Stacey nodded and swiftly changed the conversation back to wedding plans. Trisha smiled and faked enthusiasm as they spoke about cakes and décor, but she couldn’t rid herself of this horrid revelation.
Tyler was datingJordan? So many questions flooded her mind. How long had this been going on for? They’d been working together for two years. For him to have moved on so quickly must mean he was interested in her before they broke up. They were together all the time. How many nights had theybeen flirting with each other at the office when she thought he was working late.
He wouldn’t have cheated, she told herself. Tyler was a good, faithful man. Yes, he had his flaws, but their relationship had been based on honesty and mutual respect. He’d never been interested in Jordan. Well, at least that was what Trisha had thought until now. Maybe she should have questioned it more.
It’ll never last, she concluded.
Unlike her, Jordan did not come from wealth or an esteemed family heritage. Jordan couldn’t fit into his lifestyle the way she had. She was just an accountant, for God sakes. She didn’t know the first thing about keeping a man like Tyler. He was rich and powerful and she was plain and simple. Ordinary.
How could he stoop so low? His standards had certainly dropped since she dumped him, but that didn’t make her feel any better. She knew she shouldn’t be obsessing over this. She was happy with Oliver and there was no reason why Tyler shouldn’t move on and find happiness as well.
But Tyler dating someone else wasn’t the issue. Even though it irritated her that thesomeone elsewas Jordan, that wasn’t the issue either. The issue was that she made him laugh. He was a serious man and was not easily amused, so how did Jordan get him to loosen up? How did she achieve in one evening what Trisha had not achieved in three years?
More Awkwardness
“Got it!” Matt said, barging into Tyler’s office. “I just needed a few days to sleep on it. I’ve got the perfect plan.”
Tyler got a sinking feeling in his stomach, a sensation he only felt when his day was about to snowball downhill at the speed of light.
“This is a brilliant plan, so I need some type of compensation.”
“What kind of compensation?” Tyler asked with a marginal amount of interest.
“There’s a three-day conference coming up in July. Updates on reporting standards. If you go in my place, I will not only tell you the plan, but I will be the one who executes it.”
The word hate was too mild to describe how he felt about conferences. They were long and boring and he found them to be of little value, but it was a small price to pay for a solution. Although still skeptical, he nodded. “Deal. But only if I like the plan.”
An excited grin split Matt’s face. “Okay. So I’m gonna call Trisha. Just a little courtesy call to congratulate her on her engagement and while I’m talking to her, I’m just gonna casually throw it out there that you’re dating Jordan. If we can at least plant the seed, we can buy more time before she actually sees the two of you together.”
“There is no way that can be done casually,” Tyler responded, a look of panicked horror on his face. “Let me rephrase that. I don’t trustyouto do thatcasually.”
Matt took out his cell phone. “C’mon. When have I ever steered you wrong?”
Tyler didn’t answer, not because it had never happened, but because he had lost count. There was no point in arguing, though. He liked this idea. Get the right reaction and simultaneously delay asking Jordan out again.
Matt dialed her number and pressed the button for the speaker phone.
“Hi, Matthew,” Trisha said and hearing her voice after such a long time struck a nerve inside him.
“Hi, Trisha. Sorry for calling so out of the blue like this, but I heard you got engaged. I mean, I was a little…shocked, considering you just up andleftTyler three months ago.”
Tyler stared at him, slowly shaking his head with the sheer loathing he felt for his best friend. Matt’s words were laced with venom.
There was nothing casual about that.
Trisha didn’t retaliate to that statement. She was the type of woman who would willingly take a verbal punch without complaint if she was wrong. Her silence told Tyler that she understood the depth of her wrongness in this particular situation.
“I’m just calling to congratulate you,” Matt said after the stilted pause.
“Thanks, Matt,” she said, her tone indicating that she doubted his sincerity.
“I’m so happy for you. It’s great that you and Tyler have both moved on. You’re happy with what’s-his-face and Tyler is happy with Jordan. We’re all happy after that less thanamicablebreak-up.”
So not casual.“Stop!” Tyler mouthed.
“So Tyler is dating Jordan?” she asked, ignoring his last statement completely. “I heard he might be…Stacey saw them together.”
Matthew’s eyes widened in surprise and a smile of sick delight lit up his face.
