by Liz Peters
“I think the best thing to do is try to decide what is the most important thing here. Is it your careers or your relationship? Honestly, I’ve never seen you as happy with anyone as you are with Ali. If she feels the same then you’re going to have to make a choice. Have you thought about any other options?”
“We can avoid each other for the next four weeks...” This was the only option that was entirely safe and left them with their jobs intact.
“Yeah, but from what you’re saying that’s not even remotely doable.”
“Right. Or we can sneak around for all of that time.” Even mentioning that possibility made Ben feel a little sick because he knew how dangerous this idea was for both him and Ali.
“Maybe...” Jeremy sounded like he wasn’t entirely sold on that idea.
“Or, I can quit.”
Spitting it out that matter of factly hit Ben in the gut hard. He realized suddenly how difficult it would be for him to just leave his job after everything that he’d put into it. He’d invested a lot of his life, but he just wasn’t sure that there was any another option. This was the real reason he needed to run all of this by Jeremy before he made a final decision.
“Wow, man. That’s a little bit extreme.”
Jeremy’s shocked reaction made Ben pull back on his thought process rather abruptly. Maybe this was a terrible idea, but he wasn’t sure what other option he honestly had.
“I mean... If I keep going like I’ve been going, it’s entirely possible I’m going to get fired anyway.”
And there it was. Ben had finally put all of his fears into spoken words for the first time. It made it seem a little more like a real possibility than it had before now, though Jeremy’s reply took a lot of the edge off of that fear.
“Hey, man. I think I’d keep going until they made me quit, but that’s just me.”
Jeremy’s tone might have seemed playful to someone who didn’t know him, but Ben knew him well enough to know that he dealt with things getting too serious by delving into humor.
“And what am I supposed to do about Ali?”
There was the question that all of this situation hinged around. What was he supposed to do to make all of this okay for not only him, but also for her?
“You like her. It’s obvious. Hell, if I know you, you more than like her. You don’t get strung out over women like this. I’ve seen you date plenty of people, but never someone you were willing to lose your job over. I don’t think it’s fair to ask you to end it entirely if there is something real there, and if she’s willing to risk her career too, then it’s clearly mutual.”
Jeremy was right. Ben had never really felt this way about anyone before Ali, and maybe that’s what was really the scariest part of all. If she didn’t feel this just as intensely, then he was risking everything for someone who wouldn’t have done the same thing for him, but Jeremy had a point. She was risking just as much as he was. If they were to be found out, they would both be looking for a new job. She was going to lose out on everything she’d been wanting since she was a young girl, and he was going to lose out on the career he’d spent most of his adult life building. They both stood to lose a lot. Ben just needed to decide if it was worth it.
“So, I still have no idea what I’m supposed to do about this.”
“I think you guys are going to have to muddle through the next few weeks. It’s a month, not an impossible task, no matter how hard it might be, and then, you two can see where this goes. Because it’s clearly going somewhere.”
At least Ben wasn’t the only one who seemed to think that this was going somewhere before all was said and done. He trusted Jeremy’s judgment better than he trusted his own.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do this.”
Ben let the fear of what could happen into his voice. Jeremy was the one person he was comfortable with showing these emotions to. The people he worked with never got to see that side of him, and neither had anyone else other than Jeremy. At least, that’s how he’d been before now. He suspected he wouldn’t have cared if Alicia saw him this way, though he wasn’t sure if she was ready for it.
“I think you’re capable of a lot more than you realize.”
“I think you have a lot more faith in me than I have in myself.”
“Someone has to, old man.”
If Jeremy had that much faith in him, then maybe it was time Ben had it in himself. This was starting to look more and more like something he could do. Ali lived in the same apartment complex. They could see each other in the evenings, even if it was just friendly, and it might make things easier for them in the classroom during the day if they could blow off that pressure at night. This was probably the only way all of this was going to work, and Ben knew he was going to need a few more pep talks along the way.
“I’m probably going to be calling you again.”
“Hey, you know you can call me any time. I mean Cami might go into labor and murder me for being on the phone in the delivery room, but she’s got to know what kind of bromance you and I are running here.” Jeremy melted down into laughter. That guy could laugh at anything, but it was one of the things that Ben had always liked about him.
“Thanks. I needed that.”
“Listen, like I said, I’m here for you whenever you need me, and I know you can do this.”
“I really hope so.”
Jeremy started to sound like he was about to say goodbye, but his next question seemed like it hit him all of a sudden.
“Wait, is there any way you can find out who went to HR on you guys? It might make it easier to monitor your behavior around them so you can at least get through all of this with your guard up.”
That was something that Ben hadn’t even thought about doing. Maybe he could make it happen by pulling a few strings. He had one lead with the human resources office that he might be able to get some information from, so there was some possibility that he could figure this out.
“That might be a good idea. I’ll see what I can do. Thanks for everything... I’m not sure what I’d do without you, Jer.”
“Probably something stupid like sleep with a student and quit your job, old man.” Jeremy laughed, and Ben could picture him shaking his head while he ended this conversation.
“You’re right there. Night, man.”
“Night, buddy. Take care.”
Ben hung up the phone, wondering what the best way to go about the next portion of his night was going to be. He knew someone in HR that he could trust, someone he was responsible for getting hired, and he could rely on them to give him one small piece of information without going back to William Varley or anyone else for that matter. He just had to decide what the most delicate way of contacting them was going to be.
Justin King was the son of an old friend of Ben’s, and when he’d graduated college with a generic business degree, but hadn’t been able to find a job right away, Ben had been more than willing to put in a good word at the company. It turned out he was a perfect fit for the human resources department and had been working there for a little over a year, but it meant that Austin definitely owed Ben a favor. Ben was calling it in right now.
Eventually, Ben settled on a text message. If he’d used the company email, then someone with administrative access to the servers could have read whatever they talked about. No one from the company was going to be able to track their text messages, and it gave them a chance to take their time looking for results, though it appeared that they didn’t need that long. Human resources kept electronic copies of everything that came through their system for legal reasons, and Justin must have had access to the system from home because he replied to Ben’s message within fifteen minutes, though Ben was absolutely shocked at the answer he saw on the screen.
Ben typed off one quick reply before grabbing his keys and heading out his front door.
Thanks. Don’t mention this to anyone.
Chapter Eleven
Ali
Ali h
ad been sitting at her kitchen table trying to wrap her head around everything that had happened today. She’d gone into Ben’s office to have a talk so that they could get on an even footing, especially if they were going to make it through the rest of the course unscathed. Instead, she was knocked even more off her feet by him. It was like they just couldn’t be in the same room alone together without something steamy happening. This was definitely not a good sign.
It had entirely slipped her mind that she had promised to meet Chase for dinner until right about the moment she was supposed to be there. He’d texted her to say he was leaving his place, and Ali immediately felt her heart leap into her throat. Everything that had happened tonight just pushed that plan right out of her mind.
Now, she found herself in a whirlwind rush to pull on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and some black canvas sneakers before she grabbed her purse and keys to head out the front door calling out to Sabrina who was in the kitchen.
“I’m off to dinner! I’ll be back later!”
When she got into her jeep in the parking lot down below her apartment, she shot off a quick text message to tell Chase she was on her way and then sped off into the street.
Ali was running late, but she’d lived in Daytona long enough to know her way around the city. She could take a couple of shortcuts and knew well enough how to avoid the cops that she could get by with speeding a little bit. By the time she’d arrived at the restaurant, it was only five minutes after seven. It was at least a respectable amount of time to be late and was better than forgetting her promise altogether. At least Chase hadn’t been waiting on her long since he was just turning off his own headlights when she slid into the parking spot opposite his car and jumped out as soon as the car was off.
“Well, I don’t feel so bad about running a little late if you just got here, too.”
Chase laughed, shaking his head before he ran his fingers through the blonde curls that were carefully gelled all around the crown of his head.
Normally, she would have found Chase attractive. He looked like the kind of guy who spent a lot of time on the beach and knew how to have a good time. If nothing else, they would have at least had some kind of fling for the summer before ending things amicably and running off to the next adventure. As it was, Ali just didn’t have her heart in flirting with Chase, especially not after what had happened this afternoon, though he didn’t seem to notice because he was obviously turning the charm up quite a bit.
“Well, I did hit a little traffic heading across the bridge so I was later than I expected, but no, you’re fine. I promise. Besides,” he paused looking Ali over before continuing, “if being late gets me this, then it was definitely worth it.”
Ali pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, looking down at the clothes she was wearing. It was nothing, just something casual she would have thrown on for a day of hanging out with a friend. He was dressed similarly, in a black shirt and jeans with a pair of running shoes to complete the outfit. She wasn’t sure how to respond.
“You’re full of shit, and I hope you know it.”
The reply was blunt, but Chase laughed at it again. Clearly, he thought she was joking, and maybe she was. However, Ali couldn’t help throwing a vein of truth into it. There was definitely something about Chase that was putting her on edge now that they were alone, and she couldn’t shake it. Her senses were on high alert although she had no idea why. He walked her to the front door of the restaurant, holding it open for her and telling the hostess near the entrance that they needed a table for two.
Ali found the wheels turning in her mind as she tried to figure out the best way to come at this dinner with Chase. She didn’t want him to think it was anything more than friendly. There was no way she was going to be able to handle more romantic drama in her life at the moment, not while she was having to deal with this man she so clearly had a huge thing for every single day as a distraction. She really and truly didn’t want to give him the wrong impression, though. All she could do now was make sure that her point got across.
She had been hoping that this dinner was going to be a good distraction, a night out with a friend, but it was quickly becoming clear that it was anything but that. Chase kept running his fingers through his hair and staring her down with those eyes that were clearly intended to be bedroom eyes. That might have worked on her six weeks ago, but now, it was just cheesy and obvious. It seemed like she was just going to have to muddle through dinner and then laugh about it with Sabrina afterward.
Sabrina was really the only one who knew everything that had been going on since the beginning. She knew the whole story, and exactly what she was going through, though Ali hadn’t mentioned where she was going tonight. Once she finally explained it to her roommate she was fairly certain that Sabrina was going to have a huge laugh at her stupidity.
Ali rested her chin on her hand, elbow on the table while Chase was talking. To someone who wasn’t really paying attention, it might have looked like she was wrapped up in what he was saying, but in reality, she was bored to death. He was droning on about some terrible story that involved all of his frat brothers back at Florida State, and Ali could feel her eyes glazing over. She was trying to figure out how she could redirect the conversation to something more interesting, like the weather, when her phone went off with a text message notification from her purse sitting next to her on the booth cushion.
“Sorry, excuse me. I need to check this.”
Ali grabbed her phone, to see a notification from Sabrina pop up on the locked screen.
Ben came by here. He wanted me to tell you something. Chase and Kristina were the ones who turned you and Ben into human resources... but you’re not supposed to know that.
Ali blinked for a moment, glancing up at the man who sat on the other side of the table from her while she tried to figure out how to react to the message. Part of her wanted to slap him, to bitch him out before she took off out of the restaurant. As for what she wanted to do to Kristina, there was a litany of unkind names that she was stringing together in the back of her thoughts, though they weren’t going to help her out of this situation.
She wasn’t supposed to have that information. Ali had no idea how Sabrina and Ben had found out, but she didn’t want to give it away before she learned all the details because there was every possibility that Ben had risked his job to find out about it. For now, she felt sick, and the look must have shown on her face because Chase’s took on one of concern that she would have paid good money to slap.
“Everything okay?”
“No...” That was really the only response she could come up with at the moment. It wasn’t good enough to cover what she was thinking, but at least she was thinking on her feet.
What Ali wanted most was to get out of this place — right now. She looked around. The waitress had only brought their drinks, and she had ordered something random from the menu, though there was no food on the table in front of them outside of a basket of tortilla chips and a bowl of salsa. There was no way she was going to sit here and eat across the table from this jerk, acting as if she didn’t know what he’d done. Her only choice was going to be a quick exit. Chase had just opened his mouth to say something in response to her “no” when she grabbed her purse off the bench seat next to her and scooted out of the booth with only a short sentence.
“It’s a family emergency. I’ve got to go.”
Ali turned and left, leaving a sputtering Chase behind her while she made a beeline for the exit. She wasn’t going to be able to give him any details if she stuck around. She wasn’t a very good liar and she certainly couldn’t give him any reason to suspect that she knew what he had done. Once she was in her Jeep with the cool night air rushing over her anger, she began to calm down enough to process the shocking news.
Normally, she would feel bad for rushing out on someone with such a minor explanation. She certainly didn’t owe Chase anything after finding out just how low he could go in order to get what he wanted. I
n fact, it was he that owed her an apology, but she would never get one. Why in the hell did he do something like that? She knew she’d never get any answers. This was one of those things that left her no other choice but to let go and move on.
Ali took off out of the parking lot, but her mind was still reeling. What about Kristina? What could her motive be?
She hoped Ben was still at her apartment when she arrived, but when she walked in the door to find Sabrina eating a bowl of ramen noodles in her pajamas she knew he was long gone. Her heart fell as she plopped down onto the couch next to her best friend with a deep sigh.
“Well, you definitely weren’t gone long enough to eat dinner, unless you inhaled a burger at a fast-food joint or something. What happened?”
“Your text. I was out to dinner with Chase.”
Sabrina’s eyes went wide and she put down the bowl she’d been holding on the coffee table before turning to face Ali.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“I wish I was.”
“You were on a date?”
“Well, I didn’t think it was a date until he started acting like it was a date. Besides, I left him sitting with two orders of steak burritos on the way with only the briefest explanation. There was no way I was going to fake my way through dinner after that message.” Ali let out a huff of breath, folding her arms across her chest while she let all of the irritation she’d been feeling play across her face.
“You’re pouting.” Sabrina was so matter-of-fact, the way she always was. This time it bugged her. It was irritating because she was right.
“Yeah, well maybe I’ve earned a pout. I have a pretty bad thing for my teacher. My teacher has a thing for me. Due to forces beyond our control, we can’t be together. To pour fuel on the fire, he’s my neighbor. That means I get to see him every single day and most of the nights at home, too. There’s never a chance for me to get him off my mind. To top it all, the one night I decide to go out and try to forget about all of that, it turns out to be with the guy who was trying to sabotage me out of the program along with the woman who was pretending to be my friend. So, I’m probably... definitely pouting.”
