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She sent him a thumbs-up emoji then stood from her chair. She changed from slippers back to her black pumps, put on the jacket of her green trouser suit, and grabbed her purse.
Just as she stepped out of her office, she ran into one of her colleagues.
“Are you done too?” Elias, a social media specialist, asked as he matched her strides. “I thought for sure you’d be here until midnight.”
Earlier today, they’d found out that dealerships in Columbus were giving clients the wrong information about one of their cars. Irate clients, who’d been promised one thing only to get another, went on social media to complain. Rayburn went viral for a few hours.
While Elias’s team were putting out the social media wildfire, Xolani’s team scrambled to find out which dealerships were handing out the wrong information all while creating retraining material.
“We did what we could. It should be enough to carry us over for a few days.” Xolani sighed. “But we need to start keeping a better eye on those dealerships.”
“That’s what I was telling Leslie,” Elias said, “We can’t go on like this. There’s only so many visits you and I can make without dropping the ball on our actual job. If we had a few people specifically hired to visit dealerships and make sure everything’s in line there, this would never have happened.”
“I already know what she told you when you made that suggestion.” Xolani grinned. “Budget!”
“Budget!” Elias mimicked with a roll of his eyes. They both laughed.
They took the elevator down together while chatting about their work issues. But even while talking to Elias, Xolani was vividly aware that Barry was waiting for her.
When she and Elias emerged from the building, Barry was the first person she saw. Unsurprisingly, he looked sexy as hell. Who knew that perfectly tailored gray suits and black shirts could make a woman wet? Certainly not Xolani.
Barry was chatting with another man. But as soon as he saw Xolani, he excused himself and walked toward her. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy to get rid of Elias.
“Barry?” Elias greeted him first and with a grin. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Barry dapped the guy. “I haven’t seen you around.”
“You know how it is. I’m always chained to my computer.” Elias asked, “What are you doing out here? Are you waiting for somebody?”
“I’m waiting for her.” Barry turned his attention to Xolani.
She forced her nervousness down to give a smile. “Hi, Barry,”
Elias asked, “Do you guys know each other?”
“We do,” Xolani said. “Barry’s a very good friend.”
Just saying the word ‘friend’ made her feel ridiculous, but her smile didn’t slip, which was a win in her book.
“Yeah, very good friends,” Barry echoed. Was that a hint of sarcasm or was she just imagining it? He went on to tell Elias, “We hang out sometimes.”
“We’re actually going for drinks tonight,” Xolani added while stealing a glance at Barry.
Elias’s gaze switched between the two of them before his eyes widened. “Wait, are you two…” He didn’t finish the sentence, just kept pointing at them while grinning. But his meaning was obvious.
“No, no, no,” Xolani quickly denied. “Friends. Just friends. We’re going for drinks as friends.”
“Oh, I see.” Elias eagerly said, “Then I should join you. After the hard day I’ve had, a drink is exactly what I need. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Um…” Xolani glanced at Barry. He gave her an indecipherable look. Getting back to Elias, she stammered, “Ah… I guess you can come, if you want to.”
Elias grinned. “I want to.”
And that’s how two became three.
THIS WASN’T HOW BARRY HAD seen his night going. It was supposed to be a casual affair where he and Xolani dispelled the awkwardness that their kiss had caused. Not this bullshit! Now he understood what people meant when they said ‘three is a crowd’.
It was feeling really crowded right now.
