"I was going to ask you the same thing," Dylan said.
"What do you mean?"
"Why did you cancel on Kris earlier today?"
Ah, damn. He didn't want to talk about Kris right now. He wanted her out of his head and this wouldn't help.
"I didn't want Kris to think I was still interested in her so I decided it was best not to see her. You know how it works, Dyl."
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"I thought you liked Kris," Dylan said quietly after a long pause.
"Sure. But the latest events had me reconsidering. It made me realise how much I prefer the bachelor lifestyle—less hassle, less aggravation." Less heartache.
"But—"
"Dyl," he interrupted. "I'm not interested in being with Kris anymore."
"Don't you even want to hear what we talked about tonight? Ari and I had dinner with her and Sam."
He considered for a couple of seconds before answering. "No. There's no point carrying on about this. If you don't mind, I'd like to drop this topic."
At that moment, the taxi driver hit the brakes hard to avoid a car that ran the red light. Trey lurched forward, swearing in surprise.
"Sorry," the driver said. "Did you see that idiot? I almost hit him!"
"What was that?" Dylan asked.
"An asshole ran the red. We almost hit him."
"Where are you going, by the way?"
"I'm going home."
"Oh. Where did you go?"
"I just left the place of this chick I met tonight," he answered, glad of where this conversation was heading.
"You went home with someone tonight?" Dylan asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
"Yup."
"Right," Dylan said with resignation. "I guess there is no point talking about you and Kris."
"No. There isn't," he confirmed.
*******
Trey frowned as his intercom sounded. He was expecting Adam and Dylan for a meeting but he wasn't expecting them to buzz.
"Hello?"
"I'm here."
"Dyl? Why didn't you just come up? Did you lose your key?"
"Have you forgotten? You told me not to use it anymore," Dylan responded.
"It was only because…well, you can use it again. Come on up."
Trey shook his head, annoyed at the emotions that swamped him. Yes, he had recently asked his friends to not just walk in. But that was only because there were days when Kris had hung around his place until the guys arrived, and they could have been in the middle of...
He forcefully pushed that thought aside and prepared himself instead for some intensive grilling from Dylan and Adam. He hadn't completed some tasks that the guys were expecting him to deliver in today's meeting. He'd really tried to get them done, but he just found it impossible to concentrate.
The guys would wonder what the hell he'd been up to in the last three days. Well, he might not have done what he was supposed to do, but he had been road-testing their latest games app. Sure, that wasn't his job, but it was something that took his mind off the woman who haunted not only his dreams but his every waking hour.
The door clicked and Dylan strolled in. "Fuck, you look terrible," Dylan said.
"Gee, thanks." True, he hadn't shaved in a couple of days and his eyes must have shown his severe lack of sleep. But he was hoping no one would notice.
His buzzer rang again. He groaned. That must be Adam. What was the matter with these two? Couldn't they tell Kris wasn't in his life anymore?
Dylan was closer to the intercom and let Adam in.
Trey turned on the coffee machine, aware that Dylan was staring at him. He refused to acknowledge the attention, knowing where the conversation would lead. He didn't want to go there.
Adam arrived and Dylan pulled him aside to whisper in his ear.
Trey frowned at them suspiciously.
"All right, Trey. Let's hear it," Adam said as he and Dylan went to get their cups of coffee.
"Okay," Trey said, "I'm afraid I'm not quite done with some of my tasks. But I'll be working intensely to get them finished." He mentally crossed his fingers that he'd be able to do just that.
"How far away are you from finishing?" Dylan asked.
"Um. I don't know. Two days? Three?"
Dylan shook his head. "We agreed we can't be late with this, Trey."
"I know. But we're not due to present till the end of next week."
"But we still have to check and double-check everything," Adam said. "That's cutting it fine."
"Sorry," was all he could say. "I'll get it done."
"Fine," Adam said. "Okay, like I said earlier, let's hear it."
"Hear what?" he asked.
"Stop bullshitting. Look at you."