24 #4
“I’m not entirely comfortable with it but thank you. Like I said, I’m happy to help out.”
“Okay, understood. So we’re good?” Jerome raised a questioning eyebrow at her.
“Good?”
“Well you put up a bit of a fight there, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone so determined not to accept a thank you gift,” Jerome chuckled.
Dani’s face flushed, mortified that she’d been so ungracious. “I’m sorry, I just don’t want to feel indebted that’s all. It was very kind of you. Oh, and I never said thank you for the desserts you sent.”
“You’re very welcome. Well I know you’re battling with a nicotine craving,” he joked.
“Ha, you have no idea. If I carry on eating sweets the way I’ve been eating them this past few weeks I’ll need a bigger uniform. I’m sure I’ve put on weight,” Dani huffed, looking down at herself.
“You look perfectly fine to me,” Jerome muttered.
Dani reddened at the comment and bent down to pick up her bag and dropped in her purse.
“Well I better get downstairs.”
Jerome looked at his watch. It was almost ten to six, “I’ll walk down with you.”
“Oh. Okay.”
She watched him slip on his jacket and then followed him to the door.
“Thanks again and sorry if I was a bit…”
“Forceful? Insistent? Stubborn?” he suggested.
Dani shrugged apologetically and scrunched up her nose in embarrassment.
“Don’t be. It was rather entertaining seeing you square up to me. It doesn’t happen very often.” They walked down the corridor towards the stairwell. “So you can bite? That’s good to know,” he smirked, turning to look at her.
“Yeah, I bite.” She stifled a grin. “But not too hard.”
Jerome threw back his head and laughed loudly. She’d thrown back his words at him, from the day of the interview. He shook his head, she really did have a quick wit.
“Very good answer.”
Dani’s heart leapt and she laughed softly, thrilled she’d been the one to make him laugh so unguardedly.
“NICOLE, DO YOU MIND if I ask you a question?”
Dani and Nicole were getting ready to head up to Sky.
Sunday night had come around again so fast. Dani didn’t know where the time went.
Rosa had been off in the evening, so the female changing room was empty apart from the two of them.
The rest of the staff had already left and Dani had offered to drive Nicole up so that Kuch didn’t need to hang on.
Nicole caught Dani’s reflection in the mirror as she leaned closer to apply her lipstick. “Sure.” She straightened up slightly and watched Dani vigorously brush out her ponytail.
Dani took a deep breath and smiled tightly at her.
“Is anything wrong?” Nicole asked. She turned to face Dani and leaned her hip against the sink.
“No, nothing like that. I… well I’ve just wondered why you and Kuch have been keeping your relationship a secret.”
Nicole’s eyes widened and her pale skin flushed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just he’s a great guy and well you’re so sweet together. I just don’t get it.”
Nicole sighed. There wasn’t any point in denying it. “He is a great guy, the best.”
“So why the secrecy? Won’t your family approve of him? Is that it?” Dani fixed her hair into a low ponytail and started to pin it into a messy bun.
“Sort of. Well, not exactly. My aunty and cousin don’t like relationships developing between staff because when things go wrong it can be…
well there’s always an atmosphere. Things get tricky and often problems in your personal life filter into work.
I think that’s why they employ so much family.
Kuch was hired because he’s basically brilliant and because his brother also works at Sky. ”
“So he’s not been here that long, then?”
“Nearly two years.”
“And how long have you two been seeing each other?”
Nicole pursed her lips together. “Nearly a year.”
“What? And no one knows? How is that possible?”
“Well, Kuch had a girlfriend when he came to work here but that finished a few months after he started.”
“Probably because of you,” interrupted Dani.
Nicole shrugged and smiled coyly, confirming Dani’s observation.
“He was always a friendly guy and he flirted with everyone. Even when he was with his girlfriend, it’s just the way he is.
We went out together in a group from here and then working together every day, things just developed quickly.
So, as a decoy, when we’re together around other people he carries on as he always has, so as not to alert suspicion. ”
“Like he does with me?”
Nicole grinned. “Yeah, like he does with you.”
“And it doesn’t bother you?”
Nicole shook her head. “He doesn’t mean it. He’s doing it to protect me.”
“Protect you? How so?” Dani slicked on some lipstick and started to pack away her things.
“I come from an Italian family. They can be quite… overbearing. To begin with we just kept it a secret because we didn’t want Gia or Jerome to disapprove. Then, as things got more serious, I knew my family would pressure me to get married. Settle down. And I haven’t been ready for that.”
They’d moved over to the lockers and were putting away their toiletries. “But you might be? With Kuch?”
“I can’t see myself with anyone else.”
“What about Kuch? How does he feel?”
“He wanted to tell them six months in, but I asked to him not to. So he’s doing it for me. Rosa’s the only one that knows here. She’s our cover most of the time. And Kuch’s brother.”
“Nearly a year eh? That’s some secret. Well you can count on me too. I won’t breathe a word. But I do think that maybe it’s time. I’m sure everyone will be alright about it. They really like him.”
“They do and my family love him.”
“Your family? I thought you said no one knows.” Dani halted abruptly at the door that led to the stairs.
“No, no, they’ve met him. Whenever they’ve come here, they’ve sat by the bar to talk to me and so they got to meet and experience the Kuchiki charm.” She smiled widely and her eyes brightened as she spoke about him. Dani narrowed her eyes at her.
“You love him.”
Nicole sighed and nodded.
“Of course you do. Come on, poor Chef’s waiting to lock up.” Dani squeezed her shoulders. “He adores you, anyone can see that. How they haven’t realised is beyond me.” Dani shook her head. “I suppose people see what they want to see.”
“Yeah, they do,” Nicole sighed wistfully.