“So how’s your first week been, man?” Jack was asking Tyler, as he poked at the wings on the grill. “I’ve heard Henry can be tough.”

“He’s not the one I’m worried about impressing,” Tyler hadn’t noticed yet that Katie was standing at the door, as he continued. “I really want to make Katie proud. She’s got a great reputation there, and I’ve been lucky she’s taken me on as her intern. I know I’m going to learn a lot.”

“You sure will,” chimed in Grace, with a knowing smile. Katie lept from the door to the patio where they were all standing.

“What are you guys talking about?” Katie pretended she hadn’t overheard. 

“Your intern here,” Jack gestured to Tyler with his tongs, “was just telling us how much he enjoys working for you.”

“It’s true,” Tyler seemed to blush, being on the spot. He never liked being the center of attention, the way Jack did. “I was just saying I feel really lucky to have such a great boss--and friend--that I can learn from.”

“Katie is the best,” Grace echoed. Katie knew she was trying to make her feel better, but she was only making her feel more guilty. Katie smiled. “We can all learn a lot from each other--and our different experiences.”

“Ok, who’s hungry?” Jack asked enthusiastically, revealing a smoking, grilled bounty of assorted meats, vegetables, and of course, wings. Katie’s stomach rumbled, but this time, in a good way.

***

On the car ride home, Jack kept talking about Tyler.

“He’s such an interesting dude,” Jack was saying for about the fourth time. “Seems like Grace is really into him, too.”

“Grace is into everyone,” Katie said, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, but don’t you think they’d make a cute couple?” Jack asked, grinning. “We could double date, it’d be fun!”

About as fun as a root canal, Katie thought. She loved Grace, but she didn’t love the idea of Grace dating her ex.

“You know, I don’t think Grace is really his type,” Katie said, trying to cover up her true feelings.

“Doesn’t Grace speak like three languages? You know that Tyler went to high school in Japan?” Jack continued to push.

“I didn’t know,” Katie lied, even though she and Tyler had talked all about it, and how it had made him eager to come back to college in America.

“Yeah, something about his dad thinking the school system would make him more disciplined,” Jack continued, obviously fascinated. “I wish I had those options when I was a kid.”

“Yeah, totally,” Katie replied, half zoning out, watching the trees pass by outside her window.

Jack noticed her spacing out. “Katie, are you ok? I was worried about you earlier. Seemed like you and Grace were in the bathroom together for awhile--”

“Oh, Grace was having boy trouble--not about Tyler. You know her,” Katie felt bad for blaming Grace for their private time, but it was the only explanation that made sense, wasn’t it?

“It’s just. You’ve seemed...distracted lately,” Jack said. 

And it was true, she had been. She just couldn’t tell Jack why. Not yet at least, and definitely not in the car.

“I’m sorry,” she said, taking his right hand with her left. “You’re right. That project at work had me super stressed, plus the pressure of taking on someone as impressive as Tyler and teaching him how to do things and be a good leader, it’s just...been a lot.” 

Jack raised their interlocked hands to his mouth and kissed the back of Katie’s hand. “You’ve got this under control,” he said encouragingly. “You always do.”

Katie smiled at his kindness, but felt very uncertain that she had anything under control. At all. 

***

Back at work on Monday morning, Katie felt like a zombie. She hadn’t slept well after the emotional turmoil on Saturday, and then spent all of Sunday trying to strategize how to tell the truth and salvage her relationship, coming up empty handed. She lay awake staring at the ceiling for most of the night until her alarm went off at 7 AM.

Bleary-eyed, she went to the kitchen to make a terrible pot of coffee. On the way, she passed Tyler’s desk and noticed him deeply focused on something.

“Hey,” she said, startling him. She then saw the graphic novel he was reading. He tried to cover it casually with his arm, then threw a folder on top of it.

“I was just, uh, going over--” he tried to cover his hobby, embarrassed, and Katie stopped him.

“It’s ok,” she said. “You’re allowed to have a personal life. And I actually love that series.” 

One of the hobbies they had bonded over when they first started dating was their mutual affinity for the story he was reading, about a young woman who wakes up with super powers on her 16th birthday. It was about responsibility, and identity, and family--no surprise they had both gravitated to it.

“Really?” Tyler’s face lit up. “We should talk about it sometime!”

We already have, Katie thought. So many times.

“Oh yeah, definitely. Jack isn’t really into it, so would love to talk spoilers with someone who appreciates them,” Katie said with a smile.

“Good to know,” Tyler said. “I won’t bring it up when we grab drinks.”

Katie thought she misheard. “What?”

“Oh, I just asked to pick his brain about climbing the corporate ladder, job hunting advice, that kind of stuff. I know he’s in law, and I’m in marketing, but he seems to have a lot of really great thoughts on how to get ahead on your own. So I offered to buy him a beer after work--he didn’t tell you?”

“I’m sure he did and I forgot,” Katie said, thinking about it. Did he mention it in the car? Or was Jack keeping secrets of his own?

“Well, have a great time. I’m sure I’ll hear all about it later. Don’t talk about me too much, ok?” Katie tried to say it as a joke, but she definitely meant it.

“I’ll do my best, but you do seem to keep coming up,” Tyler said, winking.

“And on that note--I’m headed to the kitchen.” Katie made finger guns, trying to act cool, and realized Tyler was looking at her strangely, with a crooked smile.

As soon as she turned away from him, Katie imagined Jack and Tyler becoming fast friends--bonding over what an awful person she was. She had to tell Jack what was going on--and soon.