Page 1 of Wrong Number, Right Grumpy Player

ONE

JO

The look of pure shock and horror must be written on my face. Clearly enough that even someone as oblivious as Mark can read it.

His cheeks flush red from the other side of the car.

He clears his throat. “I guess this is coming as more of a surprise to you than I thought it would be.”

“You think?” I scoff.

Even the driver must agree, if his snort from the front seat is any indication.

“Look, Jo,” Mark sighs. “We both know this isn’t going anywhere. There’s never been much of a spark, and I’m not sure we want the same things. Plus, I’ve been talking to the new girl in accounting, and she thinks?—”

“Wait.” I hold up my hand to silence him and shift in my seat so I can stare my now-ex-boyfriend directly in the eyes.

Or, I would stare him in the eye if he wasn’t looking anywhere but me.

Coward.

If I’d known he was one, I would have dumped him first. Though, I would have picked a better time and place.

“Let me get all of this straight,” I say. “You suddenly realized tonight that we don’t have a future together.”

Mark nods, and swallows hard. Still not looking at me. “That’s right.”

“Fair enough.” I nod slowly. “I don’t disagree. But I do question the timing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, let’s look at a timeline of the events. We just left our firm’s annual awards dinner, where everyone we work with saw us attend together as a couple.”

“We did.”

“Glad we’re on the same page there. And if my memory serves me correctly, this was an awards dinner where I was expecting to get the promotion I’ve been working toward for the past year. But instead the partners announced that they were going to do an external search instead.”

Mark shakes his head like he doesn’t understand what one thing has to do with the other. Has he always been this oblivious? Or is he just heartless?

“Okay, so it would probably be fair to say that it’s not a big stretch for me to think that the two things might be related. Especially since you’ve been talking to Carrie in accounting, who no doubt has been saying you should be with someone who can help your career more.”

“How did you know she said…” He trails off and has the decency to look sheepish.

Seriously. How have I been dating this guy for two whole months?

“All that aside,” I continue. “The fact that tonight has already been one of the more disappointing nights in my professional career. The fact that you’ve been talking about our relationshipwith another woman at work. The fact that you decided to dump me in front of a witness. There’s still one little fact that isn’t quite adding up in my head.”

He looks weary. “What’s that?”

“Did I, or did I not, give you a handjob in the supply closet on the way in to dinner because you said it would ‘calm your nerves’?”

Mark’s eyes widen and he darts a look at the driver, apparently noticing him for the first time. “Josephine?—”

“I just think it’s really interesting that you had decided our relationship was going nowhere and you were going to end it on a really bad night in a really insensitive place. But I was still good enough to get you off one last time.”

“Well, it did help me relax.” Mark shrugs. “Besides, we’re both smart enough to know that sex and love don’t always come together.”

The car comes to a sudden halt. I brace myself on the back of the seat, but Mark smacks into the back of the driver’s.