I woke up the next morning thanking whatever almighty power there may be that it was Friday. Not having much of a personal life, I didn’t usually welcome the end of the week as wholeheartedly, but I barely wanted to go to work. Staying as far away from Nate sounded like a great plan in my book.
I was working on the Schwartz case, though, and I’d made some progress. I wasn’t going to let the heavy air I felt in the office keep me from completing my task. A part of me wanted to prove to Nate that I was good at what I did. There wasn’t really a reason for it, after the no dating mandate, but I still thought it was important.
After getting dressed in a black t-shirt that said, Bite me in hot pink and normal boot cut jeans, I checked my phone for messages. It said I had two texts. One from Frannie asking me to meet her for drinks later, which wasn’t too crazy, but the other one was from Nate, saying he was sorry for being a jerk. That one was extremely surprising.
I wasn’t sure what he had to apologize for; he’d stated the obvious. Work and relationships didn’t mix as far as I knew, so we weren’t starting a relationship. Clearly, I’d thrown out some signals that I wasn’t aware of that indicated to him I was interested in something, since he had to spell it out for me the day before.
We knew nothing about each other, and what we did was more than likely all lies, so I didn’t see the need for his text. I didn’t want to discuss it at work, though, so I quickly sent a text back letting him know everything was good from my point of view.
I grabbed some flip-flops and headed out the door, hoping the bossman wasn’t expecting the professional attire to last more than a day. The makeup definitely wasn’t making a return visit. Even without a relationship possible, I didn’t want to give Nate any ideas about me dressing up for him.
When I arrived, it looked like Carl stayed all night working on the emails. I hurriedly made a pot of coffee and took him a cup. His glasses were perched on the top of his head and his face wasn’t more than an inch away from the monitor.
“Thanks,” he grumbled, not taking his eyes from the screen.
He took a quick sip of the coffee and then set it down next to his keyboard. Chances were good he burnt every single one of his taste buds by not waiting for the coffee to cool down a little. I was cordial enough to do some nice things for Carl, but blowing on his coffee to take the heat off wasn’t one of them.
“No problem. How’s it going?” I asked as I scanned over what I could see on the screen.
“Good. I’ve backdoored into the guys account and am running some traces to pinpoint his computer location, from there I should be able to get into his computer and as long as he isn’t using a public one for his emails I’ll get all his relevant information.”
“That’s great,” Nate said as he walked in, overhearing the conversation. “Shouldn’t be long and then we can get this guy.”
Nate was wearing a nice dress shirt without an overcoat. I couldn’t help but stare at how well his muscled chest and arms filled it out. So far in our acquaintance, I’d only seen him wearing a jacket.
Seeing what was underneath, I wished he’d go find something to cover up with, because throwing myself at him was the only thing I could think about. Relationship or not, I could feel a draw to the man and I wasn’t liking it. I didn’t often think in odd romantic phrases, but he was definitely the flame to my moth.
I heard a throat clearing and looked up to see a smirk on his face. “Good morning, Avery. How was your night?”
“Great as usual.” I said, casually waving my hand at him as I went to fire up my computer. Remembering Frannie’s text, I sent a quick note telling her to name a time and place.
I wasn’t a drinker, although after recent events there was a possibility that could change. I usually went out with Frannie and settled for living vicariously through her. Even with Gary in her life, the girl knew how to party, and I could use one of her wild nights out.
No one said anything as we all became occupied in whatever was on our computer screens. A few minutes later, Liz walked in all dolled up in a tight button-down shirt that had her assets about busting to get out and a skirt that bordered on work appropriate.
It didn’t take a genius to see what she was selling, and she looked a little offended that Nate didn’t immediately look up from his computer screen. I was happy that he didn’t, maybe even something a little greater than happy.
Whether I liked him or not, I thought it was a little beneath Liz to get all made up to flirt with a guy at work. I knew we didn’t see the light of day often in our little dungeon, but I thought we at least could maintain a little self-respect.
“Good morning, everyone,” she said in a somewhat husky voice. I got the feeling she’d been practicing it. “Did everyone have a lovely night?”
With Nate still not looking up, I took pity and replied. “I spent some time at the gym and had a great workout, so I guess my night was a success. As you guys already know, I measure my successes in Rangers’ wins and buckets of sweat. I’d say it was a two bucket night.”
Nate’s attention finally left his computer as I made my comments. “Really? What gym do you go to? I’ve been wanting to find one while I’m here in town.”
Liz jumped in, “I go to Metro Gym. I’m sure you’d love it there.”
I was pretty sure she’d bought a membership there years ago and just never cancelled the annual charges. Not that she was out of shape; she just didn’t seem the type to ever be caught dead at a gym. I couldn’t think of anything specific that would give me that feeling, but the almost plastic looking exterior she sported didn’t help.
“She’s probably right, I bet it’s more your type of space. I tend to spend every other day at Club Fitness and I think that might be a little too posh for you,” I replied, hoping the conversation found a conclusion immediately.
I couldn’t imagine having Nate show up to work out with me. I rarely paid any attention to the men I saw using the various pieces of equipment, but I had a feeling I’d have trouble focusing on anything else if Nate was there.
I breathed a sigh of relief when Liz settled in and started going on and on about the gym she probably hadn’t stepped foot in once. If a guy had the ability to change her so much, I began doubting the high IQ she claimed to have.
As was becoming the norm, the day flew by. I didn’t get any new information about the project I was working on, and Carl hadn’t jumped up to announce he had any breakthroughs. I’d glanced at him a few times during the day, and usually his eyes were focused on his computer, but every once in a while I saw him staring over at Nate.
I couldn’t really read what was behind the glares he was giving the other man, but if he was getting jealous about Liz’s actions, I wanted to assure him there wasn’t anything he needed to worry about. I hadn’t ever picked up anything between Carl and Liz, but bringing in fresh meat could’ve allowed Carl to see Liz in a different light. I sure was.
Since there was a chance that Nate brushed me off because he’d found someone a little more exciting, I decided not to say anything to Carl. Nate would be gone as soon as Carl finished the job, so I was fairly confident things would work out fine.
Frannie had texted back to meet her at Molly’s at eight, so I stayed at work a little late, not wanting to ride the train home and back again in one night. Everyone else left the office around five. We ended up pushing Carl out the door.
There was no doubt in my mind that he managed to take his work home with him. Generally, because of what we did, we weren’t allowed to take sensitive material out of the office, but I always thought there were places that rule could bend a little. Carl had complained that if I was staying late he could too, but I implored him to get some sleep and surprisingly he listened to my advice.
At seven forty-five, I made my way out the door, after brushing out my hair and adding some lip gloss in the bathroom. I thought briefly that I might be doing it to impress a certain man I liked to call Mr. Right. I hadn’t ever met the man, but sometimes I liked to pretend he was out there.
I blamed it on the romance novels. I would’ve preferred if at birth we were handed a piece of paper that announced who our magical soulmate was, so we didn’t have to spend our entire lives looking for them. As socially awkward as I was, the looking part was basically torture.
* * *
Somehow I managed to get in the door at Molly’s without standing in a long line. I looked around the room quickly for Frannie, but didn’t see her. I secured us a table and was quickly brought a glass of water with lemon. I felt a little uncomfortable just sitting there by myself, so I pretended to look over the menu while I waited.
The restaurant was lit by candles and chandelier lights that looked like candles. It had a lot of wood going on, and wouldn’t pass for a stuffy dinner, which was one of the reasons I never turned Frannie down when she offered to meet me there. I liked the Irish pub feel, even if I wasn’t there for the pub portion of it.
After ten minutes, I saw Frannie walk in with not only Gary, but also Nate in tow. My night got infinitely worse within a matter of seconds. Nate hadn’t changed from the tight shirt he’d worn to work, and my eyes were drawn to him as the trio made their way to our table.
“Hi, Peaches. Hope you haven’t been waiting long,” Frannie said, smiling as she took her seat. “Gary and Nate were going to go out tonight, but I convinced them it would be so much more fun to double with us.”
I saw her matchmaking wheels a spinning and mentally rattled through every curse word I’d ever heard. There was some part of not going to happen that Frannie didn’t seem to understand. For her next birthday, I was going to buy her a dictionary and highlight every word I thought she needed to learn.
“Well of course, we’re so much more fun than a stuffy strip club,” I replied. They all laughed and I considered coming up with an excuse to be anywhere but there.
I wasn’t able to come up with anything I thought she’d allow, so I sat staring at the menu without reading a single word. After they settled in and looked over the menu, Frannie was ready to get some food on the table.
“How about we get a couple appetizers? I’m thinking the mozzarella sticks and shrimp cocktail. Does that sound okay?”
Everyone answered in the affirmative and she flagged someone down to take our order. A few minutes later, the waitress came back with the food and a pint of beer Frannie had added on. Since we’d all decided what we wanted, we went ahead and placed our entrée orders. I requested the chicken sandwich, Frannie wanted a chicken salad and the boys both ordered Hanger Steak sandwiches with double onion rings on the side.
As Gary poured beers for Frannie and himself, he asked if Nate wanted some. He knew better than to ask me, but a part of me would’ve actually said yes in that moment. Sitting next to Nate was getting on my nerves. I didn’t have any clue what the woodsy smelling cologne he wore was, but it smelled like heaven to my nose.
“No thanks. I was thinking about hitting the gym in the morning and I want to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for that.”
I refrained from asking him if Liz had given him decent directions to her gym because I didn’t want him associating the word gym and myself in the same sentence. I had a Spinning class every Saturday morning, and I really didn’t want him stepping foot inside my gym.
I should’ve expected that Frannie couldn’t read where my thoughts were on the subject. Sadly, she took the same class as I did, and she had no problem with Nate using our gym.
“Oh really? Avery and I have a Spinning class in the morning. Do you already have a gym picked out? You could tagalong with us and take care of your business while we’re in class.”
Glancing at me as if he could hear me screaming no in my head, Nate smiled and said, “That sounds like a great idea. Avery had mentioned going to a gym and I was probably going to end up there anyway.”
Our food arrived then, thankfully causing conversation to halt as everyone chowed down. When we finished up and the plates had all been cleared away, Frannie had the brilliant idea that we should check out a nightclub that just opened down the street. I glared at her. She knew it was crazy enough for me to be eating outside the comforts of my home, but a nightclub? Honestly the girl was losing her mind.
Being dragged along, literally by Frannie’s hand, we made the trek to the club. The line was a little long, so we waited outside, listening to the music that was thumping the ground. When we reached the front of the line everyone had their ID out and ready for inspection. Given the all clear, we entered what surely had to be one of the rings of Hell.