felt as I waited for his call. God, those gifts paired with Sam's volatile reactions had been somewhat priceless in retrospect.
It had been a simpler time then, but not by much.
Our office looked normal for a Monday morning. Everyone was busy, and I didn't see Sam around. I walked over to my desk and took a seat, intending to catch up on email. My network password didn't seem to work no matter how many times I typed it in.
No big deal. They sometimes upgraded computer stuff on the weekend when everyone was out of the office. I'd just have to notify one of the IT guys. It would probably only take a second for them to reset the password.
I sat there quietly for a few minutes, looking at the clock and idle other than sipping my latte. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sam charging into the office, his face unshaven, his shirt a wrinkled mess. His eyes were bloodshot, like he hadn't slept at all.
He came straight to me. "Jacobs?" he asked. It wasn't a properly phrased question, so I moved on.
"Hey, Sam." I said. "My password won't work."
He winced at me, his face a look of total disgust. "Oh, your password won't work, huh? What a fucking shame." I smelled alcohol on his breath. Two minutes in and I already knew this was going to be an unusual Monday.
I looked around the office, realizing that we were starting to attract attention. "Sam, I don't get it. Can you please settle down?"
"Jack Teller's people notified me that the fuckin' deal is off. Doesn't that just piss you right off? It's like someone on the inside fucked it up for us. I know he was going to go with us."
I spoke without even realizing, catching myself after it was too late. "Jack wasn't going to—"
"What's that, Jacobs?" He really seemed to be enjoying this.
"Sam, please. There are all of these people around." I was starting to feel legitimately humiliated, beyond the usual Sam's just having a bad day flare-ups. My cheeks flushed red, so red that no one could have misinterpreted my discomfort.
"Who do you work for?" His fingers frenetically tapped on a nearby desk.
"I beg your pardon?" I asked, feeling like I was stepping face-first into a trap.
A wry smile formed across his lips. "Do you work for an escort service or something? Jack must pay you real well, huh? Better than I do, right?"
At the very least, this was sexual harassment. However, with the way he was going, I didn't know if I'd be able to maintain professionalism much longer. My blood was starting to boil as adrenaline overloaded my system. "Sam, this is—"
"You've been hiding this from me, haven't you? You've been fucking our star client, you fucking whore. A little part-time job?"
I wanted to spiral out of control, to run freely with any emotion I felt and deal with the consequences later. Yet via some minor miracle, I took my time responding, allowing myself those crucial calming seconds before my lips moved.
"Sam, stop. Relax. This is not cool." Was I dealing with Sam or Timothy? I couldn't not be reminded of the incident at the coffee shop. Was he about to knock me on the floor too? "You need to calm down." I figured he wouldn't listen, but I would try anyhow.
What was it with men accusing me of being a whore for merely being in the wrong monogamous relationship? Maybe I had become a magnet for sexist, misogynistic pigs without realizing it.
"What the fuck are the chances that Dan Miller ran into none other than Jack Teller in Beverly Hills this weekend, the accessory on his arm an Effie that matches your description to a tee? Was that you or was it someone else?"
I wanted to scream and cry and disappear all at once, if that was somehow possible. So much for the don't worry about him mentality Jack was pushing in reference to Dan.
Everyone was staring at us, and I didn't know how to react. I was trying to control a situation that didn't make a lick of sense to me. Who should I be mad at? Sam was being a total dick, but then again, Jack had invited me on the trip when I had wanted to take a break until this all cleared. Without that trip, I might have gotten out of the situation without a scratch.
I guess I needed to blame Stacy Levons on top of everyone else as