“I mean you are still an arse.” She giggles. “But when I first met you, I thought you were lovely. I liked you, properly liked you and then you were an arse when I was naked, then nice again with Peterson, Christian,” she says and laughs again, but throws a cackle in at her own use of her boss’ first name. “Then you said nasty things to me. You called me a slapper,” she accuses but before I can say anything, she continues, and I am forced to disagree with her sentiment that I am anything other than a fucking arse. “You made me cry.”
I have no clue what to say or do but the sound of her snoring lets me off the hook.
“Sorry,” I whisper against her forehead as I lean in to give her a gentle kiss.
From my front door I call to my P.A., Nicola. “I’m working from next door this afternoon.” I see her exchange a glance with Arianna. “Not a word from either of you is required,” I warn.
Nicola looks down at her desk but not my former wife who shoots her own warning back. “You be careful, Mase. She’s very young.”
I shake my head but as I return to my home, to my den where I intend to work from, I ponder Arianna’s words. Olivia is young, about twenty-three I reckon, but she’s not that young, only ten years younger than me, although Arianna is six years older than me so maybe that’s why Olivia might seem younger to her. I do need to be careful though, for both of our sakes. I need to make my intentions clear, if only I knew what they were.
My mind is whirring as I turn on my computer with a plan to work. Unfortunately my plan doesn’t quite pan out as I insist on checking on Olivia every ten minutes until two hours later I turn off my computer having done nothing beyond checking emails and finalising some business travel plans for a few weeks’ time then I head to the kitchen. With a cup of coffee in my hand there’s a knock at the door. The knocker’s identity is no surprise to me, Arianna.
“How is she?” she asks, looking around me for Olivia.
“In bed,” I reply and looking at my ex-wife’s expression I laugh before stepping aside to let her in. “Alone, asleep, so get your mind out the gutter.”
“Sorry, it was just with what you said about her and the other night.”
“I get it,” I acknowledge, wondering if this open relationship we share as friends really is healthy.
“What did you give her to knock her out like that?”
The name of the tablets escapes me. “You remember when I hurt my leg skiing and they gave me those painkillers? I gave her a couple of those.”
“A couple? No wonder she is out for the count. You used to take a couple at a time, but she is half the size and weight of you,” she points out.
“I never thought of that, but she’ll be okay after a sleep though?”
She smiles at my nervousness. “I would imagine she will. So, is she still a one-night wonder?”
Although I keep asking myself this question, I have no answer for her, nor myself. “I dunno what she is.” I sigh. “She is beautiful, funny, smart, and talented and I’d like to see where this could go, but…”
“Are you about to tell me that she’s not for you because she slept with you on the first night?” Arianna sounds irritated by me.
“Yes, no, I don’t know. She’s told me she doesn’t do that, and I want to believe her, I think I do believe her,” I admit aloud and feel relieved to hear those words somewhere other than in my head.
“Then see where it leads. I’m not asking you to marry her or have beautiful babies together,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “Although they would be freakishly attractive.”
I nod with a stupid grin at the image of mine and Olivia’s freakishly attractive children and then allow the woman I once promised to love for the rest of my life to continue.
“What’s the worst that can happen?” She answers for herself. “She turns out to be the slut you intimated, she shags anything with a pulse at every opportunity and doesn’t have a redeeming quality and then, well, you’d have to cut her loose and come home to me, your incredibly attractive and understanding wife.”
I laugh but am stopped dead in my tracks as I see something move at the edge of the room, Olivia, dressed again, looking worse than before when she was disorientated and stoned because she has heard what we were saying, precisely she has heard what Arianna said, the last bit and taken it the wrong way and I was laughing.
“Olivia,” I call as she heads for the door.
“Fuck off!” she fires back. “Both of you, you and your incredibly attractive and understanding fucking wife,” she rants before pausing and turning. “You are sick, both of you, playing these games with people’s lives. Well, I am out of here and if you are planning to mention your contract with my bosses, I am going to say stick it up your arse and sue them if you want to because I am done here. They’ll sack me anyway once you get in first with whatever you plan on telling them, unless Peterson’s in on your warped mind and body fucks.”
“Olivia,” I call again but the door is already slamming behind her.
“Go,” Arianna tells me but as she speaks I am going through the door after Olivia, only to see the lift door closing.
“Miss Carrington?” I ask Nicola who is nodding with a very confused expression on her face.
“Call down to the desk, tell them not to let her leave,” I bark as I rush back to my own lift that is quicker than the office ones because it only currently stops on my floor, ground and the car park level.
“Can I do anything?” Arianna tosses me Olivia’s bag.
