Between Chris's texts and calls, and Callum's bizarre shift in attitude, Logan had the worst night's sleep. He napped during his lunch break and still couldn't keep his eyes open, and even as he was debating what kind of clothes were appropriate for a team dinner, Logan was tempted to just dive into his sheets and call it a day. If he hadn't been the marketing team leader, Logan would've called and made an excuse for not attending.

Victor had driven the marketing team to the restaurant, luckily picking Logan up last. He couldn't imagine spending a car ride with the older coworker or listening to the other three complain any more than they already have about Callum and the project.

Logan's apartment wasn't that far from the restaurant, and he would've taken an Uber on his own or even attempted to catch the city bus, but Victor offered, and Logan wasn't exactly sure where the pub was located.

By the time Victor had found street parking, the finance team was already there, waiting outside near the door; Callum was nowhere to be seen. The wind was stronger and colder than the night Logan and Callum had eaten out, and Logan regretted choosing the thinner jacket. He crossed his arms in hopes of getting slightly warmer as he followed his team toward the entrance.

"Can't believe he's going to a team dinner," Keanu said to Jen a few steps in front of Logan. "I wouldn't have shown up, but he is paying."

Jen laughed. "Anything for free food. I wonder if Charlotte convinced him to go to 'save his reputation' or whatever. He wouldn't go to one of these willingly. He doesn't even like going to the food court or presenting projects. Now he wants to socialize with his workers?"

Keanu crossed his arms. "Some kind of catch, right? Maybe he's using this to make up for it instead of bonuses or pay increase?"

"You think he might just ditch and have us cover the bills ourselves?" Ramona turned to them.

Victor waved a hand as he walked ahead of them to the pub. "He'd be wise not to; he'd only be hurting himself by now going back on his word. I reckon Charlotte may show up in his place to pay for us if he does chicken out."

"If that's the case, I'd rather go home," Keanu grumbled. "Charlotte doesn't deserve to deal with that."

"Or, Callum's going to dump more work for us and use this as his apology," Jen joked.

"Or," Logan said before he could think. "Maybe he is concerned that we have nothing to show for the project yet. Especially since between the two teams, I'm the only one with any research and color swatches to go off of."

Aside from Keanu and Jen, who turned to him, Spencer O'Ryan from finance and his team had turned to look at him. The looks on their faces were enough for Logan to want to crawl in a hole. Their complaints about Callum had started as soon as the emergency meeting ended yesterday and had gone on the entire shift, leaving Logan downright irritable and annoyed beyond just his sleep-deprived night.

It wasn't just the comments about Callum that pissed Logan off, he was pretty used to the side comments during his shifts, and when he'd overhear other employees say things in passing in the cafeteria, but it went beyond just that. Like Callum, Logan was already annoyed at his team's lack of doing anything, really. From the procrastination, letting things accumulate till later, and to the overall doesn't give a fuck mentality that everyone in his and Spencer's team exuded. How had the last marketing lead handled this, and how was this company succeeding with a group like this?

Not to mention Chris's texts and his arrival in Los Angeles were leaving Logan on edge.

It was Spencer, of all people, to turn to Logan with a raised brow. "It's just a preliminary assignment. Like Callum reiterated."

"Preliminary?" Logan wasn't sure where he was getting this courage. "It's work. We get paid to work. This isn't some high school project you can just shove the responsibility over to one person."

"And what? The new marketing lead can't manage to do this work on his own? You're a team leader, Corbett. I've seen your work from New York. This should be easy for you, right?"

"My work? Those were individual projects. This is a team project for both of our departments. We've had enough time already for this project, and everyone else has nothing to show. We have less than a week. Unless you're fine with not taking any credit for what I do for this project then be my guest. I'm not going to pretend that any of you contributed."

Keanu stepped forward to get between them, but Logan stepped away. Spencer took a step closer to get in Logan's face. "Remember, you're the newbie, Corbett. Just because you got special treatment from Callum in that elevator doesn't mean you can put us down like that and take all the credit."

Logan scoffed. "Special—"

Callum, who neither had noticed, cleared his throat behind Logan. All the courage and frustration Logan had felt deflated into fear and shame as he glanced up at Callum's face. Instead of the expected anger though, Callum looked at Spencer with boredom, a look that shocked the rest of them with silence. Even the finance team members furthermost away held their heads down. "Is there a problem here? There's no need to wait for me; this place doesn't require a reservation."

"No," Spencer responded quickly. The other team members turned to head inside. "Everything's fine."

Logan nearly scoffed if he hadn't bit his bottom lip. He wasn't sure how much Callum had heard, and he didn't want to make things worse. He watched as Callum placed a firm hand on Spencer's shoulders. "Keep it up, O'Ryan, and I'll put your entire team's meals on your tab."

There was an edge to his tone that Logan had only heard about from other coworkers. Logan stifled a laugh watching Spencer get flustered. Before walking away, he cursed under his breath, joining the finance team as they discussed their sitting arrangements. Callum hadn't said anything else, heading inside a few steps ahead of Logan, not even sparing him another glance.

Logan sat with his marketing members at the edge of the table—he hated sitting between people, especially during meals. He disliked something about public settings and personal space, even with his family members.

The others were quick to order almost every appetizer on the menu, fancy cocktails, and rounds of beers, while others chose the most expensive burgers the menu had to offer. Logan wondered if Callum really was set on paying for everything. When the waiter took his order, Logan ordered one of the cheaper drink options.

On the bright side, he knew that with the amount of alcohol, there'd be tons of leftovers he'd be able to snag after everyone got completely wasted. His eyes scanned the pub, finding Callum not at the table with either team, approaching one of the waiters. Callum handed his card over to the waiter before looking back at the table, presumably telling the waiter who he'd be covering. Before Callum could look towards Logan or the marketing team, Logan turned to his phone, opened it, and browsed through his most frequent apps. As he did so, he accidentally clicked on his text messages, opening the latest messages he received from Chris.

Where are you Logan?

Answer me. I need a place to stay.

Logan cursed and shoved his phone back into his pocket, noticing that Callum had crossed the room and headed toward the bar stools. Was he planning on eating and drinking alone? Logan remembered he said he was a lightweight, but granted how both teams were reluctant to work on anything, he couldn't put it past Callum to want to drink the night away. Logan would be half tempted too if it weren't for the threat of Chris finding him. It was a slim chance of running into him at the pub, but just the thought of his obsessed ex roaming the streets and finding him somehow was sobering.

But if Callum was insistent on avoiding Logan and everyone else, it was clear the dinner was what upset him. Even the look on his face as he addressed Logan and Spencer's roles in this project from the meeting had been night and day to Callum's kind and concerned look when they were stuck in the elevator.

Logan tried to convince himself that Callum was isolating himself because of the rumors from his workers and not because of Logan's words during their dinner. 

***

He shouldn't have been surprised that Callum hardly left his seat at the bar. It had been two hours since they first arrived, and despite how everyone else was drunk, nobody ever invited Callum to the table, and Callum never approached them. Logan wanted to drink the night away for that alone, too, but he refrained after the one drink, knowing he needed to get home safely.

Logan would hate to admit that he spent most of the night simply staring at Callum's back at the bar, debating if he should even attempt to approach him a hundred times. He even opened his emails to email Callum instead of walking over there. Logan knew he should be talking and mingling with his coworkers, building the team bonding that Callum had claimed this dinner would do, but how could he when the others probably shared the same opinion about him.

What was so wrong with wanting to get the assignment done right, even if it was just a preliminary assignment?

Logan munched on a few more cold salty fries, staring at the CEO's back for the umpteenth time.

After thirty minutes, the first few team members filed out, ordering ride-shares or calling their spouses to come to pick them up. Callum would occasionally turn to make sure they left okay before going back to staring down at his drink, the wall, or whatever he was doing at the bar, Logan guessed.

Logan waited for Spencer to leave before approaching Callum. Drunk or not, talking to Callum would only spark more rumors for Spencer to spread, and after hours of watching Callum sit at a bar alone, Logan couldn't wait any longer. The remaining few team members were too drunk to notice Logan leave the table or witness Logan nearly trip on some fallen food as he walked over to the bar.

He pulled out the seat next to Callum, clearing his throat. Callum hardly flinched, spared Logan a glance as if he had expected Logan to sit beside him.

"Did I...offend you?" Logan said quietly as he settled into the bar seat. His legs were just shy of the footrest, and he resisted the urge to swing them about like a child. Maybe the one drink he did have was stronger than he first thought.

"What?"

"The other night, dinner. It wasn't my intention if that's the case."

Callum shook his head. "Oh, no. Charlotte was probably right; I just overreacted."

"Overreacted?"

"I made assumptions about your relationship with your ex. Assumed that your situation was the same as what I had gone through, which is likely not the case." Callum stared down at his glass. "Gave you unsolicited advice, made you uncomfortable, and so on."

"That word," Logan said, frowning. "Why do you keep using that word?"

Callum tilted his head. "Uncomfortable? Well, you said people like me make you feel that way. It doesn't help that I seem to always run into you or find each other in unusual circumstances. Surely, that must be uncomfortable for you."

"If I were uncomfortable around you, I'd tell you straight to your face," Logan told him. "Or make it physically known that you do, which you don't, by the way."

"But I—"

"I don't feel uncomfortable around you, Callum." Logan laughed softly as the words sunk in. He didn't think he'd admit to it, but it was true when he thought about it. Callum confused him half the time, but it wasn't ever uncomfortable—except maybe the first elevator ride. But after being stuck in an elevator with Callum and dealing with the unmotivated and negative-Nancy coworkers, Logan wouldn't have shared a broken elevator with anyone else. Except maybe Charlotte, but anyone would with someone as level-headed as her. "Quite the opposite, actually."

Callum tensed his grip on the glass before him. Logan waited for a response with bated breath, only to be startled when Callum lifted the drink and downed it like a shot.

Logan blinked. "That's quite a big shot. You'll be alright?"

"Root beer," Callum corrected, setting the glass down. He held in a burp. "Not alcohol."

Logan couldn't hold in his laugh. "Who buys a root beer at a bar?"

Callum looked at him with the same calm and stoic face he gave Spencer. "A lightweight. Especially one who has to foot the bill and be sober enough to ensure the rest of the drunk workers get home."

They laughed as they watched the remaining workers attempt to throw their cold french fries and popcorn chicken into each other's mouths. "Fair enough. I think it's just those two. Keanu and Jen are waiting for a Uber outside, last I checked."

"Surprised most of them cut it short. I half-expected them to stay past midnight."

Logan looked back at them, laughing hysterically at the trashed table. "I can split the bill if you'd like. Or I can pay for the marketing team. Make up for the meals you treated me to."

Callum shook his head. "It's alright. I'm using the company card, not my personal."

"Then, I'll leave a tip. I feel sorry for the staff."

"I got it covered too. It's alright."

Logan pursed his lips but let it go.

"I could—" Callum stopped. He made a noise that was between a sigh and a groan. "I was going to offer you a ride if you'd like. Or, have my driver drive you home, I mean. Or I could order a ride-share for you too—"

"I'd love a ride," Logan interrupted him, wondering if the bartender had accidentally spiked his root beer with how he was acting. "To be honest. My ride here left, and ride-shares are quite pricey around here."

"Oh, okay."

Logan could see the smile Callum was trying to suppress, so he looked at the two at the table. "Let's get them home and pay, shall we?"

"Alright," he said, turning his head slightly, revealing a more prominent smile. "I'll call my driver."