CHAPTER 17
Anderson
“I’m so sorry, Anderson,” Lauren said.
I closed my eyes in exasperation for a moment and rubbed my temples. “Lauren, you’ve known this was coming for months,” I said, unable to believe she was bailing on me at the last minute. The agency’s gala was coming up, and each consecutive year, it became a bigger and more extravagant event. Lauren, a friend of mine, had agreed to be my date months ago. We did this for each other, went to the galas, the fancy dinners. We were a good date and it was strictly platonic. She was the best girl to take, but now, all of a sudden, she was claiming to have an obligation with her family that she couldn’t get out of.
“Anderson, my sister needs me to help out with the kids. She’s going through a tough time right now and she needs me.”
“I understand that, but do you mean to tell me she honestly can’t spare to handle things on her own for one day, just for a few hours?”
“I wish it was that simple,” Lauren said.
“Well, what’s making it complicated?” I demanded.
Lauren pursed her lips and folded her arms as if I had somehow offended her. I didn’t care though, because I felt she was being ridiculous to cancel on me at the last minute like this. I had already paid for her ticket and our table was filled, so it was going to look exceptionally awkward for there to be an empty seat next to me. And at such short notice, I saw no way to remedy the situation.
“Anderson, don’t be a jerk,” Lauren said.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not the one being a jerk, Lauren. If you knew there was a chance you weren’t going to be able to go, you should have said something a long time ago.”
“Well, forgive me for not being able to predict the future,” she snapped.
I muttered under my breath, quickly losing my patience with her.
Lauren sighed. “Look—do you want me to give you your money back for the ticket?”
“Forget the damn ticket, Lauren. Just…whatever. Do what you gotta do.”
“I’ll make it up to you next year,” she said.
I laughed and rolled my eyes. She had another thing coming if she thought I was going to consider accepting her as my date the following year. I wanted to tell her to not hold her breath, but that seemed a little too harsh.
Lauren sighed and someone knocked on the door of my office.
“Come in,” I said, welcoming the interruption.
We both turned toward the door to see Tobias saunter in.
“Hi Tobias,” Lauren said, as she began making her way to the door.
Tobias nodded at her. “Hey Lauren. Nice job earlier today.”
She smiled politely. “Thank you,” she said, and then turned toward me. “See you later, Anderson.”
“Yeah, later,” I said, not even bothering to look at her as she made her exit.
“Uh oh,” Tobias said, coming in to sit at the edge of my desk. “Trouble in paradise?”
“Who said Lauren was anyone’s paradise?” I said, annoyed.
“I thought she was one of your…uh…escapades?”
I shook my head. “Nah, we were always just friends. We both agreed it was easier with no sex attached.”
“What happened?”
I folded my arms. “She bailed on me. Granted, she and I haven’t had much going on lately, but she was supposed to be my date to the gala. Now she’s claiming she can’t go. Some bullshit excuse about her sister suddenly needing help with her kids.”
Tobias shook his head. “I always told you that one of these women were going to get you back one day, man,” he said and then chuckled.
“Don’t laugh. You know how ridiculous that empty seat is going to look next to me?”
“Well, fill it with someone else,” Tobias said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Someone else like who?” I asked. “It’s too short of a notice to ask anyone.”
“Is there no one else in your life? No one you could ask?”
I’d been standing at my office window looking out at the traffic on the road when Tobias asked the question. I froze, feeling his gaze on the back of my head, but not daring to turn around. I stuffed my hands into my pocket. “No…” I said. “Why do you ask?”
“Just curious,” Tobias said. “The Anderson Lawrence I know just isn’t the type of guy to stress over getting a date, that’s all. What happened to the line of females you typically have, waiting their turn for a shot?”
I forced a laugh and chanced turning around to face him. “You’ve had me working too hard, that’s what. I don’t have time to keep up with them anymore.”
“Hey, don’t blame me. Maybe you’re just losing your touch, man.”
“No, never that,” I said.
Tobias sat silently for a moment, appearing to be deep in thought. He then scratched at the stubble at his chin. “Hmm…” he said.
“What?”
“I might be able to help you out.”
“I’m not taking you as my date,” I said.
Tobias laughed. “Good. Because you’re not my type anyway.”
I laughed. “What are you talking about, man?”
“Why don’t you take Joanna? She probably doesn’t have anything to do that day.”
I swallowed nervously and hoped that Tobias wouldn’t notice the abrupt change in my demeanor. Taking Joanna had been the farthest thing from my mind because the gala was considered a workplace event, and Tobias, of course, would be there. Taking her would feel like confirmation of our relationship, or whatever it was that we had going on. It just seemed too risky.
“Oh come on,” Tobias said. “Don’t look like that.”
“Don’t look like what?” I asked, hoping my voice didn’t really sound as high as it did in my own ears.
“Don’t look like taking Joanna is the worst idea you’ve ever heard in your life. She’s mellowed out a lot since she was a kid. It wouldn’t kill you to take her. And considering you’re in quite a bind already, it would be the quick fix you need.”
I ran my hand through my hair and almost laughed in relief. Tobias thought I was repulsed by the idea of taking her, which meant he was still in the dark about how I really felt. “I don’t know,” I said, trying to play along. “I mean…Joanna? Really?”
“She would probably love it,” Tobias said. “She certainly could use a fun night out after all she’s been dealing with lately.”
My eyebrows shot upward in surprise, this time genuine. “Huh? What do you mean by that? What’s she been dealing with?”
But Tobias only shook his head, deciding not to elaborate. “Want me to call her in here, ask if she’s doing anything that day? Although I already doubt she is.”
“I thought you said she was secretly seeing someone?” I asked, testing the waters.
He shook his head again. “No, that wasn’t it. There was something else going on with her that she was hiding from me. Here, let me call her,” he added before I could ask any further questions.
I fought to keep the grimace off my face as I wondered what was possibly going on with Joanna. It upset me to think that she had been having a hard time, but hadn’t confided in me about it.
“Hey, Jo, come here for a second. I’m in Anderson’s office.”
“Seriously though,” I said. “What’s she upset about? What’s been going on?”
“Nothing, man. I’ve got it under control, or at least I will, eventually.”
Shortly thereafter, Joanna appeared in the doorway. She looked from Tobias to me, a panicked expression on her face and her eyebrows almost raised to her hairline. I ever so slightly shook my head, trying to relay to her that Tobias still didn’t know anything about us.
“Relax,” Tobias said with a chuckle as he turned toward her. “You’re not in trouble. You’re standing there looking like you’ve been sent to the principal’s office.”
She gave a tensed laugh, but relaxed nonetheless and moved farther into the office. “What is it?” she asked. “More numbers?”
“No, not numbers this time,” Tobias said. “Anderson has a little situation on his hands. You see, our playboy here has finally crossed the wrong woman, and she’s bailed on him.”
Joanna’s eyebrows shot up once again, and she cast a look at me that I wished she hadn’t. I lowered my head, wishing Tobias hadn’t phrased his words in such a manner.
“Oh…” Joanna said.
“So now he’s out of a date to the gala. I know you’ve been hearing about the upcoming gala, right?”
Joanna nodded while I stood helplessly, not knowing what to say or do.
“Do you wanna go? You can be his date. Do you have anything to do that day?” Tobias asked.
Joanna stood there like a deer caught in headlights. She looked at me again, obvious questions that I couldn’t answer lurking beneath her gaze.
I cleared my throat. “It was no big deal. I was just supposed to go with a co-worker. We had it set up months ago,” I said, emphasizing the word ‘months’ and hoping she would catch on to the fact that the date had been set up long before she and I had been together. “I’d almost forgotten about it, to tell you the truth.”
“Yeah right,” Tobias said. “He just doesn’t want to admit that he’s being stood up.”
“Shut up,” I muttered.
“So what do you say, Jo?” Tobias said. “You wanna go? It should be fun.”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I interjected. Tobias shot me a cross look, causing me to fall silent. In that moment though, I simply couldn’t fathom having Joanna as my date in front of him. It just seemed like asking for trouble. I had no faith in my ability to not incriminate myself in front of him. He would be able to read me like a book, and I feared he would quickly figure out that I had a thing for his sister. And then a whole drama would break out right there in the gala for all to see.
I started to feel lightheaded just thinking about it. I gripped the chair at my desk and glanced at Joanna, hoping she would find a way to save us from the awkwardness. But she looked just as lost as I did.
“You two are a mess,” Tobias said, shaking his head. “Don’t you think it’s time to get rid of the childhood grudges by now, for crying out loud?”
“I don’t have a grudge…” Joanna said, her voice trailing off.
“Then you’ll go with him?” Tobias said.
“I…I mean… If I have to…I could… If he wants me to…”
Tobias looked back toward me. “Well?”
I sighed. “Okay. Whatever. Sure.”
“Great,” Tobias said, clapping his hands together and hopping down from my desk. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see,” he said to Joanna.
She forced a smile and then exchanged glances with me again.
And I stood there, wondering how on earth I was going to be able to be in her presence for a whole evening and keep my hands off of her.
The gala was going to be a very long night, that was for sure.