Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven
I t was almost six o’clock and Steph had now unloaded most of her stuff for the following day into the conference room and had completed the compilation of retail’s figures and had almost finished publishing’s. She had arranged to meet the head of fleet management first thing in the morning followed by estates maintenance. She sat at the table and was finalising the figures for publishing when she heard a voice behind her.
“Shouldn’t you have finished an hour ago?” asked Jon who was sitting on the seat next to her now.
“Well I am sure my arsehole of a boss will be happy to know I have made my hours up!”
“I take it you are referring to Dave and not me?” he asked wryly.
“Obviously, you are an arse more than an arsehole.” She grinned.
“I see. Come on, go home. I will make sure Dave knows that you have paid back your hours.”
“I won’t be much longer, I just want to finish off the figures for publishing and then I need to read through my contract,” she told him.
“Darling, leave it until tomorrow.”
“I would rather finish it as Mr Madeley reckons these four departmental figures could have been completed in one afternoon!” she snapped now.
“He has really wound you up, hasn’t he?” asked Jon rhetorically. “But don’t worry about him, he is unimportant, Steph.”
“How did you come to employ him at all, but specifically as the head of the department? King of that particular castle,” she laughed.
“What are you on? Did Sonia slip something into your coffee?”
“This is me on just one day of Dave Madeley. Imagine me after a week or more,” she replied seriously. “Now tell me how you came to employ him, did you lose a bet?”
Jon laughed at her final comment. “Miss Pryor, I don’t know that I approve of such insubordination!”
“Well don’t worry about it too much because the way things are going I will be out on my ear and my feet won’t touch the ground.” She smiled as she recalled Dave’s comment.
“According to your boss I assume?”
She nodded, causing a frown to mar his handsome face.
“Yes.”
“Darling, please ignore Dave’s threats. You are going nowhere, other than home,” he said again.
“Okay, but I will take these figures home to finish, and my contract,” she said as she got to her feet.
“You haven’t forgotten we have the premiere of Charlie and Lindsay’s wedding video have you?”
“No, but it won’t be too late a night and I won’t be drinking so I can finish this off in bed and I might have time to read my contract before I go out,” she explained.
“You are joking? I won’t have your laptop or files in my bed, just you on your own, au naturale!” he said arching a brow. “And just sign your contract.”
“But I don’t sleep in your bed on a Thursday and I never sign anything without reading it first.” She reached down for her briefcase.
“Flexibility, Stephanie. I could come to yours if you would rather?” He grinned sensing victory in securing another night together.
“Okay, but I will still want to finish this before I go to sleep,” she told him firmly.
“Okay!” he sighed, resigned to her taking work home, then followed her out of the room.
Steph was following Lindsay into the dining room where her own and Charlie’s parents were already sitting with Jon who looked up and smiled as he drank in her appearance. Her hair was down, gently flowing around her shoulders and she wore a calf length, maroon, velvet, fit and flare bodiced dress with a black short sleeved cardigan and knee high, black leather, heeled boots. Jon glanced at his watch and shook his head making her smile as she realised she was late again, although only by about five minutes this time.
“Hey, I thought you’d stood us up!” joked Charlie as he hugged and kissed her warmly making Lindsay’s mum frown.
“Never have and never would stand you up,” replied Steph who was still hugging Charlie, further infuriating Mrs Walters.
“Anyone would think you were Charlie’s new wife, Stephanie,” she said pointedly.
“I suppose you could have been if things had been different,” said Charlie’s dad, earning himself glares. “Sorry,” he muttered as Steph took her seat next to Jon feeling sorry for the older man opposite her.
Steph looked across at Charlie’s dad who really did look like he wanted to crawl up his own arse making her feel even sorrier for him causing her to give him a sympathetic smile and shrug followed by a kiss she blew to him, making him laugh.
“Nice boots,” Jon whispered.
“Thank you,” she replied making him grin.
“I really am loving those two little words,” he said as he declined a glass of wine from Charlie. “No thanks, mate, I am driving.”
Charlie moved onto Steph. “I’m driving too I’m afraid.”
Lindsay appeared with a disc and a flash drive in her hand as Charlie followed carrying a huge photo album.
“And so the torture begins!” said Jon barely loud enough for Steph to hear but made her laugh resulting in disapproving looks and expressions of confusion.
They all sat together and watched the DVD and by the end of it Steph was yawning almost constantly.
“Are we keeping you up?” asked Charlie laughing.
“Sorry.” Steph smiled as she began to offer some sort of explanation. “I have been busy with work, late nights, early mornings, you know how it is!”
“Oh yes, and Charlie said you’ve left Bakers,” announced Lindsay. “What happened?”
“Yes, but I’m doing some temping, at Brookers actually and it’s a long story, Linds, but I will give you the low down another time. Maybe we should get together one night next week,” suggested Steph.
“Text me, but you know what you really need don’t you?” her friend asked now.
“I do!” whispered Jon teasingly.
“What do I need, Lindsay?” Steph was intrigued to hear what her friend might say as she chose to ignore Jon.
“A holiday, a girly holiday, just you and me,” she squealed, excited at the prospect.
“Really? I thought now that you are respectably married our girly holidays were over.” Steph laughed.
Lindsay returned her friend’s laughter. “No, I reckon we will be in our seventies and still sunning ourselves on some foreign beach in our bikinis.”
“Well, keep those photos out of my conference room,” said Jon seriously.
“What?” Charlie was confused by what he’d heard.
“Didn’t Steph tell you about her revealing her holiday snaps during a business meeting? Her and Lindsay in bikinis looking very relaxed and sexy,” he told everyone, his prompting Steph to explain and put it into perspective.
Steph made her excuses to leave first and hoped that Jon wouldn’t rush after her to allow her some time to finish the work she wanted to. She had barely had enough time to make some coffee, turn her laptop on and take her seat at the table when she heard his key in the door.
He made his way into the room, honing in on her location where he stood behind her and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek gently. “You are looking seriously hot tonight!” he said making her smile.
“Thank you.” Hearing those words and knowing where Jon might take them, Steph gave a laugh before warning him, “Not a word about my appreciation of your kind words.”
He laughed too. “I promise. That was one hell of a long night, but we made a very attractive couple in the photos, don’t you think?”
“Yes, gorgeous. Maybe we should order one each and put them on our desks,” she suggested sarcastically.
“What a marvellous idea. Now I have a much better idea. Turn the computer off and come to bed.”
“No, I told you I wanted to do this and if you leave me alone I will get it done much sooner,” she replied.
“Right, I am going to bed to watch TV, but I will give you an hour and if you are not in bed next to me by then I am coming to get you,” he said, leaving her alone to work.
He returned exactly an hour later and coughed to announce his arrival in the room.
“Sorry, just ten more minutes.”
“No, darling, no more minutes. It’s bedtime.” He was already pulling her to her feet.
“Please, I have almost finished,” she told him.
“Then you will do it quickly in the morning, won’t you?”
“Or I could bring my laptop to bed,” she suggested tentatively.
“No way, no computers in bed, not unless you plan on watching porn, but not on a company device.” He quirked a brow as if throwing down the gauntlet of them watching porn together.
“You are very rude!” Despite her attempt to sound serious, she giggled.
“It wasn’t a no, but save your work and turn it off or I will,” he almost threatened. “And then let me get you out of this very nice dress and boots and show you how rude I can be.”
Steph had met with the head of fleet management, a very dynamic looking blonde man of about thirty called Niall Cowley and was just seeing him out of the conference room having finished compiling his department’s figures when Dave appeared.
“Niall.” Dave offered the other man a forced looking smile. “Miss Pryor, please tell me you have completed the tasks I have set you.” His tone sounded exasperated, immediately irritating Steph.
“I am waiting for Jamie from estates maintenance and then all the figures will be completed and I will email them to you and to Mr Brooker.”
“It’s a good job I am ahead of the game then because I feel your skills may have been overstated somewhat.” With no more said, he stropped off down the corridor.
“What is his problem?” asked Niall.
“Me, I think,” said Steph sighing loudly.
“He is a bit of a prat at the best of times lately, but he is taking it to a whole new level for you,” said Niall seriously.
“Lucky me!” She laughed and then said, “He reminds me of my ex-boyfriend.”
“So you’re single?” he asked smiling.
“Not really, but I really should prepare for Jamie.” Suddenly she felt awkwardness settling.
“Okay, but if you find yourself at a loose end call me,” said Niall, the awkwardness clearly one sided as he headed towards the lift.
Steph was relieved when Jamie, strangely named for a fifty something, rotund, balding man thought Steph, arrived as soon as she had sat back down with his almost completed department figures meaning he had left her within an hour. She emailed the completed figures to Jon and Dave then began to work through all of the figures she now had for each department.
Sometime later her phone rang taking her by surprise.
“Hello.”
“Where are you?” asked Jon.
“In the conference room down the corridor from you.”
“No you’re not,” he said seriously.
His insistence confused her. “I am, I am looking around and am definitely in the conference room.”
“That I am not disputing, but you are not down the corridor from me because I am at home, your home, where you should be at half past six.”
“Half past six?” Looking at her watch confirmed the information he had shared. “Bloody hell, I had no idea it was that late. The last time I checked it was half three. Sorry.” She began to shut her laptop down.
“You need to leave now before you end up getting locked in the bloody building,” he told her quite seriously.
“I am putting my laptop away as we speak,” she told him honestly.
“We need to agree your working hours, Miss Pryor, and I think you should leave that damned laptop at the office.” He sounded annoyed.
“I have nowhere to lock it up, so I will bring it home for the weekend, but I promise not to get it out.”
“Just get your arse back here,” he said, softer now making her smile.