Page 10 of Friend Zoned

“Listen,” he says. I type a response to an email and only listen with half an ear.

When he doesn’t speak I say, “I have a meeting in ten minutes. Get on with it.”

“Wow. There was a time when all you wanted was to be with me.”

The ego on this guy. “I’m also the one who divorced you, which means I don’t want anything to do with you ever again, but you keep showing up here.”

“You know the problems in marriages are never just on one person, Jeanine. You never take any accountability for anything. Obviously, something was lacking at home.”

I hit send on the email. My phone vibrates, and I pick it up. It’s a picture of Aiden taking a big bite of the cupcake.

Greenwich: Zero regrets. I’ll work it off later.

I start to type a response, but a hand covers my phone. I move it out of the way before he can take it from me.

“Don’t touch my phone.” He raises both hands and stands from my desk. All attempts of pleasantry are now wiped from his face. The man I spent a year divorcing returns. “Why are you here?” I hiss.

“Camille is pregnant.” It takes me a few seconds for his words to sink in. “She’s five months along.” Camille. The friend I confided in about my marital problems is now pregnant with my ex-husband’s baby. I’d laugh if it wasn’t so ridiculous. “I know what you’re thinking,” he says.

That’s another problem. He thinks he knows everything.

“Oh?”

“You’re obviously hurt because I wanted us to wait to start a family, and now I’m having a baby with someone else.”

I arch an eyebrow. Thank goodness I don’t share a child with this narcissistic asshole in the ill-fitting suit.

“But,” he continues, “when you find the right one, everything fits into place.” He’s smug as if he bested me somehow.

“You’re absolutely right, Quintin. It’s been a while, but we finally agree on something. Congratulations. I guess you’ve found what was lacking, so please go and enjoy it.” The smugness is wiped from his face, replaced with confusion and irritation. I didn’t give him the response he wanted. “What I don’t get is why you’re here telling me this.”

He clears his throat and pulls on his suit jacket. “I wanted you to hear it from me. I didn’t want you to find out from someone else or if you run into her. I still care about you, Jeanine.”

I stand and walk to the door. I open it and wait for him to make his exit.

“I appreciate that, but the only time I run into you is when you come here. Trust me when I say, nothing you and Camille do has any effect on my life. We’re divorced and you’re allowed to live your life as you see fit. You are free to impregnate any woman who is willing. In the future, save yourself a trip, and don’t waste your time or mine by coming here to tell me news that doesn’t matter.” He stares at me, and I hold his gaze, refusing to look away or blink first. He holds his head high as he walks out of my office. It takes everything in me not to slam my door, but I don’t. I close it and return to my desk.

There’s another knock, and I almost scream, but Layla sticks her head in and hands me a paper bag. “Your lunch,” she says. “The douchebag is pissed. I don’t know what you said to him, but he’s not happy.”

I wave my hand at her and say, “He’s not worth a minute of our energy,” before I pull out the overpriced chef’s salad that I ordered. I snap a picture and text it to Aiden.

Me: Eating responsibly

Chapter 6

Aiden

Jeannie: Poor you. Do you see this?

She sends a picture. It’s a bleak day in New York with gray skies and icy rain falling. My phone vibrates with an incoming call. It’s her.

“It’s twenty-two degrees and miserable here. I’m so sorry you’re in Orlando where it’s currently seventy-eight degrees. You poor, poor football coach.”

The only thing that would make this call better is if she had FaceTimed me, but she didn’t. She can’t see the smile spread across my face. I lean back in the chair in my hotel room.

“Yeah, but I have to be around a bunch of immature guys.”

“Well, there is that.”

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