She's Mine [COMPLETE]

She's Mine: Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 

The week passed by at a pace that grated at both Troy and Eliza. Even after she demanded he go, he fought all temptation to ask Eliza how Sweet Baby Lulu was doing.

He was still conflicted. Helen was right. It was no secret that Troy was a family man. He loved the thought of a beautiful wife and a handful of children in his future. But then she was also right on the mark with him needing to give Eliza some room. Though, the idea of not speaking to her was proving to be difficult, Eliza wasn't to be this challenge. 

Chasing was a game of the past. He didn't want to win anything; he wanted to earn it.

Being in the same room with her made it difficult for him to concentrate on the subject of any meeting. Normally, Troy would be the first to take a seat at the long table, but for past week he purposefully made sure he was one of the last to enter the conference room. And probability had been on his side all week– any seat next to or near Eliza occupied by other colleagues. 

That Thursday Troy was stuck in a minor issue. John and the others wanted to have a large group lunch– Andrew included. 

Turning it down would raise too many questions, considering that he had been avoiding outings and extended conversations since Monday. so he forced himself to get up when the clock showed 11:45AM. 

"Troy!" John exclaimed before smacking his hand against Troy's shoulder. "Haven't seen much of you this week." 

Troy faked a smile, "Well, you know how it gets at Bluestar. Busy busy busy. Plus, with the conference coming up..." 

"Yeah," Andrew interrupted and smirked. 

Troy quickly shifted his brewing anger from the short man and looked at the ground.

After making it to the nearby restaurant, the gaggle of gentlemen were established at their reserved seating. Troy felt like the odd ball out. He didn't have anything to say or add to any of the conversations. He was stuck in two places: how Eliza was doing and how he would finish his tasks for the day.

"That ass," he heard a fellow member croon. 

Troy lifted up his head from the dessert menu and saw Kent rubbernecking a cute waitress that wasn't busing a distant table.

"Talk about it," Andrew added in an equally sinister tone, looking after her with a little more tact. "Nice handful." 

Troy's nostrils flared while he flipped through the booklet. Apparently, ignoring Andrew was going to be much harder than he assumed. Especially, when Andrew turned his attention back to Troy daring to ask his next question.

"What do you think Daniels? How do you like your women?" Andrew smirked. 

Troy's silence caught the attention of his colleagues causing a mutual discomfort among the group. 

"I can totally guess what you're into," Andrew bravely persisted. 

"C'mon Andrew, cut it out," John uncomfortably chuckled. 

But one coworker's poor attempt at alleviating the tension only gave more air to the fire-starter. 

A toothy grin was on Andrew's face when he prompted, "I have a feeling that you are giving us a hint right now. What is it that you're always looking for in the dessert menus?"