Page 80 of Spiralling Skywards
Seven hours ofmeetings. Seven fucking hours I spent meeting with prospective clients and explaining the concept behind our new business venture, what our company could offer that others couldn’t, and why they should employ us to recruit and relocate the staff they needed to send to Australia.
I had a black eye, a split lip, and a bruised and swollen jaw. I looked and felt like shit. Luke looked worse. So bad in fact that he’d stayed home and Mel and our new PA, Liz, who we had recently employed had taken notes and done whatever else PAs were supposed to do, assisted me.
Despite the issues going on between them personally, Luke and Mel had so far, kept things strictly business in the office, and it had proved to be a good call on his part to bring her on board.
Her family had owned one of the biggest chains of estate agents across the UK, but had also branched out into overseas acquisitions and property management. Mel had been responsible for that department and knew the industry inside out.
Her family’s business took a hit during the economic downturn which was just beginning to take full effect in the UK that year. Mel happened to be looking for a new job just as we were setting up. We offered her a position and now she would be heading up the team that would hunt for properties to either rent or purchase for the families we would be relocating.
Our long-term plan was to branch out into property development and build and own the houses we set the families up in, but that would be further down the track.
As the representative from a German company that was considering taking us on left the office, I stayed seated at the meeting table and massaged my temples with my fingertips.
“Well, despite the unprofessional look you presented, I think today went pretty well,” Mel said as she walked back in to the room.
“I think so too.” I lied. I was tired, I was in pain, and my head wasn’t in the game. All I could think about was Sarah. I didn’t want to be here, I wanted to be curled up in bed with her. I didn’t care if we didn’t even have sex, I just wanted to feel her warmth, have her body pressed against mine, and be able to breathe her in. I’d been a miserable fucker all day because I was here and not with her. I was even more miserable that she wouldn’t respond to my text messages or answer my calls.
“Can I go?” Liz asked, standing from her spot in the corner of the room where I had forgotten she’d been sitting.
“Of course,” I told her. “Thought you’d already left. Thanks for everything today, sorry it’s been a long one. Take tomorrow off.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Thanks, Liam, you’re the best. See ya. Bye, Mel.”
Liz didn’t like Mel, she hadn’t told me as much, but that was the vibe I got. At just twenty-five, she was the youngest member of our team, but again, she knew her stuff and was proving to be a perfect fit for what we were trying to build and establish.
“You’re too soft on her.”
“She was here at six this morning setting up, which means she left home at five, it’s now after seven. I don’t think I’m soft, I think I’m fair.”
Her jaw twitched a few times as she thought about my response and maybe considered her own. To be honest, I didn’t give a fuck what she thought. Liz worked for me, not her, and I had a feeling that Mel would occasionally need to be reminded that she was an employee,notthe employer.
“Whatever. So you gonna tell me what really happened to your face?” After a moments pause, she added, “I’ve been in a car when the airbag goes off, there’s no way one caused that kind of damage. Who you been fighting with?”
I’d apologised all day to the perspective clients for the way I looked and explained that I’d been involved in a minor car accident over the weekend and the air bags had gone off. It was a bullshit excuse and I’m sure most of them knew it. Oscar Muller, the German we’d had the last meeting with, had even asked me how bad the other guy looked and said that he hoped I’d gotten at least one good shot in. I’d laughed possibly the most insincere laugh of my life.
“None of your business. Do we need to lock anything up here or just leave? I need to get home.”
She moved around the meeting table and sat her arse on it next to where I sat in a chair.
“No, we can just leave. We need to let the main reception know on the way out, and then we’re done.”
“Good, let’s get out of here then.”
I stood to leave, but Mel stepped in front of me. With the sky-high heels she was wearing, we were almost at eyelevel.
“Really? You’re gonna rush off so soon? You don’t wanna stay in town, let me show you the sights of London?”
She reached out and rested her hand on my shoulder. I removed it and stepped back.
“No, the only sight I wanna see is my girlfriend.” I collected my coat from the stand it was hanging on and put it on before I continued. “Let’s get one thing straight, Mel. I’m your boss, I employ you to do a job. Youdon’tquestion me, not about my personal life and most definitely not about how I deal with other members of the staff. Even more importantly, and I want this to be fucking clear, you don’t flirt with me. Ever.”
She folded her arms across her chest and cocked her hip to the side. Her mouth opened a few times, but she never actually spoke.
“Are we clear?”
