Part 2The Office Darling

Mark, probably sensing my awkwardness, tried to include me.

"Chloe plays games too, you know," he announced. "We could all team up for some ranked matches sometime."

Tiffany shot me a sideways glance, then stuck out her tongue playfully. "But I only know how to play support! If she joins, what will *I* do?"

I was about to say that I can play any role—it’s a team strategy game, not a gender-assigned chore—but she cut me off, changing the subject before I could even open my mouth.

"Oh, by the way, my computer has been acting so weird," she whined, turning to another guy. "Kyle, you *have* to take a look after lunch. I'm just helpless with this stuff."

Kyle immediately promised he would, and just like that, the conversation moved on. Mark just gave me a helpless shrug.

When we got to the restaurant, Tiffany walked straight to the head of the large round table and sat down.

Someone joked, "Queen Tiff has to have her throne."

She playfully swatted the air. "Oh, you guys are the worst! Stop calling me that."

Kyle then piped up, "Hey Tiff, who's older, you or Chloe? You two look about the same age."

Tiffany’s hand, which was reaching for her water glass, froze mid-air. She put the glass down, her gaze slowly drifting over to me. She put on a hesitant expression, as if she was embarrassed to say. Only when all the guys were looking did she lower her voice. "Well, Chloe has such a… *mature* vibe, you know? So professional. I bet she's older than me, maybe by a couple of years?" She dragged out the last few words.

Her voice had this forced, breathy quality. I had a feeling she was putting it on. When we were alone at the elevator, she sounded completely normal. The guys seemed to eat it up, but to me, it was like nails on a chalkboard.

I looked right at her, my tone even. "I'm twenty-two. How about you, Tiffany?"

The smile on her face froze solid. I already knew from Mark that Tiffany had been with the company for three years. Do the math. She had to be at least twenty-five.

Her face flushed, then paled. She was speechless. Finally, she just dropped the act, glared at Kyle, and snapped, "A girl's age is a secret! Why would you ask something like that, Kyle?"

Hilarious. She didn’t seem to mind talking about age when she was trying to imply I was old.

I ignored her and went back to the menu.

Throughout the meal, Tiffany remained the center of attention. One minute the food was too hot, the next there were too many bones.

The guys played along. "Gotta take care of the office darling!" one of them chimed in.

"She's not just the darling, she's our mascot!" another added.

Tiffany reveled in it, laughing so hard she almost fell out of her chair. A darling? A mascot? Are we talking about a person or a poodle?

"Chloe's a girl too, she needs taking care of," Mark said with a good-natured laugh.

Tiffany’s face fell. "You guys are all the same. Always looking for the new shiny toy. Men!"

I just ate my food quietly and didn't say another word.

On the way back to the office, Tiffany suddenly stopped. "Oh, my shoelace is untied! Can someone give me a hand?"

I instinctively started to offer, but she looked right past me, pouting at the guys behind her. "I'm wearing a skirt, it's so inconvenient to bend over. What if I flash someone by accident?"

A few of the guys rushed to help. I didn’t break my stride. I just walked straight into the building.