Page 19 of Just Like You
“So you are now taking everything back?”
“I’m not!” What was it with me and shouting?
“Julian, I am very much looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. I have taken note of your number, and I will text you later. It would make things much easier if you could just text me the name of your hotel, and I will make arrangements.”
“Kieron.” I sighed. No. Please. Absolutely not. I wanted to scream. Shout. No. Please, no. But his gentle laughter was still there in my ear.
“Julian, I can’t stop thinking about you. And I think, if you’re very honest with yourself? A repeat performance wouldn’t be the end of the world. Just think of that rosé.”
“I don’t…” I started. But he just cut me off.
“You do. We both do. Because what just happened in New York? I have a feeling it was meant to be.”
Chapter Six
Kieron
By the time I hung up on him? My shirt was soaking wet. Nerves, despite my seemingly calm and confident demeanour, since this was not something I usually did. Nor did I sprinkle timepieces into strangers’ bags, but at the time? I had been frazzled and desperate. I’d wanted to kiss him again, feel his body against mine one last time. He hadn’t given me that opportunity, and I’d had the feeling that asking for his number had been outof the question.
He’d probably have slapped me had I asked, and I would have gratefully taken that degradation, simply to feel his hands on me again.
No such luck, and I’d spent two days in New York in a state and a half, trying desperately to figure out how to function. How to stop thinking about how he’d felt underneath me, his hips in my grip, the way his mouth had made those deliciously desperate sounds, as I’d allowed myself to…
He’d left a mark on my neck. I’d treasured it until it had faded. I still stroked the very spot, like he’d left me with some kind of invisible…gift.
I’d done it, hadn’t I? Allowed myself to fall apart. Completely shattering all that sharpness I usually displayed. I wasn’t much of a hugger. Never liked cuddling. Aftercare? Not on my shift. I liked to get up and walk away, or at least turn over and fall asleep. Much more my thing than the ridiculous performance I’d put on in a stranger’s bed in New York.
I’d hooked up with people before, of course I had. Quick fucks in all kinds of places. I’d got ill-advised blowies from desperate interns, thinking that giving me a few seconds of pleasure could nail that contract. Everyone wanted to work for us, and me, I really had no say in such matters at all. That was up to Juliet, the boss, but when it worked? The insinuation that I could? I didn’t even have to say the words.
Did it make me a good person? Absolutely not. But then I wasn’t here for the good times. I was here to work and make Delaware Financial profit, and that was how I got away with it. My ways. My bad temper and my inability to get people to like me. Myboss, Juliet, had told me, over and over again. Every time a PA resigned, an intern complained or… Well. Now I had Maura, who had been assigned to me with enough warnings to keep my temper in check and my dick to myself. Maura was imposing, motherly and wouldn’t let me get away with anything, hence the phone call to deliver Julian’s message.
I’d dismissed her with my usual brand of non-existent charm and blushed like a child sat here in my office, stroking the piece of paper where I’d scribbled his digits down.
What the hell had that little display of insanity been? The Maldives? Never been. Never wanted to go. And now all of a sudden, I was desperate for an overpriced stay on some godforsaken archipelago in the Indian Ocean? Really, Kieron?
My mother would have laughed, but at least she was no longer here to see what her wayward child had become. A mess of a man who no longer made rational decisions. What was it with Julian Bradley? Was he some kind of weird woodland fairy, casting spells on me to make me lose my mind?
He knew about watches. Another awkward smile on my face, which I wiped off as Maura entered. No knocks. She’d made that clear on her first day.
“Don’t look so shocked, child,” she droned on, walking on the carpet like it was made of glass. She was a size of a woman, impressive and stern, and, not that I admitted it, but I quite liked having her around. Delivering my coffee and taking notes, and doing my dirty work away from Juliet’s prying eyes.
“Late. Two days,” she muttered. “But it’s a solid proposal, and I’ve tidied up the language in places and removed the duplicate logos on page three.”
“This is why you get a bonus,” I huffed.
“Much appreciated, but honestly, Kieron?”
So, I was Kieron. Child. Little monster at times, and sometimes small nicknames that made me smile. Today, though?
“Need another favour. Sorry about this.” I was actually.
“What have you done now?” She sighed, carefully placing herself down on my visitor’s chair. “If it’s another copy-paste contract, then you might as well take this one and just revise the names. We really need to set up new templates to make this easier, but when you keep fiddling with the agreements?”
“I tailor-make deals for our clients. No client is the same, no needs are the same. We can fulfil them all, but templates tend to become messy.”
“Not on my watch, child,” she huffed. “Thus, what do you need?”
“I need Thursday and Friday off. Possibly Monday. Need to go away. Family emergency.”
