Page 8 of Reaching Gavin

I’d beenaround the block with more than one guy, and I didn’t mean that sexually. I’d been cheated on, lied to, worshipped, stalked. Basically, I’d endured the full gamut of romantic relationships. That meant I was also an expert on picking up on double meanings. Like when Gavin had tacked ‘at work’ onto that final thought before we’d parted ways at the coffee station.

But Gavin North was not my boyfriend or my ex-boyfriend or boyfriend material. And I was not in the market for one either. Which made me wonder why I was suddenly so obsessed with the topic of boyfriends anyway. Because I knew myself well-enough to know that once I started down that line of thought, I was screwed—figuratively and often literally. I needed caffeine and a clear head. But as I waited for the automatic espresso machine to warm up, Trevor joined me. It was pretty hard to clear my head when he usually induced a fog of war.

I considered what my best friends would do in this situation. I could almost hear Jess’s calm, soothing voice walking me through a list of steps: place your cup under the spout, hit the button, keep your eyes on the machine, take your cup, and walk away. By some miracle, George, the receptionist, joined us. He glanced at both of us as he took a cup, not too subtly studying the situation.

“Terrible coffee, but what are you going to do?” he asked as he waited for me to make my own.

I smiled in welcome and he winked as if he understood exactly what was going on. He was stepping into the role of buffer. I owed him good coffee later, even if it meant facing another ex.

My salvation was short lived.

I got to step two as Trevor leaned casually against the wall.

I got to step three before he cleared his throat meaningfully.

I was getting a little worried about what I would do when I got to step four and had a boiling hot coffee in my hands. Better not to risk it, I decided.

“Can I help you?” I kept my eyes on the machine. I’d never been so dedicated to going through a series of motions before in my life.

“Making coffee?” he asked.

I couldn’t keep my eyes from rolling, but I managed to refocus them as a stream of espresso filled my cup. “No, I’m studying particle physics.”

A small laugh escaped George, earning him a sharp glare from Trevor. He met it with a snort. At least, I had one ally in this office.

“You want to make me one?” Trevor asked. The edge of laughter in his voice betrayed that he was enjoying this. Not only had he stolen my internship, now he was going to spend the entire summer trying to get a rise out of me.

I didn’t bother to respond. Even leveling another threat at him seemed like a waste of breath. He didn’t deserve anymore of my attention. I refrained from sighing with relief when the machine switched off and I grabbed my cup with a to-go lid. Shifting to George, I asked him sweetly. “Can I make that for you?”

His lips formed a thin line to repress laughter as he shook his head. “I’ve got it.”

“Shouldn’t you be at the front desk?” Trevor drawled in a bored voice. If he wasn’t going to get me to bite on a fight maybe he could start one I couldn’t ignore.

George got there before I could. “Someone loosened my chains, so I escaped.”

I giggled, earning me an approving smile from George and a contemptuous glare from Trevor. It was like winning the lottery twice.

“I’ll see you later,” George said to me, pointedly ignoring Trevor, as he waved goodbye.

With my buffer gone, I decided to follow suit and get out before Trevor could engage me in battle again.

“Are you going to the meeting now?” he asked as I stepped away.

Too late. He’d launched a new counter-strike when my defenses were lowered.

What meeting?

I paused and made a split-second decision. If I’d missed a memo or email in my frantic dash into the office, it was better to hear it from anyone—even a snake like Trevor—than miss it. I gathered up as much pride as I could muster and turned to face him. “I just got here. What meeting?”

“Oh, never mind. Mr. North asked me to sit in on a meeting about their plans for the old Majestic Theatre in Capitol Hill. I think it’s just for the steering committee. I thought I would see if you were heading that way.” His beatific face didn’t hide the self-satisfaction in his words. He had been invited to the steering committee meeting and I hadn’t. He relished that fact and I wanted to kick him in the junk.

I’d be doing the female species a favor.

“Enjoy. I’m heading over to…” I stumbled in my search for something important sounding. The truth was that it was my second day—our second day—and I wasn’t really clear on what I was supposed to do. For that matter, I didn’t really know where to go. There was no work waiting at my desk. As interns we didn’t really have assigned tasks. Yesterday, we’d done tours and introductions. I’d expected the work to start today, and for Trevor, it had.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure they have something planned for you.” He waved a dismissive hand before strutting off.

Hate wasn’t a strong enough word for how I felt about him. I loathed Trevor. I disdained him. I abhorred him. I despised him. Where he got off being the dick was impossible for me to fathom. He had cheated on me. He’d lied to me. He’d led me on.