Chapter Ten Ella #3
There was a cheer in the conference room, followed by a great round of applause.
‘Welcome to the family. Come, stand up, I want you to meet everyone.’
Jimmy ushered us round the table as champagne was brought in to toast our deal. One by one, we met app designers, IT specialists, graphic designers, assistants, personal assistants, data analysts and marketing and PR specialists. This company had everything, and we were about to be part of it.
After thirty minutes of introducing us to our new work colleagues, Jimmy led us to the door.
‘Come, I’ll show you to your office.’ He nudged his head, and Katy, Zola and I followed him.
We walked around the open-plan office, which had a great vibe – welcoming, edgy, techy – featuring areas with giant screens, huge shiny plants and beanbag chairs throughout.
‘I’ve put you girls in one of the big offices, next to mine.
It means you have room in there for three desks, but if you prefer individual working spaces, we can take care of that, no problem.
’ Jimmy headed round the corner to a row of glass-boxed offices.
‘This is Fee’s, and Travis has the corner office, then mine, of course, and the one opposite is yours. ’
My eyes widened, trying to take it all in without looking like a totally unsophisticated rookie. We had the biggest on the whole floor, bigger than Jimmy’s.
‘Wow!’ I grinned.
Zola skipped towards the space, with Katy following behind.
‘Did you expect this?’ Jimmy asked when it was just the two of us.
I shook my head, still admiring the bright modern space right at the heart of New York.
‘I think we’ll make a wonderful partnership, Ella.’ His smile was warm, a little shyer than the hardcore businessman we had seen leading the meeting earlier.
‘I do too.’
‘Will it be a pain to rearrange life back home and live here for a while?’ he asked.
I laughed. ‘Absolutely not!’
‘So, no one special . . . a husband or a boyfriend you have to break the news to?’
I turned to Jimmy. His eyes were dark, mysterious, almost. I wondered what he was thinking. Was he trying to get to know a new colleague a little more? Or maybe he was being kind? Although this was a fantastic opportunity, it was a lot to ask of someone – to move to the other side of the world.
‘No one worth mentioning,’ I answered quietly.
There was a moment between us, his eyes scanning my face.
‘You have got to see this view, Ella!’ Zola called from inside our new office.
‘She’s right, you know. It’s the best view in the house,’ Jimmy said.
‘I have another meeting to get to, but I’ll make sure someone brings your contracts around Hudson Yards tonight,’ he said, hands casually resting in the trouser pockets of his expensive suit.
‘In the meantime, have a look around, get to know the place.’
‘Thank you,’ I replied. ‘We won’t let you down.’
I headed into the office to meet my two friends and when I turned back, Jimmy was gone.
‘What the fuck!’ Zola was bouncing up and down, too hyped to stand at peace.
I laughed, walking over to the window and admiring the unbelievable view of the Empire State Building and midtown Manhattan spread out around us.
‘Look at the desks!’ Zola continued. ‘And he said we’ll have our own assistants if we want. I picked that up, right? Plus, coffees on tap!’
‘We have to really read the contracts in depth, maybe get a lawyer to look over it all,’ I said, knowing there might be some hidden clause we’d have to be careful of. ‘These extras are great, but—’
‘Ella, now is the time to be excited. Look at our fucking office!’ Zola continued, skipping about like a toddler after too much birthday cake.
‘Are you OK with all of this, Katy?’ I asked my friend, who was quietly swirling in a plush leather chair.
Eventually, she nodded. ‘Yeah. I am.’ She paused and looked up. ‘Fee seems lovely.’
I couldn’t disagree – she seemed genuine and warm-hearted.
‘I wish I had the balls to tell her, but I didn’t want to upset her. I didn’t want all of this to go away either. Does that make me a horrible, selfish person?’
I walked over to Katy, placing my hand on her shoulder. ‘No, it makes you human, babe. I don’t think I could have told her,’ I assured her, honestly.
‘I mean, if you’re dead set on outing him . . .’ Zola trailed off. ‘You did meet him on Tinder, right?’
Katy agreed, her face lifting as she caught onto Zola’s plan.
‘We could always expose him on the app . . .’
I turned to my friends, knowing how toxic that had been for me.
‘Guys . . .’ I interjected.
‘Not straight away. Bide your time. Even do it when we’re back in Glasgow. But there are ways and means. Think about it,’ Zola continued. ‘There would be a certain poetic justice in that man being taken down by the very app his wife’s company invested in.’
My heart picked up pace again, knowing I didn’t want to relive the chaos The Dicktionary Club had caused in the past.
‘I’ll think about it.’ Katy grinned widely, finally realising she had the upper hand.
‘But, until then,’ I said, ‘please don’t go anywhere near Travis Mason!’