Chapter 3
Lunch became their thing,a way to get together outside the office and unwind a little in the middle of the day.For Jenny,it was a welcome relief to be able to unload the hassles of her morning on someone who dealt with the same idiots she did all day long,and Eric needed someone to listen to him gripe about his clients who would be able to commiserate,as well.Mike could only sympathize so much,he told her.“His days are all hard labor and falling rebar and broken machines,”Eric said one day over a plate of sushi.“I almost feel bad bitching about Steve misspelling the word public on the maps for our community meeting,and then hoping no one notices the wide openspace tagged pubic area in the center of town before I can pencil in the l.”
Jenny snorted into her hibachi shrimp and rice.“Oh God,that was classic.Lane was livid when he found out.”After that little incident,the owner of the firm asked Jenny to proofreadeverything—and he meant everything—that came out of Steve’soffice.Maps,faxes,even emails,they all passed over her deskfirst now.She read everything twice,torn between hoping Stevewould screw up again and fearing she might miss it if he did.
“Mike laughed when I told him,”Eric admitted,“but he had a guy that day who hadn’t worn protective gear while installing insulation and ended up blowing that shit right into his eyes.Mike spent the rest of the day in the emergency room,filling out worker’s comp forms.So my story sort of paled in comparison,if you know what I mean.”
Spearing another shrimp with her fork,Jenny asked,“So when do I finally get to meet this hunky guy of yours?”
By now she considered Eric more of a friend than a coworker.They flirted constantly,though she knew nothing would come of it,and that was probably part of the appeal—Eric was,as far as Jenny was concerned,“safe.”The teasing and coy looks andracy talk was just that,nothing more,and would never be anything more.And she was okay with that.Or rather,she told herself she was.
Still,she did consider Eric a friend,even if they never quite managed to get together outside the office.They’d struck up arapport that made working together easier,and others had even commented on it.Delia called Eric Jenny’s“work spouse.”When she asked what that meant,Delia had shrugged and said,“You know,the two of you just connect,like an old married couple.”
“I’m not sleeping with him,if that’s what you’re saying,”Jenny had snapped.
Delia had laughed.“I said old married couple.I’ve been married thirty years and,honey,I ain’t sleeping with Phil,either.I know him better than he knows himself,and I see the same thing with you and Eric.You two click,that’s all I’m saying.”
When Jenny mentioned it to Eric,she’d been surprised he had agreed.“I have an office wife and a house husband,”he joked.“The best of both worlds.”
Jenny wondered if there were some way for those worlds to come together,for her to know Eric not only in the office but also outside the workplace,to be a part of his life with Mike,too.But the longer it took for him to introduce her to his lover,the more she started to feel as if maybe he had a reason for keeping those worlds apart.
Now,over lunch,Eric shrugged as he deftly plucked another piece of his California roll off his platter with his chopsticks.“Mike’s busy with a housing project funded by a FEMA grant at the moment.You know how those are.”
Jenny winced.“Let me guess.Labor compliance?”
He nodded and bit into his roll,which promptly fell apart.It crumbled onto his platter,and Jenny stabbed at a large chunk of sticky rice with her fork before he could recover it.With a laugh,she popped the rice into her mouth and grinned.“Mine.”
“Hey!”Eric jabbed his chopsticks at her plate,snagging a shrimp before she could swat him away.“Yeah,labor compliance.You know what that’s like.Mike’s bookkeeper quit so he’s having to do the extra paperwork himself until he hires someone.”
Jenny groaned in sympathy.When she started with Anders,she had to take a labor compliance workshop to bring her up to speedon the procedures only because some of the grant work they did involved government funds.The workshop had been two days of sheer boredom,endless paperwork that seemed to have no real reason beyond busywork and redundancy and red tape.Still…
“Hey,you know,”she said slowly,drawing out her words,“I did take that workshop in Staunton.If he needs any help…”
One of Eric’s eyebrows shot up.“There’s a thought.”
“You’d have to introduce us first.”Jenny prodded the food on her plate and shrugged.“Unless,of course,there’s some reason you want to keep your office wife and your house husband apart.”
Was Mike the jealous type?Was he one of those guys who got upset if his lover had friends he didn’t know?
Lowering her voice,she joked,“Are you afraid I’m going to like him better than I like you?Because you know I think you’re pretty hot,right?”
Eric laughed.“He’s just been so busy,really.I’ve told himabout you—”
“All about me?”Jenny asked,suggestively.
He nudged her foot with his under the table.“Yeah,I said there’s this chick at work who’s all up on my jock,even though she knows I’m with you,and I can’t seem to shake her no matter what.Let me tell you,he’s dying to meet you after that.”
Now it was her turn to kick him.“You didn’t.”
He laughed again.“No,of course not.But listen,there’s something I should maybe tell you about us…”
Jenny felt a ball of dread curl into the pit of her stomach.“Us you and me?Or us you and him?Is this good or bad?”
Poking a piece of sushi with his chopsticks,Eric frowned a moment before answering.“Both of us used to be engaged beforewe met.”
“To other people?”Jenny prompted.
Eric looked up at her.“To women.”