I examine my face in the mirror for a moment. I expect to see bags underneath my eyes, my cheeks sunken in and a grey tinge to my skin. But I look normal. Like Kimberley isn’t having any effect on me. That’s something I suppose. I loosen my tie a little bit and nod my head in satisfaction. The slightly more casual look will let her know I’m not in the least bit worried about this.
“Don’t you dare fuck this up,” I say to myself in the mirror.
I leave the bathroom to find Bernie coming into my office.
“Everything ok?” I ask her.
I want her to say no. Something major has come up. Something only you can fix, and you have to leave right now. Of course she doesn’t.
“Yeah. I just popped in to tell you Kimberley Montgomery is here for your meeting,” she says.
Of course Kimberley is early. As if Little Miss Corporate would be anything but efficient.
“Thanks Bernie. Let her in. And can you grab us some coffee?”
“Sure,” she says. She smirks. “She’s very pretty.”
I need to nip any ideas Bernie has of acting as my wing man in the bud right now.
“Been there done that Bernie, and it was nothing special,” I say.
Bernie’s jaw drops and then she gives a low whistle.
“Oh my God. You’re in love with her aren’t you? Is that why you’ve been acting so strange lately?”
“What? I’m not in love with her,” I say. “I wish everyone would stop saying that. And I haven’t been acting strange.”
“Whatever you say,” she grins as she walks away from me.
Why the hell does everyone think I’m in love with Kimberley? I mean I know people say there’s a fine line between love and hate, but this is getting ridiculous now. I don’t even hate her. I just strongly dislike her. And Bernie doesn’t even know I have history with her. Is there something in the water at this firm or what?
I open my mouth to say something else and then I close it again. If I keep adding on more and more reasons why Bernie is miles out of left field, then she’ll start saying I’m protesting too much.
Bernie goes back out of my office and I move to the window. I take a moment to look out at the view of the city. This is our fucking city, our empire, and I won’t let Kimberley, or more likely the way she makes me feel, ruin it for me.
I hear my office door open and I know without turning around that it’s her. I smell her scent. Vanilla and something else beneath it. Something primal. I swallow hard and look at her reflection in the glass. She stands uncertainly between the now closed door and my desk. Good. I’m glad she’s fucking nervous. It makes me feel slightly better to know I’m not the only one who is way out of their comfort zone here.
I take a deep breath and turn around. I give her my corporate smile, the one I use to charm potential clients and investors. Not the one I use on people I like. Not my real smile.
“How are you Kimberley?” I say, stepping towards her and extending my hand.
She gives me a shy smile and slips her hand into mine. I feel it instantly. The same thing I felt when she touched my arm in the lobby yesterday. It’s like her hand is too hot and it sends fire through my whole body. The sort of fire that could consume me if I let it. But I won’t let it. I won’t even entertain the notion of it.
I shake her hand firmly and then drop my hand to my side, suddenly unsure of what the hell to do with it. It hangs limply for a moment and then I indicate the chair in front of my desk.
“Take a seat. Bernie’s grabbing us some coffee and then we can get started,” I say.
Kimberley sits down and crosses her legs and I can’t help but notice how her skirt creeps up an inch before she pulls it back down.
Why Kimberley, are you trying to seduce me? I shake my head and look away. Of course she isn’t trying to seduce me. I’m not really in a movie, and certainly not that one. She’s just getting herself comfortable.
I go around my desk and sit down in my chair. Bernie enters right on cue and I want to jump up and hug her for her perfect timing, but that would be weird all round so of course I don’t. Instead I thank her like a normal person and pick up my coffee. I take a sip which obviously burns my lip but I don’t show it. I put the cup back down and look at Kimberley again.
God why is this so fucking hard? I have zero issues making small talk normally, but how do you make small talk with someone you used to know without crossing the line from professional to personal?
“Are you ready to get started?” Kimberley asks.
She sounds confident, forceful even, but I think I detect a slight note of uncertainty in her voice. This is clearly as awkward for her as it is for me. Maybe even more so after my ridiculous performance in the lobby yesterday.
“Yup,” I say.
Yup. Not yes, or sure, or any of a hundred normal responses. I go for yup. Real smooth Sebastian.
I open my top drawer as Kimberley brings her briefcase up onto my desk and opens it. She pulls out a thick file and I pull out a matching one from my desk drawer. Kimberley puts her briefcase on the ground beside her feet, beside those fuck me heels she’s wearing, and slides the file over to me. I take it from her, nodding my thanks, being careful not to let my fingers brush against hers. I wonder if she felt the same fiery feeling as I did when we shook hands earlier. Probably not.
I push my
