It had been a relief when he’d had to leave the office for another appointment, though he knew his reprieve would be short-lived since he had another meeting scheduled with Lauren and her crew after lunch. Fortunately, they were flying out in the morning for a two-week assignment in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal. Whenever Lauren was in New York, she was a constant temptation, and Ben definitely didn’t need any additional complications in his life right now. God knew that between making a decision about a new job, and about his future with Elle, he more than had his hands full.

It was becoming more and more obvious – at least to him – that it was well past time to end things with Elle. It wasn’t fair – had never really been fair – to stay with her when he simply didn’t love her in the way she needed him to. But instead of realizing that their relationship had pretty much reached a dead end, Elle had actually begun to throw out more and more hints about getting engaged or married. He hadn’t missed even one of her not so subtle suggestions on the matter.

“I know my parents have been here for a longer than normal visit this time. But they’re just so old-fashioned, and it would make things very uncomfortable if we were to share a room when we aren’t married yet.”

Earlier this summer, she’d made arrangements for a special dinner out to celebrate their second anniversary as a couple, and had attempted to make light of the situation with a little joke.

“Just think, Ben. We’ve been together longer than several married couples I know.”

And just a few weeks ago during the trip to Spain – the one that had turned out to be a total snooze-fest for him when he’d been dragged along to museums, art galleries, and wine tastings instead of being able to get outdoors and do the things he’d wanted to do – Elle had come right out and made several comments about how perfect Spain would be for either a wedding or a honeymoon.

No, there was little doubt in his mind that the time had come to break things off with her. He wasn’t happy, hadn’t been in a long time if he was being honest with himself, and had no idea why Elle would want to remain in such a dead-end relationship. But he also realized he would have to let her down gently, over a period of time, though he certainly didn’t want things to drag on for several more weeks.

He would have to find another place to stay, of course, and had already begun to check out some short term rentals. Not knowing what his job future held at this point, he didn’t want to commit to a longer lease in the event he wouldn’t be based in New York come January.

As he walked past the conference room, he was surprised to see Karl still inside.

“Hey, didn’t you get the memo?” joked Ben. “It’s officially lunch time.”

Karl glanced up from his laptop where he’d been busily typing away. “Yeah, I must have missed that particular memo,” he said wryly. “Actually, an idea popped into my head for this book I’ve been trying to write, and I wanted to get it down before I forgot it all. I’ll go grab some chow in a second.”

Ben couldn’t help feeling intrigued. “A book, huh? Fiction?”

“Yup.” Karl nodded as he saved his document and shut his laptop. “It’s something I’ve been kicking around for a few years now. I figure I’ll have time on my hands pretty soon to do some serious work on it.”

“Any thoughts on what you’re going to do with yourself when you leave here?”

Karl shrugged. “You mean besides writing the Next Great American Novel? Not specifically, no. I’ve socked away a lot of dough, and Tamsyn’s design business has really taken off the last few years. If the writing thing doesn’t pan out, I can always help her with the goats.”

Ben nodded. “Well, if it’s any consolation, you may not be the only one trying to figure out your next career move over the next few months.”

Karl was visibly startled. “She told you? After she swore me to secrecy, threatened me with deadly bodily harm if I breathed a word?”

“Who?” asked Ben, equal parts perplexed and alarmed. “You don’t mean Lauren, do you? Jesus, is she really thinking of leaving? Is that why she’s been so out of it lately?”

Karl’s expression quickly became closed off. “I can’t talk about it, Ben. Sorry,” he added apologetically. “She’d have the world’s biggest hissy fit if I said another word.”

“Okay, I get it,” Ben acquiesced reluctantly. “I appreciate that she took you into her confidence and that you don’t want to betray that. I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see what happens with her.”

Karl frowned. “If you weren’t talking about Lauren earlier, then who – God, not you, too?”

“I’m not sure yet,” replied Ben non-committedly. “I’m still working through some stuff. But any way you look at it, I’m not cut out for this job, Karl. I miss writing, miss traveling.”

“Hey, I know,” offered Karl half-jokingly. “You should just take my job when I leave.”

Ben was startled, caught completely off guard at Karl’s suggestion.

“Wow,” he breathed. “Can you believe that idea never occurred to me until now? And while I’m not sure how serious you just were, I think you might actually have something there. Definitely something for me to think about.”

Karl grinned. “It’d be perfect for you. Seamless. Except for the fact that Elle wouldn’t be very happy about your traveling again. And especially about the fact that you’d be traveling with Lauren.”

Ben was caught off guard for the second time in less than a minute. “Huh? Why would you think she’d have a problem with Lauren?”

Karl gave a hoot of laughter. “Oh, that’s a good one! Come on, it was obvious to all of us the very first time they met that Elle did not like our girl. And deny it all you want, but I’ve spent the last year and a half watching you and Lauren do this weird little dance around each other every time you’re in the same room. And, well, you aren’t fooling anybody, man.”

Ben felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment, and he stammered and stuttered for several seconds before shaking his head. “Do the others suspect, do you think?” he asked somberly.

Karl waved a hand in dismissal. “Nah. Chris is in another world half the time. Or stoned. As for George, he’s too worried about making sure all of his notes are in order to notice. Plus, he’s still terrified of Lauren and doesn’t even look at her unless it’s absolutely necessary. Your secret is safe with me, Ben.”

“There’s really not a secret to keep,” protested Ben. “I mean, sure I think Lauren’s hot. And there might be some, uh, chemistry between us. But there’s nothing actually going on.”

“I know,” drawled Karl. “You’re a good guy, Ben, not the sort who’d two time his girlfriend. And there’s zero chance Lauren would even consider hooking up with someone who’s already taken. That’s one of her ironclad rules of dating, didn’t you know?”

Ben found himself smiling despite the shock he was still experiencing from Karl’s very matter-of-fact observations. “I guess not. What are some of her other so-called rules?”

“Oh, geez, let’s see. No one who’s married, engaged, or otherwise involved. Absolutely no co-workers or anyone else related to her job. No nerds, dweebs, or geeks. Nobody who’s shorter than she is or more than ten pounds overweight. Guys who wear suits are usually a major turnoff. Oh, and absolutely no bald guys. There’s more, I think, but I forget the rest.”

Ben laughed. “That sounds like Lauren all right. It’s a wonder with all of those restrictions that she dates as much as she does.”

Karl gave him an odd look. “She hardly ever dates. I can’t think of the last time she mentioned going out with someone. And Carlo doesn’t count, since he’s like a brother to her. You know, Lauren likes to talk a lot, brag some, but that’s all it is most of the time.”