Page 21 of Reunion With Benefits

Light streamed in the window. Before Ellie, Derrick kept the blinds closed. Not anymore. That realization made Spence smile when nothing else about this talk did.

“You have a thing for Abby. That’s not new. It’s not a great idea in an office environment either, but with consent, open communication and ground rules it’s workable.” Derrick exhaled. “That’s direct from Human Resources, by the way. I needed to be able to sleep, so I checked.”

“This is about you now?”

“The point is you’re avoiding how you feel about her.” When Spence started to respond, Derrick talked right over him. “Unfortunately, that’s not new, either. But the mess is making people twitchy, so fix it.”

Spence’s fingers tightened on the back of the chair. “Is this some new Human Resources program I don’t know about? A sort of tough love thing?”

“The engagement party is back on. Business associates will be there. People from the office will be there. And Abby will be there.” Derrick looked less happy the longer he talked.

Spence heard about the party from Ellie, so this wasn’t exactly news. “Okay.”

“Inside and outside of the office, you need to either deal with the fact you have feelings for Abby or bury them deep enough that they’re no longer an issue.”

Burying them. He’d give anything to be able to do that. “We’re trying.”

Derrick shrugged. “I have no idea what that means.”

That made two of them. “To get along. We’re trying.”

Derrick laughed then. “How’s that going for you?”

“It’s a work in progress.”

* * *

Abby sat at her desk. She’d finally stopped shaking. Spence did that to her. Got her churned up then broke her down. She didn’t know how much more she could take.

With her door closed for a bit of privacy, she leaned back in the leather chair. Spun it around until she faced the windows. She looked out over the traffic. Watched a car weave in and out, riding right up on the bumpers of the ones in front of it. Talk about anxiety. It was enough to make her happy she took the metro or walked to most places.

After a few minutes, she spun her chair again. Looking at the files and the light flashing on her desk phone signaling messages, she thought about those brownies she got for Ellie. Those sounded good right now. Always, actually.

Her gaze fell on the school project file and a memory tugged at her. It took a few seconds, and then she remembered the envelope from Rylan. She reached into the folder and grabbed it. Tore the closed tab. The whole time she hoped this was work-related and not some sort of weird date invitation.

She slipped her fingers inside and took out the white piece of paper. The stationery made her heart stop. Her involuntary gasp filled the room. Berger & Associates. She knew the name all too well. Jameson’s direct competition on most prestigious commercial build-out jobs.

They’d once made her a job offer. Very lucrative. All she had to do was sell her soul and spill all the proprietary information she knew about Jameson’s financial dealings. Things that would give Berger the edge in bidding on jobs. Never mind that telling those secrets would likely get her sued by Derrick and make her an outcast in the DC business community.

But the timing had been interesting. Berger swooped in right after the kiss with Eldrick happened. It was as if they’d sensed her rage and vulnerability and pounced. Still, she turned them down. Angry or not, she would always turn that kind of offer down.

They’d tried a few times since but never with much enthusiasm. A call here. A stray comment at this meeting over there. Now this.

She scanned the note. It was terse and unsigned. Basically just a date and time for a meeting and the name of a restaurant in Foggy Bottom. Then there was the last line: “You don’t have a choice. Make this happen.”

For the fifth time today, she got dizzy and the world flipped upside down on her. The game never ended...no matter how tired she was of playing it.

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