A Misunderstanding

Chapter 1-2

It was almost half past four in the afternoon, and in spite of it being his first day at the company, Blake felt that he had accomplished quite a lot. He had held a short meeting with everybody from the finance department earlier that morning because he needed to somehow familiarize himself with all the people he would be working with in the foreseeable future. Then he had studied the financial statements of the company from the recent years before talking to his personal assistant about setting up appointments for him. He needed to set everything up, from scheduling to data collection, and all the way to the timing for the regular departmental and interdepartmental meetings.

He even worked through his lunch hour, choosing to eat his sandwiches inside his office instead of going out for a nice, relaxing meal. By the time he was satisfied with his progress, it was nearing the end of his first working day at the company. He winced as he stretched his arms up high. His whole body was sore from sitting for far too long, but he was glad he was making a dent in the tasks he wanted to complete for the day. He stared at his empty coffee mug and decided it was time to visit the pantry for a refill. Now that he was about to take a short break, his mind inevitably wandered to Justin.

He had agreed to jump ship from his previous company to the present one because of the fat salary that was being offered, along with all of the benefits that came along with it. He didn’t expect to meet someone like Justin. The first time he paid Justin a visit, it had been more of a courtesy call. After all, the CEO of the company had already approved of him. In fact, she was the one who had lured him over from his previous employment. Nevertheless, he knew he had to talk to somebody from the human resource department to sign the contract, arrange for the insurance, and a whole slew of other items in relation to his new job. He simply didn’t think he would come face to face with someone as good-looking as Justin.

Justin had an extremely pretty face. There was no other word for it. Blake had been stunned speechless for several seconds the first time he had laid eyes on Justin’s face. In all honesty, Justin was the whole package. He had that flawless and porcelain-like skin, perfect rows of brilliant white teeth, and an amazing build underneath his fitted clothes. Blake had fallen in lust with Justin at first sight. Even among his group of incredibly gorgeous friends, Justin stood out like a sore thumb. Almost. The only one who was slightly better looking than Justin was David. However, David had the sort of delicate yet masculine beauty that no mere mortal should possess. Justin’s physical appearance from head to toe was alluring and dazzling enough without making Blake feel as if the man was too far out of his league. Most importantly, Justin was exactly the type of men that Blake liked.

“I wonder if Justin has time to grab some coffee with me,” Blake muttered softly to himself as he got up from his chair and grabbed his empty coffee mug off the table before making his way out from his office.

He could have asked his personal assistant to refill his coffee for him, but he needed a short break after sitting for hours inside his office. He also wanted to seek out Justin’s company even if it was only for a few short minutes. He liked Justin. The man was easy to talk to and really friendly. It helped that Blake found Justin to be the most attractive man he had ever encountered in his entire life. He headed toward where Justin’s office was located at, which, as fate would have it, happened to be directly across the hallway from him. Their offices were the only two on that particular end of the room, so they could consider themselves as next-door neighbors. Sort of. As he got closer to Justin’s office, he noticed the door was slightly ajar. He was about to knock on it when he heard something that rendered him speechless.

“…going to make a move on him?”

Blake recognized that voice. It was David. He knew he shouldn’t be eavesdropping on what was certainly a private conversation between Justin and David, but he was curious. It seemed that Justin might already have his eyes on someone else.

“I don’t know, Dave.”

“Come on, man. Don’t be such a chicken. The other guys and I are all rooting for you. Besides, we’re one hundred percent positive that he likes you, too. He’s the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome.”

Justin snorted really loudly. “You’re all a bunch of busybodies.”

David laughed. “We can’t help it, dude. We’re all single men, and you may be the first among us to finally land yourself a man.”

Justin scoffed. “Don’t be dramatic. Being single has its perks.”

“True, but…”

Blake didn’t bother to listen to the rest of the conversation. He crept away as quietly as he could, chastising himself for doing what he did as he walked toward the pantry. The old saying was right. Ignorance was f*****g bliss. It was turning out to be too good to be true. Blake should have known a good-looking man like Justin would already have someone in the wing waiting to ensnare and make an honest man out of him. He was too late. He couldn’t deny he was disappointed. He might not be in love with Justin, but he hadn’t liked any man as much as he was crushing on Justin in a really long time. He would have relished the chance to go out on a date with Justin. Unfortunately for him, based on that short conversation between Justin and David, the former might soon be taken off the market.

As he entered the pantry, he debated if he still wanted more coffee. He wasn’t really in the mood for it anymore. He darted his eyes back and forth between the coffee inside the coffee maker and the empty mug in his hand. He was feeling strangely heavy inside, and he wasn’t really in the mood for coffee anymore. However, after a moment of hesitation, he made up his mind. He was already there inside the pantry. He might as well get what he was there for in the first place. He just had to forget about all of his dreams of asking Justin out on a date. It wasn’t his style to poach on another man’s territory. Justin was strictly off limits. Blake would treat Justin in a very professional manner. He could do that easily. From now onward, Justin would simply be his colleague instead of the attractive man he was more than a little infatuated with. He could do that. He had to. He didn’t have any other alternatives.