Righting Wrongs

Luke could remember quite vividly the moment he knew something had broken in his relationship with Gina. It hadn't been anything dramatic - an argument, a reckless accusation or an infidelity that came to light - but a casual, offhand answer to a question that had somehow told him way more than it was supposed to.

Luke and Gina had met in the office they both still worked at now, and the bond that had slowly and naturally formed between them over time eventually grew into a connection far more substantial than anything he had ever been able to forge through the kind of ****, awkward meet ups he got via dating apps.

Their relationship had never been perfect. Gina was sometimes withdrawn and distant by nature, while Luke had never been good at expressing his feelings, and tended to bottle up any issues he had within the relationship in the hope they would somehow just vanish without being addressed. However, there was no doubt the pair had genuine love for each other and they had spent three mostly happy years together - a virtual lifetime in comparison to Luke's other relationships.

He didn't blame Phil for his relationship ending - it clearly hadn't been destined to last forever anyway - but for him opportunistically exposing the cracks he'd identified within it and calculatedly ripping them wide open, not because he had fallen in love with Gina, but because he wanted someone conventionally attractive to fuck, and her situation made her a super convenient target. Phil's subsequent behaviour had made their break up far more painful, bitter and controversial than it had ever needed to be.

Luke used to think the kind of guys he needed to worry about intruding on his relationship would be the obvious cliched ladies men - handsome and stylish, rich and successful. Now he realised those types were barely a threat at all. If they wanted to get laid they could load up Tinder and swipe for ten minutes. They didn't need to engage in a prolonged and tawdry campaign of trying to incrementally prise someone else's girlfriend away from them.

Phil wasn't a typical ladies man at all. He was average looking at best and entirely unremarkable in every way, the type who would get completely lost in the mix under any normal circumstances. Which, Luke supposed, led him to resort to the kind of tactics he had employed to get to Gina.

From the moment Phil had arrived in their office he had been inappropriate with Luke's girlfriend, but in a carefully calculated way that could always be passed off as just being friendly, and which would make Luke look jealous and insecure if he dared to call out.

Luke could see exactly what was going on, though. The little presents. The private jokes Phil drew Gina into. The compliments about her hair or clothes. The constant fucking texts.

Gina, for her part, probably enjoyed the attention, with the phase of their relationship where Luke had been giddy with excitement at seeing her naturally having passed after several years of constantly being in each other's company. Eventually, Luke had snapped and the couple had rowed over the way Phil always was with Gina, and how he perceived her indulging and encouraging such behaviour. He had indeed been accused of being jealous and insecure, as well as petty and controlling. Luke imagined his partner going straight to Phil to cry on his shoulder about her horrible boyfriend while he pretended to be sympathetic and rubbed his hands like a fucking Bond villain.

It was during that time the fateful remark had been made.

It was a Friday evening. Date night. It always had been, ever since they first got together. Gina used to get excited about it - maybe less so as time went by, but it still seemed to be important to her. That was until this particular Friday. They had been driving home from work together after what had been another Phil heavy day for Gina. An awkward silence was hanging in the air, which Luke decided to break.

"So, date night. What do you want to do?"

"I don't care"

Gina's answer could have been interpreted in a different way, of course - "I'm easy", "Whatever you like", "Anything with you would be wonderful, darling" - but Luke knew exactly what she had meant. Those three short, simple but brutal words were a statement on her lack of interest in their entire relationship by that point. He could feel in his gut right there and then that it was over. He realised that, eventually, she would leave him and get together with Phil, while still telling him he had been wrong about them all along. He just had to let it all play out slowly and agonisingly in front of him first.

But now, if the Romance Mechanic really did do everything it appeared to, he could take his ex right back from Phil. He didn't even want or need Gina anymore, not with the way things were going with Stef, Rachel, potentially the hot waitress girl and whoever else might catch his eye. But he still wanted to take her away from Phil, and to do it blatantly, publicly and rub it right in his stupid fucking face.

He just needed to test the app worked on one more person first - the rule of three and all that. He fired off his latest report to Diane. His phone buzzed - she was on one full heart now. He was ready to strike.

Not too long after, Luke's boss walked out of her office.

"Um, excuse me, Diane?"

As she walked over to him, Luke briefly wondered if he should back out of this while he was still able to. What he was about to do couldn't be brushed off as a joke if it backfired. However, such was his increasing trust in the power of the Romance Mechanic, he didn't let that concern stop him.

"Yes, Luke. Can you keep it short, I'm running a little behind schedule today?"

"Would you like to go on a date with me?"

"A date?"

"Yes"

She paused for a moment, and Luke briefly feared he had placed way too much faith in a magical dating app.

"Sure. Is tonight any good for you? As I say, I'm running late but hopefully I'll be out of the door here by seven"

"He can't tonight, he's dating the girl from the coffee shop" Rachel interjected helpfully from her desk, having overheard the exchange "And I'm seeing him at the weekend. I think we settled on Saturday"

"Oh"

Diane paused thoughtfully again, before turning back to Luke.

"Check my calendar and stick an evening that suits you in there, I'll make it work"

Wow. So that was it. The Romance Mechanic really did everything it claimed to. That had been, to Luke's mind, proof beyond all reasonable doubt. It seemed like he could now date anyone he wanted - even his sexy MILF boss wasn't off limits. Suck on that, Phil!

At some point towards the end of the working day Luke saw Gina drifting towards the kitchen area and decided to follow her there. Honestly, even without the motivating factor of the Romance Mechanic and the opportunity to spite Phil, it would still be better to clear the air with his ex.

"Hey"

"Hey"

The atmosphere was frosty for sure, but Luke could sense Gina was as keen for it to thaw as he was. His pride couldn't let that happen while she was dating Phil if there was nothing he could do to stop it, but now he had a way of righting that wrong.

"I was hoping you and I could be friends again. I mean, we were pretty good buddies before things got serious between us, right?"

Luke could instantly feel his phone buzzing.

"I'd really like that" Gina replied quickly "I know things have been a bit shit between us lately, but I'll always care deeply about you as a person, and I do respect how maturely you've handled how things have panned out with me and Phil. I don't expect you and him to ever be mates, but it would be great if we could all be civil with each other"

"Yeah, I'll try. It might take some time"

"Sure, that's fair"

Right on cue, Phil walked into the room. That wasn't a fucking coincidence. He strolled over cockily towards Gina and put an arm around her. Classy. Interestingly, she looked like that overly possessive and tactless gesture had made her feel uncomfortable.

"Hey, everything okay here?"

Jesus, did he think he was going to ride in like a white knight and rescue Gina from the friendly clear the air conversation she was having?

"It's all fine. Phil"

Luke had known Gina long enough and well enough to sense the irritation in her voice.

"Yeah. all good. I was just getting back to my desk"

"Thanks Luke, I know this is probably a bit weird for you, but I hope we can all handle it corporately. We do have to work together, after all"

Luke checked his phone again as he made his way back to his desk and smiled to himself with satisfaction.

Enjoy her while you have her, you smug cunt. You've got about three days before I'm dating her again. Let's see how fucking corporate you are when that happens.