‘Morning, Ava.’ I hear Clive call to my back.
‘Morning,’ I slip my shades on and emerge into the sunshine, coming to an abrupt halt when I spot John leaning against his Range Rover.
Really?
He lifts his glasses up and shrugs his big shoulders at me. Oh good, he thinks this is stupid too, but I need my car today so I can collect my stuff from Matt’s after work.
I walk over. ‘John, I can drive to work.’ I say on a tired tone.
‘I don’t think you can, girl.’ he rumbles. What’s he talking about? ‘Your car’s being valeted.’ He shrugs again and slides behind the wheel. I swing around and see an army of men cleaning my car.
Oh, for God’s sake. I drag my keys from my bag and find my car key missing. Later, I will be explaining to Mr Control Freak that snooping through a woman’s handbag – and phone, come to think of it – is bloody rude. Why didn’t he consult me on this? This is bad news. I could ring Kate. She’ll take me. I dial her.
‘Yo!’ She’s chirpy.
‘Hey, can you take me to Matt’s after work to get my stuff?’ I spit my request out as fast as I can.
‘Sure.’
‘Great, see you for lunch. Oh, by the way, Jesse is coming.’ I hang up and jump in next to John. He is wearing his usual ensemble of black suit and black shirt. How many black suits can one man have?
‘Do you think he’s unreasonable and challenging?’ I ask casually, flipping the visor down to put some lip gloss on.
‘Yes, girl,’ he rumbles. ‘But, like I said, only with you.’
I drop my hand into my lap and look over at John, who is tapping the steering wheel as usual. ‘So, he doesn’t behave like a madcap at work then?’
‘Nope.’
I frown. ‘He’s easygoing?’
‘Yep,’
I sigh heavily, just so John knows that I want more than that. ‘Why?’
He looks at me, dazzling me with his white teeth, and I catch a glimpse of the illusive gold one. ‘Girl, don’t be too harsh on the crazy mother f**ker. He’s never cared before you.’
I sit back in my seat and listen to John commence humming to match his taps. Jesse can’t have never cared for anything. He’s thirty seven.
‘How old is he?’ I ask on a smile, earning myself another dazzler from John.
‘He’s thirty seven. But you know that now, don’t you, girl?’
Oh no!
I die a thousand deaths on the spot and turn a thousand shades of red. I forgot Jesse had to be rescued. I bet John got a right eyeful. I start laughing to myself when I think of what John must have walked in on – a bedroom, with one naked God handcuffed to the bed, a diamante embellished vibrator, my new black lace underwear sprawled on the floor and the aforementioned naked God making holes in the wall with said vibrator. I bet John thought it was hilarious and Jesse obviously explained how and why he ended up handcuffed to the bed.
I’m beyond embarrassed.
We make the rest of the journey in silence, except for John’s humming. I can’t look at him. He drops me off at Berkeley Square and I run to my office to escape my discomfort, giving him a quick wave over my shoulder. How am I ever going to face him again?
I wander to my desk and see Sally at the filing cabinet. She looks suicidal. The high neck, polyester blouse is back and the fire cracker nail polish has disappeared. It is definitely as I expected. Men are such wankers. I elect not to mention it, she won’t appreciate it.
‘Morning, Sally.’ I try not to sound too upbeat. She lifts a heavy head and offers a small smile before returning to her filing. I feel bad for her. ‘Where is everyone?’ I ask. She shrugs. Oh, this is bad, so I resign myself to shutting up and getting on with things.
My morning is very productive. I finalise a few accounts and update myself on all of my live clients. At twelve forty five, I leave for lunch.
I enter the bar and spot Kate at our usual table. She scowls at me as I approach. ‘Your telephone etiquette needs some work.’ she snipes.
I had been rather abrupt this morning, but I was too busy dealing with my challenging man to worry about telephone manners. ‘I’m sorry.’ I sit down and come face to face with a big glass of wine. ‘Fuck! Kate, get rid of it!’ I shove it to her side of the table.
She gives me daggers. ‘I thought you might need it.’
Yes, I really do, but Jesse will be here soon and what would it look like if I’m sat here slurping wine? That would be cruel and extremely thoughtless. I make a grab for Kate’s glass and she throws herself on it.
‘Kate, he’ll be here soon.’
‘Hey! Put the wine down!’ she demands in a stern voice. ‘He’s not my boyfriend.’
I can’t believe she’s doing this. How inconsiderate of her. She refuses to let go, and I glare at her as I release her glass. She picks it up and takes a long swig while watching me.
‘You cow!’ I toss at her, and she grins around the rim. I grab my wine and down the lot in one foul swoop. Kate bursts into laughter. Oh God, that was good. It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve had a drink which is an all-time record for me. I let out a long, satisfied gasp.
‘You did need it.’ Kate confirms the obvious.
‘Yes. And probably another.’ I sulk. Guilt washes over me at my weakness and I look over my shoulder before running to the bar to deposit my empty. I feel like a delinquent child. ‘Oh, and don’t tell Jesse you love him. It makes his head swell.’ I moan as I sit back down.