“She got over it pretty quickly. I offered to do the P.A. side of things. As long as the appointments are in check, she’s fine. It’s been crazy busy without you.”
I smile. “I owe you.”
“A coffee would be great to start with,” he shouts after me as I leave to get the drinks.
I go across the street to the deli that the dragon boss likes, and I order her a coffee and croissant. She has the same thing every day yet remains the size of a stick insect. Lucky cow.
I’m standing in line when someone taps me on the shoulder. It’s Chris. He’s an accountant who does the books for NewVision. We went on a double date when I tried to set Anna up with his friend a few months back. It didn’t end too well between those two and so things just died off between me and Chris.
“Hey,” he says and smiles. “I thought it was you.”
“How are you, Chris?” I ask.
“I’m great, Eva. I was gonna call, but . . . ”
“Oh god, don’t do that.” I wince. “It’ll just make things awkward.”
He laughs. “Sorry, you’re right. Maybe we could catch a drink sometime? Just me and you?”
I smile. “Maybe. I’ll call you.” The barista calls me, so I give Chris a parting wave and place my order. He’s nice. Not exactly hot by Kings Reapers standards, but he’s not bad. I guess I want that spark and I don’t have it with Chris. Anna is always taking the piss outta me. She calls me a hopeless romantic because I believe there’s someone out there for everyone. Chris just isn’t my one.
When I return to the office, the dragon boss has already arrived. I smile brightly and place the items on her desk. “Good morning, Michelle. How have you been?” I ask.
“Busy. Get up to date with Kyle and we’ll meet in an hour,” she says stiffly. I’m relieved—her attitude is usually so much worse.
Kyle shows me some of the new accounts. He’s the photographer employed by NewVision, but he’s using the company as his steppingstone because he really wants to work for a celebrity magazine or similar. I’m at my happiest when I’m organising things, and I stumbled into this role as Michelle’s personal assistant six months ago when I spotted her looking harassed in a coffee shop. I got her a coffee as a goodwill gesture and told her to relax a little. From then, she offered me a role in her new firm. NewVision is only a year old. Her husband, Callum, invested in it to keep Michelle busy and now she’s determined to show him that she’s a great businesswoman.
By lunchtime, I’m up to date and feel like I’ve never been away. I decided to work through my lunch because Michelle made a big deal in our meeting about my absence, telling me I need to prove to her how much I want to progress in her company. She really thinks she’s a corporate-size business, and I was left wondering where exactly she thinks I want to go in this company because there’s only three of us as it is.
Michelle’s husband turns up to take her to lunch and his creepy eyes light up when he sees me. “You’re back?” he says happily.
“Looks that way.” I smile. His eyes stare at my chest for way too long. He owns a huge banking firm, and Kyle tells me he’s a millionaire, but he comes across like a sleazeball.
Kyle waits for her to go and then turns to me excitedly. “So, the dragon boss has a guy on the side.”
“What?” I gasp. “Since when?”
“. I took her for lunch to relax her after working on the Clemmie account and she got drunk.” The Clemmie family is one of our biggest clients with all of their family members on our books, and they’re highly sought after but very demanding. “She got so drunk, she spilled her guts about a piece of ass that she’s falling for.”
“Wow. Just shows all that money can’t buy happiness,” I say. “Do we know him?”
Kyle shakes his head. “She didn’t say his name, just that he’s a very private person, and to him, it’s a casual fling. It’s her kids I feel for. Miriam is only eight and Anthony is twelve.”
“I’d like to know where she gets the time to fuck anything with two kids, a business, and a millionaire husband. I can’t even bag myself one guy let alone two.”
“No luck finding him these last few weeks then?” I shake my head. It’s no secret that I’m looking for my Prince Charming. Everyone who knows me knows I believe in romance.
When I get home from work, I’m shattered. I pop a meal for one into the oven and then go for a shower. It’s nice to be home and all, but I miss the noise and chaos of the club.
I stare at the dried-up lasagne and sigh. I tip it into the bin and pick up my cell. I need to make changes in my life if I want to find my Prince Charming.
Cree
I pace the stuffy office. “You seem stressed,” says Doctor Chapman.
“Cos, I don’t wanna be here,” I mutter.
“That’s something to take up with your probation officer. Maybe if you take a seat and relax, you’ll find these sessions helpful.”
I scoff. “I doubt that.”
“You’ve had two sessions now and you spend the entire time pacing. You have to make progress, or I can’t write the report to release you from these sessions,” she says. I sigh and take a seat. “Good. Let’s start with your sleeping routine,” she says.
“What the fuck’s that gotta do with shit?” I growl.
“You’d be surprised. How many hours a night do you sleep?”
I shrug and rub the three-day-old growth on my face.
