Chapter 271

Your bags were packed and ready to go, but you had just one more day of work left to go. Sabrina had slept over the night before, having already packed her own bags and brought them over, so you and her went to work together. It was a quiet bus ride in as you both sipped on coffee from your travel mugs and sat together, holding hands and occasionally smiling at each other. Then, entering the building, you both said hello to Becks. Nothing had changed in the friendly banter with her, even after the brief phone sex episode, though that hadn’t happened again. She teased the two of you quietly about being a two-wheeled trike without Gemma with you and asked if you guys were ready for your trip.

It wasn’t until you were up in the office and entering the conference room that you realized the day wasn’t going to be quite as perfect as you expected.

Red flag number one: Gemma and Eric were both in before you and Sabrina, and you guys were fairly early.

Red flag number two: Eric looked like he was a beaten puppy and was shooting glares over at Gemma.

Red flag number three: Gemma had a distinctly frosty quality in the way she was sitting up with perfect posture and working, not looking up from her laptop.

“Morning, guys,” you said, and then went to Gemma and leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Morning, love.”

Eric didn’t say anything and Gemma sighed, closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath, then opened them and turned to you and Sabrina. “Good morning, loves,” she said.

That made you hesitate a moment. And then your stomach fell out a little because you realized what must have happened.

Eric knew.

Eric was dating Lucy. Lucy knew because of being Gemma’s roommate. She’d told Eric something.

“Good morning, baby,” Sabrina said, immediately cluing in as well and coming over to Gemma and giving her a little kiss on the lips.

“So it really is true,” Eric grunted from his side of the table.

“Eric, I’m sorry we didn’t tell you,” you said, going down to your seat nearer to him and sitting. “We just didn’t want the poly thing to affect anything at the office, so we’ve kept it on the down low.”

“That’s not why he’s mad,” Gemma sighed.

“It’s part of why I’m mad,” Eric said.

“OK, it’s part of why he’s mad,” Gemma said.

“Well, what’s the big part then?” you asked.

“She,” Eric said, pointing his finger across the table accusingly at Gemma. “Got Lucy to break up with me.”

“That’s not how it happened at all and you know it,” Gemma defended herself.