Chapter 18
I wasn’t looking forward to telling Mia about this latest development.
Especially since Mitch was her golden boy.
But I’d left for work this morning with golden boy in my bed, stretched out on his front, sound asleep.
I’d spent a less peaceful night, tossing and turning on the pull-out couch in the lounge, worrying about how today would go. I was about to find out.
‘Morning, Prim!’ chirped Mia as she shrugged off her bright red coat.
She was wearing an equally vivid orange top underneath with blue and orange tartan trousers.
I rubbed my temples, not prepared for this visual assault so early in the day.
Worse, she was in an excellent mood. I hated to be the bearer of bad news, but it had to be done.
‘Morning,’ I replied, clicking randomly on a document as she settled next to me. When I’d deemed she’d caught up on enough emails, I dropped the bombshell: ‘We need to ban Shoshana.’
Mia stopped typing and swivelled to face me. ‘What’s happened?’ She sounded slightly panicked, as I knew she would, because Shoshana was a high-paying client.
I turned in my chair and said calmly, ‘She attacked Mitch at her appointment, and he’s injured.’
Mia blinked. ‘What did she do?’
‘Ripped up his back with her nails. He was in a lot of pain last night—he rang me,’ I added. Which was true. I just didn’t mention he’d come round after he had.
‘Fuck,’ said Mia softly. ‘And his first appointment, too. That’s not good. Is he okay?’
‘Yes, but not in a hurry to have a repeat performance with her.’
‘He still wants to keep working here, though?’ asked Mia anxiously, looking a bit green against her orange top.
‘I think so. He didn’t say otherwise. I told him we’d pay him sick leave, and he was happy about that.’
Mia exhaled. ‘That’s a given. Poor Mitch. Does he need to see a doctor?’
I shook my head, thinking about my careful sticking-plaster application last night.
‘No, he just needs to rest and heal. I told him to take Nurofen every four hours.’ (I’d also gotten up at the crack of dawn and made him some tomato soup and left it in the fridge, but I skipped that part.) ‘Obviously he can’t work for the next week.
And I told him I’d move all his appointments forward. ’
‘Yes, of course. Thanks for being on hand last night to talk to him,’ said Mia, buying my phone conversation ruse.
‘That’s one side of the issue solved, at least. But I’m not sure about banning Shoshana.
She might turn evil and start warning everyone she knows not to come here.
Word of mouth is hugely important in this industry, and I don’t want to lose a huge chunk of revenue. ’
‘I’ll take that risk,’ I said stubbornly. ‘She can’t do something like that and get away with it.’
‘Maybe she got carried away and didn’t realise what she’d done. Was it during the full sex part of the appointment?’
I nodded, gritting my teeth, not liking where Mia’s reasoning was headed.
‘Well, then, I can understand how it happened,’ she continued. ‘You didn’t experience it, Prim. Mitch’s cock is hugely conducive to a passionate response.’
I gritted my teeth and said nothing, but Mia noticed I was getting red in the face.
Her eyes narrowed. ‘Why don’t you let me handle it?’ she said gently. ‘You seem a little too invested to think objectively.’
I turned back to my laptop and forced myself to take some deep breaths. Shit, had Mia picked up on something?
‘Fine,’ I said curtly after a moment. ‘Handle it how you like. But I don’t want her booking another appointment with Mitch. Ever. I’m providing HR support to the guys, so it doesn’t make me look good if you brush their concerns and issues under the carpet.’
‘I do understand your position, Prim. But as managing director, I need to make the best decision for the business.’
My nails dug into my palms. Grrrr, she was right, but I hated her reminding me that I had less power than her.
For the first time since I’d started working at Suite Noir, I experienced a strong desire to walk out the door and leave her to it.
Maybe I should begin updating my CV… But I was a marketing executive for a male brothel.
Not exactly a business that a straitlaced employer would think highly of. And I had rent to pay.
‘Prim? You know I value you, don’t you? I need you. I can’t do this alone.’
I looked over at Mia and saw the pleading expression on her face. She’d clearly picked up on my ‘I want to quit’ vibe.
‘I know you do,’ I said, relaxing my fists and reverting to my usual pacifist demeanour. ‘But please keep me in the loop with what happens.’
‘I will. And thank you for all your hard work.’ She tilted her head. ‘Let’s go to that sushi place you like for lunch, and have a pedicure afterwards. My shout.’
My lips curved, feeling a bit better. ‘Okay.’
Even though I knew she was scared I would leave, it was nice to be appreciated. Working with a friend had its moments, but there were some benefits too. I just had to make sure I didn’t drink any wine at lunch. Otherwise, I might let slip that Mitch was staying at my flat for a week.