‘Sorry, I hadn’t realised. I just, I didn’t look at my phone and…’ Before I can stop them, tears are filling my eyes. ‘I’m sorry, it’s none of my business who you date. It’s just been a long weekend.’
Amanda closes my office door then sits on the edge of my desk. ‘Is your dad okay?’
I shake my head.
She leans down to my chair and hugs me until my shoulders stop chugging with each breath. Then she pulls away from me and strokes damp strands of hair from my cheeks.
‘How did you get that?’
‘It’s nothing,’ I say, pulling my face away from her and shielding my marked temple with my hand. ‘This is ridiculous, I’m a mess, I’m sorry.’
‘Stop apologising. You apologise far too much. Why don’t you go home and be with your dad? Nothing here can be that urgent and if anyone argues, send them to me.’ She throws her hands on her hips and purses her lips.
‘No, I have too much to do. Plus, it’s about the only place I can be to take my mind off it all. It might be the only thing I have left soon.’
Her soft smile is doused in heartbreaking sympathy.
‘You know, if you need anything, anything at all.’
‘I know.’
As the day goes on, I wake up and seem to be getting through my work at a much quicker rate. Thankfully, Jack’s away for the day.
Margaret forces me to eat a hot meal before she heads home at five-thirty, leaving a bag of snacks on my desk. I lose myself in my work and remember how much I love it, how big the Eclectic Technologies deal could be for me.
To: Heath, Scarlett
From: Ryans, Gregory
Sent: Monday 13 Oct 2025 21.46
Subject: Meeting
Good evening Scarlett,
I hope you enjoyed the rest of your weekend. How are you progressing with your due diligence? When will you be in a position to set a time for our meeting to discuss your findings?
Regards,
Gregory Ryans
CEO Eclectic Technologies
I stare at the email, scrutinising every character, as if it’s a crime scene and I’m an investigator searching for clues. The fact that I’m delighted to hear from Gregory adds to my terror that he might know just how much I enjoyed Friday. My fingertips move to my cheek, remembering the feel of his hot breath on my flesh. My tongue strokes my top lip and my back arches away from my chair as I recall the way he drove me to touch myself, the image of him naked, crawling over me, sating my hunger for him. Christ! Our relationship has to be strictly business. This deal means too much to the firm, to me. And more than anything, doing well at work means too much to my dad: that look in his eyes, his pride. Falling for Gregory is not something I can afford to do.
My first response is an email thanking him for dinner. I delete it. I shouldn’t draw attention to our time outside work. My second response stays on the computer screen long enough for me to read it eighteen times. Then delete it.
More than an hour later, I reply.
To: Ryans, Gregory
From: Heath, Scarlett
Sent: Monday 13 Oct 2025 22.53
Subject: Re: Meeting
Gregory,
