Page 58 of So Much More
“Then don’t worry about what Brian thinks.”
“But he’ll talk, and then everybody will think we’re dating. I don’t want to have to explain that we’re not dating anymore or the reason why, but that won’t matter, because people will figure out we’re not dating if we’re not going to lunch together or flirting with each other or whatever.”
“You need to talk to Randall about this and see how he wants to handle it. You’re not the only person involved in this situation. Work through ittogether,like you said you wanted to do.”
She’s right. Now I truly am ashamed—ashamed that I’m acting like a teenager and also that it didn’t occur to me that I should have gone to Randall with this instead of to her.
“It’s okay that you came to me,” she says, reading my mind. “I’ve done the same with you when it comes to issues with Ash. We’re good sounding boards for each other. But now you need to talk to him.”
“Nownow?”
“You might not want to hash it all out here at work, but at least tell him you need to talk about it in the very near future.”
I stand and straighten my skirt. “Okay. Thanks for being my sounding board.”
“My pleasure,” she says. “Now go.” She shoos me with her hand but also smiles so I know she’s not irritated with my interruption to her day. “I’ve got phone calls to make.”
I head straight to Randall’s office when I leave. When I knock, he glances up and his face runs through various emotions before settling on a welcoming smile.
“Come in,” he says. “Take a seat.”
I enter and close the door behind me, resulting in raised eyebrows on his part.
“This conversation is of a personal nature.” I settle on the edge of a chair and try not to dwell on how good he looks with his jacket and tie off, a few shirt buttons undone, and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. “None of our co-workers need to hear it. In fact, that’s what we need to talk about: our co-workers thinking we’re dating. I don’t want us to discuss how to handle that right now, because I want you to think about it, and I need to as well, but we need to talk about it later today, if possible.”
“At lunch?”
I shake my head. “I’ve got a lunch meeting already. We’ll have to do it after work.”
“In person or on the phone?”
“In person.” I don’t want to have another intense conversation with him over the phone. I want to see his expressions and body language while we’re talking.
“In public or in private?” he asks.
“Public.” We can’t be alone in private for a while, current situation notwithstanding.
“Do you have a suggestion for where?”
I think for a moment, and then I have what could be either a brilliant or a terrible idea. “McConnell’s.”
His face pales. “No.”
“Have you apologized to Tammy yet?”
“I haven’t had time. Ash and I were with our sisters last night.”
My heart melts a little. “You were?”
“Yeah, Dad’s out of town. And we’re having dinner with Mom tonight, so I’ll have to meet you after that.Notat McConnell’s.”
I steel myself. “I’m going to insist on McConnell’s.”
Randall folds his arms over his chest. “Why?”
“Because I think it’ll help us work through this to go back to the scene of the crime. And it should help Tammy if we’re both there. It’ll help prove to her that neither of us blame her for what happened. She deserves that. And if she can’t deal with the awkwardness, or if we can’t, then we’ll leave and never go back there. But I’m hoping we can help her move past it, even if it’s weird for us. I want us to do this hard thing together.”
He nods, his expression unreadable. “Okay. I can do that.”
