Chapter Five
Spencer
I stand in front of my desk, staring at the door as it clicks shut, and I wonder what the bloody hell is wrong with me. Kissing Tabitha? I might as well have stripped off my clothes and run through the building starkers. Yes, I”ve clearly gone insane. Spending time with Tabitha today, getting to know her better, has turned me barmy for sure.
Tabitha won”t file sexual harassment charges. I have no doubts that if she had an issue with me, she would stalk into my office and slug me in the gut, then explain her grievances.
But that kiss...
Meant nothing. I”m still adjusting to my new environment, both at work and in the rest of my life. Moving to a new country. Taking on a new job. The stress got to me, that”s all. I cannot let one hot moment with Tabitha ruin my career---or hers.
So, I”ll do what I”ve always done. I”ll bury myself in work.
And somehow forget that the sexiest woman I”ve ever met is sitting just outside the door to my office. She”s a professional. We”ll both pretend that kiss never happened. Our jobs are more important than a brief bout of lust.
I settle onto my posh leather chair and drag the computer keyboard closer. Ah, what am I meant to do now? My job, obviously. I place my fingers on the ergonomic keyboard. My hands lie on the attached padded wrist rest. For several minutes, I fiddle with the position of the keyboard until it feels right. Then, I fiddle with the desk organizer that sits beside the computer, moving the pens around, playing with the sticky note dispenser. I then move on to the metal rack the has three levels, all designed to hold and organize files. I shuffle those around, for no good reason, strictly to...do something.
Bugger me. I have no idea how to start doing my job.
I slump in my chair. And I drum my fingers on the arms. Maybe I should spin the chair round and round like a whirling dervish again.
Get to work, man. You are the boss of an entire department.
No more procrastinating. I sit up straight, adjust my tie, and roll my chair closer to the desk. At random, I choose a folder from the file organizer and flip it open. This is a list of my employees. Good. I”ll need this if I have any chance of remembering everyone”s name. I grab another folder. This one contains a spreadsheet of recent assessments of risk for the teams in my group. I think I”m meant to proof these and possibly offer comments. But I need to be sure that”s what”s expected of me.
That means I need to ask Tabitha.
I pick up my desk phone and press the button for her extension.
”What can I do for you, Spencer?”
”Uh, well...” I give myself a mental slap. ”I was wondering if I”m supposed to critique this list of recent risk assessments.”
”That”s up to you, Mr. Boss Man. Take a look and see if you feel it”s necessary to offer your critique.”
She”s right, of course. ”Sorry. I shouldn”t have bothered you.”
”I get paid to be bothered.” She hesitates. ”It”s none of my business, but if you”re still feeling anxious...”
”Any and all suggestions are appreciated.”
”Then I recommend you call a friend or family member back home.”
She is the cleverest woman. I might have thought of what she just suggested if I hadn”t been tied up in knots about starting my new position here at Bramson Feigenbaum. ”Thank you, Tabitha. I”ll ring someone back home. That was a brilliant idea.”
Her laughter tickles my eardrums even through the phone line. ”I”m no Einstein. It”s common sense, that”s all.”
I don”t seem to have much of that today. ”Goodbye, Tabitha. I”m grateful for your advice.”
Then I hang up and dial a number I have programmed into my mobile. It rings five times before a familiar voice answers.
”Miss me already, Spencer?”
”Yes, Kenny, I can”t live without you.”
”Don”t call me Kenny. I”ve told you again and again that I prefer Kendall.”
I already feel myself relaxing, just from a ten-second conversation. ”You can”t expect me to change a lifetime”s habit in a few months. At home, you were always Kenny. I”ll try to remember your new preference for using the uptight version of your name. Of course, you could revert to your actual first name and start calling yourself Jolly.”
”Never speak that word again.”
”You prefer the full version, then. Glad to hear it, Jolyon.”
Kendall is my brother”s middle name, and he prefers it over his real first name. I can understand why. Mum let Dad choose a name for their first-born child, and Kendall has never forgiven him for christening my brother Jolyon Kendall Halfenaked.
”I thought Rachelle had loosened you up,” I tell my brother. ”Now that everyone knows you were an exotic dancer once upon a time, you should be less uptight. For pity”s sake, you organized a male revue show at Sommerleigh House for Halloween last year. I heard that you went completely nude for the finale.”
”Could we not speak of that anymore? It was a one-off event.”
I relax in my chair, unhooking the bolt that prevents it from leaning backward too far. While I speak to my brother, I rock my chair. ”How is the lovely Rachelle? Can”t believe you married a vivacious American woman. Talk about opposites attracting.”
”Did you ring me strictly for harassment”s sake?”
”Maybe I, ah, sort of missed the family.”
Kendall says nothing for a few seconds, then he chuckles. ”You do miss me, Spence, don”t you? How sweet.”
”I”m in a strange country. It”s rather disconcerting.” I stop rocking and sigh. ”Yes, all right, I miss you and Bindy, Mum and Dad too. It”s bloody humiliating. I feel like a schoolboy who just arrived at summer camp.”
”You”ll make friends. You”ve always been much more outgoing than I am.”
”I do have one mate.” I wince, though Kendall can”t see that. ”But she”s my administrative assistant.”
”Do you have a crush on her, Spence?”
”No.”
He chuckles again. ”Your emphatic exclamation proves the opposite.”
My brother is right, of course. But I won”t tell him that. ”How are things at Sommerleigh House these days?”
”Hugh won”t let Avery lift anything, not even a paper sack. No matter how many times she assures him that she”s barely even showing, he worries about her and the baby.”
”Well, Hugh is madly in love with his wife.”
”Just as I am with Rachelle.” Kendall pauses, but I can hear him moving about as if he”s doing something. Probably attending to his butler duties. ”One day, you will meet your perfect match, and everything will change.”
”Enough romance talk. Are there any cricket matches coming up at Sommerleigh?”
”No. This time it”s shinty. Callum and Kate will be arriving in a few days, and they”re bringing along some of Callum”s cousins and mates.”
Another round of shinty with the MacTaggart clan. I should have guessed. Hugh is best mates with a Scot, after all.
”Spencer, you”ll be missing out,” Kendall says. ”Thane Buchanan and his fiancée, Rebecca Taylor, will be here too. Thane owns a distillery, so we will get to taste the latest variations of his single malts. He”s bringing several bottles.”
”You mean several cases of whisky. When the MacTaggarts and the Parrishes are involved, a simple affair inevitably turns into a bacchanalia.” I glance at the clock on my computer. ”Sorry, Kendall, I need to get back to work. Not everyone has your easy schedule, with breaks for shinty and whisky.”
”Of course. But you will be here for the wedding, won”t you?”
”Do you think I”d miss the chance to watch you tie the knot? Since Mum and Rosalyn are planning the festivities, it”s sure to be on par with a royal wedding.”
Kendall and I say our goodbyes, and I get back to work. Sort of. I can”t stop thinking about whisky and shinty. But more than that, I keep wondering what Kendall”s wedding will be like. Rosalyn Parrish, Hugh”s mum, is conspiring with our mum and probably Avery too. Oh, yes, Hugh”s wife will want to be involved. Lady Sommerleigh has become good friends with Rachelle.
At least I know my brother is marrying the right woman. Rachelle is beautiful, sweet, and perfect for Kendall.
Tabitha was right. Talking to my brother has eased my anxiety.
Suddenly, my work seems much easier and more fun too. I breeze through the risk analysis data, jotting down notes about items I want to discuss with my team---one on one, not as a group. I never want to embarrass anyone. There will be many times when I”ll hold a group discussion. But not on my first day.
Once I”ve finished my analysis of the team”s analysis, I grab my desk phone and ring my assistant.
”What can I do for you, Spencer?”
Just hearing her voice gives me a flashback of that moment when I kissed her, not five feet from where I”m currently sitting. I clear my throat. ”Ah, well, I would like to schedule private meetings with some of the blokes and ladies on the risk analysis team.”
”I can set those up for you. Just email me their names.”
”Can”t I tell you the names now?”
Her sultry voice turns me on and sends all the blood rushing to my groin.
I need to shag her immediately.