“I would, but you don’t need it. Now go dazzle him.”

Jay watched Cat make her way towards Alistair’s office with a tight smile on his lips. How had she found such a great location? That son of a bitch Alistair would try to diminish her, he was sure, but would finally give her the go-ahead – he was sure of that too.

Anyway, how could she do it, manage to look so fresh and awake? He had observed Cat the previous night, and she had drank a lot, albeit very discreetly. Nothing there to be judgmental about, but it spiked Jay’s curiosity, like a riddle. There was no trouble in paradise, apparently, Cat and Sam were still living together and looked coupley enough, but Frankie… Frankie had stayed. Whatever happened after he delivered the blonde’s gift to Cat, he did not know, Frankie hadn’t told him anything.

Going back to his chair, he leaned back and slurped his coffee. Well, what did it matter? This was just a bone he had thrown to distract his mind – anything to avoid thinking about himself. Jay Adams never tried to entertain deep thoughts about himself for a long time. Of course, to some extent, he could not help it, but that could be dealt with by using the adequate substances. That was something he and Frankie had in common. Lately, he had tried his best not to think about Becky; the only Becks in his life lately had been the brand of beer.

But Becky was not the problem; she just wanted the things that everybody was supposed to want. On the other hand, he had been terrified of moving forward, and had tried to hinder the decisive moments more or less unconsciously. What really bothered him was the hidden, dark fear that there was something wrong with him.

Suddenly, he heard a beeping sound nearby, and glanced back in time to see Cat’s phone emit the accompanying buzz and glow. The brunette was always forgetting her things all over the place. Jay snatched the phone from Cat’s desk and saw that it was a text message from Frankie. Raising his right eyebrow, he placed the phone back on the desk. What was going on with those two?