Ashton

I'm in Oliver's make-shift office a couple of days later, at the end of that week.

Week four.

Everything is coming along well, even better than I imagined, and we definitely have under two weeks of work left on this project. I've basically been holding my breath at the office for the past few weeks, so I'm looking forward to things getting back to normal - sans Oliver. Things have been weird between us, but I've done my best to keep it neutral.

Angela pokes her head in to check on us around 11A.M., because I missed the morning meeting. I never miss the morning meeting.

"Sorry," I say quickly, looking over at her. "We're just working away in here."

She clears her throat and smiles. "Looks like it. Check in with me at the end of the day?"

"Of course," I finish, and the door closes again.

I see the smirk on Oliver's face, but I'm able to ignore it and go back to work. It feels like everything he does annoys me, whether it's intentional on his part or not. I don't like feeling this way at work, so pushing through and working hard and getting this project done is my only goal.

Sable - Oliver's beautiful girlfriend - walks right in, an hour or so later. I didn't even realize it was already lunch time. Oliver and I have been working for hours straight, not talking much. He made it awkward again between us the other night, when he said that I look good and I'm really ready to not have to see him anymore, so I insisted we work more hours and get it finished up as soon as possible. He didn't argue with that.

Sable is thin and blond and pretty, without trying. She's wearing a tight skirt and a loose blouse. This is only the second time I've seen her, but I know she comes here often to meet Oliver for lunch.

"I brought you a salad from May's," she says to Oliver. "Am I interrupting?"

"No," he says quickly, then adds, "Thanks, babe." Oliver's eyes stay on her while she crosses the room and puts the bag on the desk.

"You're welcome. You've sure been in this office a lot over the last few weeks." The comment and the tone don't go unnoticed. She's not happy about that fact.

"We have a deadline," Oliver tells her easily. "I've explained it to you."

Sable nods but I can tell she doesn't get it. A moment later, she leans down and kisses him on the cheek. "See you tonight?  Hi, Ashton."

"Hi," I force myself to say in her direction.

We've only "met" one other time, in passing. Oliver didn't bother to fully introduce us, but she obviously knows who I am. She knows that I'm the one in charge of the project and the one he's been working closely with. I have no idea if she knows about my past with Oliver.

Now, I feel something in my chest. Jealousy? Why do I feel jealous? That's insane. I don't even like Oliver. I really don't like that he drunk texted me or that he flirts with me, randomly. I don't like having to be in contact with him so often, either. I don't like that his presence makes me think about the past and the pain that I felt when Tyson cheated on me. And I don't like knowing Tyson died. I don't like any of this.   

"She seems sweet," I tell Oliver, when Sable is gone and the office door is closed again.

"Oh she's sweet, alright." He grins across the desk.   

What the hell does that mean? Oliver's entire personality confuses me. It always has.

"Anyway, back to the second business card. I'm glad everyone liked the first one-"

   "They loved it." Oliver loves to interrupt me, too.

"Well, I have a similar design here for the next one, but it's more modern."

I turn my laptop so he can see what I've been working on for a lot of today.

"Whoa. That is really gorgeous," he says right away, his dark eyes narrowing in on it. "When did you have time to do this?"

I blush. I blush easily. "Thanks. It's was simple once the first one was done."

"Well, you're really good at all of this." There he goes again with the compliments. I don't reply, but I go back to finishing up the details in the design. I want to get it sent to the printer tomorrow.

"How was your date?" Oliver asks a moment later, as if we hadn't just been talking about business cards.

"What?"

    "The other night. You said you were going out to a date?"

"Yeah. It was fine," I reply and shake my head, not looking at him.

    "Fine?"

"Yes."

    "Okay."

He grins and I shake my head again. He gets on my nerves a lot and then he doesn't talk to me for a few days. He always returns to being sweet as pie, as if it never happened. He did this years ago, too. When I used to know him. He'd always try to annoy me and Tyson and then he'd not be around for a bit, and then he would show up and do something silly to make me laugh. It's his M.O. It's annoying as shit.

"I've gotta get back to my office. I have a meeting," I say, pretending to look at my laptop for something. I actually do have a meeting, but it's not for another hour.

Oliver looks confused but smiles anyway. "Alright. Send me that proof of the new design so I can show my uncle. And how's the video ad coming along?"

Right back to business. Good. He should never have asked about the date.

"I'll check in with Darcy today. She's been busy finishing it."

   "Okay. Looks like we're right on schedule with most things. We're going to look at the social media stuff next week?" Oliver asks, now looking at his phone.

"Yes. Were you able to get a hold of photos of some of the houses you've done in the past?"

Oliver smiles. And my stomach tightens. That damn smile. "I've got a folder on my laptop waiting. I'll bring it Monday?"

"Sounds good."

We stand up the same time. He holds out his hand. He makes me shake his hand every time we finish a meeting, or work together. This isn't even a real meeting, and I don't get it. But I shake his hand anyway. It's warm and rough. I'm near the door when he speaks again.

"You've been nicer to me, since I told you about Ty."

I look back and he's smirking. I wish I could smack that look off his face. He's smug. He thinks he's always right.

"Excuse me?"

   "The first couple of weeks that I was here... you were cold. Mean."

"I was not. I'm professional."

   "You were a bitch. So I was trying to match that energy, you know, but being just as bitchy. But you've been nicer to me. I think you were angry at me for being his brother, but now-"

"Oliver. Stop," I warn him.

    "He's dead. So you can't be angry at me."

"Nice theory." I turn back and open the door. I'm almost out of there. I need to get out of there. Most of the time, I can tolerate being around Oliver. But today he's pushing my buttons.

    "I'll find out what happened," he says. He knows I'm still listening, because I haven't left yet. "Between Tyson and you. I'm going to find out what really happened."

But I just tear open the door and leave without looking back.

Who does this guy think he is? And why did I have to end up working with him on this project now? I would have preferred to never see or hear from him again.

I was broken after Tyson and I broke up. Devastated.

I trusted Tyson immediately, with my heart and with everything I had. He was so good. So real. Or so I thought. And I really liked Oliver and their parents. It was like a gained this whole new family. So, it made the cheating and the break up that much worse. But now I know that Tyson didn't tell his brother - his family - why we broke up. I can't believe it. And what am I supposed to do now? Talk shit about a dead man? I think not. I'm not that horrible of a person.

I need to tell someone about Tyson, and Oliver's connection to all of this. I need to get this all off my chest before I expolde.