Chapter 6 #2
“Did you talk to her?” Lil was rocking Bug back and forth like a baby, kissing his head every few seconds.
“I did, and it did not go well.” Alyssa recalled the fierce expression on Ms Crawford’s delicious face.
“What does that mean, and why are you looking like that?”
“I’m not looking like anything. Turns out Ms Crawford is the complete opposite of Richard. As in, she has a stick up her arse and a chip on her shoulder.”
“Explain.” Lil finally sat Bug down on the floor, clipping on his lead so he couldn’t make another great escape.
“I mean, she had no idea we were here. Until she found him—” Alyssa pointed to Bug “—in her office. Looks like Richard didn’t fill her in on our partnership before leaving.”
“Well, what does that mean? Can she cancel it? Send us home?”
“Lil, I have no idea. I mean, I have a written agreement with Richard, so that must mean something. I told her to ring her dad and talk to him…” Alyssa trailed off because she didn’t want to blurt out that she’d called the CEO a condescending arsehole. Lil wouldn’t be too pleased with that.
“What aren’t you telling me, Al?”
Damn it!
“I may have called her a condescending arsehole,” she muttered under her breath.
“What?” Lil bellowed. “Alyssa, have you lost your mind?”
“Lil, you should have heard the way she was talking to me,” Alyssa argued. “I didn’t deserve it and she was being an arsehole!”
“That doesn’t mean you point it out to her, you prat!”
“It just slipped out. I was angry.”
“I wish, just once, you would curb your temper. See, this is what I get for working and being friends with a bloody Aries.”
Alyssa rolled her eyes. So what if she fit her astrology sign to a T? It didn’t make her wrong! Ms Crawford was a miserable cow who shouldn’t be allowed to speak to people like that unchecked.
“Relax, Lil. I’ll apologise later.”
“You better, Al. We haven’t got a back-up plan.”
Alyssa wasn’t stupid. She knew she had to apologise and make nice, but she wasn’t in the headspace to do it just now. Definitely better for everyone involved if Alyssa had time to cool off first. Otherwise, the apology would turn into another argument.
“So what’s she like, apart from being an arsehole?” Lil asked, dragging Alyssa along to the vending machines.
“Well, she’s…she’s…”
“Ha! She’s fit, isn’t she? You’re all stuttery, meaning Ms Crawford has to be a looker.”
“Oh for God…she’s pretty. I’ll give her that. Shame her personality sucks so much, though.” There was no chance she was going to tell Lil that the wretched Ms Crawford gave her all the feels in her intimate areas. Nope.
“C’mon, fess up, she’s hot and you want to do unspeakable things to her,” Lil cackled. Alyssa laughed along because her friend was ridiculous.
“Shut up and get me a coffee…oh, and a muffin.”
“There’s a muffin waiting for you in the office upstairs,” Lil winked.
“What?”
“Ms Crawford’s muffin.” Lil laughed harder this time.
“That was such a bad lesbian joke it’s almost funny.”
“I’m freakin’ hilarious.” Lil wiped the stray tear from under her eye. Alyssa had to give it to her best friend: there wasn’t anyone else she knew who found themselves as funny as Lil Barnes.
“You’re off your freakin’ rocker, more like. Anyway, enough chitchat. Any updates?”
“All’s well, fearless leader. Most of the team have gone back to the centre to do a deep clean. Thought it would be a great opportunity to spruce the place up a bit whilst the residents are out.”
“So who’s left here, then?”
“You’re looking at ’em, love. Just me and you. I was going to do one more check before heading out to lunch.”
“I’ll do that. You go grab some food. Bring me back a sandwich or something.”
“Roger that. See you soon.” Lil handed Bug’s lead to Alyssa and skipped out the room. The manky apple slices in the vending machine weren’t particularly appealing. No wonder everyone went looking elsewhere for sustenance.
“Just me and you now, Bug. C’mon, let’s go visit some of your pals.”
Alyssa led Bug around the offices, stopping to chat with as many people as possible. After checking the fenced-off play area outside, Alyssa sat back and relaxed with Bug in a particularly sunny spot by the office entrance.
Closing her eyes, Alyssa basked in the heat of the winter sun. “Global warming is a real bitch, Bug,” she mumbled. They should not be having temperatures like this in November. The chatter of two people caught Alyssa’s attention.
“I heard she went off on the woman who brought the dogs,” a woman said.
“Are you surprised she didn’t know? The woman never leaves that bloody office,” the man walking next to her replied. Alyssa heard the two workers fiddle with a packet and then the distinct sound of a lighter being flicked. The woman took a long draw of her cigarette in.
“She needs to relax. Richard was never like this. I’m getting secondary stress from just being near her.”
“What the bloody hell was Richard thinking running off like that? I suppose we have to give her some credit for stepping in at the last minute. Right before Christmas as well. I wouldn’t want to be her.” The man said.
“God, and did you hear about her ex strolling in earlier?” Alyssa’s ears perked up. “That woman was awful. What Evelyn ever saw in her is beyond me.”
Woman. Her. Did that mean…
“Yeah, I get that. Mindy was a bitch from the start. Everyone knew she was just after the money. Shame, really, it’s not like Evelyn isn’t a looker. I’d have thought she’d have the pick of anyone on the London lesbian scene.”
“Tom, what the bloody hell would you know about the London lesbian scene?” The woman laughed.
“I know things. I’m just saying, Evelyn surely has more options than that gold digging cow,” Tom replied.
Alyssa’s mind was spinning. Evelyn Crawford was a lesbian, or at least dated women. Not that it changed anything. The woman was still condescending and mardy. Not Alyssa’s type at all.
Still, Alyssa found herself thinking of Ms Crawford for the next few hours. Even though she had things to do, her mind wandered back to the infuriating CEO.
“Did you apologise yet?” Lil asked later that afternoon. They hadn’t broached the subject, and Alyssa foolishly thought Lil had forgotten all about it.
“Not yet, but I will.”
“Alyssa, go and do it. Maybe take the time to actually tell the woman why we’re here. It is her company, after all.”
“It’s Richard’s company as far as I’m concerned.”
“Stop being antagonistic and just go apologise. Think of the centre. Think of what we’re trying to achieve. All of that can and will go away if you piss off the woman in charge.”
“Fine, I’m going.”
Lil was right, this wasn’t about her or Evelyn Crawford. It was about her dogs, and they were the only thing that mattered. If Alyssa had to put up with Ms Crawford and her catty attitude, she would. Alyssa Fox would do anything for her pups.
The ride up to the executive floor was silent bar the hum of the elevator.
Alyssa counted down the floors as she ascended higher.
A weird lump formed in her stomach, but she couldn’t quite work out if it was because she was going to have to apologise and grovel if necessary to Ms Crawford, or if it was because Ms Crawford’s beauty was unnerving.
Either way, the next few minutes were going to suck.