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“I gotta be up early too. Leaving for San Francisco tomorrow morning. Have a good night. Delete the picture of Sara. It’s your only hope for survival.”
“I’ll take my chances. Safe travels, Chris. Night.”
“Night.”
Signing off, he closed his laptop. He was glad things weren’t weird between them now. Hopefully she was just going to let it go. It was probably for the best.
Chapter 3
After a mostly restless night, Chloe got into the office early. She was working her way toward a junior partner position at King and Cressley, one of the most prestigious accounting firms in the city. She focused specifically on forensic accounting and fraud cases.
She was working through the revenue of a frozen yogurt chain. During routine book work, the corporate office discovered some really low sales figures for one location in particular. Based on what she’d seen so far, it wasn’t looking very good for the general manager of the store. Average amounts of food orders, very little revenue. It was most likely that someone was skimming off the top.
By 11:45, she needed a break. She’d been thinking about the conversation she’d had with Chris yesterday afternoon, off and on all day. Deciding that she needed an impartial party to listen, she called Sara to see if she was free for lunch.
They agreed to meet at a coffee shop near Sara’s shop. Both of them ran on pretty much straight coffee, so it was the perfect spot.
When Chloe arrived, Sara had already grabbed a table and gotten her a latte.
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Sara immediately asked, “So what’s up? Not that I don’t love hanging out, but you don’t typically call me for lunch. Is everything okay?”
Shaking her head, Chloe said, “Not really. I have a story.”
Chloe relayed the entire story, starting with the breakup and ending with the Facebook conversation, while Sara just nodded every so often.
When Chloe finally ran out of steam, Sara said, “Wow. I’m sorry about you and Peter. A text message? What a prick!”
Nodding, Chloe said, “Not really a big deal. He said his mom didn’t like me so it wouldn’t work out. Whatever attraction there was between us died a horrible death with that statement. I mean, Jesus. Grow a pair.”
Laughing, Sara said, “No kidding!”
Taking a sip, she continued. “So Chris finally said something, huh?”
“Uh.”
“Chris has liked you for a while. It’s written all over his face. Deacon even caught on. I don’t think he’s altogether pleased with the idea, but Chris isn’t very subtle. You knew he hated Peter.”
“I didn’t think that was why he hated him. I thought he just thought Peter was a dick. Let’s face it. He was kind of a dick.”
“Agreed. I fucking hated him. At least I don’t need to be nice to him anymore. One more ‘make me a sandwich’ joke and I was going to deck him,” Sara said.
“Sorry. He’s gone now, though. So that’s something,” Chloe said, then shifted gears again. “I didn’t even realize Chris…”
Trailing off, Chloe just sat there, looking vaguely confused.
“So. You’re young, attractive and single. Chris is young, attractive and single. Any interest?” Sara asked, curious.
“I had some pretty lust-filled fantasies about him when I was a teenager. He’s hot. That shaggy brown hair, killer blue eyes. He’s got a great smile. The dreams I used to have about him. I mean, have you seen him with his shirt off?”
Shaking her head, Sara laughed and said, “No. I am pretty sure Deacon would forbid that.”
They both laughed for a second, imaging his reaction to that particular scene.
“I find him attractive. I mean, who wouldn’t? He’s a nice guy. I like hanging out with him. I guess I never considered it. I figured he didn’t see me that way, and that I was kind of off limits. I’d totally be willing to explore something, assuming that it wouldn’t destroy his friendship with Deacon.”
Looking to Sara, she asked, “How ‘not into the idea’ is Deacon? Like, kick his ass, ruin a friendship? Or a stern talking to and a few minutes of awkwardness?”
