Chapter 10 Nancy
“SHE DOESN’T PULL HER WEIGHT,” Ayesha grumbled as we side-stepped around the throng of suits taking advantage of the break in the showers. “I must have compiled double the records she has. I wouldn’t mind so much if Sean had at least noticed.”
“Maybe you should mention it.” I took a bite of my cheese and pickle sandwich, this week’s lunch on repeat.
“I don’t want to rock the boat. Not when India’s father is one of the partners.” Ayesha sighed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to moan. I’m enjoying the work, just not the company.”
We turned off Fenchurch Street onto a quieter side road for a little peace. “I could make a suggestion to David. We have loads to get through, and it might force India to pull her weight.”
“I think it’s best to leave it. I’ll bring it up with Sean if it goes too far,” Ayesha cast off, raising her eyebrows in her usual precursor to fishing for gossip. “Anyway, enough of my woes… How’s working on the top floor?”
“It’s good.” I shrugged, not wanting to go there.
“Just good? I imagine you have quite the view with David and the smokin’ CEO.”
“That would be very unprofessional,” I said as Alex’s firm lips, just an inch from mine, flicked through my mind in slo-mo. I hadn’t been able to shake the subliminal for the last twenty-four hours.
“Come on, Nancy. Throw this sad woman a bone. The man’s a fox, not to mention super smart. Have you spoken to him? What’s he like? I wouldn’t be able to get a thing done with him in front of me all day.”
“He’s…nice.”
“‘Nice,’ sure,” Ayesha scoffed. “All those tech-bro-landed-gentry types are always so nice. He’s a bad boy, right? A baller?”
“Baller?” I laughed. “Tell me again where you learnt English?”
“From private tutors, darling,” Ayesha put on her best posh accent. “And my guilty love affair with nineties romcoms.”
“I can tell,” I laughed.
“Sooo, any other adjectives you’d like to share that are a bit more descriptive about Lord Fauntleroy?”
Clearly, I wasn’t getting out of this conversation without giving up something. “Alex is…thoughtful.”
“Alex? So you’re on a first-name basis with the duke’s heir? …Oh, my gosh, you have a crush on him!”
Damn this woman! “That’s not true, and can you please show a little subtlety?” I scanned the side street in paranoia while not quite meeting Ayesha’s penetrating gaze.
“Look at you. You go all uptight when you talk about him.”
“Shush! You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I carried on walking slightly faster than before. Ayesha kept up.
“What? It’s innocent. He’s seeing that it-girl-cum-model-cum-influencer woman.” She pulled out her phone to check her messages while my gut knotted.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yes. Honestly, Nancy, where have you been? Oh, I forgot, you’re anti-social media,” she air-quoted. “But how are you going to do your online stalking if you’re not online?” She stopped to do a quick search. “He’s seeing some socialite, they’re always in the media. Here, see, Mimi Preston-Black.”
I looked down at Mimi’s grid. It was filled with selfies of a stunning, tanned, blonde looking immaculate in each pose.
Pinned to the top was an image of an exotic beach with white sand and turquoise waters like a Sandals advert.
Mimi was positioned centre, basking on a lounger in a snake print triangle bikini that barely covered her nipples.
Around her neck hung a diamond necklace, sparkling in the tropical sunlight, and pressed up against her side in unmistakable intimacy was Alex, topless and sun-blushed, his chestnut hair tousled and a million-dollar smile on his face. The caption simply said:
Perfection! ;)
#liveyourbestlife #bali #diamondsareforever #theloveofmylife
Ayesha paused, seeing the look on my face. “Sorry, should I not have shown you that?”
I shook my head, forcing a smile. “No, I don’t care.
Of course he’d be dating a model. I mean, look at her.
If I were a filthy rich aristocrat, that’s who I’d date.
” Ayesha looked doubtful. “It’s fine. He’s just a welcome bit of auditing eye candy for the next few months. Who can complain about that?”
“That’s the spirit, girl. You know, there are some fit guys on forty-eight. You should pop by next week.”
“Thanks, but I’m not looking for that right now. It’s all too much of a headache,” I said, dumping the remainder of my lunch on our slow walk back to work.
For the rest of the afternoon, I kept my head down and my familiar barriers firmly up.
Without realising it, something I’d come to think of as fundamental had shifted inside me.
With each passing day, my attraction to Alex had grown and, as we’d spent more time together, I’d got the sense that he might like me too. But, clearly, I’d misread his signals.
What the hell was I thinking?
Some jokes, a few looks, remembering my favourite coffee, and preserving my dignity with a three-thousand-pound jacket I ruined with said coffee did not equal an attraction on his part. I should’ve Googled him already, but I didn’t want to admit I’d broken my rule and developed a crush.
Alex was seeing someone. No, not just someone, one of the most ridiculously beautiful women I’d ever seen. Of course he was. He was Lord Alexander Toverton, a filthy rich CEO and heir to a duchy.
Yes, he was charming, thoughtful, and generous, but he was like that with everyone.
His employees had one of the best benefits packages I’d ever seen.
All the senior managers respected him. Evelyn and David adored him.
And, from what I saw from that pic, Alex treated Mimi like a queen. They were in love. Madly in love.
When Alex came by for his usual visit at four, he tried to engage me a few times, but I just nodded, smiled, and kept schtum.
I felt all crinkled up inside like used foil.
It was so ridiculous. I had no right to feel this way.
I thought I could just keep it professional, and these useless feelings would go away, but they hadn’t.
They’d multiplied. The last thing I needed was to get hurt over a stupid work crush.
“Oh, Nancy.” David broke into my thoughts. “I’ve been called into Goldfields tomorrow, so you’ll be on your own for the day. Will you have enough to get on with?”
The knots in my shoulders flexed. A whole day on my own with Alex looming about… Great. “No problem. I could get going on the second quarter.”
“Perfect! I’ll keep my phone on. Just call if you have any issues.”
“Thanks, David,” I said, trying to concentrate on the jumbled figures on my screen, but I could sense Alex’s probing eyes on me.
“Feel free to grab me if you need anything, Nancy,” he said.
“That won’t be necessary,” I replied a little too abruptly, and glanced up to see Alex and David’s confusion.
Way to keep it professional! “…Thanks for the offer, though,” I tagged on, wanting to crawl under my desk.
I glued my eyes back on the monitor, but in my periphery, I saw Alex turn and leave with a clipped stride.