Search History // Stuart Twombly.

chapter five.

You sat in your chair, coffee in hand with Neha asking every question under the sun. "How could you not tell me?! I thought you were my best friend! I told you when I started seeing someone but you were too selfish to tell me when you started banging Stuart? And you made me believe that you liked Graham! He's an actual piece of shit and you made me believe that he was a good guy and you liked him so I swallowed my pride and then YOU DITCHED ME." You sipped your coffee, keeping your eyes lowered. You knew you had hurt her. "I wanted to tell you, I almost did so many times, you have no idea. I wasn't interested in Graham, he's not my type. I mean I like the whole cocky asshole thing but that guy's a fucking cunt. Stuart and I hadn't talked about telling everyone and then he brought that girl from HR into the office and to the bar. It stung. I wanted to tell you then so you could stew in hate with me but I wanted to show him that I was over it." You listed on, her smile drooping. "So how long has it been going on then? Have I really been this clueless the entire time?" She asked. "Remember that day he pulled me into the side office?" She nodded, drinking her coffee. "That's when it started. It's been weeks. You know for a genius you're really not that observant" You joked. She shot a look at you, her lips slightly turning up at the corners. "I know that you're only joking but you're still on thin ice. You owe me for this. I want coffee at my car every day! And you totally need to tell me what he's like in bed. I've known Stuart for ages and goddamn if I haven't thought about it. I just need my theories to be proven right" She chuckled, pressing you for answers.

Lunch had passed quickly, the office chattering away about the whole ordeal. As you walked through the corridors you could feel all eyes on you. You decided not to let it get to you, instead putting a spring in your step. You wouldn't let Graham get to you. Entering your office, you threw yourself onto one of the bean bags in the corner and opted to work on your laptop instead of your PC. Lyle and Stuart were deep in conversation, glances thrown your way whenever they thought you weren't looking. You smiled and waved as you caught Lyle staring once more. He averted his eyes away from you. You looked back on your screen noticing a new window on your screen. '

'Hello, It's Abigail from Human Relations. I am contacting you today, to ask you to come in for a meeting at 10am tomorrow morning regarding the mass email sent out this morning from Graham Hawtrey. We understand how uncomfortable this must be. Regards Abigail Lowery'

You looked up at Stuart, noticing he was gone from where he was seconds ago. "Lyle? Where did Stuart go?" You asked, closing your laptop and getting up from your seat. "He got an email a minute ago. He said he had a few things to set straight and then he left. Funny thing is though, he left his phone" He picked up Stuarts phone and passed it to you. Unlocking the screen, you navigated through his emails, trying to find his last opened. It was from Graham.

'Okay, Dani sent me a message and I got it loud and clear. She's not interested, I get it. I'm not an animal so i'll leave her be. But you? You parade through the building like you own the place. Sure you got the internship but I worked for a job here. I payed my dues and what did you do? A while ago you signed a pizza chain? What a joke. You're a joke, you don't deserve to be here and it's a wonder you still are. You bury yourself online because the real you is pathetic. You rely on sarcasm because if it came to it, what would you do in a fight? Cuss me out? Glare to death? But no I'll leave Dani alone. I could get a girl like Dani anywhere, she isn't anything special. So congratulations you got her. But just so you know? I'll always have those photos of her. The question is what will I do with them?'

Your hands gripped Stuarts phone in your hand, his screen saver coming up. It was the photo of you in the sunrise. Any other time and you would've been happy, but the anger that coursed through your body prevented you from feeling it. "Lyle? Could you do me a favour?" You quipped, grabbing Lyles attention just with the tone of your voice. "Sure I can" He said, his face screwing up in confusion. "Cover for me" You spoke quickly, tossing your laptop onto a nearby bean bag. You stalked out the office, your heels clattering against the tile as you near sprinted. Navigating through the hallways you found Graham's office empty, everything neatly placed back in order. You entered the room, not even bothering to close the door. Fuck professionalism, he'd gone too far this time. Grabbing everything from his desk, you threw it in the air, watching as his stuff fell to the ground. You tipped over coffee mugs, trashing anything you could see. Your heart raced and you struggled to catch your breath. You heard coughing from the doorway and you twirled round to come face to face with Yo-Yo. "Yo? You saw nothing okay? I wasn't here. When you went past everything was normal okay?" He nodded his fingers going instinctively to his eyebrows. "Yo, please don't do that okay? This isn't your fault, just forget anything ever happened okay?" You walked across the room, patting his arm. On your way past you noticed a planner laying open on the floor. Bending down you scooped it up, flicking to today's date.