I'll Be Seeing You

Deliberate Glances

Monday morning was a harsh reality for Jamie. He had spent the better part of Saturday and Sunday throwing himself into work. He desperately needed to keep his mind off of Lydia. He had almost crossed a line on Friday. That could not happen again.

Walking into the office, he squinted under the harsh fluorescents fighting back the feeling of her hands giving a slight tug on his lapel. He could feel his want rising. He needed to get a grip. Sitting down at his desk he was immediately bombarded by Tim.

"Dude, I've been working until 10 p.m. trying to close this deal,"

"We've got this. I made some adjustments to the deck over the weekend."

"Yeah, I saw that. What were you doing working on a Saturday? I thought you had a show to go to on Friday. I figured you'd be down for the count until at least Sunday afternoon.

Jamie grimaced. He had forgotten he told Tim about his concert tickets. He had also deliberately neglected to tell him he had skipped it all together.

"Yea, it was a great show I just tapped out early. Didn't have the stamina."

"I get it. Happens to the best of us. Next time if you need something just take it from my drawer." Tim glanced subtly down at his desk's filing cabinet. Jamie knew what was in there. He normally didn't think twice about it. But for some reason he thought of Lydia's eyes. She looked at him like there was something good inside. He didn't want to dilute that even if it wasn't true.

"Good Morning Lydia." Tim sing-songed. Jamie forced himself not to turn around. Tim was a blood hound when it came to stuff like this.

"Morning" he heard Lydia mumble as she shuffled past. Was it just his imagination or did she walk really quick by his desk?

When she was out of earshot, Tim leaned over gesturing for Jamie to huddle in.

"One of us should get that." Tim looked at Jamie for confirmation but he shook his head.

"I can't. Not after the last time."

"Oh, come on, no one remembers that anymore. Besides she's gone. There's a new opportunity and if you won't take it, I will." Tim sat back, cocky and confident in his ability to woo Lydia.

Jamie felt the rise of protectiveness shoot up. Lydia wasn't his but he certainly wasn't going to let Tim near her. "Take it easy. She's not a trophy. She's actually really nice so why don't you leave her be this time?"

Tim's eyes changed from delight to mistrust. "This time, I won't play second fiddle to the Jamie Chancellor broken hearts club. Tim pushed back from Jamie and swiveled his chair towards Lydia.

"Hey Lyd, how was your weekend?"

Jamie watched for her reaction. He couldn't not watch. He was in her line of sight.

"Oh, it was good, had to go to an event with my dad. Nothing exciting." She seemed almost bored to him.

"Next time, if you ever want a plus one just let me know. I'm a great date." Tim was ruthless. His approach made Jamie's blood boil.

Lydia hesitated but glanced at Jamie before answering. "Thanks for the offer but I think I'm okay. My experience with bringing a date always ends up being a waste of time."

Oomph. Jamie felt the hit before he met her gaze. Was she mad at him? What did she have to be mad about? He had been nothing but a gentleman.

Tim was undeterred and clueless. "Ouch. Well in my experience, I'm better than any date you've ever had. So next time you have the opportunity, definitely keep me in mind."