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I cleared my throat and gave my attention back to Ben, not wanting to be caught staring.
“Ben? Nathan?” Liam’s voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard.
Charlie’s wide eyes caught my attention first. Her surprise quickly turned to irritation as she narrowed them. Damn. Had she ever looked at me longingly or had I completely imagined it?
“Hello.” Ben smiled and greeted them. “Fancy running into you two here.”
“Hi,” Charlie said, directing her attention only to Ben.
I couldn’t tear my eyes off her despite the audience.
“Glad to see you enjoying yourself. I know Nathan here has been putting you through a lot lately,” Ben said.
“Oh, he definitely has.” I could hear the hostility in her voice although she masked it well.
“We better get to our table.” Liam gestured to the host who waited for them.
“Enjoy yourselves,” Ben said as they walked away.
My eyes begged Charlie’s to meet them, but she only looked at the floor as they brushed by us. Anger flared up in my chest at the sight of them, fueled by the knowledge that they would be sitting at a table just feet away from me. Maybe they’d share bites of food off each other’s plates. Maybe their feet would brush under the tablecloth. Maybe they’d fantasize about where the rest of the evening would lead.
Seething, I turned my head to the right to get a view of their table. At least I could keep tabs on them from here.
“What a coincidence,” Ben said.
I grumbled something in agreement, not taking my eyes off of Charlie.
“Or maybe not.”
I whipped my head back to focus on Ben. He evaluated me before glancing at Charlie and Liam’s table.
“Why are you looking over there like you want to rip someone’s head off?”
“I’m not.” I opened and closed my mouth, trying to relax the tenseness in my locked jaw.
Ben continued to look back and forth from them to me. “Yes, you do. Your focus has been all over the place all night. Now those two walk in and you can’t take your eyes off them.”
To avoid answering, I downed my drink instead.
“Oh my god.” Ben dragged his hand over his face. “You and Charlie? I can’t believe this, Nathan.”
I said nothing as I swirled the ice around in my empty cup.
“You’re her boss, you idiot,” he hissed, leaning in toward me. “What did I tell you when we got here?”
“I know,” I said.
“Do you? Because you could lose your job for this. It’s not some dumb policy to take lightly. The board could force you to step down.”
His words should cause me a great deal of concern. I suppose they did somewhere deep down. However, I found it difficult to concentrate on anything other than the way Liam had placed his hand on the small of Charlie’s back as he ushered them to their table.
I should ease Ben’s worry. Tell him there’s nothing going on with us. Tell him I wouldn’t let anything interfere with my work. Instead, the green-eyed monster reared its ugly head. “What does she even see in that guy?” I muttered.
Ben scoffed in disbelief. “Do you hear yourself? You sound like a jealous boyfriend. I’ve never seen you act like this.”
“I’m not jealous. Jealousy isn’t real. It’s only a cover for something else.” I repeated the line as if saying it over and over would make the burning feeling in my chest go away.
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but you must be covering up something because you should see the way you’re looking at them right now.”
