I checked Justin’s cubicle first, simply because he hadn’t bothered me in the past hour, which meant he was either annoying someone else or napping. Oddly, I found him hunched over his laptop working on an article Georgina had assigned him about maleaestheticians.
“Need something?” he asked, glancing up only long enough to take a sip ofcoffee.
Despite the fact that the article would require Justin to get his back waxed by a dude, the topic was bizarrely fitting. He’d been more engrossed in his work lately, and it was all thanks to Georgina. I wasn’t about to jeopardize that. “No, just seeing if you needed arefill.”
“Sure, I’ll take a—hey!” he said, but I was already on my way to thebreakroom.
That was where I found Georgina, posted at a small round table and surrounded by the meeting’s notes. Her laptop lit up her face and the shiny buttons of herblouse.
I went to the vending machine closest to her table and dropped in some change. “You should be careful in here,” I said. “People can see your laptop while they pretend to buyStarbursts.”
She brushed two fingertips down the trackpad as she scrolled. “I have nothing tohide.”
“Yeah? Then why are you camped out in the back corner of a dark room?” I punched my order into the keypad. Sadly, there was no 100 Grand, so I went for what I hoped was the next best thing. “No windows inhere.”
“I’m not hiding. I’mavoiding.”
Surely, she didn’t mean me. You didn’t just come out and tell someone you were avoiding them, right? I went to stand in front of her with my peace offering. “Want some candy?” I asked, showing her a Butterfinger. “A wise man once told you it’s as good assex.”
“A wise man does not call himself a wiseman.”
“Touché.” She still hadn’t looked up from her work. “Who are youavoiding?”
“Not who, what. I’m avoiding an awkward conversation. An uncomfortable workspace. An unwelcome truth.” She took a breath. “I think it’s best if I just work in here the next coupledays.”
All right, maybe shewastalking about me. “What unwelcometruth?”
She begantyping.
“Georgina, what happened in your meeting with Vance?” I asked. “Why are you leavingearly?”
“You don’t need me anymore, and your job issafe—”
“Fuck the job. What aboutus?”
Her fingers froze. Finally, she lifted her eyes to mine. “There’s no us. There’s you, and there’s me.Youare staying on as creative director.Iam moving on to my nextassignment.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.” I tried to keep the irritation from my face. “We had an argument this morning. So what? Let’s figure itout.”
“How do you think it made me feel to realize that the man I’d just woken up next to, a man I’d gone against all my instincts to trust, would hold me back to keep himselfhappy?”
“Pretty shitty, if that’s how you took it,” Isaid.
“You called me unqualified. You said I don’t have what ittakes.”
“And youknowthat was my anger talking. Nothing more. Of course I want you to succeed and your career to flourish. I think you’re good at this job—hell, you’re better at it than Iam.”
She looked down and muttered, “That’s nottrue.”
“Look. I’ve been on edge about all this ever since you started. This morning, it came to a head, but I didn’t mean the things Isaid.”
She sighed back against her chair and fidgeted with a tiny button near her throat. “Thank you, but . . .” She lowered her voice. “We have to be honest with ourselves. The unwelcome truth is that last night was amistake.”
“You can describe last night a lot of different ways, butmistakeis complete and utter bull, Georgina.” I scowled. “No argument could convince me ofthat.”
“Sleeping with a coworker is never a good idea, but especially for us. We were at each other’s throats on day one. We’re just notcompatible.”
“I don’t buythat.”
