Random Encounter by Allyson Lindt

Twenty-Three

Dustin

Should this bother me so much? Co-workers came and went all the time. So did fuck buddies. My lack of a long-term relationship history, and job history, spoke to both.

But Phillip was a friend. Or I thought he was. I didn’t understand his desire to move on, but I didn’t hold it against him.

Maybe a little.

That wasn’t the issue either, though.

I’d managed to avoid thinking about this all night, thanks to Addie’s company. But now that we were back in the office, seeing Phillip again...

The fury and betrayal were back.

And what he’d done was a betrayal. This wasn’t a matter of oh, I forgot to mention... Phillip actively made sure I didn’t know what he was doing. Why Addie was really hired. He made it a point to deceive me. He lied to me, and I had no idea why.

Was I doing the same to Addie? Her question what are we circled in my thoughts, along with everything else.

I’d been honest with her about not having an answer, but I was also having a hard time seeing past other people’s lies and it wasn’t fair to reflect that back at her. I did want her.

As more than a co-worker-slash-friend?

I didn’t know. The sex was incredible and so was her company.

Those things were amazing with Phillip too.

Damn it. I pinched the bridge of my nose, but the gesture didn’t cut off the rambling thoughts.

My messenger pinged with a new note. Right, I should be working.

Give me a call when you have a minute, Judith typed.

I picked up the desk phone. No reason to keep the boss waiting if I could avoid it, especially since I needed her to see I was the right guy for the job I wanted.

“Getting awfully used to that office, aren’t you?” She answered.

The different extension would show on her phone, the way hers did on mine. “The office that should be mine? Yes.”

The noise she made was as much huff as laugh. “No. Especially not right at this moment.”

“Oh?” I couldn’t find a better response that would still hide my irritation.

“Your friend Mr. Toph, has sent a follow-up response to his Cease and Desist. He’s informed me he’ll drop the matter, and not take things public, if we hire him.”

I snorted with disbelief. Was he fucking kidding? “Does he think this is some weak Hollywood movie?”

“I’d rather not speculate about what or how he thinks,” Judith said. “I’d rather we had a way to shut him down instantly.”

“You and me both. I thought we sicced Legal on him?” Obviously it wasn’t enough. “Give me some time to think about it, and I’ll get you an answer,” I said. While I wasn’t the one causing the problem, it was happening here, to this company, because I was the person he knew. I’d come up with a solution.

Judith was silent so long I almost asked if she was still there. “You have until end of day Monday,” she said.

“Got it. I’ll have something for you.” I had no idea what, but this gave me the entire weekend and then some to let the thought simmer.

My messenger popped again, this time with a note from Phillip.

In fact, I could spend the next couple of days stewing on the odds of two people I trusted so completely betraying me. I closed Phillip’s message without reading it.

Was I being childish? It was possible. Did I care?

Not anymore than Phillip did when he decided he needed to hide the fact that he was leaving. Not anymore than Nolan did when he manipulated me and stole my work.

But that was the problem—I did care, and I didn’t like how much it hurt.

I managed to avoid contact with Phillip the rest of the day. Not a practical thing going forward, especially if I wanted to be the boss, but he wouldn’t be here long enough for it to matter.

Daria invited me to dinner that night at Buck E. Cheese. Which meant she wanted to apologize to the girls for the last-minute business travel, and she wanted a second set of eyes there to help watch them.

I was fine with that, but surprised with the location. “I thought Alana was too old for Buck E. Cheese.”

“It was her request,” Daria said. “She told me she had to enjoy it before she was old and gross.”

That sounded right.

We picked a table with a clear view of both the ball pit and the arcade, depending on which direction one was facing. The rule was, the girls had to eat at least one slice of pizza before they played games.

Harmony ran off to jump in the pit, and I handed Alana a twenty for tokens. Daria raised her eyebrows, but didn’t say anything.

“Who’s Addie?” Daria asked when the girls were both out of hearing range.

The question tugged at so much more confusion than Daria probably meant it to. “New woman at work,” I said, my attention focused on Alana wandering between video game machines. Was I a proud uncle when she stopped at the Star Wars game? Damn straight.

“Uh huh.” Daria didn’t sound convinced. “Alana told me that if Joe and I both had to work during her next swim meet, it was okay. Adrienne would take her.”

I glanced at Daria, one eyebrow raised, before turning my attention back to the arcade. “Wonder where she got that from.”

“I have this tiny nagging fear that never goes away.” Uncertainty slipped into Daria’s voice. “That whoever Joe’s new girlfriend is, they’ll like her better than me. It’s silly, I know. But the fear is there. I didn’t expect them to replace me with your girlfriend.” Her laugh landed flat.

“She’s not...” The denial died in my throat.

“Mommy, Uncle Dustin, watch.” Harmony’s shout carried above all the other screaming kids.

I turned to see her hop into one of the larger slides and squeal as she flew into the pit of colorful balls. Daria and I both cheered, and Harmony looked satisfied.

“Does Phillip know?” Daria asked.

Not who I wanted to be discussing. “Know… Adrienne?” Intimately. “She works with us. With me. He’s leaving.” My bitterness leaked into the words.

Alana skipped back to me and held out her hand. “Can I have money for skeeball?”

“What happened to the other money he gave you?” Daria asked.

Alana shoved her hands in her pockets and stared at her shoes. “I spent it on Star Wars.”

“You spent a couple bucks on Star Wars. You pocketed the rest.” I’d taken my eyes off her for a minute or two, but not twenty-bucks-in-quarters minutes.

Alana scowled.

“Stop trying to fleece Dustin, and apologize for lying,” Daria said.

I stared at Alana expectantly.

She huffed. “I didn’t—”

I raised my brows.

She slouched. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t do it again. Go play.” I waved her off. Best she learn the lesson now, and not when she was old and gross.

“So, you and Phillip…” Daria trailed off. “I just...”

So much for avoiding that topic. “Might as well finish the thought.”

“I keep wondering when the two of you are going to figure out how good you are together, and stop pretending you’re just friends.”

The words slammed into me harder than was fair, and I didn’t care for the knot they left in my chest. “We’re not even that.”

“Okay. Sure.” She didn’t sound convinced. “Listen, I know I give you a lot of shit about, well, everything. I mean, you’re my big brother, I’m supposed to. But there’s no one I trust more with the girls.”

“I— Where did that come from?”

“I don’t know. It just felt like you needed to hear it.”

“Thanks.” Rather than helping me add some order to my thoughts, they were in more of a jumble now than ever.