第2章

Almost immediately,Jenny and Eric hit it off,and she wasn’t the only one who thought so,either.That first day when they came back from lunch,Steve“For a Good Time Call”was sitting at her desk,waiting for her,toying with a sheaf of papers he wanted help faxing as a flimsy excuse to bother her some more.When he saw her with Eric,the two of them laughing out in the hallway beyond the glass doors of the firm’s lobby,his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Inside the office,Jenny told Eric,“Thanks for lunch.”

Eric placed a firm hand on Jenny’s elbow and gave her arm a quick squeeze.“My pleasure.We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

“I’m free whenever,”she assured him.“Next time,though,it’s my treat.”

He headed off,around the wall behind her desk that obscured the rest of the office from the lobby’s waiting area,but he had barely disappeared before Steve snarled loudly,“You know he’s gay,right?”

Jenny felt dull anger rise within her,and a flurry of responses flickered through her mind.So?Or yeah,and?Or what’s it to you?Or even,do you think I care?But none of themconveyed exactly what she wanted to get across to Steve,who had no business outing Eric—if he hadn’t wanted Jenny to know,that was his right,and who the hell did Steve think he was telling her about Eric’s personal life in a thinly-veiled attempt to hook up with her?

As it was,yes,Eric had mentioned Mike at lunch,and Jenny had listened with wistful longing to the obvious love and respect in his voice when he spoke about his lover.They’d been together for several years,and Eric’s feelings shone through in everything he said about the man.He even pulled out his phone to show Jenny a cute selfie of the two of them together,cuddling in the sheets one morning before work.“The two of you would really hit it off,I think,”he said,though at that moment,the waiter had brought their check and Jenny didn’t get a chance to ask what he meant by the comment.

But Steve’s comment…that was out of line,and she wasn’t going to let it slip by.Dropping her purse onto her desk,she snapped,“Gay or not,he has more of a chance with me than you do.Now get out of my seat.”

“I’m just—”

“Out,”she said again,punctuating the word with a swift kickto the seat of the chair.

Steve scrambled to stand.“I need help with a fax.”

“You’ve been here longer than I have,”she told him.“You’re just looking for a reason to breathe down the back of my neck and stare down the front of my shirt.”

His face reddened as he crumpled the papers between his hands.“What?No,I wouldn’t…I don’t—who told you that?Did Eric—”

“Fax it yourself or I’ll let Delia know you’re harassing me,”Jenny warned.

Steve’s color deepened to an almost eggplant purple.“I am not.”

“You’re making derogatory comments about another coworker’s sexuality,”Jenny pointed out.“Even if those comments aren’t about me,they’re still harassment,and I guarantee you,they can still get you in a world of trouble.Want me to call Delia and find out?”

For a long moment,she enjoyed watching him try to squirm his way out of answering.The papers in his hands grew tattered around the edges,so much so that she began to wonder if they’deven go through the fax machine smoothly once he was finished fiddling with them.Beads of sweat popped out on his pimply forehead,and strands of his combed-over hair began to ruffle up around his head like fur from some startled animal.

Finally he wiped a nervous hand across his brow and said,“No,no,I—I can fax these myself.”

No apology,nothing else,but Jenny didn’t push it.At least he scuttled away from her desk as he headed into the office behind her,and hopefully he would stay away.

A moment,later,though,she giggled when she heard him give a surprised little squeak.“Eric!”he cried,obviously shockedto find their coworker still within earshot.“I—I—I…I have to go.Excuse me.”

Moments later,Jenny’s phone buzzed.When she picked it up,Eric was on the other end of the line.“Remind me not to piss you off,”he said,a smile evident in his voice.“Like,ever.”

“Don’t worry,I like you,”she said,grinning.

Eric laughed.“Good,I like you,too.Let’s keep it that way.”