Come over tonight, Zach’s text message reads. I’ve missed you.

I’ll be back at the office in ten, Ethan’s text announces. Can’t wait to see you.

Sitting in my cramped little cubicle, I read the messages over and over. They arrived within one minute of each other.

The irony is too much. Zach and Ethan may not even talk anymore, but they sure seem to be on the same wavelength.

I put my phone away and stare at the two open documents on my screen. One is the article I told Ethan I’m writing: a piece about Zach’s professional success. The other, much more intimate one, has a completely different tone…and is completely unfinished.

I gnaw on the edge of my fingernail before I realize what I’m doing and drop my hand. I could show the new document to Ethan now.

Or I could wait.

The more I think about it, waiting seems better.

My desk phone rings, making me jump.

“Hello?” I answer.

“Noelle, Mr. Ford would like to see you in his office.” The secretary hangs up before I can respond.

Leaving my laptop in the cubicle, I head down the hallway. A good plan of action seems to be to talk to Ethan first. There’s no sense in springing the article on him. Still, I’m not so sure coming right out and telling him I met up with his ex-girlfriend yesterday is the best course either. I’m toeing the line here, desperately hoping I’ll be able to nudge Ethan toward his own realization of what happened.

I knock on the door, and he answers with smoldering eyes. His voice is crisp, though, all professionalism.

“Noelle. Good to see you. Come right on in.”

He closes the door behind us then steps forward to pull me against him. The kiss, strong and quick, shakes me. It almost makes me forget what I came in here to do. Almost.

“Come to dinner with me tonight,” Ethan says, stepping back and sitting in one of the plush chairs.

“Tonight?”

“Yes.”

I press my hands together. “I can’t tonight. I’m busy. Sorry.”

His eyebrows thread together. “Doing what?”

“It’s… Just seeing a friend.”

Wow. What a pathetic excuse. I’m no good at lying, though. And staring Ethan down, desperately trying to stop myself from looking away, doesn’t seem to be helping any.

I switch gears fast. “How was your trip?”

“It was fine.” He crosses his arms, his body stiffening. “I was really hoping to unwind by spending an evening with you. We’ll have to shoot for some other night this week.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “That would be nice.”

The space between us suddenly feels too much. I take a few steps toward him, hovering close. Ethan reaches out and pulls me into his lap, studying my face.

“The article. Is it done yet?”

I hesitate. “Yes…”

“Great. Send it over to Graham. There should be just enough time for it to make the morning edition.”

“Actually…” I gulp down my fear. It pops right back up.

Ethan cocks his head. “What?”

“I wanted to talk to you about that. Well, about something in relation to that.”

A long silence.

“Okay,” he slowly says. “Is this about Zach?”

“Yes.”

His jaw tightens. “How close have you two been getting?”

“We… We’ve been hanging out. We went on a trip this weekend.”

He nods and looks at the floor, his emotions obscured. I’m still sitting on his lap, and it seems such a weird location for me to be right now.

“This isn’t about me and him,” I quickly say. “It’s your relationship with Zach that I wanted to talk about.”

He stiffens under me. “There is no relationship.”

“But you must still think of him some. You told me I could write this article any way I wanted. Does that mean you’re not going to write a tell-all book on him now? It does, right?”

Ethan says nothing. He’s shutting down, pushing me away with silence. I hate it. It’s a cruel act, and it only makes me talk more.

“You have to still care about him, Ethan.”

“I appreciate your concern, Noelle,” he tensely says. “But there’s a lot that you don’t understand.”

“Really? Is there? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like your friendship ended over a simple misunderstanding.”

On the armrest, his hand curls into a fist. I’m afraid I’ve gone too far, but it doesn’t matter. It’s too late now.

“Noelle, I’m going to say this one more time, and I really do hope you heed my advice. Stay out of mine and Zach’s situation. I like you, and if you insist on butting in, it is only going to hurt our own relationship.”

My throat tightens. “I’m doing this because I care about you, Ethan.”

“Really?” His eyes flash. “Or is this about Zach? Because it sounds like you two have been getting awfully cozy.”

Tears fill my eyes. This was exactly what I was afraid of. Instead of my discovery bringing Ethan and Zach together, it’s only tearing us all further apart.

I don’t know why I thought I had to do this, why I got it in my head that all three of us could be… What? Some kind of unconventional, happy family? One girl, two boyfriends? Neither of them has even asked me to get serious with them. Neither of them has shown that I mean more to them than a casual fling.

But I just had to stick my nose where it didn’t belong. I had to get attached to both of these guys. Now I get to pay the consequences.

I stand up, wiping tears from my eyes, and turn away from Ethan. I can’t stand for him to see me cry right now.

Light flashes on the windows across the street. I envy anyone who might be in the building over there working, keeping their head down and just doing their job. Why can’t I be more like them?

Ethan sighs heavily, and the chair creaks as he stands.

“Noelle.”

I wait for more, but if it exists, Ethan doesn’t say it.

“I talked to Harmony,” I say, still facing the window.

The silence is oppressive. I close my eyes, wanting to shut off the pain. So much time is passing, so much silence… I can’t bear it any longer.

Just as I turn to face Ethan, he takes a careful step toward me. “Harmony Greggor?”

I nod pathetically. “She told me what really happened that night. She said—”

Ethan puts a hand up, stopping me. His eyes are closed, his nostrils flaring.

“I don’t want to hear any more.”

“But, Ethan, it was a misunderstanding. It was—”

“Leave.” His eyes pop open, but he turns away from me, hiding himself. “Just go, Noelle.”

He walks over to his desk, keeping his back to me as he busies himself with some papers.

“You really don’t want to hear about what happened?”

Ethan stops pretending to be busy and grabs hold of the edge of his desk. His shoulders slump over, his head dropping.

“I have a lot to deal with right now, and this is the last thing I need. Don’t make me tell you to leave again.”

The disgust in his words make me shake. I take a trembling step, then another. I thought Ethan might be angry over what I’d done, but I didn’t think he would push me away like this.

I keep my face turned down as I pass the secretary. The bathroom halfway down the hall is a welcome respite, and I dart in to take a moment to calm down.

Leaning against the sink, I stare at my reflection. Ethan might hate me for what I did, but I can’t. I was trying to help.

But where has my desire to help gotten me? Is he going to end our relationship now? Fire me?

I shake my head against the thought. I need this job. An opportunity like this doesn’t come along every day for someone who’s fresh out of college.

What’s more, I can’t stand the thought of never seeing Ethan again. I like him. A whole lot. Actually, what I feel for him is closer to love. It’s not the giddy, sweep-me-off-my-feet love, but more the tender, sweet kind. Regardless, it’s big. I care for Ethan.

Dabbing mascara away from under my eyes, I go back to my desk. It’s a lonely place to be. Graham’s arrival a few minutes later doesn’t make it better.

“Got a new assignment for you,” he says. “Check your email.”

“Thanks.” I give him a quick smile before turning to my computer and loading my email. He’s still here, though. I can feel him staring me down.

A moment later and he’s taking the hard chair next to me. The one that no one else has sat in since I started here.

“Hey, so I heard something interesting.” He drops his voice on the end of the sentence.

“Uh-huh?”

Graham glances over his shoulder, but no one is paying us any mind. “It seems Mr. Ford has taken quite an interest in you.”

My heart pounds. “What do you mean?”

He waggles his eyebrows. “Oh, I think you know what I’m getting at.”

He’s baiting me, waiting for me to say something incriminating. I just shrug.

“He hasn’t been inappropriate with me or anything, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Hm.” Graham leans back, still studying me.

“Well, I should check out this new assignment. When is it due?”

“Day after tomorrow.” His raps his knuckles on my desk. “Hey, Noelle… You know we’re friends, right? You can share anything you want to with me.”

Us being friends is news to me.

Graham goes on. “Honestly, if it was me, I wouldn’t mind a little attention from Ethan Ford Jr. The man is a Greek statue come to life.”

“He is pretty cute,” I agree, simply in an attempt to keep my cover going.

“Hmm. Just imagine what he’s got swinging from that tool belt.”

I have the assignment email pulled up now, and I quickly scan it. “What’s the word count for this?”

“Eight hundred.”

“Okay.” I jot that down.

Graham scoots his chair closer. Now I have no choice but to look at him.

“Tell me the truth, Noelle,” he whispers. “Is something going on between you and Ford Jr?”

I swallow hard, but I swear, if anyone can smell fear, it’s Graham. One of his brows rises just the slightest bit, daring me to lie.

“Nothing is going on,” I say. “He keeps calling me into his office because he wants to check my progress on the Zach Garner piece. It’s super important to him, for some reason.”

“Okay.” Graham’s tone of voice makes it clear he’s not satisfied. He leaves, though, finally giving me some peace and quiet.

I want to run and hide in the bathroom again, but I’ve already done that once today. And doing that would solve nothing.

For now, there’s nothing to do but keep pushing forward and hope this whole situation I’ve created isn’t the ticking time bomb I’m terrified it is.