Diplomacy

gather you and Lucas are still an item?” Mark asked glancing sideways.
    “Yeah,” Jack answered, surprised at his own hesitance.
    “Good,” Mark stated.
    “Good?”
    “Yeah, good.”
    Jack could tell Mark was having fun teasing him. “What exactly do you mean by that?”
    Mark drank again and took his time answering, which made Jack a little nervous.
    “It means that all those nights I spent in that cold uncomfortable car in front of his apartment were worth it.”
    “You…. You mean you actually stayed…”
    “Not to mention all the times I told your wife you were in a meeting while I was sitting there, freezing my ass off.” Jack chuckled nervously and looked at Mark, who was still gazing out towards the rest of the bar. “Why did you?”
    “It was my job to always know where you were. At all times,” Mark answered.

    190 | Z a h r a O w e n s

    Jack was confused, “I know that, but why did you lie to Maria? I’m sure it wasn’t in your job description to provide me with an alibi for my extramarital activities.”
    Mark looked him straight in the eye. “Did you think you were the only guy in your line of work who slept around?” Jack shook his head. “But I wasn’t just sleeping around, was I?”
    “I didn’t get paid to form an opinion on whether it was worse that you cheated on your wife with another guy than with another woman.
    What mattered was that I knew where you were and that you were relatively safe. Plus, part of my job was also to protect your reputation and if that included lying to your wife…”
    Jack didn’t know what to say. “I’m sure you had your opinion on the matter?”
    “And you had your opinion on the crises you were asked to mediate. We talked about it in the car from time to time, remember? It didn’t stop you from defending something you didn’t believe in. And let’s face it, I wasn’t trying to change the point of view of world leaders, I was just trying to make sure you could do your job, so my opinion was inconsequential.”
    The discussion was definitely turning serious, so Jack was surprised to see a broad smile forming on Mark’s face.
    “There’s just one thing I’ve been dying to ask you, though.”
    “Shoot,” Jack answered, glad to switch to some lighter banter.
    “That day of the lock-down, when that madman was trying to blow up his car in the tunnels in front of the Embassy?” Jack nodded, remembering the day well.
    “Did you screw Lucas over your desk?”
    Jack choked mid-swallow and coughed on the beer caught in his throat. He was speechless. How did Mark know? And if Mark knew, Gertje must have known as well. God knows how many other people had passed by his office door that day and wondered at the strange noises from within.
    Mark was a good friend, even though they had lost contact after they both sought other employment. Could he just come out and say it?

    D i p l o m a c y | 191

    Could he just admit that the tense situation had made both him and Lucas horny enough to have a quick shag in his office?
    “I guess that’s a yes, then,” Mark stated as he emptied his bottle of beer and motioned to the bartender to bring them both another one.
    “How did you know? I didn’t think we were that loud,” Jack tried as he regained his composure.
    “Don’t worry about it, Jack. I should call Gertje though, she owes me a hundred euros.”
    Jack buried his face in his hands. This was embarrassing. Here he was thinking he was totally comfortable in his relationship with Lucas, but Mark and Gertje’s acceptance of that relationship almost five years ago made him blush like a school girl. The two of them had been relaxed enough about it to make a bet?
    “I can’t believe this,” Jack shook his head, trying to will himself to stop blushing.
    Mark laughed. “So you see, it’s good that you two are still together.”
    Jack began to relax. “Were we really that loud?”
    “Naah. I heard some, well, strange noises when I put my ear to the door, but what really gave you away was what I saw when you opened it.” Jack was almost afraid to ask. “What did you see?”
    “Both of you, flushed, clothes a little rumpled and shirts badly tucked back inside your trousers. Your desk practically cleared, but papers all over the floor and Mr. Carlton… Lucas looked like a school boy who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. You were calm and collected though, as usual.”
    Jack nodded. He should have known Mark’s eagle eyes