Oceans Apart Book 1 (Oceans Apart #1)(10)
But I knew Kari wouldn’t give up until I replied, so I sighed and clicked the icon.
Kari Ann: Shame you probably won’t see him again. He seemed into you.
Alright, that was tame enough, and I bit my lip, wondering if I should tell Kari about how I had exchanged my Facebook info with him with the intention of talking more. She’d probably find out anyway, so I took a deep breath and decided to go for it.
Ginny :P: Actually, I friended him on FB, and gave him my cell number, so we’ll probably talk more.
There was a good thirty seconds of the little pencil animation showing that Kari was writing, and I could only imagine the diatribe my best friend was typing at her desk. The little icon bounced almost angrily, but I ignored it for a bit, getting up and going to get something I’d printed and coming back to add more to the document I was compiling before I actually looked to see what Kari had written.
Kari Ann: ARE YOU CRAZY!!?!?! You can’t just exchange information with a perfect stranger like that. God, Gin. What if he’s some kind of psycho stalker looking to harvest the organs of young women who are dumb enough to fall for his British charm? What if he’s planning to abduct you and bring you back to his lair in England and do things to you? What if he’s married and his wife sees you two talking on FB and decides he’s having an affair and hires a contract killer to take you out before he can leave her to take care of their six children alone?
Sometimes I had to remind myself why I loved Kari so much.
Honestly.
Ginny :P: That doesn’t even make any sense, Kari, and you know it. Besides, you’re the one who wanted me to dance with him, remember? You’re the one who started talking to him in the first place, so you really can’t get pissed at me for doing what you made me do.
Kari Ann:I just thought you two could have a fun little fling while he was in town, that’s all. I didn’t expect you two become pen pals or whatever. Let me know if he does anything creepy. If he asks for naked pics or something.
Ginny :P: You know I don’t really do flings, Kari. I’ve never seen the point of them. What are you going to do if he does? Fly to London and kick his ass?
Kari Ann: That’s because you’ve never done it right, obviously. You’re damned straight. No one tries to harvest my best friend’s organs.
Ginny :P: I’m concerned you’re insane, but I love you anyway. Lunch soon?
Kari Ann: Hell yeah. You’re not working out today? Great. Just gotta drop off some files by Amhurt’s office, and then we can go.
I signed off and saved what I’d been working on, emailing my progress and questions to the people who were involved with the project. Then I grabbed my purse, more than ready to head out and get something to eat.
I loved my job, but sometimes it could be information overload.
Kari met me outside the office we worked in, and together we headed down the hall to the elevator, discussing the benefits of Chinese food over something lighter like soup and sandwiches from the place down the street.
The two of us worked on the seventh floor, so we hit the down button and were pleased when it only took a few minutes for the elevator to show up, blessedly empty.
“People must be working through lunch,” Kari said. “The elevator is usually packed by this time. Maybe that means the sandwich place won’t be too full.”
“Yeah, but if we walk down to the Chinese place, the walk back will be like working some of it off. I want egg rolls.”
The elevator started down, skipping the sixth floor, but pausing at the fifth to open the doors and let people on. Kari and I exchanged wary looks as we always did when we had to stop on the fifth floor, and sure enough, right after two men who were both on their phones got in, the bane of my existence followed.
We rarely ever saw her, but that just made the occasions when we did even worse. I was sure I could honestly say I hated the other woman, and Kari disliked her on principle and in support of me.
Her name was Helena Barkley, and she was tall and shapely and had a head of vibrant red hair. She was wearing a smart business suit with a skirt that was too short to be considered professional at all, and she leaned against the wall of the elevator, looking bored. The fact that she never acknowledged me made me seethe, especially considering Helena knew who I was.
It would have been hard for her not to, considering she got a pretty clear view of the shock and horror on my face when she’d been interrupted sucking my ex-boyfriend’s dick right smack dab in the middle of his living room. I hadn’t even known they knew each other, but it turned out they went to the same gym and had started talking while they were both using the treadmills.
How talking had led to Helena being on her knees with Brad’s dick halfway down her throat, I didn’t know, and honestly, I didn’t want to. I was more than happy to pretend like I’d never seen them, now that I’d told Brad where to shove his declarations about how much he loved me and how he knew now he’d made a terrible mistake.
I was almost tempted to change my number, considering the amount of messages I got from him each month. It hadn’t even been a full six months since our breakup and he hadn’t let up on me yet.
Kari glared daggers at the back of Helena’s head, and I kicked her lightly. It was honestly easier just to pretend as if I didn’t see her. Pretend as if I’d never been hurt by either one of them.
It was clear Helena didn’t give a rat’s ass about what happened, and Brad said he didn’t see her anymore; but I didn’t know if I could believe anything he said, so I chose to just pretend they both didn’t exist.