Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
I noticed something strange about Neil’s appearance as I set his morning coffee on his desk.
He was unshaven.
I couldn’t figure out why this rattled me so much until I realised it was the first time I had ever seen him even slightly ungroomed. It was out of character for him. Had the late night taken its toll? My eyes lingered, absorbing his new look. He had flecks of grey in his stubble, which was oddly appealing…
Neil looked at me, and I averted my eyes, pushing his coffee towards him.
“Thanks,” he said.
“Did you manage to get everything done last night?”
“I did, thanks to you.”
“I’m glad it’s sorted. What was all that paperwork about, anyway?”
“I’m pushing through a lot of changes before the union’s deadline. They have demands I’m striving to meet.”
“I didn’t know you were so involved with the union.”
“You didn’t notice the lack of strikes since I started?”
“No, but now that you mention it…”
“Our factories have been neglected for years under Patterson. Fixing them is my top priority.”
Neil’s conviction surprised me. I’d never known anyone in the head office to care for the factory workers. The usual reaction to their constant strikes was a lot of eye rolling and grumbling. But Neil was taking action.
“The next time I visit the factories, I’ll take you with me,” he said. “It’s important you understand that side of the business and their working conditions.”
“Sounds like a good idea. What about this morning’s meeting?”
“Yes. Come with me. I want to introduce you to our biggest national client. It’s a casual meeting. Nothing to prepare. David and Aroha are supposed to be joining us, but last I heard, they might not be coming. They’re busy with their own lot of paperwork, so it might just be us. Be ready at ten.”
The meeting was at a cafe in Ponsonby. Neil loomed over my desk when it was time to leave. I followed him down to the main entrance where Winston awaited in the black Audi. Winston opened the back door for Neil. I hopped into the other side. The interior was flawless, as usual. Winston seemed to take great pains in keeping the car in immaculate condition, as if it were his pride and joy.
We were about to pull out when there was a sharp knock on the window. David and Aroha were outside. Neil rolled his window down.
“Room for two more?” David asked.
“I thought you weren’t able to come,” Neil said.
“There’s been a change of plans. No time to organise another car. Can we go with you?”
“All right. Get in.”
I cringed inwardly. David and Aroha’s presence never failed to resurface the awkwardness of the Amelia Crook incident. I didn’t know how much they knew or what Neil had told them, but so far, they’d never brought it up, and I hoped it stayed that way.
David took the front passenger seat next to Winston. Aroha asked me to scoot over into the middle seat. Now I was crammed in between her and Neil. I paid little attention to Aroha, but I was painfully aware of just how much of me was touching Neil. Boy, was he tense. So was I. We were pressed far too close for comfort. I could feel him all down my side, his warmth radiating out. I had to dip my hand in between us to buckle my seatbelt. I groped around, trying to find the buckle without success. Neil glowered. He reached down and fished it out for me, the contact of his hand against my outer thigh sending a fluttery feeling all through my body.
“Thanks.” I clicked my seatbelt on.
The drive to Ponsonby was quick. Winston dropped us off right in front of the cafe. David held the door open for us as we filed in.
Neil scanned the room. “They’re not here yet.”
The cafe was large, with tables in long vertical columns. An abstract art print decorated the otherwise blank white walls. The clientele looked like professionals. A few people were working on laptops.
“What drinks do you want?” Neil asked, slipping his wallet out of the inner pocket of his suit jacket.
“Flat white for me, ta,” David said.
“I’ll have a mocha,” Aroha said.
“Amelia?” Neil asked.
I had been busy eyeing the colourful display of macarons in the cabinet looking like precious jewels. “Oh, uh, a cappuccino, please.”
Aroha and I followed David to a free table while Neil stayed in the queue at the counter.
“Neil says you’re getting on well with the new job,” David said.
I was just about to sit down and nearly missed the chair entirely. “He does?”
David laughed. “You sound surprised.”
I composed myself. “Because he has very high expectations.”
“And you’re living up to them, apparently.”
I didn’t know how to respond. Did Neil really say that, or was David just trying to encourage me? I couldn’t picture Neil singing my praises. “Fine” or “adequate” were normally the best I could get out of him.
Neil joined us, taking the chair opposite me.
“I was just telling Amelia what an asset she is,” David said.
Neil blanched. “Yes. Quite the asset.” He cleared his throat. From there he veered the small talk to another topic.
The drinks arrived, and we finished them before the client even turned up.
“What’s taking them so long?” David asked. “Any word?”
Neil checked his phone, frowned, then made a call. “Neil Kingston here. Are you on your way?”
The rest of us were silent as we listened in.
“I see,” Neil said. “Then we’ll reschedule.”
David mimed a dramatic sigh.
“They’re not coming,” Neil said as he put his phone down. “Something else has taken precedence.”
“Unbelievable,” David said. “What a waste of time.”
“It’s a bit rude of them not to tell us until now,” Aroha said.
“That may be so,” Neil said, “but they’re big and important enough to get away with it. Amelia, make a note to reschedule the meeting.”
I added it to the task list on my work phone.
“We need to get back to the office,” David said. “Things to do. This has already taken up too much time.”
“You two go ahead,” Neil said. “I’ll call Winston to bring the car over.”
“We’re not going back with them?” I asked.
“I thought we could stay and have a talk.”
A talk?
“Oh. Okay.”
What was this about, and why did I feel so nervous about it?
Neil called Winston, and David and Aroha left the cafe.
“I’m going to get another coffee,” Neil said. “You want one?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
He returned after making the order.
“What did you want to talk about?” I asked.
Neil swallowed, taking his time to pick his words. “How are you doing? In the job, I mean. I know it hasn’t been long, but are you getting on okay?”
The sincerity of his concern caught me off guard. “Well, uh, okay, I guess. I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job, but I know you have high standards.”
“As I should.”
“Of course. I also have high standards. Well, I thought I did, but compared to you…”
A server placed a small white plate with a delicate little stack of macarons in the centre of the table.
“Did you order this?” I asked Neil.
He nodded. “Go ahead.”
I stifled the little spark of joy that threatened to work its way onto my face. “Thanks. They look amazing.”
Now that he had bought them, it would be rude not to try one. I took a bite and let it melt on my tongue like a sweet, crispy cloud.
Neil rested his chin on his fist, watching me with apparent interest as I ate. It was slightly unnerving.
“Aren’t you having one?” I asked.
“They’re for you. I don’t like sweet things.”
I wondered if he had noticed me looking at them before. He must have. He was observant. “They’re good. Thank you. What were we talking about? Oh yeah. Do you think I’m doing okay with the job? I know I’ve made mistakes.”
“Very few, considering no one was here to train you. After Bridget, I have no complaints.”
“She was bad?”
“Useless. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure she’d fare well in any other job, but she wasn’t good enough for me.”
“And I am?”
“So far, yes.”
This was high praise indeed. Coming from Neil, at least. Perhaps I wasn’t struggling as much as I thought I was.
Neil leaned back in his chair. “You know, I had my doubts about this arrangement, but I think it’s going to work out nicely.”
I smiled politely while the knowledge I planned to leave the job as soon as possible niggled at the back of my mind.