-eyed from their computers.

"I'll tell you later, Tanya, if I can work up the courage to talk about it." I brushed past her to the hallway.

Stan hadn't waited for me. I found him already back in his office. He shut the door behind me as I walked in.

"Uh, I apologize for not making it to the lodge," I said quickly, worried that he might be angry or insulted that I didn't show.

"Yeah, Tanya mentioned that you had car trouble. Everything all right now?"

"Yep, it's all fixed."

He sat against the front of his desk. "You are the only person who looks rested and happy this morning. Don't get me wrong—it was an awesome weekend, but it's hard coming back to work. You know what I mean?"

"I do." I could have added that I, too, had an awesome weekend, but the last thing I wanted was to make small talk with the man. "Uh, is there something you needed?"

"Nope." He tilted his head and used what he seemed to consider his charmed smile. "Just missed you, that's all. I was disappointed when I heard you weren't coming." He pushed off his desk and reached for my hand. A month ago, hell even a week ago, my heart would have fluttered with excitement at the gesture. But all I could do now was take a step back, out of his reach. His charmed smile vanished.

"What's wrong? Jen, it's you that I want. I miss what we had together."

I shook my head. "We just didn't have all that much. I've moved on. I think it's a lot better for our work relationship, don't you?"

He looked shocked, and the tick Tanya had mentioned earlier flicked his cheek. "Right," he said curtly. "How are those final graphics coming?" He couldn't have sounded more cold and businesslike if he had been a robot.

"I'll be done by Wednesday."

"Great." Without another word, he circled around his desk, sat in his chair and picked up his phone to make a call.

I walked out and closed the door sharply behind me. It was not the way I wanted to start the week. I was already beside myself with heartbreak about never seeing Holt again. This had been the last thing I needed.

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