Chapter Summary: What obstacles will Tris and Tobias face while being forced to work together?
+++o+ The Following Day +o+++
Early May 2018
Tris chooses to walk to the office the next morning, hoping that the thirty minute stroll through downtown Chicago will help calm her nerves. She has been so upset about Tobias Eaton that she hasn't even been able to fully process the irony of their situation. This man has managed to get under her skin, as much as she wishes he hadn't.
She was also annoyed with herself for allowing her feelings for Tobias to impact her date the night before. A couple of weeks ago, she agreed to go on a date with the cousin of one of her old college friends, which happened to have been scheduled for last night. Mitch had picked her up and taken her to dinner, and then out for frozen yogurt. He was a perfectly nice guy, handsome and successful, and she had felt absolutely nothing for him.
Mitch made small talk, complimented her frequently, and really was a perfect gentleman, but all she could think about was Tobias Eaton. How good he had looked that day. His chiseled jaw and full lips, and his dark eyes that just stared right into her — or right through her.
Tris shuddered uncomfortably as she walked to work, remembering the kiss that she had initiated with Mitch. She had just wanted to feel something, had wanted to believe that if she kissed her date, that he could take over the space where Tobias Eaton was still consuming her thoughts and mind.
But instead, the kiss was painfully inferior to what she clearly remembers from her date with Tobias. While she was kissing Mitch was the exact moment it occurred to Tris that Tobias may have very well gotten back together with that horrid redhead, and is probably living out some happily-ever-after moment with her nasty, smug face.
Thinking about Tobias while on her date wasn't healthy, and it also doesn't help her current state of mind. She wants nothing to do with Tobias Eaton, she wants to forget him, but that's just not an option. Of course, despite all that, she will be professional and do her job well.
She would never want to hurt the company, or even him for that matter. This project is important to both of their careers. She had overhead Zeke and Uriah talking yesterday, commenting that their head boss is a cad that takes credit for all of Tobias's hard work, but that this project with Abnegation Marketing was specifically given to Eaton by the director of their division, and Tobias would finally get the recognition he deserves.
The moment she heard that, she remembered some stories Tobias had shared with her via chat. They always kept their conversations high level for anonymity purposes, but she knew even then that his career was really important to him.
Tris knows that no matter what, she will make sure this project is a success. Tris can handle this; she will have to make it work.
Walking into the lobby of her office building, Tris takes an immediate right to stop in the restrooms. Sighing, she notices that the woman's restroom is being cleaned, and she decides to change out of her Converse sneakers by the side windows of the lobby. Taking her high heels out of her tote bag, she slips off her right shoe and then places the heel on her foot. Trying to balance on her high heel while removing her next Converse turns out to be more complicated than she imagined as she becomes wobbly and loses her balance.
Worried about falling and twisting her ankle, she gasps as her steadiness falters, until strong hands are suddenly holding her up and helping her to maintain her balance. Breathing with relief and appreciation, she turns to see who has helped her, only to stare into the dark eyes of Tobias Eaton.
"Are you alright?" Tobias asks her softly, knowing that he is still holding her steady by the elbows and that he really should let her go. He had seen her walk into the lobby as he was checking in with the receptionist for his visitor pass. Tobias couldn't help but notice how adorable she looked with her black Converse that contrasted with her business outfit: a cute pencil skirt and fitted blouse. He can't deny that his strong attraction to her is still in place.
"Thanks to you, I didn't do a face plant in the middle of the lobby!" Tris laughs nervously while gathering her wits. "I appreciate it. I normally switch out of my walking shoes in the lobby restroom, but it's being cleaned..."
"Well, you can hold onto my arm while you finish switching out your shoes," Tobias offers thoughtfully. Aside from wanting to be a gentleman, he will take any excuse to be close to her.
Tris nods quickly while taking him up on the offer. In no time she is placing her Converse in her tote bag and no longer holding on to Tobias to keep from falling.
"Thanks again," Tris says as they begin their walk towards the elevators, running into Zeke and Uriah from Tobias's consulting team. They all exchange pleasantries while waiting for the elevator. Seeing Marlene enter the lobby, Tris waves to her friend to join them.
Uriah lights up at seeing her, surprising them all when he hands Marlene a Starbucks drink.
"What is this?" she asks suspiciously while eyeing the side of the cup. "Wait a minute, how did you know my usual drink order?"
"I asked your team's admin. She is a very helpful lady," Uriah says confidently. "I wanted to make sure you had a nice start to your day."
Tris has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the situation. The look of annoyance Marlene gives the poor man is almost comical.
"Forgive me, Tris. I would have gotten you a coffee as well, but I figured since you had a date last night, you probably already have a man to do nice things for you," Uriah teases before returning his gaze to the annoyed Marlene.
"Uriah, it is only day two. Can you at least try to be professional," Tobias scolds his teammate. He is suddenly sour over the reminder that Tris had a date last night.
The mention of Tris's date snaps Marlene out of her glaring contest with Uriah.
"That's right! How was your date last night, Tris? I have to say, and no offense meant, but you don't look very rested this morning!" Marlene teases, enjoying the look of horror on Tris's face at the implication that she had a wild night with her date.
"Marlene, knock it off. I am not going to talk about my dating life right now — we are in the office!" Tris snaps, praying that her friend will take heed that they are not alone, and that it is an inappropriate topic to discuss with all of the consultants that they just met the day before.
Although Tris is standing next to Tobias on the elevator, she doesn't dare look in his direction. Of course, Marlene has no idea why Tobias hearing this conversation is uncomfortable for her, and maybe even for him, too. Then Tris reminds herself that he probably couldn't care less what she does, since he has Red to suck face with.
"Ohhhh, that must have been a good date then! Because when Tris has a nightmare date, she will talk trash in the office the next day!" Marlene adds as the Pedrad brothers perk up at the prospect of a good story.
Tobias stiffens, realizing immediately that Tris most likely had a lot to say after their disaster of a date.
This time both Tris and Tobias give Marlene a death glare. Not that Marlene even notices, since she is too busy chuckling over the memory. Tobias barely knows the woman, but he sure wishes she would shut the hell up.
"You should hear about the last bad date she went on, the guy was a complete douchebag! Can you imagine, he—"
"Marlene! Enough, please!" Tris hisses, raising her voice enough that Marlene immediately stops talking and raises her hands in defeat.
Uriah and Zeke look disappointed at not hearing the end of the story. Tobias is now staring ahead at the elevator door, expressionless. He is so uncomfortable to be hearing this that Tobias can't even look at Tris while standing next to her in the confined space.
When the elevator arrives at their floor, they all step out.
"Marlene, a word in my office, please," Tris says seriously.
"Of course." Marlene smiles and winks at the guys as she follows Tris to her office.
Tobias walks silently to the set of cubicles his team will be using while working this assignment.
"I think the lovely Marlene is just playing hard to get. Did you see how pleased she was when I surprised her with that latte?" Uriah says proudly.
"No, but I saw how freaked out and annoyed she looked," Tobias admonishes his coworker. "Since when are you so aggressive with the ladies? This is work; you need to reel it in, Uri!"
Uriah laughs at Tobias. "You're just grumpy because your love life is nonexistent. Speaking of work, that Tris girl is drop dead gorgeous, and she is actually smarter than you are! We know how braininess is a turn on for you. She's a keeper for you, Eaton."
Visibly cringing, Tobias begins to unpack his laptop bag. If only Uriah knew just how gorgeous he thinks Tris is. For all the good it does him now, though.
"Guys, we're here for a project, and they are our client. We need to be professional. Please try harder," Tobias says seriously, trying to deflect.
Zeke agrees while nudging Uriah with his elbow. Uriah finally agrees as well, but also makes no promises when it comes to Marlene.
"A woman that sexy is destined to be my soul mate. She and I would look so good together," Uriah says, a dreamy expression on his face while he thinks about Marlene.
Tobias and Zeke both raise their eyebrows. Tobias is very skeptical over the situation, while Zeke is used to his brother's romantic shenanigans.
"I see the way she looks at me," Uriah says with confidence.
"How does she look at you? Like she did earlier, when she wanted to throw that latte in your face?" Tobias chuckles, a gleam in his eye. He is just teasing Uriah, who is always joking on others.
"Laugh all you want! I want to make babies with her," Uriah smiles wistfully. "Just think of them, the sexiest kids in the world!"
Just as Tobias is about to scold his peer for speaking about reproducing with the client, he spots Marlene approaching. Alerting the guys that she's headed towards them, Tobias clears his throat before saying hello to her. She smiles and offers to walk them to the conference room where their first meeting of the day will be, letting them know it is a different conference room than the one they used yesterday.
"Now that Tris isn't here, I am dying to hear about the douchebag from her terrible date!" Uriah demands. Tobias's stomach drops; he knows that if Marlene were to repeat even part of the story, Zeke and Uriah might be able to figure out that he is actually the damned douchebag in question. And that would open an entire can of worms for both him and Tris in this workplace.
"Sorry, no can do. Tris just made it very clear that she doesn't want any aspect of her personal life to be discussed with you consultants. She wants to keep it professional," Marlene says lightheartedly, and with a shrug. "And she is my friend, so I am going to honor that."
"Good idea, as it really isn't any of our business," Tobias says firmly as Uriah rolls his eyes.
As the others chat on the walk to the conference room, Tobias can't help but feel slighted again. Tris is making it really clear that she wants nothing but a professional interaction with him. Of course, that is what she already explained to him the day before, but her actions are just proving she meant every word.
Entering the conference room and seeing that she is already set up with her laptop, Tobias can't help but take a moment to stare at her. She is an attractive girl, and Uriah nailed it — she is wicked smart. He remembers how close they had gotten. She was actually his best friend, and now... well, now they are nothing to each other.
He sits as far away from her as he can manage, knowing he needs to just get over it. She is one girl, and it is what it is. He has other things to concentrate on, like this career-making project.
++o+ Three Weeks Pass +o++
"Aw, she finally graces us with her presence!" Uriah jokes as Tris enters the bar after work on a Friday afternoon. Team members cheer dramatically as she enters. Her smile is beaming as she waves to the group while walking through the bar.
"You act as though I have been turning down happy hours for a year, cut me some slack!" Tris jokes as she reaches the table. "It's been less than three weeks since this project started!"
Uriah then moves a seat away from Tobias, and motions for Tris to sit in between them. She smiles graciously at Tobias while sliding into the seat next to him. Tobias immediately grins back and motions to the waiter that they need to put in another order of drinks.
Three weeks have passed since Tobias and Tris met professionally and have been working very long hours on the same project. The pair have always maintained very polite exchanges, Tris always being the more reserved one, but still kind and courteous with Tobias. There have been times when their guard was down that they would forget about their bad history and end up joking about something in the news, or even some of their teammates. Even with both ignoring their own feelings, the chemistry between them was obvious to those around them.
What Tobias and Tris don't know is that their teammates had recently decided that they would make a good couple. Uriah was very happy to move so that she could squeeze in next to Tobias. Zeke smirked at Tobias innocently from across the table as Tobias shot him a warning look.
As the evening continued the two teams enjoyed relaxing after a difficult week. They had just met their first deadline for the data migration project and had been working insane hours for the last few nights.
Although Tobias and Tris don't speak in a one-on-one conversation, they do interact while speaking with other friends at the table. They are both sociable while being careful not to talk about anything too personal. As the drinks keep coming, the group is having a good time, finally getting to relax.
Just as everyone is getting ready to call it a night, a young man enters the bar and makes a beeline for their table.
Tobias's face falls as he sees his boss, Eric, approaching. Eric does a quick sweep of the group, before his eyes fix on Tris. In addition to being a complete jerk at work, Eric is a notorious asshole and player when it comes to women. The worst part is that women are always falling for his bullshit; he can be really smooth when you first meet him. He is the master of being charming to get what or who he wants.
"I am so glad I found you guys. I've been remiss to allow so much time to go by before meeting our newest clients. Hi, I'm Eric Coulter, manager of this team at Dauntless," Eric says smoothly.
The Abnegation employees immediately smile and wave as introductions are made.
"Which one of you is Beatrice Prior, the project liaison?" Eric asks casually.
"Hello, that would be me. Please call me Tris," she says while extending her slender hand and smiling.
Eric grins directly at her before turning his attention to Tobias. "Eaton, please move a chair over, I would like to get to know Tris better," Eric instructs his underling, never tearing his gaze from Tris.
Tris feels Tobias stiffen next to her before he gets up to do as asked by his boss. Eric confidently takes his seat next to Tris, sitting very close to her.
As the evening continues, Tris is polite but aloof with Eric Coulter. She often engages others at the table to participate in their conversation, while Eric keeps attempting to pull her into a private discussion.
"What do you say Tris, let's get out of here and let me buy you dinner?" Eric croons in her ear. "So that we can get to know each other better...professionally, of course."
Tobias's hand tightens around his drink; he wants to throttle Eric. But he also knows it is none of his business what Tris decides.
"What a nice offer, Eric. Sadly, I am going to have to decline," Tris says politely. "It has been a very long day. I just don't have the energy."
"Okay, then, if not tonight... how about tomorrow?" Eric pushes, getting bolder while laying down the charm.
"Hmmm, that sounds tempting," Tris laughs.
Tobias can't listen anymore; the thought of Tris getting with Eric makes him physically ill. Tobias quietly excuses himself to go and use the restroom.
As he walks briskly, his mind is reeling. Things were fine these last weeks at work. The team has been working hard on the project, which didn't allow much time for him to fixate on her. He and Tris have kept it professional, and he fooled himself into thinking that he was over it. He thought he had just let her go.
His strong desire to punch the wall, or better yet ram Eric's face into it, proves to Tobias that he is far from being over Tris Prior.
++o+ Chapter End +o++