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“Well, umm, thanks,” I say, not really sure what else to say.
Of course, I want to ask her what she means about him being a player and me taming him, but that feels way too close to being office gossip and the last thing I want to do is get involved with gossip about Tyler, especially with a virtual stranger and especially about stuff that sounds like it’s supposed to be putting me off him or something.
“So, are you like the jealous ex or something?” I ask.
Camille laughs and shakes her head.
“Good God no. I have some self respect,” she says. I glare at her, and she reddens slightly. “Sorry, that just slipped out. What I mean is… right. Let me start over. I’m not Tyler’s ex and I am not in love with him or anything like that. I am just warning you, woman to woman, that he has a bit of a reputation. Just take it slow and don’t get hurt, ok?”
I can’t quite decide if Camille is genuinely warning me from a place of her not wanting me to get hurt or not. Her words feel genuine, and she doesn’t seem like the type to be just causing trouble for fun. She doesn’t know Tyler like I do though. She doesn’t know that he has told me he loves me and that he wants us to be together forever. And I have no intention of telling her that. Instead, I just smile.
“Well thanks for the warning,” I say.
Camille stands up and smiles down at me.
“Which you are going to completely ignore and that’s fine,” she says. “I’ve done my bit. I’ve told you what he’s like and to be careful and if you choose to ignore me, well that’s on you. I don’t have to feel guilty for not warning you what he’s really like when he breaks your heart.”
She leaves my office before I can think of a response to her parting shot that is more sophisticated than fuck off. I don’t really know what to make of her warning. Is Tyler really going to break my heart? I don’t know but I’m not about to let an almost stranger ruin our relationship. That would be me breaking my own heart. And that would just be crazy.
Assuming Camille was telling the truth when she said she’s not a jealous ex or someone who is in love with Tyler and wants me out of the picture – and I do believe that much; there was no passion in her voice when she spoke of him, no spark in her eye when she said his name - then what reasons does that leave for her to come and say those things to me? To be honest, there’s another reason why I believe her when she says she’s not either an ex or someone who is in love with Tyler. While I didn’t like her proclamation that she has too much self respect to date Tyler, it felt real, like it slipped out before she thought to sugar coat it. And if she feels like that about him, she certainly doesn’t want him for herself.
That leaves two options. Either she’s lying to cause trouble, which seems unlikely, or she’s telling the truth as she sees it. I think that is probably the most likely option. And if she’s only ever known Tyler when he was single, then maybe she has a point about him being a bit of a player. I mean he took me home with no intentions of anything other than sex when he was single. I highly doubt I was the only girl he took home during that period. That’s probably all she means. Maybe he liked to come in and gossip about his conquests over early morning coffee before work started. I’m suddenly glad I didn’t tell him my name all of those months ago now, just in case that is the truth.
I go back to work, putting Camille and her warnings out of my mind, but when it’s time for a quick break that afternoon, I find that despite myself I’m still thinking about it. I sip my coffee and try to push my thoughts away, thoughts that involve Tyler having at least one side chick, but it’s hard.
“Summer? Are you even listening to me?” Suki says.
I could bluff it, pretend that I was indeed listening to her, but what if she asks me something about what she’s just said. I’ll look stupid and it will be obvious I lied.
“Sorry,” I say. “I was thinking about something I heard earlier. What were you saying?”
“Nothing important,” Suki says. “What did you hear?”
Do I tell her? Why not, I think to myself. She’s a good friend, one who won’t repeat what I say. And now that Camille knows about Tyler and me it’s only a matter of time before the whole office knows about it. I would rather Suki hear it from me.
“So, Tyler and I have been seeing each other,” I start.
“Oh, lucky you, he’s gorgeous,” Suki says with a dreamy looking smile on her face.
I return her smile whilst picturing Tyler’s gorgeous face and I nod my head.
“I know,” I say. “Anyway, Camille overheard us arranging to go to a barbecue this weekend and she made a point of coming to my office and warning me not to get too attached to Tyler because he is apparently a bit of a player and I’ll get hurt.”
Suki snorts down her nose.
“I wouldn’t pay too much attention to that one,” she says. “At least not when it comes to Tyler.”
“Why not?” I ask.
“Because she’s friends with his ex-wife,” Suki says.
“That explains a lot,” I say.
And it really does. After our break, I go back to my office a lot happier than I was when I left it and I’m no longer thinking about Camille’s warning. Or should I say Camille’s attempted sabotage.
12
SUMMER
