Page 52 of Just Like That

Gwen’s unintended innuendo sends the heat in our faces spiralling into gas burner territory, and we can’t get out of her office quick enough.

‘What the hell was that?’ I press my hands against my cheeks in disbelief once we’re outside the office building and back in the fresh air, having shot past the nosey office staff as fast as we could.

‘I should be saying the same thing to you.’ Nick’s tone is borderline accusatory, but knowing him better now, I can detect the (almost imperceptible) lightness within his statement. ‘What happened to staying quiet till we got a sense of where Gwen was at?’

‘Sorry, I caved. I’m not good in that kind of situation. Especially not recently,’ I mumble as an afterthought.

‘Not half. But it explains a bit about how your boss manages to keep you down.’

‘Meaning?’

‘If you don’t stand your ground with him, he’ll find it easy to discard you if he sees you as having lost your shine.’

‘Thanks for that.’ I flinch at this cutting statement.

‘Hey, I didn’t mean that in a bad way.’ Nick lifts my chin with his finger and locks his eyes on mine. ‘I was just stating a fact. This is crossed wires between us again. I want you to succeed, and to succeed you need to know your worth and fight for yourself. Don’t hand the guy a reason to ditch you.’

‘I guess you’re right. I was trying to stand up for myself, but he seems to one up me every time. I always thought being good at what I do would be what set me apart from others, but it’s the politics that really defines things. That and being able to fit the mould. Anyway, enough about that for now. What I want to know is: what was that in there?’

‘That was Gwen in her full glory,’ says Nick. ‘She’s quite the character.’

‘I’ll say. She’s clearly been on her best behaviour with me before now.’

‘I’d take it as a compliment. Means she’s let you into the fold, and she doesn’t do that with everyone. You are aware she’s your boss’s sister-in-law, right? Or was anyway.’

‘What?No.’ I gape at him. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Yes, I just assumed you knew. She and your boss’s brother, John, are divorced, but it was an amicable split. John’s still very much in the picture and Lauren and him are close.’

‘Gosh, I had no idea.’ I’m baffled by this revelation. ‘It’s a bit odd that Craig didn’t tell me about it, but I guess he must have had his reasons. Her calling him “a twat in a suit” certainly makes sense now – she mustn’t be that keen on him.’

Nick nods. ‘They see life differently, that’s for sure. John asked Craig to help out when the park hit problems and all Craig did was offer Gwen a twenty-five per cent discount on your company’s services. She took it because it was better than she would get elsewhere, but I think it sticks in her throat a bit that he’s stinking rich and so self-focused.’

Before I can respond, one of Lauren’s team members comes out of the building, greeting us politely. She appears to be making a call, so we cross the courtyard and head into the park in search of some privacy to continue our debrief.

‘Well, anyway,’ I say, once we’re out of earshot, ‘the whole Craig thing aside, I knew Gwen was a bit quirky, but I didn’t realise she was as straight to the point as that. That was…’

‘Entertaining, uncomfortable, embarrassing?’

‘Like I’ve never experienced before,’ I scoff. ‘Regardless of her relationship with him, I can’t believe she called my boss that in front of me.’

‘Is it an accurate description?’ Nick asks.

‘I never used to think so, but more recently I’ve come to that way of thinking. Even more so now after what you’ve just told me. And as much as it’s great to have Gwen’s support, Nick, I’m sorry, I’m still wondering if I need to tell him about us. Because that’s who I am. Much as I wish I could be a bit more like Gwen, I’m not her.’

‘I was afraid you were going to say that.’ Nick stops and slips his arms round my waist, pulling me gently towards him. ‘Any chance you can wait a couple more days? We’re in safe territory now here, and I’d really like to explore a bit more of you before that “twat in a suit” has the opportunity to kibosh things.’

I smile up at him, some of the tension leaching from my shoulders. ‘I think I can manage that. In fact, you have no idea how badly I want to kiss you right now.’

Nick looks around and clocks the nearest enclosure. ‘I think Gwen would be OK with us having a post-discussion moment together. In here.’

He pulls open the door to the indoor viewing area and we bundle inside, pawing at each other in a way that’s representative of the wild animals around us. Thankfully the enclosure is less ‘aromatic’ than some of the others in the park, so I’m able to put all my focus on Nick. I can still taste a hint of the coffee from earlier on his lips as he kisses me hungrily and I moan with pleasure at the sheer intensity of feeling such desire and being so desired.

‘I can definitely wait a couple of days to tell Craig,’ I murmur.

‘Good,’ Nick whispers in my ear. ‘Because I’m going to need a supersized portion of you to keep me going until your contract ends.’

I snicker at his questionable attempt at erotically charged dialogue, which makes me feel like an upsell at McDonald’s. It’s not enough to throw me off though. Nick’s so damn sexy, he’s like nectar to me; I just can’t get enough.

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