AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Textbook? What textbook?” Rather than answer to his accusations, Misty huffed, “Just say the truth. You’re only being like this because of that Xolani bitch. Before her, you would never have been this rude.”
By ‘rude’, Barry assumed that Misty meant that he had never been this forthright and firm with her. That was true, and most definitely his fault. He’d prioritized sparing Misty’s feeling over being true to his own feelings because that was what felt easiest. It was also true that he might never have found his spine if it wasn’t for Xolani’s influence. Still, he refused to throw Xolani under the bus.
“This has nothing to do with Xo.” Barry said, “This is between you and me.”
“Aha! I knew it.” Triumphant yet angry at the same time, Misty declared, “I knew there was something going on between you and her. Wow! She’s such a liar. Why did she lie that there was nothing going on between you two?”
Barry wanted to remind Misty that he’d lied first. But she didn’t even give him space to get a word in.
Misty furiously ranted on, “She’s a liar and controlling too. The two worst qualities anyone could have. Did she tell you to stop talking to me? Wow! She’s already trying to isolate you from your friends. You know that’s abuse 101, right? She’s dangerous. Maybe even a narcissist. She certainly looks like it; always acting like she’s better than everyone with her nose up in the air. Next, she’ll gaslight you into_”
“Stop! Stop it! I’m not doing this with you.” Barry lifted his hand to halt the onslaught of ridiculous psychobabble and social media buzz words. Getting angrier by the second, he said, “Say whatever you want about me, but keep Xo’s name out of your mouth. You don’t even know her, so where do you get off trashing her like that? Also, what I do with her is none of your business.”
Misty started, “But it is. See_”
“No, it’s really not,” he cut her off firmly. “You and I are just colleagues. Nothing more. There is no reason for you to be monitoring or interfering in my personal life. From now on, I’d prefer that we keep our interactions strictly professional. If it’s not about work, let’s not talk about it.”
“Seriously?” she huffed in disbelief. “I thought we were friends.”
“We’re not.” He firmly added, “And if something like last night happens again, I promise HR will hear about it.”
“HR?” Misty’s eyes widened with shock. “You’re threatening me with HR? Do you really have to go that far? If you want me to stop, just say so.”
‘That’s what I’ve been saying for the last couple of months.” The frustration that had been simmering within Barry boiled over. His voice rose as he added, “But you refuse to listen. No matter what I say or do, you just don’t care. All that matters is your feelings and not mine. But not anymore. I’m done. The next time you harass me, I’m kicking it up to HR. Please leave me alone.”
“Okay, okay.” Misty leaned back in her seat and lifted both hands in surrender. “I’ll leave you alone.”
“I hope you mean that.”
“I do.” She sighed. “I won’t bother you anymore.”
“Thank you.” He stood from his seat.
As he walked away, Misty called out, “Can we still be friends?”
“I told you.” He tossed the words over his shoulder. “You and I are not friends, and we’ll never be.”
Without a backward glance, he strolled toward the exit.
Given his personality, he should’ve felt guilty after that conversation. But he didn’t. If anything, it felt oddly liberating to get everything off his chest. Maybe he should do this more often.
As soon as he got to his office, he called Xolani. He wanted to let her know what had gone down with Misty. Unfortunately, she didn’t pick up his call. A few seconds later, he received a message.
‘Sorry,’ Xolani wrote. ‘In a room with three other people, can’t leave. Let’s just text. What’s up?’
He started to write down what had happened with Misty then realized that a text message just wouldn’t describe the events of the day properly. He erased the paragraph he’d already written and instead wrote, ‘Lunch together?’
Seconds later, Xolani’s message came in. ‘Isn’t that a bit dangerous? We can’t go too far from the office because of time. But if we’re too close, we might get caught.’
Barry started typing, ‘Then let’s get caught. What the worst that could_’
He paused when he realized just what he was saying. Had he gone crazy? Sending a message like that was akin to saying that he didn’t want to be a secret anymore, that he wanted to go public. It was a declaration that he wanted to be more than just a friend-with-benefits.
Screech. Stop.
Did he want to be more than a friend-with-benefits?
He thought about it for a second then realized that yes, he definitely wanted to be more. Xolani was already more to him. She wasn’t just a friend who scratched his sexual itches. She was his friend, lover, and confidant. He trusted her more than he’d ever trusted anyone in his life.
