If Ian had a choice, he wouldn't have had his sister for the weekend. It seemed like from Monday to Friday he never saw Ainsley. She worked too much, and he still hadn't told her about Henry. He should have said something when Brooke mentioned him, but not in front of his sister and cousin.

When Henry showed up for lunch on Monday, Ian glared at him. "Thanks for nothing."

"What did I do?"

"You ruined Brooke's charade."

"You mean your lie. What's the big deal? Didn't your famous mother teach you that lying is wrong?"

"My mother is not famous." My father is.

"She is when it matters. You got your job because of her, right?"

"I have the experience and education."

"So that's a yes. Seriously, what's the big deal? Unless you don't trust yourself with hot Val."

"I trust myself. I just don't trust her."

"You aren't married."

"No." But he was committed to Ainsley. "Monogamy isn't just for marriage. You should try it. Too bad you're too young for Val."

Henry was too young and immature. Ainsley would win based on maturity alone. He ran his hand through his hair. She texted she had to work late.

Instead of staying home alone, he went to the gym. He was working himself up to more difficult climbs. Each time he gained more confidence in his knee. He did a double take when he saw Henry; he must not feel the need to put in extra hours.

Val was hanging around when he finished. "Looking good."

"Thanks. I have to get going."

"Wait, a minute. Is she your daughter?"

"No, she likes to pretend."

"That's cute. So you aren't married are you?"

"No, but I'm in a relationship."

She frowned. "Is it serious?"

That was a complicated answer. It was more serious than either wanted to acknowledge. "Yeah, it is."

"Lucky girl."

He shook his head. "I'm the lucky one. I should go."

"You know it could have been me."

He should have been shocked, but just nodded.

"Maybe we can climb together, as friends."

He shrugged. "Maybe." But unlikely.

On his way home, he had a text from Ainsley. She was home, but going to sleep. Reluctantly, he played by the rules and went to sleep in his own bed.

The next morning the security team arrived. He knew the head of the company because she went to MIT. It was one of her employees he hadn't met him before, but a sixth sense said he might like Rhys or Terry or both, except he had a wedding ring on. Ian felt foolish for his inappropriate thoughts. He wouldn't want someone to assume he liked Val just because they were both heterosexual. His gut told him it was going to be an awful week, but hoped their security was locked down, because that was a headache he didn't need. He mentioned his concerns to Ellen.

She put her hand on his back. "The audit is like a mammogram, every time I go, I'm convinced they'll find cancer, but as soon as I get the results I announce I knew I was fine. We play head games with ourselves."

He had too many head games going on. No more chickening out he had to talk to Ainsley. He texted her asking to meet for lunch nearby, but she replied she was too busy.

Hopefully, she would slow down once she earned the position. He was committed to his role, but rarely worked ridiculous hours. Henry didn't come down for lunch, but Ian spent his lunch with Dominic, the security guy. He held his breath as he got a preliminary update. "So far so good. The software has caught some problems which is why we use it. Employees will click on nasty links, but our job is to contain the damage. Everything is working. I have more to review but fingers crossed."

Ian felt better going into the afternoon. Planning to skip the gym, he wanted to stay long enough for Ainsley's department to clear out. Then he could go up and lure her out himself. He smiled as he focused on reviewing the help desk logs. His changes had resulted in a smaller backlog.

He looked up to see Henry sauntering to his desk with a smile just before Ian wanted to leave for the day.

"Are you coming with?"

Ian shook his head. "I'm gonna pass. What are you so happy about?"

He beamed. "I've got this position. They set up our meetings with the director. I told her I was all set because I knew a director who could put in a good word for me."

"You didn't!"

"Why not? She lied about knowing the Sumners and I said my friend is like family to the Sumners."

"Tell me you didn't say my name!"

He shrugged. "I had to prove I wasn't lying. Touched a nerve because she told me and my director to go to hell."

Blood rushed from his head. He felt sick. He put his head in his hands. "No, no, no."

"What's wrong man? I thought you would be happy for me."

"I'm not. You can't throw my name around. Please, just go!"

Ian had to get to her and explain. He was on her team. Hadn't he told her repeatedly? He rushed upstairs, but her department was empty.

His gut felt ready to reject his lunch as the heat of the train left sweat on his neck and pits. Shutting his eyes and breathing the stale air made it worse. He entered the building and headed straight to her door. He knocked, but she didn't answer. Maybe she wasn't home. "Please talk to me." After he was unable to plead any longer before the neighbors got involved, he retreated to his apartment to text her instead.

He sent a string of text.

I'm sorry. I'm on your team. I don't like him. I tried to tell you. It took me forever to figure it out. Please talk to me.

In the morning, after a fitful night, he had a text. It is not working for me.

Damn. They had agreed to no commitment. They would continue until it didn't work for either anymore.

Even if he couldn't make it right for himself, he had to keep his promise to be on her team. As much as he wanted to walk up to her desk he couldn't. Her privacy was important to her. Revealing the guy she didn't want anyone to know about betrayed her would hurt more than he already had.

He put his head in his hands. When he put aside the anger at himself, the missing took over. She altered his life. How did he go back to the status quo? He had to fight for her, but it was not something he had ever done. Every other relationship, he let fade away in the rear-view mirror.

Dominic appeared. Their meeting was on his calendar, but he hadn't been watching the clock. The last thing he needed was security issues.

"Things look okay. I've updated all our protections. It's a never ending battle." Ian nodded. He kept up with his reading. IT required staying current. "I recommend training the staff to spot suspicious threats. I'll forward some updated documents to distribute."

"I needed some good news. The credit goes to your firm. I rely on you completely."

"That's our goal. Call about anything suspicious no matter how small."

He stood and shook his hand. Then he shot an email to Oliver updating him. He considered asking for personal help but his gut told him to keep the Sumners out of it. If Ainsley pulled them in, it would be her choice.

Not willing to sit on his hands he wandered upstairs to the Marketing department. He stood in front of a young assistant, who he had met recently because of the stooges.

"Mr. Gillespie. I haven't had any trouble with my computer."

He nodded. "Good. Is Eric in? Could I get on his calendar?"

Her warm smile was comforting. "I'll see if he's available."

The leadership only met every six months, so he didn't know his counterpart well. He was slightly older than Ian. When he was told to go in, it was obvious he was a family man. Pictures of his young family sat on his desk. He thought of his mother with younger Ian and Olivia on hers. Andrew didn't have a desk, but pictures of him were visible in his home.

Eric looked up at him, as he motioned for him to take a seat. "More trouble with your staff?"

Ian sighed. "No, but I've inadvertently caused some with yours."

"Mine?" He sat up a little.

"I understand you are filling a leave position in promotions." He nodded. "I recommended one candidate for his job here. He was an acquaintance, and I passed his resume on to Oliver. I recently became friendly with the other candidate. My problem, not yours, is I never told her I was the one who brought her colleague in. I don't want to be a factor in your decision. I'm not asking for favors."

"I'm looking for qualifications and achievements."

Ian nodded. "In IT, qualifications are important. I'm always looking for team players. It's easy to assess. The staff knows who is looking out for more than themselves."

Ainsley's strategy had been to be a team player. She had organized sending a plant to a coworker whose grandmother died. She said a plant lasted longer than flowers.

"I appreciate your candor."

"I appreciate your listening."

"You care. I can tell." Eric took his glasses off.

"I do. One of their sisters is married to James. I guarantee he'll never be asked to intervene. That's integrity."

The men shook hands. He couldn't do anything more. It was up to Ainsley to earn the position fairly. He shuddered as he imagined Henry mentioning that he knew Ian in his interview. Hopefully, it would backfire, and Ainsley would get the job without knowing he intervened.

He returned to his desk just in time for Henry to show up. "Henry, I have work to do."

"What's got you in a bad mood? Did you get dumped?"

"Do you have any sympathy? When's your interview?"

"Tomorrow. It's a slam dunk."

"Eric's a nice guy."

"He and I have something in common. We both know you. See you at the gym. I'll put in a good word for you with Val now you're available."

"Please don't."

He chuckled. "Things are looking up for us."

As he left, Ian whispered under his breath. Not for you, but hopefully for me eventually. After Henry's interview, Ian planned to tell him he couldn't be friends anymore.

Finally too bad it's too late. Vote for dumb ass Ian ⭐️