Since we were going together, Hail was waiting downstairs for me to finish. I wanted to pick something that was nice, but not too nice. I was trying to deter the attentions of one man and catch the attention of the other. It was rather difficult to decide what to wear, but since I was crunched for time, I finally just stuck something on.

I came into the living room and ask him to zip me up.

“How does it look?”

“Too good.”

“It barely even shows anything. What's wrong with it?”

“I think that I have seen too much and every time I see you now, I can see is you bare. It is a small price to pay for that night though.”

Just like that, he put my mind in a place where it wasn’t supposed to be. He was here to be a buffer against my new boss, but it wasn't going to help if he was looking at me like that. Maybe I was getting myself into something worse bringing him along.

“Come on Hail. You can't do that in front of Mark. It will be too weird.”

“What is going to be weird, is the fact that I'm there at all.”

I know that he didn't want to go, but I was thankful that he finally agreed to it. Mark didn't have to be happy about if I brought somebody or not. If he wouldn’t have been acting the way he was when we went out for lunch, or the fact that he asked me out for dinner at all, I wouldn't have to bring Hail along. But what if he saw that there was something going on between me and Hail? Would that change how he acted?

“No, I am just going to make it like we were going to talk about work. That I didn't even think this was going to be personal. Playing the dumb blonde routine.”

“I don’t know if that’s going to work too well Evony.”

I turned around and waited for him to zip me up. I couldn't reach it and we were already running behind. It was bad enough that I was going to be late, but I was going to be late, bringing another man with me too.

Even though we were going to be in a trying situation, it didn't stop me from feeling this light shiver that ran through me when he pulled the zipper up. It was there to make me crazy and now my whole body was alive with need and passion. I was flushed when I turned back around, trying to avoid his eyes.

“Are you ready?”

I agreed, but I knew that I was lying with the nod of my head. I wasn’t ready at all.

We got to the restaurant and I could tell immediately that Mark was not happy that Hail was herewith me. He was eying him and eying me in a way that told me all I needed to know. This was not business at all. He wanted me as I knew he would. But it wasn’t a way that didn't interest me at all.

Mark stood up and shook his hand when we walked up to the table.

“Good to see you Hail. I didn't realize you were going to be here tonight.”

“Well Evony told me that you guys were meeting to talk shop, so I figured we should all be here to talk about some projects we were thinking about. A couple joint ventures that will benefit us all Mark. Maybe get your ideas on it.”

I was so worried about what I was going to say, because I wasn't a very good liar. Most people could usually see right through me, no matter how much I wanted to withhold the truth. It was sometimes impossible to do for me. But then, just like that, Hail changed everything and made it all sound so logical. He came up with that on the spot and it was easy to believe what he said. He was really good at lying.

“Yes, we were.”

He had a tight look at his face, and he flipped his gaze up to me for a moment and I knew that it was not what he had in mind. But he couldn't say otherwise now, could he?

We all sat down and for a while, the table was quiet and then finally Mark broke the silence by asking to hear about that joint venture that Hail was talking about.

I had spoken to him vaguely about a few things, but he had a couple ideas that he was ready to pop off immediately. The fact that I hadn't heard about them, didn't surprise me at all. The fact that it might not even be real, did neither. Hail was full of surprises and he seemed to work best on his feet.

I just took a couple more nervous drinks out of my glass and let the two men speak. I wasn’t so good at improv. This wasn't what I wanted this to be, but it was hard to be in the same room with two of them, especially when they were both looking at me the same way. Hail was probably more lecherous, but then again, Hail and I had already done something, so it wasn't like it was unwarranted from him. Mark was a different story altogether. He was handsome, sexy, all of the things that I should want, but at the end of the day, he wasn’t Hale. That's what seemed to matter at the moment.

We had a few more drinks, dinner and dessert, before we were ready to go. Mark asked me straight up if I had come with Mark and something told me to say no. I did, even though that left me in a weird position moments later.

“I came in a taxi. I’m about to call one to pick me up. They don’t take long on this side of town.”

Mark told me that he would call for me and I let him. I don't know why, but he seemed really intent on getting me a taxi and not in the car with Hail

It wasn't long before the taxi was there, and I was getting in. I bid them a good night and give the address to the driver. I was planning on riding home with Mark and asking him up for a nightcap, but this was probably better. This keeps me out of trouble.

---

I don't know why, but I expected to get a call, telling me all about what happened after I left. I figured that Mark would say something to him about me and then Hail would give me a heads up. I don't know what I was thinking, but I stayed up for several hours waiting for my phone to ring. It didn't. I had to go to sleep, worried about it and that nervousness traveled with me into the next day when I went to work.

“Morning Hail.”

He was already there when I got there, and he didn’t even look up from his computer screen to say good morning to me. Something was off and I wanted to know what it was.

Going into his office, I finally had his attention when I was standing next to him. He looked like he was typing up some kind of promotional thing and for a moment, I realized that I was actually is competition and I shouldn't be looking. I went to the other side of his desk and sat down.

“What's going on?”

“Nothing, I'm just trying to get some work done.”

“I was hoping you would call me last night.”

“Why would I do that?”

It was a little defensive and there was something else on his tongue that I didn't quite understand. It was almost like he was mad at me, but I don't know why he would be. I didn't do anything to make him mad at me.

“I don't know why you would do that, I guess. Silly me. I've got work to do too and I better get to it. You have a good day.”

I don't know why I was so upset right now. I felt moisture rushing to the edges of my eyes, threatening to boil over. I knew that I couldn’t let that happen, because I didn't want him to know that I was upset. I especially didn't want him to know that I was upset about him. I don't know why he was mad, or what I had done, but I had to get away from him put some distance between us. On the other side of the room wasn't going to be far enough, so I made my way towards the elevator.

“Stop Evony. Don't go.”

His tone had changed and so had the meaning of his words. Did I dare stay and find out why he didn't want me to go? More importantly, did I want to stay?

I turned around and started walking back towards him. I wanted to stay, too much. It was something I knew I was going to pay for eventually.