Chapter 6
I arrived at work with thirty minutes to spare, and in that time, I decided to reflect on the last twenty-four hours with the whole Jericho situation.
I quickly checked the OuiMeet app for signs of a response, but my message was still left unread.
I wanted to gauge his response before booking another session, but the excitement from last night’s shenanigans sat deep in my stomach – I needed more.
I loved the thrill of it and was tempted to book without waiting for his reply.
To hell with feeling embarrassed or ashamed about it; I had had too much fun to let this be a one-time occurrence.
I checked Jericho’s ‘menu’ again to see his rates:
I thought it would be cute to schedule a nice weekend date during the day to do something wholesome at first. I wanted to establish a rapport with him that didn’t feel quite so transactional and so I clicked on his ‘daytime date’ option on his profile.
I checked his calendar for availability; Saturday was the only day he had available for a daytime date, the same day my mum wanted us to come over so she could spill her alleged engagement news. Damnit.
With fifteen minutes before I needed to officially ‘clock in’ to work, I quickly texted Mum, already anticipating her emotionally manipulative response:
Cassandra: Mum, what time do you need us over this weekend? I may have a clash …
She answered within a couple of minutes.
Mummy: Clash with who? And why?
Mummy: So you can’t even take a day out of your busy schedule to spend time with the woman that brought you into this world? Who gave birth to you? Who gave you life???
Like clockwork. I quickly checked the available times Jericho had for Saturday; 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Damnit. I replied:
Cassandra: Can you really say you ‘gave birth’ to me, though? I was a caesarean, wasn’t I? So technically you didn’t really give birth to me … I was forcefully removed from your body against my will. Ejected. Anyways, I was thinking I could swing by for a couple of hours in the morning?
Steven would most probably end up staying the whole day at Mum’s with Bianca, which would take the heat off me. I crossed my fingers as I booted up my computer, hoping that she’d be OK with the early morning drop-in.
A few minutes later, the office door opened and instead of Kofi, a tall, bald-headed man came through the door and walked in my direction.
He had on tortoise-shell horn-rimmed glasses (from Oliver Peoples, I assumed), a black Bottega Veneta intrecciato-woven briefcase, and a three-piece suit, most likely by Ozwald Boateng.
Having worked around surgeons and consultants over the last few years, you quickly find out that they all tend to dress the same and reach for the same designer brands when outside of their surgical scrubs.
This was a man I didn’t recognise, however.
He stopped at my desk, a beaming smile in tow.
‘Hi there! You must be Cassandra. I just thought I’d pop in quickly to introduce myself.
’ He had a sunny, charming disposition, not dissimilar to a holiday representative.
He held out his hand, which I took hesitantly, and gave me a firm handshake.
I didn’t think we were expecting any new consultants on our floor, and if so, HR hadn’t alerted me to any staff changes, annoyingly.
‘I’m Mr Paulson, but you can just call me Jeff. I’m one of the new orthopaedic consultants, I don’t know if HR told you at all?’ He stepped back slightly, allowing me room to go through the piles of letters and notices on my desk and, of course, there was nothing to tell me he was starting today.
‘Hey! Nice to meet you – no, unfortunately HR haven’t updated me at all but that’s no problem,’ I said, trying to sound as professional as possible to cover up the fact that I was completely frazzled.
I absolutely hated being caught unaware, especially at work.
If I had known that we were going to get a new consultant, I would have arrived at work at least an hour earlier to set up his new office and run through a few logistics with him. But, we move.
‘Oh! Not to worry,’ he chortled lightly.
This Jeff guy seemed like a pleasant person; I was hoping he wouldn’t be too much trouble.
‘To be honest, I actually start tomorrow but I just wanted to move my bits into the new office beforehand – I like to be super organised ahead of time so thought I’d quickly introduce myself to you and just say I’m looking forward to us working together! ’
He seemed nice enough, and maybe this was right on time too, as a couple of my consultants were currently on annual leave, meaning my workload over the last few weeks had decreased a little – it would be nice to have a bit more to do.
I flashed my widest megawatt smile and replied, ‘I’m looking forward to working with you too, Jeff!
Thanks for stopping by. I work with another colleague called Kofi who should be here by nine a.m., but when he gets here, I’ll make sure to introduce you to him too!
I’m normally in the office all day until half past five, so if there’s anything you need or you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email or call me on my extension—’ I picked up one of my business cards located on the desk ‘—here. My extension is three-five-five-three and you can call anytime. I’ll also get on the phone to HR today so we can confirm your work email and some other bits that I can run through with you tomorrow morning? ’
By the look on Jeff’s face, I could tell he was impressed, which gave me a bit of a rush.
I loved this job, and there was nothing I loved more than being in charge of a group of men, especially.
There was something exhilarating about heading up some of the most brilliant medical minds, despite having no medical expertise myself.
The unique power dynamic fed a superiority complex I had come to welcome and fully embrace.
At this, Jeff beamed a wide smile and gave a short bow.
‘Amazing! Thank you, Cassandra. I look forward to meeting Kofi too, and I’ll be in the office until two p.m. or so moving in, so I’ll shout if I need any help – have a wonderful day! ’
I quickly sent an email asking for more information on Jeff through to HR after he left, which is when Kofi sauntered in, coffee in hand. ‘Who’s that?’ he asked, cocking his head towards the door. He then kicked the door shut and placed his drink on the table. ‘He’s tall, innit?’
‘That’s our new consultant apparently. Jeff Paulson – he seems nice. I’ve just sent an email to HR for his new email and stuff. I guess they forgot to tell us he was starting this week.’
‘Oh.’ Kofi breathed, rubbing the back of his neck slowly.
‘Yeah, my bad. I did get an email about someone starting this week but I kinda scrolled through it and forgot to forward it to you. Sorry!’ He held his hands up guiltily.
He knew how militant and organised I was when it came to work, and the last thing I hated was being caught off-guard – especially by one of our consultants.
‘Can I treat you to lunch to make up for it?’
Damnit. I didn’t really want to, but a free meal was a free meal.
‘Ugh. I ’spose so,’ I replied. ‘I’ll be ordering lobster for lunch, just so you know.
’ He laughed as he logged into his computer.
It was nothing more than a work-friend lunch – that’s all it was.
I checked back on my phone to see a response from my mum:
You think you’re so funny. You get your humour from your dad unfortunately. Anyway, I wanted to prepare a meal for us all, but if you have more important things to do, then …
Ah, the good old emotional manipulation. The cornerstone of every mother–daughter relationship. I quickly replied;
It’s just a timing issue, but I’ll cook you a wonderful breakfast if that helps? The best breakfast you’ve ever had!
‘So, what time did you wanna head out for lunch?’ Kofi said quietly over the humming of his computer.
I could tell he was trying to sound casual, but the tension in his voice betrayed a quiet desperation, hanging awkwardly in the air.
There was a part of me that wanted to lightly mention my interaction with Jericho to him just to throw him off my scent, but equally that would have been cruel, and I still wanted to keep that quiet for now.
‘I don’t think it’s a good idea for both of us to be away from our desks during lunch, you know,’ I replied cautiously, yet truthfully.
‘I was planning to pick up a few things to get Mr Paulson ready for his official first day tomorrow but—’ I turned around to see Kofi’s face looking almost crestfallen.
I felt the guilt run through me like a knife ‘—why don’t you grab us something and we can just chill here maybe?
Besides, it’s way warmer here!’ His face lit up again at that.
Lunch came, and in the time that Kofi dashed out to grab us two boxes of beef lasagne, I decided to make my move and book Jericho’s company for Saturday now that I’d sorted out early morning plans with my mum.
I went to Jericho’s OuiMeet page and saw that his 2 p.m. slot was still free, and booked it.
After receiving the confirmation, I let out a slow grin; finally something to look forward to!
I couldn’t wait. I wanted to buy a new outfit and perhaps retwist my front braids so everything looked neat. I sent Sade a quick text.
Babe, I booked Jericho again for this weekend??? Gonna actually meet him for a few hours, I can’t believe it. Need to find something to wear ASAP xx
She immediately texted back:
Bitch, this is what we love to see! Happy for u, remember to text me where you’re going and send me your location info so I know you’re not being murdered, k? Also this just reminds me that I need to go on a date too man. Ugh. Hate this dry spell! I need to be hooked up expeditiously! xx