the get message button for his e-mail.
"That you had sex with the suit," Tony said.
"What?" Cal said, squinting at the screen while Elvis sang backup to his morning. "Of course I didn't."
"Oh." Tony nodded. "Well, you've still got a month."
"Tony," Cal said as the list of messages showed up in the window. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm positive it's wasting my time."
"David bet you that you could get the suit into bed in a month," Tony was saying with obvious patience. "I could use the money, too, so if you'd—"
"No," Cal said. "I did not make that bet."
"David thinks you made the bet," Tony said.
"No, he doesn't," Cal said. "Now that he's sober he does not think that he bet me ten thousand dollars I could get a strange woman into bed. Now could we get some work done? There's money in it for you. They pay us to do this stuff."
He slid the folder on his desk across to Tony, who picked it up and leafed through it. "Piece of cake," he said, and began to move away. "Oh, just so you know, Cynthie left with David last night."
"Good for them." Cal turned back to his e-mail.
"This doesn't bother you?" Tony said.
"Why are you harassing me this morning?" Cal said, putting an edge on his voice.
"I just want to make sure you're not going back to her," Tony said. "My future is on the line here."
"How?" Cal said.
"Well, you'll get married first," Tony said, coming back to sit on the corner of Cal's desk. "You always do everything first. And then Roger will get married and you'll both move to the suburbs. And Roger is going to marry somebody as uptight as he is, which means I'll have to live with you, and since Cynthie never did like me, she'd be a problem to convince on that."
"So would I," Cal said. "Get off my desk."
"It wouldn't be
with
you, not in the house," Tony said. "I figure a nice apartment over the garage. It'd be convenient for you. You could come over and watch the game and get drunk and not have to drive home. And I could baby-sit the kids when you and the wife wanted to go out."
"First," Cal said, "I'm not getting married, so forget the wife. Second, if I was insane enough to get married, I wouldn't have kids. Third, if I was insane enough to get married and have kids, it would be a cold day in hell I'd let you baby-sit."
"Well, we'll both have matured by then," Tony said. "I wouldn't let me baby-sit now, either."
"I'm getting married first," Roger said.
They both turned to him, and he smiled back, big, blond, and placid in the sunlight from the big loft windows.
"I'm going to marry Bonnie," Roger said.
Cal frowned at him. "Who's Bonnie?"
"The mini-blonde he met last night," Tony said, disgust in his voice.
"Her name is Bonnie," Roger said, his voice like ice, and both Cal and Tony straightened.
"He's serious," Cal said to Tony. "What happened?"
"The redhead wanted me," Tony said. "So I went over. And Roger followed and hooked up with the mini.. . with Bonnie. And sometime between then and now he lost his mind." He shook his head at Roger.
"This is a woman you've known less than twelve hours. It took you a year to pick out a couch, but you're seriously—"
"Yes," Roger said. "She's the one."
"Maybe," Cal said, thinking,
The hell she is
. "You didn't tell her that, though. Right?"
"No," Roger said. "I thought it was too soon."
"You
think
?" Tony said. "Jesus."
"I'm going to marry her," Roger said, "so stop yelling and get used to it. She's perfect."
"No woman is perfect," Tony said. "Which is why we must keep looking. You going to see her tonight?"
"No," Roger said. "They have some Thursday night thing they do every other week. Bonnie called it their 'If Dinner.'"
"They?" Tony said.
Roger nodded. "Bonnie, Liza, and Min."
"Who's Min?" Tony said, lost again.
"The one I'm not going to sleep with," Cal said. If Bonnie was anything like Min, Roger was in big trouble.
"You seeing Bonnie on Friday?" Tony said to Roger, sticking to the basics.
Roger nodded. "She said they'll
"That you had sex with the suit," Tony said.
"What?" Cal said, squinting at the screen while Elvis sang backup to his morning. "Of course I didn't."
"Oh." Tony nodded. "Well, you've still got a month."
"Tony," Cal said as the list of messages showed up in the window. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm positive it's wasting my time."
"David bet you that you could get the suit into bed in a month," Tony was saying with obvious patience. "I could use the money, too, so if you'd—"
"No," Cal said. "I did not make that bet."
"David thinks you made the bet," Tony said.
"No, he doesn't," Cal said. "Now that he's sober he does not think that he bet me ten thousand dollars I could get a strange woman into bed. Now could we get some work done? There's money in it for you. They pay us to do this stuff."
He slid the folder on his desk across to Tony, who picked it up and leafed through it. "Piece of cake," he said, and began to move away. "Oh, just so you know, Cynthie left with David last night."
"Good for them." Cal turned back to his e-mail.
"This doesn't bother you?" Tony said.
"Why are you harassing me this morning?" Cal said, putting an edge on his voice.
"I just want to make sure you're not going back to her," Tony said. "My future is on the line here."
"How?" Cal said.
"Well, you'll get married first," Tony said, coming back to sit on the corner of Cal's desk. "You always do everything first. And then Roger will get married and you'll both move to the suburbs. And Roger is going to marry somebody as uptight as he is, which means I'll have to live with you, and since Cynthie never did like me, she'd be a problem to convince on that."
"So would I," Cal said. "Get off my desk."
"It wouldn't be
with
you, not in the house," Tony said. "I figure a nice apartment over the garage. It'd be convenient for you. You could come over and watch the game and get drunk and not have to drive home. And I could baby-sit the kids when you and the wife wanted to go out."
"First," Cal said, "I'm not getting married, so forget the wife. Second, if I was insane enough to get married, I wouldn't have kids. Third, if I was insane enough to get married and have kids, it would be a cold day in hell I'd let you baby-sit."
"Well, we'll both have matured by then," Tony said. "I wouldn't let me baby-sit now, either."
"I'm getting married first," Roger said.
They both turned to him, and he smiled back, big, blond, and placid in the sunlight from the big loft windows.
"I'm going to marry Bonnie," Roger said.
Cal frowned at him. "Who's Bonnie?"
"The mini-blonde he met last night," Tony said, disgust in his voice.
"Her name is Bonnie," Roger said, his voice like ice, and both Cal and Tony straightened.
"He's serious," Cal said to Tony. "What happened?"
"The redhead wanted me," Tony said. "So I went over. And Roger followed and hooked up with the mini.. . with Bonnie. And sometime between then and now he lost his mind." He shook his head at Roger.
"This is a woman you've known less than twelve hours. It took you a year to pick out a couch, but you're seriously—"
"Yes," Roger said. "She's the one."
"Maybe," Cal said, thinking,
The hell she is
. "You didn't tell her that, though. Right?"
"No," Roger said. "I thought it was too soon."
"You
think
?" Tony said. "Jesus."
"I'm going to marry her," Roger said, "so stop yelling and get used to it. She's perfect."
"No woman is perfect," Tony said. "Which is why we must keep looking. You going to see her tonight?"
"No," Roger said. "They have some Thursday night thing they do every other week. Bonnie called it their 'If Dinner.'"
"They?" Tony said.
Roger nodded. "Bonnie, Liza, and Min."
"Who's Min?" Tony said, lost again.
"The one I'm not going to sleep with," Cal said. If Bonnie was anything like Min, Roger was in big trouble.
"You seeing Bonnie on Friday?" Tony said to Roger, sticking to the basics.
Roger nodded. "She said they'll
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