Tristan is home around midnight, so I’m back in bed at half-past.
I didn’t ask if Danny went home alone. I didn’t ask him much at all. I lied and said I was tired and made a quick getaway.
Being in bed is pointless as I have zero chance of falling asleep now, knowing some other girl might be in that giant bed of his right now.
My phone buzzes in the darkness, and I pick up, thinking it’s Tristan checking if I got home ok.
“Before you speak, don’t fight with me.” The familiar Scottish voice says hoarsely. “I’m outside.” Every muscle goes rigid in the bed. “Give me a minute.”
I look down at my old grey pyjama shorts and swear. I’ve no time to fix my hair or bloodshot eyes.
Throwing on a sweater, I stealth through the sleeping flat and down the stairs.
When I open the door, he’s leaning against his car, arms folded and a look of impatience on his face.
“Nice.” He says softly, his eyes travelling down to my grey shorts before returning to my face.
“I’m a bit worried you’re going to ask me for a threesome,” I grumble, looking around to see if he has Mara in the car.
He cocks a brow in amusement. “I think the other girl would feel very left out if we had a threesome.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “Listen, I can’t stay.”
“I wasn’t letting you in.” I return, lifting my chin defiantly
“This fighting between us needs to stop, Charlie. One day we’re lovers, the next enemies.” I open my mouth to speak, then close it.
“I can’t promise you commitment. You know that. But I’m not dating Jen or Mara or any other girl right now. The truth is I’m only interested in you.” His eyes blaze as he waits for my reaction.
Can I do casual?
“I care about you… a lot. I also don’t want to share you with anyone else. But you have to stop bickering with me”
“You didn’t contact me,” I whisper. “I thought you were ghosting me.”
He lets out a long sigh. “It’s been chaotic these past few days. Just because I didn’t message you doesn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about you.”
I lower my eyes to his chest. “I thought you regretted it.”
“Regret it?” he grins, forcing my face up again. “That’s the most carefree weekend I’ve had in years.”
His fingers sweep over my lower lip. “It’s taking every ounce of self-control not to yank down these grey shorts and fuck you on the doorstep.”
“So you didn’t even kiss Mara?” My eyes narrow at him.
“No,” He says, taken back. “Truth be told, I found her irritating.”
“Now, will you give me something to hold onto while I’m in New York?”
“What do you -”
I’m cut off by his lips launching onto mine, and we kiss with such tenderness, my knees buckle slightly. His arms catch me, pressing my body tight against his.
My breasts brush against his lower chest, and I get on my tiptoes, desperately clawing at the back of his neck.
I want this man more than I’ve ever wanted anyone.
His tongue pushes between my lips, forcing himself deeper into my mouth, and I open to let him in.
I push a hand under his shirt wanting skin on skin and he holds me tight against his groin, his length hardening by the second.
“Fuck” His voice is low and gravelly as he pulls away from the kiss. “My driver’s watching over the street. I need to go back to mine to catch a flight to New York early in the morning. I need to go.” “Ok,” I reply through ragged breathing.
“Sleep well, gorgeous.” He kisses my forehead, and I stare after the beautiful specimen as he walks towards his car.
***
You can come in now Charlotte.” David from the Nexus HR team pops his head out the door to where I’m sitting. I’m top of the line of five nervous looking Dunley Tech colleagues.
Statistically at least 2. 5 of us will get the chop.
I stand up and shuffle into the room in my tight pencil skirt. How Jackie walks around in these all day is beyond me.
I thought rocking up to the meeting groomed and with my hair not looking like I had just rolled out of bed might support the fight for my job.
David takes a seat back behind the desk and smiles, lifting his pen ready to write.
Even though this has been labelled a casual chat to talk through my options, my cheeks burn as the two of them watch me.
“So Charlotte,” David starts.
“You can call me Charlie.”
He nods, “Charlie. I’m David and this is my colleague Samantha.” Samantha stops writing to give me a curt nod.
“We want to make sure you are comfortable with the three options and what they mean to you.” I nod, rubbing my clammy hands on my pencil skirt.
“Obviously the first option is simple, your job remains as is and you continue as normal. This depends on how your job fits in with the direction of the company. Going forward, you’ll be reporting to Janet Dixon as Mike is leaving us.”
“Mike’s gone?” I gasp, my eyes widening.
“Mike’s position was no longer…. required” Samantha replies, deadpan. I make a mental note to ask Stevie what happened.
“The second possibility is redundancy, either voluntary or” he clears his throat. “mandatory.”
“We are looking to communicate with everyone as quickly as possible on this. “Samantha says in a voice that tells me this is nothing new to her. “We understand how difficult this can be.” “When will I find out?” I pipe up in a strangled voice.
He smiles sympathetically at me. “We are still assessing your team. Circa 2-3 weeks I should think.”
“The third option is where you move into a new role in the company.” Samantha says in a mechanical way that tells me she’s going through the motions. This is probably her 30th time this week. “We have jobs advertised internally first before going to market. I must stress it is a highly competitive market.”