"Bobby, how's it going?"
Bobby looked up, seeing Michael smiling at her from the doorway.
"Hey Michael, what can I do for you?" She asked, as usual, always ready to jump straight to business. He sighed, he was growing used to her manner. Everything was always so serious, work, work, work. Still, he would keep trying, he'd convinced himself he would crack her.
"I hear you're the person to go to for help with the printers." He said, his grin still wide.
"The big one?" She asked, raising her brow.
"That's the one." He said. "I was looking for Kevin, but he's nowhere to be found."
Bobby nodded, glancing at the clock.
"Yeah, he's out for an appointment." She said, standing. "I'll show you how."
"I've heard this printer can be pretty dangerous." he said with a chuckle, making her turn red.
"Oh lord, who have you been talking to?" She muttered, glancing at Eddie from across the room as he helped Ben with something.
"It was a funny story." Michael said as they entered the elevator. "But I'll admit, I was asking about you."
"Why?" She asked, oblivious to the way he was looking at her.
"I like to know about people I'm interested in." He said, making her turn to him. "That lunch invite still stands."
Bobby was surprised, she'd almost forgotten about that, hadn't even had much time to think about it. Then, she turned back towards the elevator doors.
"I appreciate it but..." She began and he shook his head.
"Oh no, but what?" He asked. "I'm not your type, it's not me, it's you. I'm a lot of fun to be around Bobby, I swear I'm a nice guy and not a lunatic."
Bobby laughed. She could tell he was a nice guy and he'd been settling in nicely, making friends so easy.
"I have someone." She said simply. She almost didn't say it but she figured everyone would figure it out in a few weeks anyway. She turned red when she thought about what everyone would think when they found out she was seeing Matt.
"That's too bad, for me at least. He's a lucky man." Michael said as the elevator doors opened.
"Come on, the printer is down this way." Bobby said, trying to change the subject. She wasn't comfortable talking about her personal life, it just wasn't her style.
"So this is the printer. Usually, we need to feed in the paper from the roll on this end..." She began to explain, showing him how to remove the clip so it would work.
"What does he do?" Michael asked, making her look up at him.
"Who?" Bobby asked, looking around to see if anyone else was in the room.
"Your boyfriend." Michael asked, making her eyes go back to him.
"Ummm, he works in business." She muttered, squatting down now and showing him the second clip. "Depending on what size you're going to need, just select the clip from here."
"How long have you two been together?" Michael asked suddenly, making Bobby look up at him.
"Why?" She asked, straightening up and looking at him.
"I want to know how serious this is, figure out if I have a chance." He said with a smile. He wasn't an unpleasant man, he was actually pretty good looking but Bobby was past being flattered and now she was just annoyed at his insistence.
"It's serious to me and I'm sorry, Michael, but I'm not comfortable talking about my personal life." She said, turning back to the printer.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." He said, noting that she looked angry.
"You didn't but there's a lot to be done so... what are we making copies of?" She asked, wondering what he could need with this particular printer. Michael blushed and smiled.
"I'm sorry, I lied about needing the big printer because I wanted an excuse to talk to you." He said, making Bobby stare at him blankly.
"Right, well I'll be going then." She said, turning on her heel and walking away quickly.
---
"It was weird." Bobby said, taking a sip from the coffee mug she was holding and then walking over to the poster boards lined up in Matt's kitchen.
He was in for a late night again but when it was time to go, he decided he wanted to spend time with Bobby. So... He brought the posters home and she kept him company while he worked, without worrying about being caught. Upstairs, Nick was hiding, spending most of the afternoon reading and promising to stay out of their way.
They weren't sure what happened with Ryan but Matt insisted that they would make up soon. Those two were as close as anyone could be, it was probably just a dumb fight.
"I could talk to him." Matt said, looking over the boards.
"And say what? Don't worry about it, he's harmless. He just didn't realize." Bobby said, "And why would he?"
Matt turned to her with a frown.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Matt said and Bobby shrugged.
"Come on, Matt. We both know that I'm not exactly some beauty queen men are flocking over. Why would he think that I was seeing someone?" She said but Matt shook his head and moved towards her.
"You're really an idiot, you know that?" He said, lifting her chin up with his fingers and planting a kiss. "You stand out in every room, Bobby."
She smiled, enjoying the way he'd wrapped his arms around her. Bobby didn't care if she was invisible, as long as Matt saw her.
"Come on." She said, giving him a gentle shove. "You still have a lot to do."
Matt rolled his eyes and turned back to the boards, scrutinizing them. Bobby watched him working, something she'd always enjoyed. He was so dedicated to the work and it made her heart beat faster when he was focused on it that intently.
"Where are you going?" He asked as she suddenly stood.
"I'm going to grab a sweater from upstairs." She said, moving quickly.
"Yeah, it's kind of cold in here, grab me one?" He said, turning to the thermostat.
"Sure." She said, running along.
Matt continued to stare at the poster boards but he was thinking of Michael now. He seemed like a nice enough guy and he was sure he wouldn't bother Bobby but that still didn't mean that he was happy about him lying to her to get her downstairs. Matt walked over to the counter, taking Bobby's coffee mug and taking a sip. Then, a knock at the door made him turn.
"Right." He muttered, putting the pen he'd been holding down and walking towards the entrance. He wondered if maybe it wasn't Ryan, coming to pick up his husband and make up. Matt chuckled to himself. He had never cared that Nick was gay and never treated him any differently for it.
"Hi." Matt said, surprised when he saw Lisa standing out side his door.
"Hey, can I come in?" She asked after a few minutes.
"Well, this isn't the best time." He said, hoping Bobby would stay upstairs.
"I'm sorry but it's important." She insisted. Matt looked over to the counter and then signaled for her to come in. He'd wondered just how awkward it would be to work with her but found that she hadn't been difficult at all. In fact, more than a few times she'd joked and laughed with him. It was as if nothing had ever happened.
"Still working?" She said, noticing the poster boards along the far wall of his kitchen. Matt picked up his phone and texted Bobby quickly, letting her know that Lisa had shown up.
She was just about to walk out of his room when she felt her phone vibrate, stopping cold as she read it.
"Well, you know as well as I do how crazy it's been." He said, running a hand through his hair.
"Yeah." She said. "Well, I'm sorry. I know there's a lot going on at work and I hate to pile more on your plate but... I thought you should know."
Bobby sat on the best for a second, wondering what she wanted. She stared at the door, thinking she should just wait it out but somehow, she wasn't able to stop herself from slowly pulling it open as she tried to listen.
"Hey." Nick said as he saw Bobby poking out of Matt's room.
"Shhh." She whispered, making him frown. Nick walked up to her.
"What's going on?" He whispered.
"Lisa." Bobby said softly, pointing towards the stairs. Nick raised a brow.
"I wonder what she wants." Bobby said. Nick looked towards the stairs and then he motioned for Bobby to follow.
They kneeled down close to the stair case, just behind the wall and listened.
"I shouldn't be doing this." Bobby said but Nick put his fingers to his lips.
"What's this?" Matt said, staring down at the paper that Lisa had just handed him.
"What does it look like?" Lisa asked.
"This can't be right." He said, handing it back to her. "We were careful."
"It's right, Matt. I'm sorry to say, but it's 100% accurate." She said, folding up the paper but he took it from her.
"Let me see that again." He said, pacing around as he read it.
"I know this is unexpected..." She began but Matt shook his head.
"To say the least." He muttered. "How far along?"
"8 weeks." She said, pointing to the spot on the paper where it said so. Matt looked at her and she froze. He looked upset, he looked very upset.
"It's mine?" He asked and Lisa frowned.
"Fuck you." She said, turning to walk away but he grabbed her arm.
"Answer me, Lisa. It's mine?" He asked and she pulled her arm away.
"You're hurting me." She spat, "In more ways that one. Of course it's yours."
Matt stared at her for several seconds, feeling like the floor would come up and hit him.
"What are you going to do?" He asked her and she looked surprised.
"Not that." She said, "And I honestly didn't think you might want me to."
Matt was quiet. Lisa took a deep breath, trying not to be offended.
"This is a lot of information you're getting. I'm not expecting anything from you, Matt. But I thought you would want to know." She said, Matt still avoiding eye contact. "I think you should think about what you want."
Nick and Bobby sat with their backs against the wall as they heard the door slam. For a second, neither moved and then Nick turned to Bobby who was white as a ghost.
She stood, very slowly, the sweaters still in her hands and then she proceeded to go down the stairs.
Matt was standing very still, paper still in hand, staring at it as if he hoped the information would change. Then, after a few more seconds, he turned and saw her, standing there and staring at him, looking like world had caved in on her.
"Bobby." He said, moving towards her but she held the sweater out to him, looking down at the ground. He looked at it and then took it from her, setting it aside on a nearby chair.
"You heard everything." He said, not taking his eyes off her. She nodded, walking over to the sofa.
"I did." She said.
"Bobby, this... it happened before us. I'm sorry... I..." He said, trying to figure out where to start but she sighed.
"I know, Matt. I know." she said, grabbing her bag and putting it over her shoulder.
"Wait, where are you going?" He said moving towards her.
"Home, to rest." She said simply but he scooped her into his arms.
"Don't go, Bobby. Don't do that. This-" he said, holding her close to him, "has nothing to do with us. It happened before we did and it doesn't have to change anything between you and me."
Bobby didn't look at him, she looked to her side, averting her gaze and trying to contain everything she was feeling.
"I just need to think." She said and he shook his head.
"No, don't. This doesn't affect us, okay? I love you, not her. I want to be with you and that's not changing. Do you understand?" He asked desperately but she didn't move, she didn't try to push him away, she did nothing.
"I know, Matt." She said, "But I need to go and you... You need to think about this too."
Matt held on to her for a second, refusing to let her go... then, with a sigh of resignation, he put her down gently.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Bobby said, whisking past him and disappearing quickly behind the door.