Sold #2 - A Desperate Love

Chapter 4

"So Greg, Michael says your wife's pregnant...would this be the first?" She asked, avoiding the subject that neither wanted to bring up in front of her so that the good humoured atmosphere they had built up wasn't ruined entirely. If it was really important Michael would tell her, eventually. And she was quite surprised that it didn't bother her to know he was keeping it back from her intentionally, but then there wasn't anything she knew of about him that did bother her and that was how she liked it.

"Actually, we've got a daughter. She's just turned five." He explained, going on to elaborate, impressed with how well she was taking the fact that they had just shut her out of the conversation. But Michael didn't look surprised at all and just gave her that look that he'd been giving her all night, saying that he would have loved nothing more than to get her all alone and he couldn't help but laugh inwardly at how different he was with her. He was much more like a teenager when he was around the young girl and he wasn't sure whether it was because she, herself was so young at only eighteen, or if it was just because he was like a love sick puppy, drooling over her every second.

*****

Tai was quite happy to lazy about Antony's office with the pizza they had ordered as they went over the case notes that his brother refused to be a part of any longer. They could both understand his reasoning and were glad that he hadn't gone ahead and tried to separate the two things in his mind, because as they discussed it, neither of them could and they were nowhere near as close to Darcy as Michael was. They were surprised though, by the generous offer he had made, to take them both with him to the restaurant for lunch while his girlfriend and old friend got to know each other. And as generous as it was, they had a lot to talk about, both personally and professionally and so found it much easier to so with a large pizza and some privacy away from their boss. And Tai was quite surprised by what Antony chose to reveal to him in the privacy of his office, both glad to be out of ear shot from Amanda.

"So she's got a thing for Mikey?" He thought it over, glad that his best friend didn't really care after having had an entire night to think abut it logically. Of course it bothered him that she had been playing games and that she had demolished the truth he had given her by getting back into the dating game after so long, but he really seemed excited about Arena, and even took the picture he had always kept, back out from the locked drawer of his desk. It was only so Tai could remember what she looked like, but still he kept it out and placed it back where it used to sit on his desk. "I'd never have guessed it. She's so young."

"She's the same age as Darcy, kid. There's just a difference in emotional maturity." Antony laughed, reminding his friend that regardless of the three years between their boss and his new girlfriend, it wasn't obvious because she was so intelligent, sweet and mature that they seemed so well suited to each other, age didn't matter. But Amanda was so much more reckless than Darcy seemed to be, and not nearly half as attractive. "Darcy's very...daddy's girl who has a hidden sexy side whereas Amanda's more the bitchy, high school cheerleader." He thought aloud, a nod of agreement combining the yawn Tai let slip.

"How is it that I'm the one just out of school and yet you're the one choosing the high school analogy?" He asked with a teasing smile that made them both laugh, neither really caring that despite the five year age difference between them, they were just as crazy and as big a kid as each other. It was only the ringing of the desk phone that interrupted their humorous thoughts as they each read through a different set of case notes while they talked. And yet, when Antony answered the phone, a slice of pizza dripping some tomato purée onto the important document he was reading in such a big drop that made Tai laugh, he couldn't enjoy the humour and only nodded seriously, taking the phone from between his shoulder and his ear to hold it up for his friend. He felt guilty passing the phone over without explaining, but he felt it was better to hear from her than through someone who didn't know the reasoning behind it.