A Twisted Love Story(13)
“Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Wes Harmon. No relation to anyone here,” he says. “At least that I know of.”
She smiles, takes a sip of her drink. Takes a not-so-subtle look at his empty ring finger.
Wes isn’t the best-looking guy in the room. He knows that. He also knows he isn’t the worst. Women don’t flock to him, but they don’t avoid him, either. And he can be charming. Sometimes obscenely charming if he’s in the mood, and that’s an advantage. Getting a date isn’t a problem, like with the woman in front of him.
If he wanted to.
He glances over at Ivy. She sees it all from a distance and holds up her drink like she’s toasting him. He nods back.
They have passed go.
Lisa asks Wes how he knows the birthday boy, and their conversation continues. What they do for a living, where they went to school, who they know. He tries not to look at Ivy again, an attempt that lasts only a few minutes. Three, maybe. At best. When he does glance over, she is talking to a guy.
Of course she is.
Wes is quick to size him up. Clothes, hair, shoes—and, most importantly, the way he is looking at Ivy.
Back to Lisa. They’ve moved on to restaurants now: which ones they like, hate, haven’t been to and want to try. But his mind is on the other side of the patio.
Lisa is still talking, maneuvering around the restaurant conversation, now adding in bars, as well. Waiting for him to suggest they try one together. Wes shifts his position so he can see Ivy out of the corner of his eye.
He continues to dodge Lisa’s advances, evading any direct invitations so he isn’t forced to say no. It’s a dance, really. The whole party is filled with dances.
After not getting anywhere with the restaurant talk, Lisa pivots.
“What about sports?” she says. “Are you a Niners fan?”
It’s a nice move. She landed on a topic he can really talk about. And he does, starting with the Warriors. A few minutes go by before he looks over at Ivy again.
That guy is touching her.
Nothing overt, nothing sexual, but he has put his hand on Ivy’s arm. Holding it, almost. He barreled right through the touch barrier as if it didn’t exist.
Wes doesn’t like the way Ivy is laughing. It looks too real.
“Everything okay?” Lisa says.
“Everything’s great.” He gives her his best smile. “How did you get so into sports?”
She starts talking about her dad and what a big fan he is. Wes tries to pay attention, but it isn’t easy. Especially when that guy keeps touching Ivy. Three times now, by his count.
Even worse, Ivy has stopped looking over at Wes.
Lisa waves her hand in front of his face. “Hello?”
“I’m here,” he says.
“You look like you’re a million miles away.”
More like fifty feet, but who’s counting. He doesn’t want to go over there. Wait, no—he does want to go over there, except that’s exactly what Ivy is trying to get him to do. She is practically begging him to walk over and interrupt her conversation with that guy.
And it works.
“Sorry, I’m not trying to be rude,” he says, “but my girlfriend is trying to get my attention.”
“Oh, it’s no problem.” If Lisa is disappointed, she does a good job hiding it. Big smile, no shock in her eyes. “You better get going. Nice to meet you, Wes.”
He walks right over to Ivy and introduces himself to her friend. Oliver. Wes shakes his hand, gripping it hard. Ivy has a big smile on her face, though not because of Oliver. It’s because Wes went to her before she came to him.
Later tonight, Ivy will tease him for that. He’s looking forward to it.
12
On Monday morning, Bianca arrives for work before anyone else in the department. Typical. And expected.
Today, she is wearing a new outfit. Or new to her, since it came from a consignment shop. But it’s a high-end designer, the same kind worn by women at the office who can afford to buy it firsthand. The outfit makes Bianca feel like she fits in.
Nobody comes in late on Mondays. At eight thirty, all the reps have to attend what they call the pregame. No alcohol, just a lot of espresso, and they map out their goals for the week. Bianca notes that Wes is in the office by eight, second only to Tanner. It looks like Wes is wearing a new tie, as well.
“Morning,” he says.
“Good morning. How was your weekend?”
“Not bad. How was yours?”
“Very good, thank you.”
Wes nods and goes into his office, giving her no clue what AB or I means. Sales is the only department where there are very few cubicles. Most have an office with a door so they can speak to clients in private. For Bianca, it’s a little annoying. It would be so much easier if Wes left his door open, but he never does.
During a midmorning break, she talks to Tanner, waiting for him to say something about the new woman he’s dating. He gives her nothing. Next, she checks in with Dana, who doesn’t drop a single hint about the guy in accounting she’s seeing. Or sleeping with. Both, probably.
The lack of trust at Siphon is the only thing Bianca hates about this job. She had hoped this would be more like a family, or at least closer to one. The same thing she had hoped about her sorority in college. But those girls had withheld more than they said, and several had outright lied. If they had just been honest, Bianca wouldn’t have had to snoop through all their rooms.