Thanks to Jenn and Liliane Grouse for their editing suggestions, and thanks to LokYa2046 for pre-reading. Dedication is for my girl, Lil. 

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Chapter Two: Truce

"What. The. Hell?"

Justin looked towards the entrance of O'Reilly's to see what had attracted Jane Diego's attention. What he saw there made him pause with his beer halfway to his mouth. His tightly wound co-worker, Abby, was standing there uncertainly, wearing a pair of skin tight black jeans, a skin-tight red T-shirt, and a pair of three inch, red high heels. Her glasses were gone and her light brown hair fell in soft waves down to her shoulders instead of being tied back in its usual bun.

"What is she wearing?" Jane asked.

"She looks good," Justin heard himself say.

His gaze snagged on the breasts showcased by the tight T-shirt she wore. He felt his blood start to pump faster and his body heat up and tighten as he realized just how much of a body her gender-neutral suits had been hiding all these years. Admittedly, he'd always thought Abby was cute. Certainly he'd noticed she was attractive, but he'd missed the obvious. Abby Gillis was...hot. As in smoking hot. As in, so hot she was in danger of fogging up all the windows in the place. One look around O'Reilly's told Justin he wasn't the only man who'd noticed, either.

"What is she doing here?" Renee Williams asked.

After the conversation he'd had with Abby on Monday, Justin wasn't all that surprised to see her at O'Reilly's. She had clearly been upset to hear about the talk he'dhad with James Kale last week. Now she'd come out swinging, more determined than ever to improve her chances of being promoted. Even if her personality was as prickly as a cactus, Justin couldn't help but admire the way she never backed down from a challenge. It made him work harder, and he'd probably miss their rivalry when he won the promotion and moved to Sydney.

"She looks like she's here to get laid," Jane observed.

"I could help her with that," Chris Bradshaw said.

"I'll bet she's as cold in bed as she is in the office," Renee remarked cattily.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Chris agreed. "On second thought, I wouldn't touch her with a 10 foot pole."

If Abby fit in with the rest of the Melbourne team, Justin would have been really worried about his chances of being promoted to Creative Director. But the other employees at Kale & Wells didn't like her. Abby had made it clear to everyone that she didn't want to get to know the people she worked with. She'd rejected all of the social invitations extended to her when she'd started at the company, giving most people the impression that she thought she was above them.

It had been a bad, bad move.

Now it looked as if she was trying to rectify it. Unfortunately for her, everyone would probably see her presence here tonight for what it was – her desperation to move forward in the company rather than a genuine attempt to make amends and make friends.

"I'll bet she's here because she heard James was here last Friday night," Jane said.

"Who would she have heard that from?" Renee wondered.

"That would be me," Justin told them all.

"Nice one, D'Marco, now she's going to be here every Friday, looking for some one-on-one time with the boss."

"Maybe she's planning to try and seduce him?" Jane said, looking Abby's outfit over again.

Renee laughed loudly, causing Abby to crane her head in their direction. Normally, the employees of Kale & Wells hung out by the three pool tables in the other corner of the bar, but tonight they'd been beaten there by a buck's night in progress. They'd left the groom and his already merry men to it and settled into the next best spot – the tables next to the juke box in the farthest corner from the door.

Justin watched Abby's gaze sweep over her co-workers. She bit her lip as she took a small, tentative step in their direction. Then her gaze locked with his. It wasn't just nerves, he realized; she was absolutely terrified. Probably because she knew she was hardly going to be welcomed with open arms this evening. Abby had joined Kale & Wells just months after Justin had begun working there, and this was the first time he'd seen her put in an appearance at one of their social gatherings.   

In the beginning, Abby's complete lack of interest in getting to know her co-workers had annoyed and bewildered him. Who in their right mind turned down the opportunity to have good working-relationships with their colleagues? Justin had gone out of his way to try and draw Abby out of her shell.

When she'd first started there, he'd walked by her desk and offered to help her when he could see she was struggling with something. He'd tried to engage her in conversation in the lunch room on many different occasions, and he'd asked her to come to O'Reilly's numerous times. She'd made it clear she wasn't interested in anything he had to offer. Not his friendship. Not his help. Nothing.

Now that they were competing for the job in Sydney, he was relieved she'd kept him at a distance. It was difficult to compete for a promotion against a friend, and now he didn't have to worry about pulling his punches with Abby. If anything, she inspired him to work harder and fight smarter. She was exceptional at her job and she was extremely competitive, which pretty much made her the perfect opponent. She was also a hell of a lot of fun to annoy. He loved getting under her skin and rattling her cage. It seemed to be the only kind of relationship she would allow.

After shaking off her nerves, Abby put one foot in front of the other and started walking towards them.

By the time she was close enough to be heard over the noisy patrons of O'Reilly, everyone from Kale & Wells was engrossed in a conversation about the AFL grand final that would take place in a few weeks.

"Hello everyone," Abby greeted them loudly.

Aside from one or two murmured hellos from people, everyone ignored her and continued on with the debate over whether Hawthorn Football Club would win the cup yet again.

Justin watched and waited to see what Abby was going to do next. She stood there awkwardly for a moment before dragging a chair over from a vacant table.

"Thanks," she said stiffly as he shuffled his chair to the side so she could be part of the circle around the tables the group had pushed together.

"Football," he thought he heard her mutter under her breath. "Great."

"Not a football lover?" he asked her, intrigued.

"Ah..."

"I'm going to take that as a no. Don't tell these guys that. They'll think you're an alien."

"It's in all Melbournians' DNA to love football," Chris piped up, hearing Justin's comment.

Abby shook her head. "Not mine."

Chris looked poleaxed for a moment before he nodded as if he understood. "What team do you go for?"

"Um, Melbourne. Go Dees."

Abby's unenthusiastic fist pump and look of discomfort indicated she'd probably just picked a team randomly. 

"Well, that explains it," Chris said. "They suck."

"They do?"

Justin laughed. "They were almost bottom of the ladder this year."

"Oh."

"You didn't know?" Chris asked.

She shook her head. "I'm too busy working to watch the games."

Renee and Jane both snickered. Mentioning how much she worked was not going to win Abby any brownie points here. Her cheeks turned pink as she realized her gaff and she sat back in her chair, clearly unsure what to say now that it was obvious she knew nothing about football.

Justin tried to focus on the conversation that was happening around him, but he could feel Abby's misery growing beside him with every second that passed. As soon as the subject changed from football to the state election, he actually felt grateful she could join in. Except that every time she made a comment she was ignored. Slowly she gave up trying, and despite the fact that he knew Abby had brought this on herself, he really didn't enjoy watching her suffer.

Riled up Abby was fun. Miserable Abby was not.

And he knew just how to rile Abby up and get people to talk to her.

"Maybe you should go get a drink," he suggested to her quietly.

She turned and looked at the bar before she looked back at him gratefully. "Yes. That's a good idea."

"I'll come with you," he said, standing up. He waited until Abby was on her feet before announcing to their group, "Next round is on Gillis."

Orders were shouted left, right and centre and it was all he could do to remember them all. He didn't need to look at Abby to know she was furious with him.

"Why did you do that?" Abby hissed as they walked up to the bar.

"You need these people to like you, so buy them a drink."

"I don't need them to like me."

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Gillis. I mentioned my conversation with James and the type of person he wants for the role of Creative Director, and here you are, after six years, making your first effort to fit in."

"It isn't my first effort."

"Glad to see you're not denying the fact you're only here because you want the promotion."

"I'm not just here for that."

"Then perhaps Jane was right about your reasons for being here, after all."

Abby pressed her lips together; as if she was trying not to ask the obvious question. However, she couldn't resist.

"Why? What did she say?"

"She said you were here to seduce James."

He waited for her to glare at him and make one of her usual sarcastic remarks, but instead her dark brown eyes filled with hurt and she turned away from him.

"Hey," he said, grabbing her arm.

"Let. Go. Of. Me."

"Abby, I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing to say."

Rubbing Abby the wrong way had become second nature to him over the years, but he'd just stepped over the line. Jane's comment had been mean and stupid, and repeating it had been about the dumbest thing he'd done for a while. He'd wanted to piss her off and fire her up so she didn't give up tonight, not hurt her.

Real smooth, D'Marco.

"Let go of me, Justin," she told him angrily.

"Look, I'm sorry. Please say you'll stay."

"Forget it. I don't know why I ever thought I could do this."

"If you want the promotion-"

"I shouldn't have to have their approval!"

"I don't get you Gillis. Why on earth would you want to be in management when you hate people so much?"

"I don't hate people."

"That's what everyone at the company thinks," he told her.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Just because I prefer to actually spend my work day working-"

"But what about the times you aren't working? What about lunch times? What about weekends?"

"There are always things to be done."

He shook his head. She seriously needed to loosen up and have some fun. "Kale & Wells promote a healthy work-life balance."

"Thank you, I'm aware of that."

"So why don't you stay and try and remember how to have fun?"

"With people who think I'm here to sleep with the boss so I can get ahead? I don't think so."

"I think you're making a big mistake by leaving, but...I won't stop you. If you're giving up then I guess the promotion is mine."

She worried her bottom lip. If there was one thing that would stop her from walking out the door, it was the position in Sydney. He didn't know why he wanted to stop her from leaving. If she never fit in with the Melbourne team, then the promotion was as good as his. And he really wanted that promotion. But after letting what Jane had said slip, he couldn't help feeling as if he owed her one.

"I...I don't think I have enough money to cover everyone's drinks," she told him after a second or two had passed.

"Don't sweat it. I'll cover it."

"No, absolutely not. I-"

"Don't have enough money. Isn't that what you just said?"

"I don't want to owe you anything else, Justin. After taking on Welcock, I barely have time to sleep."

He felt a brief flash of remorse at that. Asking her to take on Welcock in return for a ride to work had been a rather mercenary move. He'd justified it to himself by imagining what Abby would have asked for had their positions been reversed. 

"I wasn't going to ask for anything in return, Abby," he said.

"Then why would you buy the drinks for me? You don't want people to like me. You need them not to like me." Abby asked.

It was true. But now he felt like he owed her one for taking on Welcock, and he owed her for being an asshole earlier. He didn't want to admit that to her, though.

"I just thought that for one night we could pretend we're not two co-workers competing for a promotion. Instead we could pretend to be...people who get along."

"What? Like a truce?"

"Yeah, like a truce."

Truthfully, he'd always wondered how he'd get along with Abby if she wasn't trying to keep him at arm's length. Now was his chance to find out.

"Okay," she agreed. "I guess I can handle a truce."

"Great. Now, what do you want?"

"Sorry?"

"To drink. What do you want to drink?"

"Um, Fanta. Please."

"Fanta?"

"Since I'm driving," she explained.

He knew Abby was around twenty-six or twenty-seven. She didn't have a probationary license and she could drink one or two and still be under the legal limit, but he didn't question her choice not to drink.

"Fanta it is then."

Justin placed the order for everyone's drinks before he turned back to see Abby staring at him.

"Thank you," she said softly, as if the words cost her to say them but she wanted to anyway. "I'll pay you back on Monday."

"Forget it. I don't mind paying, so don't worry about it."

She gave him a small, reluctant smile.  

He didn't think Abby had ever smiled at him before and he was completely unprepared for the effect it had on him. Again, he was struck by how beautiful she looked tonight. Beautiful and sexy. His eyes slid down her body and then travelled back to her breasts – breasts which were a decent sized handful. An unbidden image of Abby with her breasts in his hands and his tongue in her mouth as she rode him to heaven popped into his head.

Dude, what the hell are you thinking?

As a man it was kind of a habit to look at breasts.

It was normal.

It was natural.

It was healthy.

But he didn't ogle the women he worked with. Well, usually he didn't. Right now he had a semi hard-on that said otherwise.

Justin quickly shook his head as he tried to dispel the image of Abby on top of him. Abby might look damn good tonight, but he wasn't interested in going there. Aside from the fact that starting something with a co-worker was always a bad idea, he was hoping to get the promotion and leave the state in a few months. And since the reason he wanted that promotion so badly was because he wanted to rekindle things with his ex-girlfriend, Sarah, getting involved with anyone would be a damn stupid idea.

Three years ago, Sarah had moved to Sydney. They'd tried a long-distance relationship for the first six months, but it hadn't worked out. And he might have considered moving to Sydney earlier, had his father not been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Staying in Melbourne to support his mother and his younger twin brothers had been non-negotiable. But now his father's tumour was in remission and Justin was ready to get his butt to Sydney to see if he and Sarah could get back what they'd lost.

"Here we go," said the bartender, putting two trays in front of Justin and Abby.

Justin opened his wallet and gave the man two fifties, and when the bartender returned with his change, Justin and Abby took a tray each and started to walk back to the table where their co-workers were sitting.

"I'll pay next time," Abby told him as they crossed the crowded pub.

Justin shrugged. "Okay. Or, if it makes you feel better, consider this a consolation prize since you're not going to land the job in Sydney."

"And here I was thinking we'd called a truce."

She was right. They had called a truce, and it had been his idea. Stirring her just seemed to come easily to him. "Old habits die hard," he explained.

"Yes they do," she agreed. "Which is why I feel compelled to tell you not to count me out."

They smiled at each other in perfect understanding. 

"If you win, Gillis, I expect you to help me drown my misery with a few drinks then."

If he didn't get the promotion, he was going to need more than a few drinks. Of course he could look for another position in another company located in Sydney, but he liked Kale & Wells. He liked the company and their policies and the way it was run. He wanted to stay on and maybe become a partner one day. Besides, being part of the same company would lend him some stability as he uprooted his whole life.

"I can do that," she told him.

He nodded. Leaving his friends and family wouldn't be easy, but Sarah was worth it. And nothing and no one, least of all Abby Gillis, was going to stand in between him and that promotion. Which was why this truce really could only last for one evening.

***

Abby groaned as she looked at her watch. "I should go."

"Stay for one more drink?" Justin asked her.

Considering the way the evening had started out, it surprised Abby just how much she wanted to do just that. Two hours ago she'd been ready to walk out of O'Reilly's and forget her resolve to improve her relationships with her co-workers. However, she'd let Justin convince her to stay, and she was really glad she had because she'd actually enjoyed herself for the past two hours.

She couldn't say everyone at O'Reilly's had already warmed up to her, but she'd had a few conversations with her co-workers. Even if the topics had only been the weather and the business program at Monash University, it was a vast improvement on interactions she'd had with them in the past. And as much as she hated to admit it, she owed Justin a heap of gratitude for that.

He'd gone above and beyond for her this evening. Not only had he bought everyone drinks on her behalf, he'd also taken every opportunity to throw the conversation over to her and give her the chance to join in. Justin really had a way with people. He listened easily to everyone, joking with them and making them feel heard. He remembered things from previous discussions and asked all the right questions. It was obvious he liked the people he worked with and that the interest he took in them was genuine.

She'd always assumed Justin was popular because of his good looks and charm. While those things certainly added to his appeal, she realized now that hewas popular because he was a nice guy. A really nice guy. For the past six years she'd tried hard to ignore that fact, just as she'd ignored every attempt he'd made to befriend her and breach her defences. But tonight – thanks to their temporary truce – she'd seen Justin as he truly was: smart, kind and funny.

And, as if that truth wasn't enough to throw her for a loop, tonight she just couldn't seem to forget the fact that her rival was a very attractive man. Nope, that thought kept circling in her head, refusing to go away.

This morning his medium-length brown hair had been gelled into something resembling a Mohawk, but after dragging his hand through it, he now had