I knew that it would take time, but I would eventually be able to wipe Tyler from my mind. I really think that he’s a troubled guy who has a lot of issues. I just can’t believe that I cared about him, and may have been falling in love with him. He played my heart, and made me feel wonderful.

I was back in the office, which was bittersweet for me. It was sweet because I love my coworkers and knew I could contribute to help my company. It was bitter because I thought that my massive effort to win a huge contract – the biggest ever – had failed.

I tried to remind myself that it failed not because of wrongdoing on my part. In fact, it was Tyler’s fault. He’s a liar and a con artist. He lied to me about his past relationship with Veronica, tricked me into sleeping with him, and used me to make a good impression with the board.

I felt so stupid for letting him do that. I felt like I missed obvious signs that he was trying to use me and take advantage of me. So, he did. And what did I gain out of it? Apparently nothing.

The first day back, I had some anger issues as I thought of him. I did some angry things like grab my computer mouse very tightly, hit the keyboard keys a little harder than usual, and I took more breaks. I was distracted. I knew that, but didn’t know how to ‘un-distract’ myself.

No matter. They say that time heals all wounds. I just hoped that it wouldn’t take too much time to do that. I’ve had some messy relationships in the past, but I think this one took the cake – even though we technically didn’t even have a relationship.

Sometimes I feel selfish for not relishing in the joy and good things in my life. First, Alessandra was feeling better, which is obviously good. I was worried about her, and I think Franca was, too. Franca usually doesn’t openly cite compassion and love, but I think she still cares. Some people just don’t know how to express or show it.

Franca…Damn. She would be pissed about not getting the contract. When she wasn’t awarded the contract, she would obviously ask why. I just prayed to God that she wouldn’t find out about my ‘fling’ with Tyler.

Not only would that badly harm Tyler, but it would badly harm me – because I would probably lose my job. The more I thought about it, the more flaws I saw in our plans to make everything work.

I met the entire board, who might eventually squeal that I was with him. That was a huge strike. Tyler himself might try to exact anger on me and tell my boss. That was another blunder. Then there was Veronica. I could almost guarantee that she would try to fuck me over.

I closed my eyes and squeezed my eyeballs with my thumb and index finger. I wish there was such a thing as eyeball makeup – because my eyes were bloodshot. For obvious reasons, I had a hard time getting sleep.

Just when I thought my life was over, Franca ran out and was clapping her hands together. I didn’t know what it was about, but she was very happy and excited about something. That was good. I could at least relax to some extent – because my boss was happy.

She took several quick steps and ran in place to underscore her excitement. I finally couldn’t hold back, because I wanted to know what was exciting for her. “Franca, you look like you just got really exciting news?”

She playfully perked out her tongue at me and energetically shook her head. “I just found out that we got the contract from Tyler’s company. If it goes well, I’m going to give you guys a bonus!” she said with a beaming smile.

I batted my eyelashes around because I just knew there must have been some mistake. I had a nasty exit with him, and even told him that I didn’t want the contract. So, how could this be? “We really got the contract? Wow!”

Franca revealed a paper that she was holding from Tyler’s corporate office. It had the start date, terms, budget amount, and a list of subcontractors. It was real. We really got the contract. Despite my denial, I knew it to be true.

So, now what? I couldn’t just cancel the contract. My employer was depending on it, and my boss would have my ass if I tried such a thing. Was Tyler just trying to get back into my pants? What exactly was his motive, and what did he really want to do?

I didn’t trust him. I couldn’t trust him. He’s not only a liar, but a corporate con artist who could talk his way into making shit smell like roses. This is a guy that apparently succeeded into convincing an entire board that I was his girlfriend. No easy task.

Maybe he wanted some quid pro quo. He would give me the contract, if I did something for him. Is that what he wanted? Maybe. That seems to be his M.O., because that’s exactly what he did with me. He promised to give me the contract if I pretended to be his girlfriend.

I knew one thing – I wasn’t going to spend days or even weeks being confused about what he wanted, and what he was trying to do. I decided to get in contact with him, and ask him what the hell was going on. He might lie to me (because he lies a lot) but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

I pulled out my iPhone and pushed the bottom, round button to turn it on. I clicked on my contacts – and his was one of the very few contacts on the list. That was another accomplishment he had, I guess. He made me care enough about him to add him to that list.

I touched the phone icon and held the phone up to my ear. It rang and rang. It rang a total of five times, then his voicemail greeting surfaced. He either wasn’t there, or wasn’t answering his phone. Who knows?

I wasn’t about to give up on him. Naturally, I looked up his business phone number through Google, and then I called it. This time, I was able to get through to someone – even though it wasn’t him. “Thank you for calling Tyler Taylor’s office, this is Ashley, how may I help you?”

“Hello. My name is Maya Blake and I was wondering if I could please speak to Tyler?” I communicated politely and hoped that I could get through, and get to the bottom of what he was trying to do.

“Mr. Taylor is actually in a meeting but I would be happy to take a message. Would you like to leave a message?” she said in a very sweet and pleasant voice.

I sighed quietly because I knew that I probably wouldn’t be able to get in touch with him soon. In fact, he might just not bother to get back in touch with me. It was hard to tell. When I left his penthouse, I made it clear I was mad at him. “Yes, Ashley. Can you just tell him to call Maya Blake back?”

She continued her very professional pose. “I most certainly will. Can I have your phone number?” she inquired and I heard her click a pen to write it down.

I made just one click with my mouth and readied to hang up. “That won’t be necessary. He actually has my number. I appreciate your time, though.”

Maybe, just maybe, Tyler was trying to make things right. Hmm! Sometimes the unexpected and unlikely becomes a reality. I guess that might be the case here. If he was trying to make things right, and was genuinely sorry, should I forgive him for that?

Maybe. I suppose anything could happen, but I couldn’t think of anything that would make me want to be with him. He gets on my nerves all the time, but the Veronica thing was just the last straw. Every human being – myself included – has a breaking point.

In the meantime, I would tell him that I wanted nothing to do with him. But, when exactly would I hear from him? I guess I could send him an email, but I think that’s a little cheap – especially when it comes to breaking off a relationship.