**Jones’ Apartment **

Looping the tie around and through, Dash tightened it into a knot and reached for a comb, running it through his oft unruly hair. It probably needed a trim, which he should see to before the gala.

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, he sipped on it as he checked his schedule for the day. His mind drifted back to last night and he couldn’t help but grin at the memory. By all metrics it had been a perfect evening, one that technically hadn’t ended till he left her place this morning around 0500. And there had even been some sleep. Perhaps not a lot of it, but there had been some. From the showcase, to dinner and dancing, to the night they had spent together, everything had been amazing. Eela had been amazing. He was glad she liked the whole flowers and seeds thing, and it seemed that they were bound to continually surprise each other- a fact that became apparent when she had shown up to dinner wearing that dress. He was going to have to work hard to put the image of her out of his mind, lest Jeannette pick up on his distraction. Not that she didn’t know the pair had gone out. He was sure all of Oed knew at this point, or at least the part of it that watched the social goings on. He and Eela certainly hadn’t been hiding away in the corner at the lounge, nor as they walked the streets hand-in-hand. He loved that she was feeling emboldened by recent experiences, rather than shy. It spoke so much about her as a person.

A chirp of a new message coming in drew his attention. He hadn’t gotten that far yet. He frowned as he saw the sender (weirdly cryptic enough to be anonymous) and he wondered if it was more of the same crap. His heart started to race and he sat in his seat at the desk as he read through the message. Long moments passed after his eyes traced the final words.

He slammed his fist onto the table. Bracing both elbows he held his head in his hands and blew out a breath, trying to still the frustration. Lifting his head his bright blue eyes traced the lines of the message yet again but they were still the same. For several long moments Dashiel’s chest felt tight. How could this be happening? It made no sense!

He deleted the message. Yet again. They could go to hell!

And yet, there was that warning voice in the back of his head that told him that he could be making a huge mistake pretending it didn’t exist. The threat was very very clear. In that same breath though he also knew that to acknowledge it any way was to concede they had a point and invite them into his life. To hell with that. He should say something to someone, but that would put himself in a tricky position that could derail all the good work he was doing. He sighed. He’d figure out what to do later.

Closing out his terminal, Jones finished getting ready for work and left his apartment, tucking all that frustration far away. He was not bringing it to work with him.

~Dashiel Jones, Attaché