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“Oh come on,” Tobias said. “Don’t look like that.”
“Don’t look like what?” I asked, hoping my voice didn’t really sound as high as it did in my own ears.
“Don’t look like taking Joanna is the worst idea you’ve ever heard in your life. She’s mellowed out a lot since she was a kid. It wouldn’t kill you to take her. And considering you’re in quite a bind already, it would be the quick fix you need.”
I ran my hand through my hair and almost laughed in relief. Tobias thought I was repulsed by the idea of taking her, which meant he was still in the dark about how I really felt. “I don’t know,” I said, trying to play along. “I mean…Joanna? Really?”
“She would probably love it,” Tobias said. “She certainly could use a fun night out after all she’s been dealing with lately.”
My eyebrows shot upward in surprise, this time genuine. “Huh? What do you mean by that? What’s she been dealing with?”
But Tobias only shook his head, deciding not to elaborate. “Want me to call her in here, ask if she’s doing anything that day? Although I already doubt she is.”
“I thought you said she was secretly seeing someone?” I asked, testing the waters.
He shook his head again. “No, that wasn’t it. There was something else going on with her that she was hiding from me. Here, let me call her,” he added before I could ask any further questions.
I fought to keep the grimace off my face as I wondered what was possibly going on with Joanna. It upset me to think that she had been having a hard time, but hadn’t confided in me about it.
“Hey, Jo, come here for a second. I’m in Anderson’s office.”
“Seriously though,” I said. “What’s she upset about? What’s been going on?”
“Nothing, man. I’ve got it under control, or at least I will, eventually.”
Shortly thereafter, Joanna appeared in the doorway. She looked from Tobias to me, a panicked expression on her face and her eyebrows almost raised to her hairline. I ever so slightly shook my head, trying to relay to her that Tobias still didn’t know anything about us.
“Relax,” Tobias said with a chuckle as he turned toward her. “You’re not in trouble. You’re standing there looking like you’ve been sent to the principal’s office.”
She gave a tensed laugh, but relaxed nonetheless and moved farther into the office. “What is it?” she asked. “More numbers?”
“No, not numbers this time,” Tobias said. “Anderson has a little situation on his hands. You see, our playboy here has finally crossed the wrong woman, and she’s bailed on him.”
Joanna’s eyebrows shot up once again, and she cast a look at me that I wished she hadn’t. I lowered my head, wishing Tobias hadn’t phrased his words in such a manner.
“Oh…” Joanna said.
“So now he’s out of a date to the gala. I know you’ve been hearing about the upcoming gala, right?”
Joanna nodded while I stood helplessly, not knowing what to say or do.
“Do you wanna go? You can be his date. Do you have anything to do that day?” Tobias asked.
Joanna stood there like a deer caught in headlights. She looked at me again, obvious questions that I couldn’t answer lurking beneath her gaze.
I cleared my throat. “It was no big deal. I was just supposed to go with a coworker. We had it set up months ago,” I said, emphasizing the word ‘months’ and hoping she would catch on to the fact that the date had been set up long before she and I had been together. “I’d almost forgotten about it, to tell you the truth.”
“Yeah right,” Tobias said. “He just doesn’t want to admit that he’s being stood up.”
“Shut up,” I muttered.
“So what do you say, Jo?” Tobias said. “You wanna go? It should be fun.”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I interjected. Tobias shot me a cross look, causing me to fall silent. In that moment though, I simply couldn’t fathom having Joanna as my date in front of him. It just seemed like asking for trouble. I had no faith in my ability to not incriminate myself in front of him. He would be able to read me like a book, and I feared he would quickly figure out that I had a thing for his sister. And then a whole drama would break out right there in the gala for all to see.
I started to feel lightheaded just thinking about it. I gripped the chair at my desk and glanced at Joanna, hoping she would find a way to save us from the awkwardness. But she looked just as lost as I did.
“You two are a mess,” Tobias said, shaking his head. “Don’t you think it’s time to get rid of the childhood grudges by now, for crying out loud?”
