Chapter Seventeen
Ella
As I approached my desk the next day, I spotted a large gift, perfectly wrapped in shiny red paper, waiting for me. I glanced at Zola, then at Katy, and pointed to the parcel on my desk.
Zola, who was crunching on an apple, shrugged. ‘It was here when we arrived.’
‘Oh! Maybe you have a secret admirer!’ Katy gushed, wheeling her seat over to my workspace.
I pulled off my coat, shaking my head. ‘I bet I know exactly who this is from.’
‘Who?’ Katy asked, glancing at Zola, who seemed equally confused.
‘Philip Khan! I offended his ego last night and now that prick thinks he can buy me,’ I muttered, unimpressed, as I began tearing open the paper.
I lifted the box for my friends to see the grand reveal.
Maybe it would be some expensive dress or luxury scarf he asked one of his assistants to pick out for me.
But as soon as I turned it around, I realised I was holding up an extra-large Rampant Rabbit in the middle of the office.
Both my friends erupted into laughter, and I immediately hurled the offending item under the desk.
‘Seriously! Guys! Fuck sake, we’re at work!’ I felt my face turn purple with embarrassment as my friends’ eyes acknowledged the outburst of laughter in the room.
‘Your face!’ Zola snorted. ‘ Oh, I know who this will be from ,’ she declared, in a poor imitation of my Glaswegian accent.
Katy doubled over, gasping for air. ‘You honestly thought Big Phil was buying the big dil! When you said you didn’t have one, Zola and I bounced straight onto Love Honey.’
I couldn’t keep my laughter in any longer, even though I was mortified.
I glanced at the box under my desk which featured a photograph of the toy.
It was massive: thick, made from rubber and a deep dark purple.
There was no way that thing was getting anywhere near my vagina.
I pride myself on my pelvic floor workout, and that device would have it in tatters.
‘Well, I don’t think I’ll need my Rabbit anymore, girls,’ Katy said proudly.
Zola and I turned to her, thirsty for some gossip; well, I was thirsty for a distraction from my solo sex habits.
‘You sealed the deal with Harry?’ I asked, excited to hear the details but even more relieved she wasn’t in a ball crying on the floor.
‘Not yet .?.?.’
Zola threw her head back and sighed dramatically, disappointed in her.
‘But .?.?.’ Katy continued, ‘Harry asked me to be his girlfriend last night, and I said yes.’
Zola and I gasped.
‘ And he said he loved me!’ she added. Her eyes glazed over with tears.
‘He loves you! Wow . After what .?.?. like a week?’ Zola questioned, bursting her bubble.
‘When you know, you know, Zola. I told you both how I felt the other day and, well, he feels the same!’ Katy snapped.
‘I’m happy for you, Katy. Honestly, I am.’ I leaned over and hugged my friend. She never seemed to have any luck when it came to dating, and from what she’d told us (and what I’d second-hand stalked) about Harry, he did seem like a genuinely decent guy.
‘I am too! Of course I am, but you know, it is fast, and we know you have previous with falling hard,’ Zola said, crunching down on the last bite of her apple. ‘I’m just protecting your feelings, babe. But I’m very happy for you!’
‘So, tonight is the night!’ Katy’s face brightened. ‘He’s going to shag the living daylights out of me!’
I smiled widely. ‘Yes, girl! And, of course, we want all the details.’
Katy scoffed. ‘That’s if I don’t have to take a sick day.’ She lowered her voice. ‘He’s a big boy,’ she said and winked.
‘Jesus, no wonder you wifed him off! How do you know?’ I asked, hoping for at least a sloppy BJ story.
‘He warned me.’ She raised her eyebrows.
‘Ouch!’ Zola said.
‘I’ll tell him to go easy. There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’ve birthed a hedgehog after a long night in the sack.’
‘Nothing better, more like!’ Zola countered.
They both gazed at me for something back, but I shrugged and said, ‘Yeah, can’t relate.’
Zola toddled over to my station, snatched my boaby box out from under there, ran back to her station and ripped it open, pulling out and fully exposing the giant cock-shaped vibrator under her desk.
‘No! Zola, stop, put it down!’ I warned, gazing around the room, desperately hoping no one else was watching her.
She turned the settings to vibrate and threw it over to me, giggling. ‘You can relate now, girl. Wooo, woooo!’ I grabbed the giant rubber dick in both my hands, fiddling with the buttons under the desk to stop it moving and slammed it into my drawer.
‘Enough!’ I spat, a shiver running down me at the thought of it. Then I reached for my sanitiser, drenching it over my hands.
‘You know, be careful with the settings. Stick to buzz, buzz, buzz . The others are like a form of Morse code. I have no idea who that pleases,’ she said, dishing out her expert advice then heading back to her desk.
‘And you know you might not need it anyway. You have a date with the gorgeous Alvaro tonight, remember? Ashton Lane – don’t be late! ’
‘I remember!’ I turned my chair to her. ‘You’re really bigging this one up, you know.’
Zola held her hand on her heart. ‘He is adorable, Ella. Honestly, I was messaging him until two this morning. Well, technically, you were messaging him.’
Both me and Katy burst out laughing.
‘What the fuck was I saying?’ I giggled, keen to know the background chat before heading out for my date.
‘I’ll screenshot you the important bits, but overall, it was Alvaro being a complete sweetheart,’ she gushed. ‘He’s kind, caring, warm, funny, and did I mention he’s Spanish and gorgeous?’
‘YES!’ Katy and I said simultaneously.
‘Yeah, well, you’re going to love this one. I mean, not like after a week kind of love – no offence, Katy. But he will be your first five-star review for the Dicktionary Club, I know it.’
I rolled my eyes, knowing there was no such thing in my book as a perfect man. Well, not since Joshua.
I turned back to my desk after the morning catch-up subsided and switched on my computer to begin working on my Alexander campaign.
It was getting closer to the launch date, and his PA had been emailing me for updates and to clarify plans.
I noticed Andrea was now copied into the emails too, and the pressure was beginning to build.
My phone pinged from my desk.
Unknown: Pilates! Are you free? Can you meet me? Philip .
I turned to my friends, who were wholly engrossed in their workload.
‘Guys, Philip Khan wants to meet up,’ I announced.
‘Da fuck! Well, say yes. Say yes,’ Zola encouraged. ‘You do want to meet him, right? He could have a proposition on a venue.’
‘Or just a proposition.’ Katy giggled.
But she was right. I needed to figure out what this man’s intentions were.
I paused for a moment, then began typing.
Ella: Hi Philip. Sure, I’m at work, though. Could we meet back in the conference room?
Philip: I’ll pick you up outside your building in ten. Almost passing. Philip.
I turned my phone around to my friends.
‘What do I say?’ I asked, needing their advice. ‘Will I ask what it’s regarding?’ I turned my phone to begin typing. ‘I have to stay professional. I don’t want him getting the wrong idea.’
‘Why would he?’ Katy asked.
‘Because he’s a man!’ I snapped back.
Zola hummed briefly. ‘OK, look, you have been professional all through this. It must be regarding a venue. I say, do it! I know he was a bit arrogant .?.?.’
I pulled a face. ‘A bit!’
‘But he has great connections,’ she added.
Katy smiled. ‘And great eyes. Tell me you two have noticed the eyes!’
I couldn’t deny it; his eyes were remarkable and mysterious. But I’d never admit it out loud, even to my best friends.
I continued typing.
Ella: Sure, Mr Khan. I can move a few things around and meet you for a debrief following our meeting last night.
Ten minutes later, after emailing Andrea my out-of-office plans, I stood outside the building, chittering.
I wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or the cool wind blowing my hair away from my face.
The sun was finally making an appearance through small gaps in the clouds, but still, I threw a black blazer over my cream, fitted dress, keeping a professional look.
A black Bentley SUV drew up and parked outside my office building, and I spotted Philip behind the wheel.
He looked much more casual than he had the evening before, dressed in a black polo shirt buttoned to the collar and wearing dark sunglasses.
He stepped out of the car and walked over to greet me.
As he leaned his body towards me, I tensed up, reminding myself he was a hugger – but he took hold of the passenger-side door handle instead.
‘Good morning,’ he said brightly and grinned, holding the door open and gesturing for me to sit.
I slid into the car, resting my handbag on the floor.
‘Morning, and err .?.?. thank you,’ I said, squirming at his attempt at old-fashioned chivalry.
Philip joined me in the car, and I could smell the musky aroma of his aftershave engulf the small space between us. That definitely wasn’t Davidoff’s Cool Water .
‘Our chat last night got me thinking,’ he began, pulling away from Smart Reputations.
‘Yeah?’ I replied curiously.
‘Well, I made a few calls, and I have potentially hired a venue for your big gallery exhibition. It would have to be in a couple of weeks’ time, though?’ He turned to me, his dark shades covering most of his handsome face, but not enough to hide his smug expression.
I screwed my face up, utterly confused.
‘This is usually the part where you say thanks,’ he said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
‘Well, where is the venue?’ I opted to say instead.
‘I’m about to show you. Patience.’
I sighed quietly, unsure if this was all a game to him. This was my career, a job I’d worked hard at for years, and here I was, playing along in some stupid fucking treasure hunt.