“When is Eloise coming back?” The words are curt, but I’m holding on by a thread.
Zara blinks, then gathers herself. “She has four months left on her maternity leave.” She lifts her chin. “If you’d like me to look for a temporary replacement, then I can?—”
“No, no,” I say, feeling like an asshole. “That wasn’t why I was asking.”
“No?” There’s a faint tremor in her voice.
God, now I feel even worse. The phone has stopped, at least. I asked because I don’t want her to leave me. But I can’t tell her that.
“No,” I say. “Er, payroll were asking about it. So I thought I’d ask you.” Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. But I don’t want to hurt her anymore.
She’s an amazing assistant, to be honest. Even better than Eloise. My life runs like a well-oiled machine, thanks to Zara. She seems to be able to anticipate my every need, always one step ahead. Like the artwork file she’s brought me. I’ve been meaning to ask her to get it, even scribbled a note to myself the other day. And she’s made it happen before I even asked.
So, the fact that I want to bend her over the desk and have my way with her will have to wait. I can fuck anytime. But good assistants are difficult to find.
ChapterTwo
Zara
“Nice suit.”
“Thanks.” I’m in the break room with Georgia from HR. She’s one of the nicest people at the company, though almost everyone is pretty friendly. Georgia is gorgeous, petite and curvy with smooth dark hair that falls over one side of her face in waves. Pretty much everyone who works here is good-looking and stylish. I feel as though I stick out like a sore thumb. I’m still shaken by Myles asking when Eloise is coming back. It’s obvious he can’t wait until I leave. I just have to hang on and save as much money as I can until then.
I try to put Myles out of my mind, but it’s not easy. There was a moment earlier, when I handed him the folder, that his expression had softened, his grey gaze clearing like thunderclouds moving away. It’s almost worse, to be honest, when he looks at me like that.
“Where’d you get it?”
“Oh, I don’t remember.” My cheeks heat up. I bought my suit at a charity shop. I know vintage and recycling is cool, but Georgia always looks really put together. I don’t need her knowing my clothes budget, or lack thereof.
Saving towards my dream is what keeps me going, keeps me working hard. That, and my relationship with Dean.
I met him at one of those summer pub-crawl mixer type things, a bunch of different companies getting together at a bar in London. I’d clocked him from across the room. Tall, with sandy blond hair pushed back from his face, smart suit and, when I got to speak to him, one of those posh public schoolboy accents. He’d been educated at Oxford, he told me, as we sipped our drinks and twirled under electric stars, Take That playing on the sound system. I’d gone home with him.
Eloise had been cautious when I told her about him, told me to be careful as I was swept into a sparkling summer whirlwind of sun-kissed dates and some of the best sex I’ve ever had. Repeated her warning when he told me he loved me, just weeks after meeting, when we talked about moving in together. “If he’s what you want, Zara, I’m here for you,” she’d said. “Of course I am. I just want you to be loved the way you deserve.”
I feel loved, definitely. I just wish I could see him more often.
“Let me see the label.”
Georgia, bless her soul, is pulling at the neck of my jacket. I grin, unbuttoning it and slipping my arms out of the sleeves to hand it to her.
“Ooh,” she says, her eyebrows lifting. “Me and Em. Very nice.”
“Is it?” I hadn’t checked the brand, to be honest. I’d just liked the feel of the fabric.
“Yes.” She gives me back the jacket. “Why’d you get it two sizes too big, though? If I had a waist like yours, I’d be showing it off all the time.” She giggles, reaching for a chocolate biscuit. I grab one too.
“It was the only size they had,” I say, shrugging. “I should probably get it taken in.”
Or not. I prefer to keep things as professional as possible. I’ve encountered enough groping bosses, especially while temping, that I’ve learned to keep covered up. Not that I think Myles would grope me. But my small wardrobe is all I have; I don’t have the money to spare for alterations or replacements.
“So.” Georgia leans in, her eyes bright. “I hear Big Red was in this morning. There’s a pool on as to how long it’s going to be before she and Myles break up again. With a bonus if she shows up in lingerie to try and get him back. I’ve bet next Monday.”
“There is?” This seems disrespectful at best. I feel a sudden surge of protectiveness towards Myles. Big Red is completely ridiculous and inappropriate, of course, but she seems to get away with it. I can’t understand why he keeps taking her back, though.
“Oh, you know it’s just fun.” Georgia waves her hand, wrinkling her nose. “You have to admit though, he’s a terrible picker where women are concerned.”
“He is?” All I’d known about Myles before I started working for him was that he seemed to date an endless stream of gorgeous women. And that he was very private about it, despite the sometimes breathless reporting in the tabloids.
