Page 51 of My Dear Mr. Corporate

“Ah- there’s something else too but it can wait till tonight. Hold on.” I heard muffled talking in the background before he returned. “I’ve to go, Tate.”

“Alright. Should I pick you up dinner?”

“Nah, I’ll eat here at the restaurant on my break. See you later.” Although on a second thought, he added, “I love you.”

Just like that those three little words were the glue that mended the crack between us. I felt lighter than I had all week. It no longer mattered that I had a mountain of work to get done. His confession of love was the caffeine I didn’t know I needed.

“I love you too, Bry.”

He hung up and I returned to work with renewed vigor. No task seemed too great after that. I couldn’t wait for the end of the day, but given Bryan would get home late, I stayed back an hour to be more productive. Before I left the office, I rang Gio and asked him if I could stop by, so we could talk. At his agreement, I did exactly that, deciding once and for all that I would put the matter of any possibility of a relationship between Gio and me to rest. It just wouldn’t happen and he needed to know that. My avoidance of it wouldn’t make it go away. If he chose to end our friendship because of my decision that would be quite sad, but I hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

At the restaurant, I ordered dinner to go and while it was being prepared, Gio and I entered his office in the back. He was a nervous ball of energy, even more so than when he had dropped his bombshell on me at Jeremy’s shop. I figured he’d had some liquid courage in him that night which made it easier for him to tell me how he felt. He pulled off his chef’s toque hat and gestured for me to sit.

“Do you want something to drink?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t. This has to be quick. There are some things I want to get done at home before Bryan gets home from work.”

He sighed. “I guess it was too much for him not to tell you about earlier today. I swear the meeting was innocent.”

I frowned at him. “What are you talking about? What meeting?” I glared at him, my hackles rising. “Did you try to confront him again? For fuck’s sake Gio, this has to stop.”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“No, he didn’t say anything. What should he have told me?’

He shrugged. “Nothing. It’s nothing. We just ran into each other at the restaurant. It was hardly planned.”

“I’m not even sure I believe that.” I scowled at him. “I barely know you anymore.”

“Hey, I might have messed with him a little in the past, but I mean it. Today’s meeting was purely coincidental.”

I stared at him, trying to figure him out. He wasn’t being completely honest with me, but what was he hiding this time? “Would you lie to me?”

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “If I thought it would spare you being hurt.”

“So, it’s futile for me to ask you if you were the one who shot at Bryan at my mother’s party?”

His mouth fell open in shock and he made a strangled sound. “Oh my God. What the fuck, Tate? How could you ask me such a question? You think I would murder him just to get you?”

“Hey.” I shrugged, pretending a nonchalance I didn’t feel. “I’m just asking.”

“Then you don’t know me as well as I thought you did.” He turned away from me. “I was hoping we could get past this, but now I realize how ridiculous that is. I made a mistake, okay? I was confused and didn’t want to lose you. It’s always been just us and suddenly Bryan came along, and he’s taken all the attention. I do love you, but just as a jealous friend. Nothing more.”

“You’re just so fucking confused!” I snapped at him. “One minute you love me, another you don’t. Do you even know what the fuck you want Gio? You need to get your head on straight before you do something foolish. If you can’t appreciate the fact that Bryan makes me happy, then maybe it’s best for you to stay away for a while. I love him. That’s not going to change.”

“I know.” His words came out as a whispered sigh.

“Good. I pray to God you had nothing to do with that incident at my mother’s house because if you were behind it Gio, you’d be dead to me. For now, I’ll believe someone shot at him by mistake, but if I find out otherwise, it’s going to boil down to you and me, and you’ll be sorry.”

Staring into the familiar face while I leveled a threat wasn’t easy, but it had to be done. While I was grateful for everything he had done for me over the years, he needed to understand boundaries. I didn’t want to lose him as a friend, but he needed to respect my partner. I also felt better for it, no longer avoiding the issue.

At home that night I cleaned up a bit just to keep me occupied until Bryan got home. I changed the bed sheets, took a shower then lay naked on the bed to rest. I never intended to fall asleep, but it was the ringing of my phone that woke me up. Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I reached for the phone before it rang off. I noticed the time of night was nine-thirty and Bryan was the one on the line.

“Hey, Bry.”

“I just got off work,” he said. “I’m driving now, so I’ll see you in about twenty. Can you time me and run me a bath, please ?”

“Okay. Bath it is.”

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