Beneath the Layers

Chapter 8

Not a lot had happened since the awkward moment I shared with Nick in his office. In fact, the past two weeks went by pretty smoothly. Nick proved himself to be a good boss, so far. Although, I could still feel the tightness in the air whenever he was around.

This past Tuesday he left for a pre-trial conference on one of our cases and never returned to the office. I had to admit, I felt somewhat disappointed, as well as relieved to an extent since I was able to focus better on my work. But, disappointed nonetheless.

It was finally Friday, the end of my third week at Rossi & Rossi, P.A., and I had plans with Venus to get drinks after work. I've interrogated her about what happened after I left Flanagan's the night we ran into Nicholas, but she kept stalling. I think she was using it as leverage to ensure I would go out with her tonight.

My cell phone vibrated and it broke my train of thoughts. It was an email from Nicholas.

From: Nicholas Rossi

Subject: T.G.I.F Happy Hour

Date: November 01, 2013 8:07 a.m.

To: Tara Gianakos

Good morning and a happy Friday. I would like to personally invite you for Happy Hour this evening. I will not be by the office today; therefore, I want to let you know the time so you would not make any plans. I think this will be a good opportunity for you to get to know some of the office staff better. By the way, I went by the office last night, and I must say I'm impressed with all the work you have accomplished in such a short time. I also noticed how you organized all the work I had on my desk. Thank you for that.

Nicholas Rossi, Esq.

Rossi & Rossi, P.A.

The email had caught me by surprise. I was shocked that he took the time to personally invite me. It was very sweet and thoughtful of him. But I didn't know what to do. What would I tell Alex? There was no way I could keep it from him. It would make things so much worse if he found out. I mean, it's not like I was doing anything wrong by going, except that my boss would be there. Alex would misinterpret the whole situation. I never missed the way he tensed just at the mention of Nick's name. Nick would tense just the same at the mention of Alex. It was clear they didn't like each other.

Men—who understood them?

From: Tara Gianakos

Subject: Re: T.G.I.F Happy Hour

Date: November 01, 2013 8:19 a.m.

To: Nicholas Rossi

Good morning and a happy Friday to you as well. I appreciate that you have kept me in mind for the office events and especially that you considered inviting me. It is very nice of you to take the time out of your busy schedule to send me this email; however, I will not be attending today as I already have a prior engagement. I will make sure to join the next office gathering. I would also like to thank you for acknowledging my work.

Tara Gianakos

I hit send as I gathered my things to get off the train.

A few seconds later, my phone started buzzing in my purse, and when I looked, it was a number I didn't recognize. I answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Tara." I froze at the sound of his voice. "I can tell by your silence that you haven't saved my number yet." Clearing his throat, he continued, "I just wanted to see if you were close to the office yet."

"I just got off the train. I'm about five minutes away." I looked at my watch to check the time, but I still had thirty minutes to spare. So why had he called me?