Heads or Tails

Chapter 22

The following week whips by in a blur. I've shown properties to clients non-stop. I even closed a deal within twenty-four hours of a property being listed. My days are full of phone calls, paperwork, and demanding clients. I've been so busy, sometimes even after dark, closing deals and negotiating offers that there have been times I've forgotten to pee. It

wouldn't be until my bladder felt like it was about to explode when I would finally run to the nearest toilet for a tinkle.

I haven't seen Ben for an entire week. He's been avoiding me and ghosting at the office. He has yet to call or text, but I haven't called or texted him either. Since the ninth grade, we haven't gone more than twenty-four hours without some form of contact. This has been the longest and worst stretch of my life. It feels like I am detoxing from our friendship. I don't like it.

I'm working at my cubicle, eyes fixated on my laptop screen, when I hear footsteps approaching my backside. I turn around to see Emily standing behind me.

"Okay. Why have you and Ben been avoiding each other?" she asks, eyebrows raised.

"What?"

"You heard me," she says, smiling. "So that you know, people are talking. I overheard a few co-workers in the staff room saying how strange it is that Ben hasn't been at the office when you're there. Which prompted me to think how strange it is that he hasn't hovered around your desk for an entire week like he normally would."

Shit.

"People need to mind their own business," I mumble.

"Someone mentioned he left a note on your desk...asking you to call him..." her voice trails off.

I keep my face unreadable. "Reitman Realty is worse for gossip than a high school full of teenage girls. And just because Ben isn't hovering over my desk doesn't mean anything strange is happening."

One look at Emily, and I tell she can read through my bullshit. "If you say so," she says, smirking. "Although I have to say, when Ben strolled into the office this morning without you and then asked me if I had seen you lately, I also couldn't help but question if something was up."

Is it strange that the only thing I took from her statement was that he asked Emily if she'd seen me lately?

I shake my head. "Ben and I are on different schedules right now," I say dismissively and then purposely change the subject. "Do you have any plans this weekend?"

"I'm going out with a few girlfriends for drinks tonight. Wanna come?" she asks. I open my mouth to respond, but she continues with a smirk. "Or do you already have plans with Ben? Don't you normally spend Friday nights binge-watching Netflix together?"

I shake my head. "Not tonight."

But she's right. That is exactly what I would be doing if things hadn't blown up in Costa Rica.

"Did you want to join us?" she asks again.

I nod, appreciating her invitation. I do not want to spend tonight lounging in my pyjamas and playing Sudoku. "I'd love to come. It sounds like fun." I say, hoping I am right.

__________

I walk into a bar called Sangria, determined to enjoy my evening. I move through the crowd, searching for Emily.

I wanted to feel good tonight, so I dressed up fancier than usual. Emily and her friends don't hesitate to dress scandalously for a night out. I'm wearing a cute black dress with lace sleeves, heels, and fake lashes.

The bar has a classy atmosphere, full of men in business suits and women in party dresses. This place isn't a dingy dump Ben would enjoy on a Friday night. He enjoys bars full of tattooed guys and young girls with tongue rings and daddy issues. Sangria, on the other hand, has a very expensive vibe.