“I’LL MEET YOU inside in one second.” James pulled out his phone and checked the ringer. Still on vibrate. He would have felt it if a call or text came through. Strange that she hasn’t called back yet.

“Don’t take too long. And don’t bail if she answers. At least come in for one drink.” Chris shot him an imploring look. “It never hurts to network.” Blakely loved to shoot pool and even though he knew James hated the place, Chris coerced him into coming for one game.

James grinned. “I won’t take off, I promise. Even though I’m going to smell like an ashtray, and you know how much I love that.”

“All right! I’ll order your favorite.” Chris snickered as he went into the pool hall.

Voicemail again. What the hell? Where could she be? It was past six; could one of her meetings have run over? On the other hand, it was a good thing she was so busy with potential clients…it meant there was more work to keep her in Palo Alto.

He went inside and found Chris chalking his cue stick. James took a deep breath. Here we go…

“Hey, Jay! You remember Rich, my buddy from college?”

With a polite smile, James held out his hand. “How are you, Rich? Good to see you.”

“James!” Rich peered at him with bloodshot eyes. He’d been drinking…quite a bit judging from the numerous beer bottles lining the wall behind him. Aha. So it’s going to be that kind of night.

Chris handed James a Corona and winked. “So, Rich was just sharing a bit of news. Pretty interesting stuff.”

James perked up. “Oh, yeah? What’s going on?”

“Looks like we’re gonna be funded by Blue Coat too. How ’bout that buddy?” Rich clapped James hard on the back, the sudden force causing James to lurch forward with his beer. Guy can’t hold his liquor at all. What a jackass.

“So it must have been a pretty big blow to your partners, huh?” Chris pulled back on the cue stick and took his shot, sinking two balls into opposing pockets.

“Oh, man! You should have seen their faces when I let them know what was goin’ down and that they were out!” Rich snorted and took a long gulp of his beer.

Puzzled, James furrowed his brow. “You mean the funding arrangement? How’d you do that without involving them?”

Rich slammed his bottle on the ledge and picked up his stick. “Three-ball, corner pocket.” He swayed a little as he set up the shot. Steadying his hand, he pulled the stick back and let loose. Rich cursed as the cue skipped over the three-ball and sailed off the table. James stifled a laugh. What a tool.

“Ahh!” Rich grabbed his beer. “I changed the game on them, Jay. I took back the control of my company and I ousted them. It was fucking beautiful! They didn’t know what hit them!”

“I don’t understand. Why’d you want to get rid of them? You guys were partners, right?” James shot Chris a curious look and Chris shrugged in response.

“You don’t have any idea, man.” Rich staggered towards a barstool and collapsed into it. “They were tryin’ to get rid of me, can you believe it? It was my software, my company. And they were goin’ behind my back to get rid of me. So I beat them at their own game.”

Oh, no, can’t imagine why they’d want to get rid of you, man. James took another sip of his beer. “So now you’re working with Emerson? He’s backing your company?”

“Yup! I reincorporated without those clowns and now it’s just Blue Coat and me. We’ve got so many big money clients, it doesn’t matter. I’m the one who has the software designs, and I’ll work with Blue Coat to keep growing my business. Still looking at an IPO, still making money hand over fist. Nothin’s changed except I trounced the assholes who were out to get me. Nobody’s interfering with my company’s future any more. I’m calling the shots now.” Rich placed a foot on the floor to take another shot and lurched forward. He laughed, taking another sip of beer.

“Rich, how about you take a break for this next game? Let me and Jay shoot.” Chris put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. With an amused look on his face, he glanced at James. “Rack ‘em up, Jay!”

“All right, Chris. Good to see you, man!” Rich swayed a little on the stool but remained seated. “So, what do you guys think about Emerson? He’s the fucking man, huh?”

James rolled his eyes.

Chris smirked. “Yeah, the man.”

“You know how much tail he probably gets? It’s ridiculous! He’s always dating models and heiresses and actresses and any other hot pieces of ass he can get his hands on. Unreal. Women literally fall at this guy’s feet. Even the other day, after I booted Andy and Margaret, I went downstairs to grab a smoke and I saw him chatting up this consultant who was supposed to meet with us.” Rich snickered. “Chick had no idea what she was walkin’ into that morning!”

James looked at Rich. “Consultant?” He suddenly remembered Jessica’s appointment at Secure Transact. She mentioned losing them as a client but nothing else, certainly nothing about meeting Emerson.

Rich lit a cigarette. He inhaled hard and blew a stream of smoke into the air. “Yeah, she was fucking hot. Worked for…DMC, I think. Trying to sign us up for some new business. Jessica something or other. She and Emerson looked pretty cozy outside. Guy can pick up anywhere, even in the middle of rush hour on the street.” He shook his head in wonder. “Maybe I gotta get me an Alfa…”

James continued to stare at Rich as he processed the information. What the hell is going on? How could she—

“What’s the matter, Jay?” Rich took another drag of the cigarette. “You know her or something?”

Chris turned to Rich. “Jessica’s his girlfriend.”

“Woo-hoo!” Rich hooted with glee. “Dude, hate to break it to ya, but there’s definitely something going on with them. She’s probably doin’ both of you. Sucks, huh? I bet she’s pretty awesome in bed, too.” He gulped down the rest of his beer and laughed like a hyena.

Glaring at Rich, Chris put his stick down and walked over to James. “Jay, I’m sure there’s an explanation. Don’t jump to conclusions yet.”

“Really? And how do you explain the other night when I introduced them at Joya? Remember that neither one of them acknowledged the other? What kind of game are they playing? Why wouldn’t she tell me she met him?” His voice rose and Chris put a hand on his arm as several patrons looked on.

“Jay, don’t make a scene. Take a breath and call her. Blakely is hammered anyway, you’re gonna take his word for it? Come on, you’re smarter than that.”

“Hey, Jay, I bet I can guess what kind of games they’re playing!” Rich swiveled around on his stool to put out the cigarette and lost his balance. He toppled off the stool, landing on the dirty carpet with a loud thud. “Fuck!” Struggling to pull himself up, Rich called to Chris. “Dude, I’m hitting the head. Be back in a few.”

James took a deep breath, thankful for the privacy. He grabbed his phone. No missed calls, no texts but an incoming email caught his eye. It was titled “Jessica Latham.” It was sent with a “no reply” address. That’s weird. He opened it, forgetting the phone call he was poised to make only seconds ago. A sense of impending dread settled over him as he clicked on the message.

The only text in the body of the email was “Take a look at what your girlfriend was doing the other night.” That was it. Then he saw the picture. It was dark and a little grainy, but he could make out Jessica and…Paul Emerson? Kissing?

Was this some kind of sick joke? His mind flashed back to the night of her alleged client cocktail party. Jessica didn’t respond to his text until much later. When he asked to see her, she said she had some early morning meeting to prepare for, that she was going to sleep early. Could she have been with Emerson? He felt his face drain of color.

Chris nudged him. “Jay, what’s the deal? What is it?”

The anger threatened to bubble over and his body shook with rage. He handed the phone to Chris and watched as the look of recognition came over his friend’s face.

Chris sank into one of the barstools, still staring at the screen. “What the fuck.”

“I can think of a few other choice phrases right now.” His fist crashed down on the table edge. “How could I have been such an idiot?”

“Jay, I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry, man.” Chris put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but it didn’t help relieve the feeling of emptiness that settled over James the moment he saw that photo.

James glared at the picture again. “I can’t believe she’d do this to me, I thought we had something. I thought I knew her…I trusted her and she betrayed me after…everything.”

“How does she even know Emerson? Did she mention his name before? Did you tell her we were meeting with Blue Coat?”

James nodded. “Yeah, she knew. I remember mentioning him specifically because I was so turned off by him.”

“How did she react?” Chris pressed him. “Did she say she knew him then?”

James sighed. “I really don’t remember. She didn’t give anything away, if that’s what you’re asking. Maybe they met through some work thing. It doesn’t really matter though, does it? She’s not the person I thought she was at all. That’s the bottom line.”

“Who sent this picture?” Chris looked back at the phone.

“I have no fucking idea. Emerson could have staged it for all I know. There’s no name attached. Whoever sent it didn’t want to be found out. So I guess I’m the ignorant asshole who fell in love with her, thinking we had something real and it turns out she’s running around with that prick behind my back.”

Chris sighed. “Look, Jay, I’m really sorry. And even though it sucks finding out this way, better it happens now than later. You deserve the best and she’s obviously not it.”

James leaned his head into his hands. “I need to be alone right now.”

“Are you gonna be okay?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hey, guys! How ‘bout another round?” Rich staggered back to the table, taking in the scene. “Jay, man, looks like you could use somethin’ a little stronger than beer!” He chucked as he loped to the bar.

Chris rolled his eyes. “Listen, call me if you need to talk. Don’t do anything stupid.”

James grabbed his phone and stormed out of the pool hall, heartbroken and alone.

JAMES WANDERED AROUND for what seemed like hours trying to clear his head. He was so angry…at Jessica, at himself, at that prick Paul Emerson, and at whoever sent the photo that destroyed everything they shared.

How could she do this to me? I opened up to her, I let her in and she just disregarded all of it. She never cared. She couldn’t have…

Furious as he was, he needed to see Jessica. Even though the harsh reality was obvious, he wanted to hear it from her. All the excuses in the world wouldn’t change the fact that she was kissing Emerson that night and James didn’t even want to think about what happened after the party. A wave of nausea came over him as the mental images crept into his mind.

She lied. Violated his trust. Deceived him. And for what? For Emerson? I need to know why…

He stabbed at the keyboard on his phone. Maybe she’s home already. His heart pounded as he waited for her response. The phone pinged and he raced to the apartment, trying in vain to calm his frayed nerves.

That picture ripped open old wounds. All the rage he felt when he found out that Steve was sleeping with his ex-girlfriend rushed back to the surface. Jessica’s no better than them. She fucking used me, made me think we actually had something but it was all bullshit. She lied to my face and completely betrayed me with Emerson, that conniving bastard.

Time stood still as he waited for her to open the door. James squeezed his eyes shut, trying to erase the now painful memories of their short-lived romance. When he reopened them, her smiling face appeared. But all James saw was the email image that would be forever seared into his mind. Fury threatened to overtake him again as he stared at Jessica, stone-faced.

“James, what’s wrong?” She reached out a hand. “Is everything okay?”

James pushed past her. “You know what? I’d really like to say yes and a few hours ago, that would have been the case.”

“So…what’s different now?” She shot him a puzzled look.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Here’s a little bit of irony that you might appreciate. Earlier today, Chris got a call from Blue Coat and guess what? They decided that LazerShark is worthy of their time and money, and they offered us an investment of two million dollars.”

“But…that’s great news, isn’t it? I don’t understand…why are you so angry?”

James glared at her. “It was great news. I tried sharing it with you, multiple times today. But you never bothered to get back to me. And then I got some information that made me think twice about even bothering to call you ever again.”

“James, please, this isn’t making any sense.” Jessica hesitated and then inched closer to him. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Maybe this will clear things up.” He thrust the phone at her. “If memory serves, I introduced you to Paul Emerson last night. This picture was taken two nights ago. Pretty cozy for two people who supposedly didn’t know each other less than twenty-four hours ago. Care to explain?”

She looked at the screen and gasped. “Where did this come from?”

“That’s all you can say? Really? You’ve got nothing else?”

Jessica’s eyes filled with tears. “Listen, I know it looks bad but—”

“Looks bad? Are you fucking kidding me? How long has this even been going on, Jessica? Is he the real reason why you’ve been trying to stay out here? You pretended not to know each other last night! What’s the end game here? You knew all along that we were working with his company and now…I get this picture. Tell me, did you screw him after you blew me off? I didn’t get a picture of that, so I’m just curious if you were doing him when you told me you had to be up early for work. What an asshole I am!” James paused, his breathing heavy and fists clenched at his sides.

“James, you have to let me explain! It isn’t what you think at all. I mean, yes, I do know him and he’s the one who invited me to the cocktail party, but it was strictly professional—”

“Professional? Seriously? With his tongue down your throat and his hand on your ass? Is that the new definition of professional?” James paced around the foyer, not wanting to hear any more but unable to drag himself away.

“James, I never wanted anything with him! I met Paul months ago and we…we…well, it was only one time, and…I never thought I’d see him again. It was so long ago and I was afraid to tell you about it because I thought you’d think less of me. But—”

“But you did see him again, didn’t you? You slept with him and made a point of not telling me when you knew we were working with him? You lied about your plans to see him the other night, lied again last night about knowing him and now you expect me to believe that nothing else happened? Do you really think I’m that much of a moron to actually believe you?”

“James, please, I know should have told you about him and I’m sorry! You have to believe me!” Tears streamed down her face but he was impervious to her evident despair.

“You know, I thought we really had something, Jessica. I trusted you. I opened myself up to you…and I-I fell in love with you. I wanted to make things work. I didn’t care about any of the challenges we’d have to face with your health, geography, our work. None of it mattered to me because I’d have you and we could have faced those obstacles together. But now I can see how badly I misjudged you and what we were building. You obviously aren’t the girl I thought you were.” He pushed his hair back in frustration. “How could you…I just—I can’t even be around you. I’m so fucking done.”

James stormed out of the apartment, the heart wrenching sound of Jessica’s muffled sobs plaguing him with every step.