Page 65 of Random Encounter

Twenty-Three

Dustin

Should this bother me so much? Co-workers came and went all the time. So did fuck buddies. My lack of a long-term relationship history, and job history, spoke to both.

But Phillip was a friend. Or I thought he was. I didn’t understand his desire to move on, but I didn’t hold it against him.

Maybe a little.

That wasn’t the issue either, though.

I’d managed to avoid thinking about this all night, thanks to Addie’s company. But now that we were back in the office, seeing Phillip again...

The fury and betrayal were back.

And what he’d done was a betrayal. This wasn’t a matter of oh, I forgot to mention... Phillip actively made sure I didn’t know what he was doing. Why Addie was really hired. He made it a point to deceive me. He lied to me, and I had no idea why.

Was I doing the same to Addie? Her question what are we circled in my thoughts, along with everything else.

I’d been honest with her about not having an answer, but I was also having a hard time seeing past other people’s lies and it wasn’t fair to reflect that back at her. I did want her.

As more than a co-worker-slash-friend?

I didn’t know. The sex was incredible and so was her company.

Those things were amazing with Phillip too.

Damn it. I pinched the bridge of my nose, but the gesture didn’t cut off the rambling thoughts.

My messenger pinged with a new note. Right, I should be working.

Give me a call when you have a minute, Judith typed.

I picked up the desk phone. No reason to keep the boss waiting if I could avoid it, especially since I needed her to see I was the right guy for the job I wanted.

“Getting awfully used to that office, aren’t you?” She answered.

The different extension would show on her phone, the way hers did on mine. “The office that should be mine? Yes.”

The noise she made was as much huff as laugh. “No. Especially not right at this moment.”

“Oh?” I couldn’t find a better response that would still hide my irritation.

“Your friend Mr. Toph, has sent a follow-up response to his Cease and Desist. He’s informed me he’ll drop the matter, and not take things public, if we hire him.”

I snorted with disbelief. Was he fucking kidding? “Does he think this is some weak Hollywood movie?”

“I’d rather not speculate about what or how he thinks,” Judith said. “I’d rather we had a way to shut him down instantly.”

“You and me both. I thought we sicced Legal on him?” Obviously it wasn’t enough. “Give me some time to think about it, and I’ll get you an answer,” I said. While I wasn’t the one causing the problem, it was happening here, to this company, because I was the person he knew. I’d come up with a solution.

Judith was silent so long I almost asked if she was still there. “You have until end of day Monday,” she said.

“Got it. I’ll have something for you.” I had no idea what, but this gave me the entire weekend and then some to let the thought simmer.

My messenger popped again, this time with a note from Phillip.

In fact, I could spend the next couple of days stewing on the odds of two people I trusted so completely betraying me. I closed Phillip’s message without reading it.

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