Ryan dropped by Jane's desk when lunch break came. She saw him plop into a chair next to her own from the corner of her eye, a casualness he couldn't quite fake well enough. He took a few bites from his sandwich, not saying a word, and Jane knew him enough by now to recognize this as a tactic to get her to take the first step. That way, he would avoid confronting her directly. Jane would've ignored him altogether, but the eating noises and the tangible, awkward silence got the best of her.

She heaved a sigh, keeping her eyes on the screen in front of her.

"Fine, you win. Just say whatever you have to say already. Let's get this over with."

Ryan threw up his free hand, acting all innocent. Jane ground her teeth, refraining from telling him he couldn't fool anyone.

"I'm just having lunch. Thought you'd appreciate the company."

"Yeah, right. When's the last time you had lunch only with me and not the whole team?" He frowned, as if genuinely wondering when that last time was. "I'll answer that one for you. Never and not that I mind, but I can't have lunch just yet. I need to finish this first."

He sat back in his chair, his steady brown eyes on her. "Oh? So I guess getting along with your coworkers isn't as important as accomplishing any other task here?"

She bit her lip. There it was. She had been waiting for the other shoe to drop for a while now. Cole had been around for close to three weeks. She'd wondered how long it'd take Ryan to pick up on her petty squabbles with Cole, when he'd decide enough was enough and put a stop to this.

She minimized the window of the program she was using to make sure it wouldn't distract her. Ryan wouldn't have brought this up if it didn't matter to him. She swiveled her chair to face him, but she couldn't quite bring herself to meet his gaze, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"It's not so much that I don't want to get along with him, but... I guess there's a personality clash here."

Ryan chuckled. "That's putting it nicely."

"I mean, it's not that I didn't try—"

"Really? When? When have you two stopped for a moment and tried to talk to each other?" He tilted his head, waiting for her answer.

She felt her cheeks grow hotter. "That's... I mean. Having someone make snide comments about your work doesn't exactly make you eager to become friends with them."

The corner of his lips twitched as if he was holding back from laughing. "Yeah? What did he say?"

"Look, I don't want to start anything."

"But you already did. By picking fights everyday you come to work. Which was kind of entertaining at first, but now it's just plain inconvenient. I swear, I have a lot of respect for you both, you have so much to offer and when I hired Cole, I was so sure you would make the greatest of teams since your skills are pretty much complementary. But here you are, quarreling like elementary kids who have a crush on each other."

Jane opened her mouth to protest, her cheeks now burning like a volcano about to explode. He hadn't just said that, he couldn't have. And added to all that was the shame of having disappointed Ryan, her mentor whom she looked up to so much. Because she couldn't get along with one stupid guy on the team. But Ryan didn't seem quite done with his little speech.

Stretching to fold his arms behind his neck, he looked at her, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"I mean, most times I don't even know if you want to kiss each other senseless or just strangle each other. It's just crazy, seeing you two go on like this."

"That's none of your business," she muttered, because what else could she say to that? She might be comfortable around Ryan and all, but she couldn't just tell him to shut it and go away. He still remained her boss.

He glanced up at the ceiling. "Well, it kind of becomes my business the moment it interferes with your work. Look, I'm not only reprimanding you here. I'm gonna go say a word or two about this to Cole too. He's just as in the wrong as you are, but confronting you two together would've been unprofessional on my part, so..." He shrugged. "You never know. If you take a second and talk to him, maybe you'll find that you have more in common than you first thought."

She laughed bitterly. "I highly doubt that."

Ryan got up and patted her shoulder. "Just give him a chance. For what it's worth, I've known Cole longer than you. I also know where he comes from and harsh words are pretty much all he's ever known. Maybe you could show him that there are other ways to learn." He gave her an encouraging smile.

"Why would that person have to be me? I'm no teacher and I don't want to be one. Even less with a student like him." She stopped herself from shuddering at the thought.

Ryan didn't reply, but seemed lost in thought. This time, she couldn't help feeling uneasy as she recognized what that look on his face meant.

"Stop it," she said.

"Stop what?"

"That's your plotting face. Whatever you're thinking about, forget it. Don't involve me in your crazy schemes."

He laughed. "Wow, your trust is greatly appreciated. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I know what to do." And with that, he turned to walk back to his office.

"Hey, don't you dare!" She shouted at his retreating back. "Whatever you're thinking about, keep me out of it."

Exasperated by Ryan, her focus on her task had now gone right out the window. Jane rubbed her forehead, hoping the stress of it all wouldn't give her a headache. Glancing up from her impromptu head massage, she noticed Cole crossing the room. Just as he had the other day, he had a smile on his face, looking annoyingly happy. She didn't know what had caused the change, but... it made him seem a little... different. Approachable. Charming, just as he had the day they'd first met.

Very, very handsome too.

Please, brain, stop. You're not helping in any way right now. She couldn't have those thoughts about Cole. He might seem ok now—fine, more than ok—but that didn't just wash away weeks of torment.

Cole waved her way, a gentle smile, though a little distracted, directed at Jane and it made her forget to breathe for a second.

When he was gone, she started to draw furiously on her tablet.

This is so unfair. Why did this jerk just have to look exactly like the kind of guy I'm usually attracted to? Damn it, this is bad.

                                                 ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Just using this space to tell you how much each like, each little comment, each reaction to this story motivates me and keeps me going. Thank you for being so amazing, kind and helpful so far. :)

Poor Jane... Interacting with others can sometimes get real complicated. 🤷‍♀️