The One of Many

by M. Jane Early

  Silence surrounded David and me after Nick left the room. I hadn’t the will nor the want to speak to him while no one else was here.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” Powers said and sat in the chair beside me.

  “I’m just letting the testosterone settle.” I refused to look at him.

  He waited for a few moments before speaking again. “Something’s bothering you,” he said.

  I flickered my eyes to his hand on the table but stared at my computer and continued aggressively hitting the keys. David turned my chair towards him, removing my hands from the keyboard, and I peered at him.

  “What is it?” His voice was soft.

  I bit my lip, trying to decide what to do. I could tell him I knew what he did, but what difference would it make now? He had made his choice.

  I found his eyes. “Did you kiss Gwen after the club on Friday?”

  He leaned back, his lips parted.

  “You said I shouldn’t assume,” I whispered.

  He looked away and took a breath. He glanced back at me and stood. I nodded to myself with his inaudible answer. That was all the confirmation I needed. I scooted my chair back to the table and began typing again.

  “Can I explain?” he said from the end of the table.

  “No,” I clipped.

  “Farren, she was drunk. I was just…”

  “David, it doesn’t matter.” I took an uneasy breath. “I have no right to be hurt.”

  “But you are.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I mumbled. I wanted to leave the conference room, but my pride wouldn’t let me. David’s stare was resilient, but I wasn’t interested in anything else he had to say. I didn’t know why he kissed her or let her kiss him, but it was no longer any of my business. Honestly, it never was.

  Nick walked in a few minutes later. I hoped he didn’t feel the immeasurable tension in the air. David had realized he wouldn’t get any farther with me and had returned to his computer too.

  We continued the meeting until about six, when I couldn’t take the bickering with Nick anymore. David had had it as well. We called it, and Nick left in a huff.

  I shut my computer down and put it in my bag.

  “I’m removing Nick as head of the project in your department,” David said, frustrated. I looked at him across the table. “We have enough to deal with without having to convince him it’s the right thing to do.” He stood and came around to me. “Do you think you can handle it alone?”

  I paused for a moment. “Yeah. Yeah, my team and I can do it.”

  I should have been elated. Nick wouldn’t be a massive pain in our asses anymore. The project would be mine. I could go forward with what I wanted to do from the beginning. My jealousy and anger kept me from the proper emotion. Instead, I got up and grabbed my bag off the floor.

  He tried to make me look at him. “Farren—”

  “I don’t want to talk about it, David.” I stood and pushed in my chair.

  He stopped me from collecting my bag by taking my arm.

  I looked at him sharply.

  “David?”

  We both looked towards the conference room door. Gwen stood there in her tight skirt. She had touched up her makeup, and the shitty floral perfume she must’ve bathed in replaced all the oxygen in the room.

  “Hey, Gwen,” David said as he stood. “Could you give us a few minutes?”

  “No, that’s fine.” I put the bag on my shoulder. I turned back to him. “We’re done here.”

  I walked past Gwen, not making eye contact. I headed straight towards the elevator, tears pooling in my eyes.

  Sixteen

  After David removed Nick, he only invited him to certain meetings between the department heads for updates. Every time I presented or gave information, he asked snarky questions or scoffed. I ignored him, but David would glare at him from across the room.

  I involved Yvette and Trevor a lot more and made them permanent fixtures in meetings with David and me. Not only because I needed their help, but it also made our interactions a little more tolerable. David constantly tried to get me alone by asking me to stay after meetings or sending me messages to come into his office. I ignored the messages or told him I had other things to do, and if he needed anything, he could email me.

  We’d finally arrived at the weekend of the retreat in Mexico. The day before, Yvette came over to help me pack.

  “Do you only sleep in pants?” She looked disgusted.

  “They’re pajama pants, and it’s not like anyone is spending the night here. I dress more for comfort than sexiness.” I sighed.

  “It’s Mexico, Farren, it’s going to be hot. Don’t you have shorts to sleep in?”

  “A few. Check that drawer.” I pointed at my dresser.

  “How did I get wrangled into packing with you?” Yvette laughed.

  “You offered.” I folded my T-shirt and placed it in my luggage.

  She grabbed a few pairs of night shorts Crew had bought me from Victoria’s Secret and threw them in the bag. I was searching through my drawers when she whistled behind me.

  “Whoa,” she uttered. “Where did you get this?”

  She held up a black jumpsuit with a bright tropical flower print that flowed down across the front and over one leg. It was strapless and the pant legs flowed at the bottom.

  “Hawaii. I wore it to the premiere of Crew’s show.” I turned away from her and continued to find underwear.

  “Oh, you’re definitely bringing this.” She laid it on the bed and strategized on how to fold it.

  “No, I’m not.” I went into the bathroom to grab my makeup bag.

  “Yeah, you are,” she yelled.

  “What possible reason will I have to wear that?” I called.

  “Powers said there’s going to be a dinner to settle us in. Perfect opportunity to show this bad boy off.”

  I came back into the room. “I wasn’t planning on attending.” I didn’t want to be in a social situation with my co-workers again. More specifically, with Gwen and David.

  Yvette stopped. “He really did a number on you, didn’t he?” She sat on the bed.

  “Who?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Powers.”

  “What are you talking about?” I went to my luggage and started rearranging things to fit my toiletries.

  “Since you’ve decided against having a steamy intra-office romance, you’ve been sulking like a five-year-old—”

  I glanced at her. “Thank you.”

  “And now you’re going to stay in your room so you don’t have to see him.”

  I shook my head. “I never said that.”

  She touched my hand to stop me. “Oh, honey, you don’t have to.”

  I’d told Yvette about the kiss between Gwen and David the day after it happened. When she asked how I felt, I acted like it was no big deal. David wasn’t mine. Case closed.

  I sat on the end of the bed next to her. “Was I hurt? Yeah. I talked myself into liking my boss. It happens.” I looked her in her eye to make sure she understood I was serious. “But it’s over.”

  “Okay.” She looked at me skeptically and shrugged. “But I am not letting you stay in your room all weekend. And this fine piece of clothing is coming with us. She’s been stuck in the closet for far too long! Even if I have to strip you naked and throw her on you myself, I will.” She stood, then folded it as wrinkle-free as possible.

  I laughed. “Fine, she can come.” I stood and walked to my closet to find the shoes that went with it.

  “Thank you!” Yvette fit the jumpsuit snuggly in the side. “I wish I was taller. I’d steal it from you and wear it myself,” she mused quietly.

  The next morning, we arrived at LAX promptly at 5:15 a.m. Yvette, a genuine morning person, met me at the gate with a hug and some much-needed coffee. Trevor rested on the hard, black plastic seat with a neck pillow and his eyes closed.

  Yvette and I brought our carry-on luggage around and sat next to him. It looked as though w
e were still missing a few people—Gwen and Julie, to be exact. I spotted Nick and Mark, the sales manager, talking by the large window, the planes visible behind them on the tarmac. I was hoping since David ousted Nick from heading the launch, he would be so butt-hurt he wouldn’t come. But it appeared he couldn’t miss the opportunity to gnash his teeth in my face some more. I sighed.

  Yvette’s phone made a sound, and she picked it up.

  “Who’s texting you this early?” I dug through my purse for lip balm.

  “Aaron.” She shut off the screen and slammed the device on her lap.

  I looked at her. “Uh-oh. What happened?”

  She crossed her arms. “I told him I wanted to be exclusive.”

  “Good for you.”

  She snorted. “And then he said we were moving too fast.”

  I scoffed. “It’s been two years.”

  “Exactly. So I left and said not to call me anymore and that I’d be in Mexico for a few days finding a temporary replacement for him.” She sat back and crossed her legs.

  “As you should.” I laughed. “Screw him. If he doesn’t see what a catch you are, he deserves the silent treatment. Besides, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of bodies to look at in Puerto Vallarta.”

  “Oh, I plan on it.” She flipped her black hair. “Maybe we can find brothers.” She chuckled.

  I laughed once. “No, thank you. I have enough issues with men. I don’t need another.”

  “Do you think Powers will fly with us?” she asked.

  I moved my purse to my side and reached down for my coffee. “The company has a plane. Why would he fly commercial?” As I spoke, I looked up and saw David in jeans and a light-blue, button-down shirt, tucked and fitted perfectly, walking towards the gate.

  I exhaled. “Sure, why not,” I muttered, irritated.

  David booked all the managers in first class. I dreaded thinking he would sit us next to each other. Three hours ignoring him on a plane would not make the start of this working vacation pleasant.

  David walked into the area with the rest of us, locking eyes with me instantly. I looked away.

  David stood right in front of Yvette and me. “Could I get everyone to gather around?” His brown leather computer bag hanging from his shoulder matched both his shoes and his watchband. I hated how much I loved the way he dressed.

  The rest of the marketing team came closer. I kept my eyes down.

  “Good morning, everyone.”

  “Morning.” Most of the gallery replied.

  “Glad to see everyone here and on time. I realize it’s pretty early, but it’ll give us more time to get settled once we get there. I have a few meetings with the project teams, but overall, today should be fairly easy. And then tonight, we can relax, and dance…and drink, before the actual work begins.” The other employees laughed and commented quietly. “I’ve emailed the schedules for the next two days. It’ll be intense, but I’ll make sure you can venture out and see the city. Puerto Vallarta is beautiful, the people are amazing, and I want you all to enjoy it.” His weighted stare lingered over me. I shook my head slightly to remind myself to keep from looking up.

  “Have a good flight, everyone,” David said. His shoes walked away, and the crowd dispersed around us.

  Yvette leaned in. “For someone not interested, he sure looks at you an awful lot.”

  I glanced at her and scoffed. My phone vibrated in my pocket from an alert. I pulled it out and looked at it.

  “Girl,” Yvette said and nudged my arm. I looked at her, then followed her stare.

  Gwen and Julie were rushing to the gate. Gwen was wearing an ultra-tight white dress and platform heels. She looked like a running penguin. If she had opened her legs any wider, the dress would’ve split up the middle. I snorted and laughed. She was turning on the heat early to snag her man. I peered at David, who didn’t notice her approaching.

  Yvette had overheard Gwen’s maniacal plans about seducing Powers in Mexico while standing behind her in the lunchroom. I wanted to let David know he was being hunted, that he needed to watch his back, but he had gotten the hint and stopped trying to communicate with me beyond work—we were no longer friends, or anything else. That part hurt the most. I could talk to David. Take away the kissing and the obvious attraction. He was a friend I had lost too.

  I returned to my phone and read Powers’s email about the itinerary. David required me to be a part of every meeting he was in. I sighed with annoyance.

  “Well, it looks like I won’t be enjoying Puerto Vallarta.” I showed my meeting list to Yvette.

  “Damn. I’ll send you a postcard,” she said, chuckling.

  I relaxed in first class while the rest of the passengers got on board. I’d planned on getting some work done during the flight once we reached altitude. For now, I wanted to listen to music to help me relax. I’d never been afraid of flying, but it always gave me a little anxiety. I put on my headphones and shut my eyes.

  A loud noise pulled me out of my meditation. David was putting his bag in the overhead compartment above my seat. We met each other’s eyes. His face read the same irritation I felt. I directed my focus forward and stared daggers at the seat ahead of me, exhaling loudly. I could already smell him with that same distracting scent he wore in the office. I couldn’t pin it down, but it was clean, like how rain smells when it was about to fall, and it mixed with his natural fragrance perfectly. I hated it, or at least, I wanted to.

  I pulled out my phone, expecting David to say something once he sat. I couldn’t believe I would have to deal with him for the entire flight.

  The connected seats shifted with his weight, and I avoided looking at him.

  “Hey, Farren.”

  That wasn’t his voice. I took out my headphones, then did a double take.

  “Oh, hey, Mark.” The surprise in my tone was hard to hide.

  “Excited?” Mark asked.

  “Oh, yeah, totally.” I glanced around to see where David went. Straightening, I looked behind me. Nick and another passenger were there. When I was about to turn forward again, I met his eyes. David was a row behind me and on the right side of the aisle. He was sitting next to a pretty blonde woman who looked as though sitting next to David was her equivalent of a winning lottery ticket. I stared at him for a moment, then faced forward. Frustration and disappointment sat in my chest. I put my headphones back in.

  The ping from the panel above told the passengers they were free to move about the cabin. I pulled my computer bag from under the seat in front of me and took out my laptop. I needed a distraction from the constant giggling from David’s row. My irritated typing was loud for even me, so I took a deep breath and counted to ten. My shoulders relaxed, and my attentiveness returned. I could finally concentrate.

  About an hour in, Mark got up and walked towards the front. I stared out the window, watching the clouds float below us, the sun shining brightly above. The seat shifted again, and I looked to my right.

  “Hi,” David said. He didn’t smile, just held me with an intense gaze.

  I exhaled and faced my computer again. “Hello.”

  My maddened typing returned. I wrote nonsense as David stared at me.

  I stopped and moved only my eyes to look at his knee. “Did you need something?”

  He scoffed. “You’re still mad at me.”

  “We’ve been in the same room together for weeks, and you’ve said nothing. Now you want to talk about this?” I asked, aggravated.

  He leaned in, his face a few inches from mine. “I want to make sure we won’t have a problem this weekend.”

  I turned to him sharply. The nearness of him was both infuriating and mesmerizing. I had to keep that part of me that wanted him at bay and remind myself of how angry I was.

  “Farren,” he continued, “we’re going to be together twelve to fourteen hours a day for the next three days. I want to make sure you won’t be unresponsive and angry with me the entire time. We have a lot to do.”

 
; He wanted to make sure business would be conducted amicably while I wanted to punch him in his perfect face.

  “I haven’t been unresponsive in the last month, David. Why would I start in Mexico?” My tone was more than angry— it was irate.

  He lifted his chin and held an I thought so look of resolve but didn’t respond.

  I closed my eyes for a moment, pulling back my annoyance, then I relaxed. “There won’t be a problem,” I mumbled.

  His eyes softened, and he gave a slight head shake. “I wish you’d let me explain,” he whispered.

  “Hey, David.” Mark came back and stood by his seat.

  David moved away from me and looked up. “Hey, Mark. Sorry, I had to speak with Farren for a moment.” He stood.

  I refused to look at him again.

  Seventeen

  The hotel in Puerto Vallarta was incredibly beautiful. It sat embedded in a cliff overlooking the ocean, and every room faced the sea. The plant life hung on each terrace with bright tropical flowers, filling the breeze with sweet fragrances.

  I stood out on the balcony and inhaled the fresh salty air. It differed from Santa Monica. You could inhale and not get the LA smog intertwined. I filled my lungs and smiled. It really was paradise.

  The schedule read the first meeting I had was with David and the newly formed social media team I had put together. Once Nick got released from the project, David and I didn’t hesitate to go forward with our shared plans about how this relaunch would go. Honestly, I wondered how necessary a working vacation was. We were on schedule and everything was going well. But I wouldn’t complain about being in these picturesque surroundings.

  I changed my clothes and went to the first floor, looking for the conference room labeled A-1. The conference rooms in the hotel were compact. The tables only held about six people, and the antique whiteboard was probably the oldest thing in the room. I looked in the window and found I was one of the first to arrive. I opened the door and saw David in the room’s corner, bending over his computer, typing. He looked up when I entered. I glanced at him and walked to a chair in the middle of the table.

  He chuckled and focused on his computer again. “That’s as close as you’re going to get, huh?”