Page 91 of My Office Rival

Not ten minutes later, I was folding myself into a cab with Miles, who flashed me a grin. Oh no, he was in afunmood. Something must have happened with his fiancée. He was normally pretty stoic, but every now and then, he needed a night to burn it all down. And I was frequently his accomplice. He’d been lighter in college, but now, he was darker, like Jonah, like me.

“No driver? Jonah would not approve,” I said in greeting.

“Sometimes I prefer the anonymity of cabs.” He slapped me on the back, and I grunted. Tonight he was wearing a faded T-shirt, a hoodie, and high-top sneakers.

“Where are we going? I assume somewhere I’ll hate since you’re wearing a disguise.”

He barked a laugh. “New bar downtown. I’m going for low key.”

“Not another dive bar, please.” Miles loved to “slum it” downtown, as Jonah so often reminded us. He loved dive bars with an unholy passion. I preferred privacy, exclusivity, and quiet.

“No, you’ll like this place. Maybe you’ll even meet someone tonight,” he responded. The thought of being with another woman right now made me feel sick. But maybe I should try.

“Trying to marry me off already?”

“Come on in, the water’s warm,” he replied, but his eyes were shadowed. Things must have been rough with his fiancée, and I knewin the back of his mind, he would never forget his first love. I shook my head. Miles was too complicated for me to ponder right now. We pulled up outside a bodega and clambered out. Three knocks on a graffitied door to the right had us whisked up the stairs and into a speakeasy.

My shoulders lowered, and I loosed a breath when I saw that it was dim and quiet, and we were being settled at a corner table.

“Not bad, right?” Miles looked pleased with himself. “So what’s eating you?” he asked, after we ordered drinks.

“How could you tell?” I didn’t deny it.

He gestured vaguely at my face. “The dark circles, the general aura of irritability. You’re not Jonah, so I knew something was up.”

I scrubbed a hand over my face and took a hearty gulp of my martini. The last time I’d had one had been with her. My chest ached.

“You know the woman I told you about? Cynthia? My opposing counsel?”And so much more.

Miles nodded.

“Yeah, well. I was in deep. Turns out you were right.” He grinned, and I shook my head. “She’s moving.”

His face fell. “Seriously? After you told her how you felt?”

“Ah. Here’s the thing. I didn’t tell her.”

“Well, why the fuck not?” He frowned at me.

“Because, man, you know how I am.”Fucked up. Damaged goods.

“I want to hear you tell me.” He crossed his arms and his eyes bored into mine. Miles was too damn perceptive for his own good. And he thought he was the smartest guy in the room.

“I was going to.” I blew out a breath. “I actually had it all planned out. The wine, the meal, the speech. Everything. And you know I’ve never been romantic before.”

His brows went up. “So you broke your only one-night policy for this woman, you wined and dined her, and then youdidn’ttell her how you felt?” He sounded incredulous.

“I didn’t get a chance. I was one breath away from confessing that I was in love with her when she told me she was moving.”

“Moving? To go where?” His voice rose.

“Yeah. Talk about shitty timing.” I shoved my fingers through my hair. “She took a temporary public interest job in Texas. It’s her dream job. Doing immigration work.”

“Fuck, man. I was prepared to hate her, but she actually sounds like a good person.”

“She is, unfortunately, amazing.” I took another fortifying sip of my drink.

“Temporary, though? So she’s coming back. And you didn’t offer to do long distance?” Miles questioned, and my anger rose. At Cynthia, at myself.

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