Chapter 2
Ben said: [Dude, you're famous! The whole company's talking about you this morning. Your message got screenshotted and shared everywhere.
[People are posting it in every department group chat. Everyone even found out Emily's intern's real name. You're a legend now.]
I replied: [Did you bring the boxes?]
Ben: [Yeah, I got ten! Is that enough?]
Me: [That's enough. Be at my place at 8.]
Ben: [Got it. I'll grab some pizza on the way. Want it spicy?]
Me: [Yeah.]
I set my phone down.
I glanced at Emily's messages, but I wasn't planning to reply.
Same old excuses: [Let me explain,] [It's not what you think,] or [Can you just pick up the phone?]
There was nothing new.
I opened the company group chat and scrolled through quickly.
After I sent the screenshot at 2:10 AM, many people were chatting.
Colleague A: [What's wrong?]
Colleague B: [Am I dreaming? Is this actually happening?]
Colleague C: [Mason, only a tech guy would have the guts to pull something like this at 2 AM.]
Colleague D: [I thought it was just another late-night work notice, but damn, my heart nearly stopped when I opened it.]
Colleague E: [Emily? Seriously? That intern? The one who always looks half-starved?]
Colleague F: [Aidan? You mean the guy with the tote bag who's always bumming a charger off me?]
Marketing Department: [I saw Emily showing him how to make a PowerPoint yesterday. Guess it wasn't just PowerPoint she was teaching him.]
HR: [Mason, your notification was super professional, but the content made my blood pressure hit the roof.]
Dexter from Tech: [Guys, Mason's a total savage. Most people would smash their phones if they got a pic like that at 2 AM, but he drops it in the group chat like it's nothing.]
There were another two hundred-plus messages after that, and honestly, they all boiled down to three types:
First, pure shock.
Second, nonstop gossip.
Third, people hyping me up.
I didn't bother reading them all.
As I was leaving the group chat, I noticed there was one person who stayed silent the whole time: Emily.
She was part of the group too.
With 342 people in the chat, she spent the whole night watching the messages roll in.
I could picture exactly how she was feeling.
But honestly, I couldn't care less.
*****
At 8 AM sharp, the doorbell rang.
I opened the door to find Ben standing there, ten folded boxes in one hand and two pizzas in the other.
He gave me a once-over. "You... you good?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said.
"Seriously, you good?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Come on in, let's eat."
He stepped inside, then stopped in his tracks when he saw the four boxes neatly stacked on the living room floor.
"Did you even sleep last night?"
"Yeah, I did. From 3:40 to 7."
"No, I mean" He pointed at the boxes. "When did you start packing?"
"2:10."
Ben set the pizza down on the table and gave me a look. "Mason, are you some kind of robot or what?"
"Nope."
"Seriously, if anyone else got a pic like that, wouldn't their first move be to go over there and beat the crap out of the guy?"
I took the pizza and took a bite. "Sure, storming over and beating him up would help me blow off some steam.
"But then what? I'd still have to get divorced, pack up, and call a lawyer. Nothing actually changes, except now I've got an assault charge to deal with."
Ben opened his mouth, then shut it again.
"You're right, but man, you're seriously freaky."
I opened up the extra boxes and started packing up the rest of Emily's stuff from the bedroom.
Her lip balm on the nightstand, hair ties in the drawer, and her pillowcase—I took hers off, left mine on.
Ben followed behind, helping out, and couldn't help but ask, "You really sent that to the group chat on purpose?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Why not just keep it between you two?"
I kept packing her books into the box, not missing a beat.
"At 2 AM, a guy goes out of his way to send me a photo of his boss spending the night at his place, and even says, 'Emily says she feels more at home here.' You really think that's just some mix-up?"
"Doesn't seem like it."
"Then there's no point keeping it quiet."
"But you really posted it in the group chat?"
"She's in marketing, managing three interns." I shot him a look. "If I kept this under wraps, what do you think Aidan would tell people about it?"
Ben thought for a second, his expression shifting. "You're worried he'll throw it back at you? Make you look paranoid or like you're imagining things?"
"Honestly, I'm not even worried about him. Emily could just make up her own story without him saying a word."
I stuffed the last pillowcase into the box. "342 people saw the original photo all at once. She can't mess with the facts now."
Ben swallowed hard and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Mason."
"Yeah?"
"I'm never messing with you again."
By 9:30, all six boxes were packed.