She settles herself at her desk. ‘I tried calling you yesterday after you left. ’
‘You did?’ I frown, but then realise that I probably cleared Sally’s missed call with the dozens of others from Jesse.
‘Yes, that angry man came into the office shortly after you left. ’
‘He did?’ I should have known.
‘He did. And his mood had not improved. ’ she says dryly.
I can imagine. I smile. ‘Did you give him a cuddle?’
Sally snorts, flopping back in her chair in another fit of laughter. I join her, laughing helplessly as I watch Sal fall apart all over her desk.
Patrick walks in and looks at both of us in exasperation before making his way to his own office, shutting the door behind him.
Oh, shit! ‘Was Patrick here?’ I ask.
She takes her glasses off and starts cleaning them with the hem of her brown, polyester blouse. ‘What? When the lunatic came in? No, he was collecting Irene from the train station. ’
Author: Jodi Ellen Malpas
I let out a sigh of relief. What’s Jesse thinking? He’s a client. He can’t come into my office and start throwing his weight around. I can hardly pass off Jesse’s temper as a normal client grievance scenario. He’s already heaved me out of the office once.
The office door opens and the flower delivery girl –Lusso girl again – trundles in with two lavish sprays. ‘Flower deliveries for Ava and Sally?’
I watch as Sally nearly passes out at her desk. I bet she’s never had flowers brought for her. I already know who they’re from, though. The smooth bastard.
‘Me?’ Sally gushes, grabbing the colourful bouquet from the delivery girl and shooing her towards my desk.
‘Thanks. ’ I smile, taking the simple spray of calla lilies before signing on behalf of Sally and myself. Sal looks like she might be in a daydream for the rest of the day. ‘What does the card say, Sal?’ I call, watching her eyes dart from left to right across the words.
She leans back, placing her hand over her heart. ‘It says…“Please accept my apologies. That woman makes me crazy” Oh, Ava!’ She looks up at me all soppy. ‘I would love to make a man that crazy!’
I roll my eyes, retrieving the card from my own flowers. I bet I don’t have an apology. And Sally wouldn’t be saying that if she was on the receiving end of Jesse’s unreasonable, neurotic behavior. I make him crazy? What a joke.
I open my card.
You’re the one I’ve been waiting for…
Jx
My soppy side swoons slightly, but then the sensible side of my brain – the part that’s not completely consumed with Jesse – is screaming that The One is actually someone who drops to their knees and obeys his every command, demand and instruction. While I’m fully aware that I’ve done exactly that, on numerous occasions, I also need to keep a hold of my identity and my mind. It’s bloody hard when I’m so affected by this man. He’s already got my body – or claimed it, more like.
My phone starts ringing. I ignore the pang of disappointment at hearing the standard ringtone, but I can’t ignore the pang of panic when I see Matt’s name flashing up on the screen, though. What does he want?
‘Hello?’ I greet as bored as I intended it to be.
‘Ava, I didn’t think you would answer. ’ His voice is cautious, and it should be after the stunt he pulled. I don’t know why I even answered.
‘Why would you think that, Matt?’ The sarcasm is dripping from my voice. The worm has a nerve after what he said and how he behaved.
‘I’m sorry, Ava. I was bang out of line. Everything got on top of me. My boss told me that redundancies are going to be happening…and…it…urm…well, it put me on edge. ’
Oh, lovely. So he thought he’d try to get me back on that basis? Does he want financial security if he happens to lose his job? Cheeky twat! Does he realise what he’s just said?
‘I’m sorry about that. ’ I reply flatly.
‘Thanks. It just brought things home. I’ve lost you, and now I might be losing my job. It’s all gone tits up. ’ His voice is quivering with emotion.