But not anymore.
Maria is walking across the office, her coat on and her laptop bag slung over her shoulder, looking like she is ready for another day of work. But the only problem with that is the working day is over. So why does she look like she is just starting?
Walking out from behind my desk, I open my office door and look out, and that’s when it’s Maria’s turn to almost jump out of her skin at a loud noise that she wasn’t expecting.
‘Sam! You almost frightened me to death!’
I would normally apologise for that, but the sight of her terrified face coupled with her panicked Spanish accent is actually quite funny, and I can’t help but laugh. Of course, I feel bad instantly and try to stifle it, but that only makes it worse, and now I’ve got the giggles. It must be the adrenaline running through my system after I heard the loud noise, or maybe it’s the caffeine from the cola kicking in, but now I am really laughing hard, and it’s not long until Maria has joined me.
By the time we both pull ourselves together, I have invited her into my office, where I have decided that it’s time to do something that I swore I would never do.
Drink alcohol in the workplace.
As Maria tells me about how she came back to the office to pick up a report that she had left behind, I open the bottom drawer of my pedestal and take out the bottle of whiskey that I won in the Christmas raffle last year. I’ve never been a big whiskey drinker, which explains why the bottle has sat in my drawer unopened for months, but there is something about tonight that makes me feel like saying what the hell. Tomorrow promises to be a terrible day when my PI tells me that they have nothing on Alexandra and I realise I have not just blown a load of money on my silly pursuit of the truth but also blown any chance I had of getting Rebecca back in my life.
With that in mind, I might as well get blind drunk and add a hangover to tomorrow’s proceedings as well.
‘Fancy a drink in the kitchen?’ I offer Maria as I crack open the bottle and gesture towards the door.
‘I don’t know if that’s a good idea,’ she tells me, and I smile.
‘It’s definitely not a good idea, but you know me. When have I ever had a good idea in this place?’
Maria laughs and follows me out of the room, telling me that she will stay for one, which is all I need because at least I will have some company for the first of what will most likely be far too many drinks this evening.
I manage to procure a couple of cups from the kitchen cupboards while Maria takes a seat at the table where so many of our colleagues have their meals at a more respectable time than this. Then I pour two hearty measures of whiskey before slotting another fifty pence piece into the vending machine and getting another can of cola out of it so that we have something to help the spirit go down more smoothly.
‘Cheers,’ I say as I raise my drink, and Maria says the same thing as she bumps her cup against mine.
We both take a thirsty gulp, and it’s only then that I notice I have taken out our manager’s cup. Ed will not be happy if he found out that two of his employees were sitting in the office kitchen drinking whiskey, but he would be even more annoyed if he found out that one of them had been doing it while using his beloved Ipswich Town mug.
‘See, I told you things didn’t have to be weird between us after what happened the other night,’ I say to my colleague with a wry grin, and she bursts out laughing, which is the exact reaction that I was hoping to get from her.
‘Yeah, not weird at all,’ she replies sarcastically with a roll of her eyes, and I smile before taking another sip of my drink which is far too strong and will definitely be giving me a pounding headache in the morning if I have more than one.
‘Why do you like me?’ I suddenly ask, and the question is out of my mouth before I even have a chance to analyse it internally.
‘Sorry?’ Maria asks, clearly confused as to why I would ask her such a direct thing.
‘The other night when you tried to kiss me. I was just wondering why me? Why not any of the other guys who work here?’
Maria thinks about her answer for a second before giving me a deadpan answer.
‘How do you know I didn’t try and kiss all the other guys in the office first, and you were the last one left?’ she replies, and it’s a good answer.
I laugh and shrug my shoulders, admitting that she might have a point before she corrects me and gets serious for a moment.
‘I don’t know. I guess I’ve always liked you. Ever since we met here. It was in this room, actually. I was being shown around the office on my first day, and you were in here using the vending machine. Do you remember?’
I do remember it. I remember it well, and the reason for that is because of how Maria looked when I first saw her that day. She certainly didn’t look like any of the women I had ever worked with before. But I think it might not be wise to say that, so I just nod my head and let her continue.
‘You were polite to me, just like all the other guys around here were. But you were different in that you were obviously not just doing it because you found me attractive. You were doing it because you were nice. I could tell that from the second I met you.’
‘So that’s it?
