Ian's friday was a three out of ten. Once again Olivia hogged his bathroom which was on top of him being tired. He should have let his mother and her husband get his sister home safely, because Olivia was the last one to leave.

Then came complaints because the update they worked on for months didn't query correctly. It turned out to be an easy fix, but he took responsibility for the inconvenience. When Henry strolled in at lunch, Ian asked if he had any problems.

"Nope. I don't use that info."

Ian bit his tongue because others in his department did.

"When did you leave the party?" Henry asked.

"Too late."

"Thanks for the invite, man. I talked to Sumner and Roche. Plus, your mother. She's cool."

Ian shook his head. "My mother is successful, sophisticated, intelligent, but cool is not a word she would like assigned to her." She might have been a cool mom, but she was so much more.

"Okay, whatever. So the chick who crashed didn't even defend herself. She harped about some middle-aged author."

"If my sister heard you, she'd have your balls and you wouldn't like it. Didn't your father teach you to treat women respectfully? Chick isn't respectful."

"Whoa. Who put you on your high horse?" Without pausing for a response, he continued, "I have to work with her on a new release. Seriously, I can do it on my own."

Ian encouraged teamwork within his department. He wasn't looking forward to his meeting with the help desk team. They enjoyed getting tickets for the upgrade issues. He would bet none of them could pass the math required to become a programmer. Calculus C was just the beginning. Maybe he disrespected his employees like Henry did his coworker. Whoever she was, he felt sorry for her. By the time Henry left, Ian was ready for a nap, but settled on a cup of coffee.

At four-thirty, three of his staff were gathered around their work area. "Where's Logan?"

Jordan said, "Printer's not working in Legal."

He nodded. "How are things going?"

Their responses went from great to okay. Jordan was less sure.

"I wanted to have a chance to talk to all of you. I know you must feel like the stepchild. Believe me, I get it." More than they would ever know.

He paused as Logan appeared. "What did I miss?"

Ethan said, "We're stepchildren."

Ian chuckled as he shook his head. "I said you must feel like stepchildren, but you play a vital role. I want to help streamline a few things to increase our service. We are here to serve the company."

"Beers." Logan quipped.

Every class had a clown. "After we're done here, you can do whatever you want. I answered the phone the other day, because no one was here. Tickets are meant to queue the work, but we need someone here at all times. That means a rotation with staggered lunch breaks. There are plenty of tickets you can solve here while covering the phones."

Jordan looks pleased with the other three less so. "Okay, so we have to have one here. Jordan." Logan volunteered.

"A rotation. I made a schedule for September. Also, I've had complaints about multiple techs working the same problem. Jordan is the most senior, if you need help call him."

"What if he's covering phones?" Quincy asked.

"Good question. Call me."

Logan laughed. "You're not a tech."

"No, but I can do the work. Any questions?"

"Who complained?"

No surprise it was Logan. "That's confidential."

When he walked away he smiled. The meeting had gone better than he expected. Even his knee was a reason to smile. It hadn't hurt throughout the day. Willing to take a chance, he asked the driver to drop him at the market, so he could pick up some sauce to go with pasta. He hadn't received any in his previous grocery order, and his next one wasn't until the morning.

With a container in one hand and a brownie in the other, he headed to the register. The crowded store reassured him, he wasn't the only one with no plans on Friday night. A person bumped into him and when he looked it was the blonde. He wanted to disappear as he said dirty again and insisted she go first to make up for his tongue.

When he stepped onto the sidewalk, she was a half a block away, but the distance was soon a full block. Before his injury, he would have covered the distance in large strides. And. And what? Perhaps asked her name. He came down on Henry for calling a woman a chick, but was sexy blonde any better? It was probably worse.

Even from a distance, he watched as she went in the front door of his building. His apartment was in the back, so he used the side entrance around the corner. Feeling like a stalker, he stood and waited for a light to go on. He hastened away, when the basement apartment illuminated. She could look out and see his legs. Smiling, she lived in his building and he hadn't known it. Did Mrs. Bernstein know her? The older woman knew everyone in the building. As he thought about it, he would rather ask the blonde, sans the sexy, because it was disrespectful. Mrs. Bernstein gossiped and would blow his curiosity out of proportion.

As the pasta cooked in the boiling water, he called his father.

"Ian. I was just on my way out."

"A performance?"

"No. Dinner."

"I just wondered about tomorrow."

There was a pause. "Let me call you in the morning. I'm not sure how late I'll be."

Dinner. Uncertain about the morning. "Do you have another date?"

"I do, and I'll be late."

"Be careful. I don't need another sibling."

"You aren't funny. Goodbye." The line went dead.

Why did he feel like he was ten and sent to bed without dessert?

He poured himself a glass of wine and sat down to a nice meal. Growing up having a dad who was single, and a musician seemed cooler than his friends' parents. Andrew enjoyed evenings home alone with a delicious meal, but he worked nights. Ian should enjoy his full-bodied red blend and thick bolognese sauce, but he felt lonely. His father had a date, and he hadn't dated in months.

If he had real balls, he would go to the front of the building and knock on her door. The real question was why? To meet her? To date her? To have a one-night stand with a stranger? After all, they ran in his family.

Balls or no balls, he had walked too much, so what he needed was an ice pack and elevation for his knee. Thanks to streaming, there was always something to watch. Felix climbed up onto his lap and began kneading his leg.

"I know you lost yours, but if you knead my balls your going in the bedroom."

The cat looked at him and stuck out his tongue and started a bath on his lap. He needed a life. Maybe he should ask the blonde out. The worst thing that could happen she would say no and he would be reminded every time he saw her.

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