“Yes. The moment it goes through, Imperium will see the crack they left open and fix it. Might as well hit hard on the one chance we have.”
“I agree. So, should we start working on it?” he asks, eager to get the ball rolling.
“Yeah, or—You can have your Saturday if you want. Go spend time with your girlfriend,” I suggest.
Now that I know he’s seeing Tammy, I feel a little bad taking up so much of his time. And I’m not sure what he told her, but I certainly don’t want her to think there’s anything going on between us. I’m not losing my friendship with her over some misunderstanding.
“It’s okay. I spent the night there. She’s probably had enough of me.”
“I bet,” I can’t help but mumble.
He scrolls through Lex’s notes, reading more of them and casually says, “You’ve called her my girlfriend a few times, and she isn’t really that, by the way.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I haven’t asked yet. Neither has she.”
“What are you waiting for? Ask her, you idiot.”
“I’m not sure she’d agree.”
“Are you kidding me? She’s crazy about you,” I blurt out. My eyes widen, and I quickly add, “I mean, she probably is. She texts you all the time. Plus, you’re such a catch, she’d be crazy to say no.”
Oli stops scrolling and turns to me. “From a woman who said ‘no,’ that means very little.”
“Oh, come on. I was falling in love with Lex already. But that girl… I mean, you two spend nights together and all. A woman wouldn’t let a man she isn’t crazy about into her space like that.”
“Maybe she’s the one who comes to my place.”
Oh, fuck. Now he sounds suspicious. “You’ve never been to hers?” I innocently ask.
“Maybe. Why are you being weird again?”
“I’m not weird. You’re weird.”
“You sound high-pitched, like on the phone earlier.”
“You’re the high pitch. And I have no idea what you’re talking about.” It’s my turn to look at the screen, pretending to read what’s on it.
“Andrea. What do you know?”
“Nothing. I know nothing because you told me nothing.”
He stares at my profile so intently I can almost feel it on my flushed skin. Out of the blue, he says, “I’m seeing Tamika.”
My shoulders sink from the pressure that bursts out of me, and I close my eyes with a wince to whimper, “I know.”
“How?!”
I force myself to look at him. “I came by this morning to pick up a few things, and I heard some… stuff. And then I texted you, and I recognized the notification sound.”
“You heard ‘stuff?!’”
“Yeah, congrats, man. Keep up the good work.” At least I’m not the only one blushing from embarrassment anymore.
“And you weren’t going to say anything?” he asks, outraged.
“No, because you two clearly didn’t want me to know, and I didn’t want to make it weird.”
