A Day at the Office

by Matt Dunn

  Julie stood there for a moment, then pulled her purse out and fumbled for her own card, dropping it onto the floor in the process. 'Shit!' she said, out loud this time, then she bent down and scrabbled around to find it. 'Mark!' she called, swiping the barrier open and following him onto the platform. 'Hold on.'

  The waiting train was about to leave, and Mark had already got on, so she sprinted towards it and jumped on through the rapidly closing doors, then realised they were on different carriages, so she made her way to the connecting door and peered through the window. Mark was several seats away, so she pulled the dirty glass panel down and knocked loudly on the corresponding window. After a few moments, a large Rastafarian got out of his seat and pulled it open.

  'Yes?'

  'I need to speak to him,' said Julie, pointing to where Mark was sitting, staring vacantly out of the window.

  'Hey,' called the man, making Mark jump. 'She wants to speak to you.'

  Mark followed the direction of the Rastafarian's pointing finger, then he almost recoiled in shock. 'Are you following me?'

  'No, Mark. I often ride the District Line for fun of an evening.'

  'What do you want?'

  'I...' Julie looked around. The carriage was quite busy, and the last thing she wanted was to play this scene out in public. 'Could you come here? Please?'

  Mark puffed air out of his cheeks resignedly, then stood up and moved obediently towards the window, the fight all but knocked out of him. 'Why didn't you tell me?'

  'I'm sorry.' Julie sighed. 'It's...complicated.'

  'It didn't look that complicated to me.'

  'We're separated.'

  'It didn't look that separate to me either.'

  With the windows open, a breeze was rushing through the carriages, ruffling their hair as if they were stood on top of some windswept moor. 'Mark, it's a long story,' said Julie, pushing her fringe out of her eyes. 'But please believe me. We haven't been...' She reddened slightly. 'Husband and wife for a long time.'

  'Since Christmas?'

  'Especially since Christmas,' she said, and Mark's heart skipped a beat. 'We just live together. But not, you know, in the Biblical sense.'

  'The Biblical sense? What does that mean, exactly? Is it where you get stoned for adultery?'

  Julie winced. 'Mark, it's not like that.'

  'Did you tell him what happened between us?'

  'God no. But only because I didn’t want to hurt him. He's been going through a bad time, and I...'

  'And what about hurting me? You mercilessly kissed me, and then...' He stopped himself, realising how pathetic that sounded.

  'I'm sorry. I know how it must have seemed.'

  'So why did you do it? Kiss me, I mean.'

  'Because I...' Julie felt herself blush even deeper. 'Because I wanted to. And I thought you wanted to kiss me too. Then when we did... I hadn't been kissed for such a long time, and certainly not like that. And afterwards, all I could think about was doing it again.'

  'So why didn't you?'

  'Where, exactly? In the stationery cupboard?' She threw her hands in the air. 'And how could I? Given...'

  'Your husband?'

  'My soon to be ex-husband,' said Julie, then she caught herself. It was the first time she'd said it out loud, and it surprised her how easily the words had come out. 'At least, he will be, when I do tell him about us.'

  'Us?' said Mark. Despite how he was feeling, he still loved the way the word sounded. 'Is there an 'us'?'

  'I hope there can be,' said Julie, as the tube rattled into the next station. 'But I need to tell Philip first. Then, once I have, we can work out where we are.'

  Mark peered out of the window. 'Turnham Green?'

  'I don't care how jealous it makes him.'

  'No.' he pointed at the sign on the platform. 'Where we are. It's Turnham Green.'

  'Oh, I thought you meant...'

  Julie half-smiled, and Mark reached though the window and touched the side of her face. 'I'm sorry, Julie. I just felt - feel - like such an idiot.'

  Julie took his hand. 'I'm the idiot. For not trying to explain.'

  'Why didn't you?'

  'I didn't think you'd understand.'

  'Why not?'

  'Because I'm not sure I do.'

  Mark shook his head. 'Try me.'

  'I want to. But like I said. It's... Complicated.'

  'So is accountancy. But I understand that.'

  As Julie stared at him, wondering where to start, the tube came to a halt, and as the doors opened, she squeezed his fingers, then turned and ran out of the carriage. Mark stood at the window, wondering whether he should follow her, but suspected she probably needed her space - and he needed to think things through himself. A beeping sound signified the doors were closing, and he realised it was too late anyway, until he felt someone standing behind him, and he wheeled around.

  'Hi,' he said, unable to keep the smile from his face. 'Fancy seeing you here.'

  'I could say the same thing to you,' said Julie, and as the tube jolted forward suddenly, she lost her balance and fell straight into his arms. For a moment, they just looked at each other, and Julie held her breath - they hadn't been this close since that night in the taxi. And then, before she could stop herself, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

  'Can you wait until I get this sorted out?' she said eventually, breathlessly, and Mark nodded. The truth was, he'd been waiting for Julie for all of his life, so what were a few more weeks?

  And although the rush hour tube didn't quite have the privacy of their post-Christmas-party taxi, they kissed again. Though perhaps because it was Valentine's Day, nobody in the carriage seemed to mind.

  Nathan Field piloted his bike along Frith Street, a smile on his face. Meeting Ellie had been great. Fantastic, even. No longer did he feel a fool, or a mug - he'd just done what most other people did, and had a mismatch in expectations. And in actual fact, he could now see she'd done him a favour by turning down his proposal.

  At the same time, he realised he'd been stupid, and that Mark had been right. For the last three years, he'd put Ellie up on a pedestal, assumed she'd been this perfect woman, and yet, he'd been so wrong. She'd cheated on him. Misled him. Deceived him, even - someone perfect would hardly behave like that. And if he needed further proof, someone else had dumped her. And as sad as that was, the relief he'd felt upon hearing it was like a huge weight being lifted from his shoulders.

  He realised something else too. He shouldn't be holding out for the perfect woman, but like Mark had said, just someone who was perfect for him, and the only way to find her was to start looking. Of course, round the corner from Old Compton Street was perhaps the wrong place to have that revelation, but Nathan didn't care.

  For a moment, he wondered how many opportunities he'd missed, or passed up over the last few years, then just as quickly, he decided they weren't important. What mattered was what he did from now on in, so no more would he avoid eye contact, or not respond to flirting, in a pointless attempt to be faithful to the memory of someone who'd been unfaithful to him. He would be a number-collector. A street-flirt. And he was going to start right now.

  He steered the Vespa into Bateman Street and stopped outside the office. The lights were blazing - the cleaners, probably - so he nipped inside, nodded hello to the man noisily Hoovering the reception area, then headed downstairs and fired up his laptop. Sixteen messages - half of them from everyone at SuperBowl, wondering where he was.

  With a couple of mouse-clicks, he reset his clock, then wondered what Mark was up to, and thought about giving him a call, but swapped-phone issues aside, Mark might be busy with Julie, and the last thing Nathan wanted was to interrupt that, so instead he logged off from Outlook, and strolled back outside. Soho was still buzzing, the pub on the corner had drinkers spilling out onto the street, and for a moment, Nathan felt perhaps Valentine's Day wasn't so bad after all, even if you were single.

  He supposed he could head back to SuperBowl and
join everyone for a drink or two, though thanks to his diversion with Ellie, they'd be even drunker than when he'd considered meeting them before. Besides, him turning up now would only mean there'd be an odd number. And Nathan didn't want to be the odd man out.

  He walked round the corner, passing the bored-looking girls smoking outside Spank-o-rama. It probably wasn't the most popular venue on Valentine's night, and he wondered where they'd rather be this evening, whether they all had someone at home, waiting for them to finish dancing nearly naked in front of complete strangers - and to think he'd been worried about his choice of career.

  The thought reminded him of Ellie, and he looked at his watch. She'd probably be sitting at home on her own by now, and for the first time in three years, he felt a little of something he recognised as pity. It hadn't been her fault he wasn't what she wanted. It wasn't his fault either. It simply was what it was. And like she'd said, would it really have been better for her to have accepted his engagement half-heartedly in the spirit of Valentine's Day, then spent then next few months thinking how to get out of it? And while the affair was still something he couldn't forgive, perhaps he could understand it. After all, people dealt with things in different ways, or had their own perspectives of what was normal where relationships were concerned, their own methods of dealing with loneliness, and of trying to meet someone new. Look at Sophie. Look at Mark and Julie. And look at Calum.

  Old Amsterdam was just round the corner, and on a whim, Nathan headed towards it, thinking he might just peek in through the window and see how Calum was getting on. As he turned into Charlotte Street, he spotted what looked like Mia-Rose, a single red rose in her hand, being escorted out of the restaurant, and realised that must have been embarrassing for Calum, until he saw it was actually Calum who was holding the door open for her.

  Nathan wondered if he'd had been stood up, and whether Mia-Rose had come to his rescue, but by the blissful look on his face, Calum didn't care. They hadn't seen him, so he ducked into a nearby doorway and watched as the two of them made their way along the pavement, walking that walk where were they any closer, they'd be touching, any further apart, they'd just be two people heading in the same direction. The difference, Nathan noted, though tiny, was in fact huge.

  Just before they crossed the road, Calum leaned in and whispered something in Mia-Rose's ear, and in response, she threw her head back and laughed, then gently linked her arm with his. And Nathan didn't know if it was a trick of the light, or whether the pavement perhaps rose a little at that point, but he'd swear Calum seemed to grow a couple of inches taller.

  He turned and made his way back to where he'd parked his bike, and found himself outside Poles Apart. The lights were still on, so he pushed the door open and walked inside - despite his earlier pronouncement, a coffee was all he really felt like picking up this evening - and while he didn't expect to find Kasia still working, the sight of her behind the counter was a pleasant surprise.

  'Evening,' he said, and she looked up suspiciously, smiling broadly when she recognised him.

  'Hello, Nathan. And how is my favourite customer?'

  Nathan looked around the empty café. From what he could see, he was her only customer.

  'I bet you say that to everyone who comes in here.'

  'I do,' said Kasia, matter-of-factly. 'It is good for tips. But I only mean it with one of them.'

  Nathan laughed. 'Well, I'm fine, thanks for asking,' he said. 'Tired, though. It's been a long day. Which is why I'm in need of one of your coffees.'

  'I thought you would have a date tonight?'

  Nathan shook his head. 'No. I'm not the biggest fan of Valentine's Day.'

  'No?' Kasia raised both eyebrows. 'Then you would like it in Poland. There, we don't celebrate it so much.'

  'Why not?'

  Kasia shrugged, and then without asking what he wanted, began to make him a latte. 'For us, Valentine is the saint of, how do you say, people who have fit?'

  Nathan laughed. 'People who are fit. Good looking people. It's kind of the same here.'

  'No.' Kasia shook her head. 'People who have fit.' She pulled her phone out of her pocket and jabbed at the screen. 'Wait. I have Google Translate.'

  Nathan loved the way she said 'Google Translate'. It made her sound like a sexy vampire, and he was just considering telling her that when she turned her phone round so he could see the screen.

  'Epileptics?'

  Kasia nodded. 'Like I said. People who have fit.'

  'Ah. So it's not quite the romantic day it is here, then?'

  'Well, we have some romance.'

  'Such as?'

  'We also have a custom of throwing a sugar cube into...' She consulted Google translate again. 'How do you say these words?'

  ''Eligible bachelor'.'

  '...into eligible bachelor's drink.'

  'Well, that is romantic,' he said, sarcastically.

  Kasia smiled. 'You think? Because we must keep the sugar in our armpit for nine days first. That way, they will fall in love with us. Like I say, it's tradition.'

  Nathan grimaced. 'And does it work?' he said, eyeing the sugar bowl on the counter suspiciously.

  'Did your coffee taste funny this morning?'

  He laughed again. 'I'm back here for another one, aren't I?'

  'Good. Then it works.'

  She laughed too, and as she passed him his latte, a couple walked in holding hands, the girl grinning from ear to ear while admiring the ring she was wearing, and Nathan didn't have to be a genius to work out what had just happened. He blew on his coffee as he peered at them over the rim of his cup. They were giggling, and as the girl looked at her boyfriend adoringly, for the first time in a long time, Nathan noted to his surprise, something was different. He didn't feel cynical.

  He sipped his latte, wondering whether this was the result of his earlier clear-the-air meeting with Ellie, or even something to do with seeing Calum and Mia-Rose. Perhaps it was even due to what had happened with him and Sophie - Nathan wasn't sure - but he hoped it was progress. He leant against the wall, sipping his latte as Kasia served the couple, strangely reluctant to leave. Once they'd gone, he walked back towards the counter.

  'So...'

  Kasia glanced round at him as she finished wiping the coffee machine down. 'So?'

  Nathan's heart was beating faster than normal, and he didn't think it was from the caffeine. 'I was wondering...'

  'Wondering what?'

  He cleared his throat, then shook his head slowly. 'I was going to ask if you wanted to go out for a coffee sometime, but I doubt that's the most tempting offer for someone who works in a place like this.'

  Kasia walked over to the door, turned the sign round so it read 'closed', then slid the bolt across. 'Not really,' she said, then she helped herself to a fruit juice from the refrigerator, and sat down at the nearest table.

  ''Not really' as in it's not a tempting offer, or 'not really' as in you don't want to do it with me?' said Nathan, nervously.

  'The first one,' said Kasia, indicating the seat opposite.

  Nathan sat down as instructed. 'So what would you like to do?'

  'With you?' Kasia pulled the plastic straw from the side of her juice carton, carefully punctured the foil seal with the pointy end, then took a sip. 'I think, most things,' she said.

  She smiled briefly, then shyly looked down at the table, and though Nathan wouldn't realise it for a couple of months, that was the precise moment he fell in love.

  From The Author

  Thank you for buying (and reading!) A Day At The Office - I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, I'd really appreciate if you could:

  Tell your friends.

  Post a review on Amazon.

  Give it a mention on any book forums you might subscribe to.

  If you're interested, you can find out about my other books on my website – www.mattdunn.co.uk

  You can also:

  Email me on matt@mattdunn.co.uk

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– I'm @mattdunnwrites

  Friend me on Facebook – you'll find me at www.facebook.com/mattdunnwrites

  Either way, it'd be great to hear from you!

  Thanks again, and best wishes,

  Matt

  About The Author

  Matt Dunn is the author of six previous novels, including the bestselling The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook, which was shortlisted for both the Romantic Novel Of The Year Award and the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance. He's also written about life, love, and relationships for various publications including The Times, Guardian, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Company, Elle, and The Sun.

  Previously, he's worked as a professional lifeguard, fitness-equipment salesman, and most recently, an I.T. head-hunter (where his success in re-writing other people's CVs made him think he might have a talent for fiction), but he prefers writing novels for a living, so please buy his other books!

  By the same author:

  Best Man

  The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook

  From Here To Paternity

  Ex-Girlfriends United

  The Good Bride Guide

  The Accidental Proposal

  Praise for Matt Dunn:

  'Fast paced, insightful, and very, very funny' – Heat

  'Witty, astute, and tender too' - Freya North

  'Funny and witty, a great read that gives us a look into the workings of the male mind' – The Sun

  'Funny and sweet, this is a quirky glimpse into the mind of a bloke' – Woman

  'A brilliantly amusing insight into the male psyche' – Closer