“Yes, that would be great. I'll see you about midday then. Sorry, can't stop to chat, I'm in the middle of something.”
“OK dear, see you Sunday then.”
Katie pressed the off button and put the phone down on the desk. She picked up the bundle of papers she had brought back from France and started to try and sort them. It was mid afternoon and her brain had switched off for the week. She idly clicked on the IE logo on her desktop and waited while the mandatory company homepage came up. The mouse hovered over the “corporate officers” button and she found herself clicking on it. As the page loaded, the first image to appear was Peter Jarvis. His biography was relatively brief and to the point - educated at Charterhouse and Durham University, Peter had left his first employer after only three years to set up his own company - the company that had grown to become Shire Electronics. The paragraph spoke in glowing terms of his tenacity and enthusiasm and had links to numerous other articles about his business prowess. Despite idly reading the blurb, Katie was drawn to his picture. Her time with him seemed like a dream now she was back in London and sitting at the computer. She lingered on his deep brown green eyes and the sharp line of his nose, sweeping down to his full sensuous lips…..the very lips that had been caressing her skin but eighteen hours before. Her body tingled again and she shifted in her chair. Although she knew in her heart of hearts that she had done the right thing by escaping, she also regretted her actions and felt she had missed out on something momentous, and not only great sex!
“Ah ha, caught you, you little minx.....staring adoringly at our big boss. Are you in love as well?” A voice boomed in her ear. “We've all done that I can assure you.”
Katie started and swung round. The voice belonged to Marge, another member of the new business team who sat near Katie.
“No,” replied Katie a bit too quickly. “I was just trying to find some info for a presentation I want to put together.”
“Mmmn! If I believe that I'll believe anything,” replied Marge with a smile. “I hear the trip to Logistics went well. That's fantastic.”
“Thanks Marge. I'm really pleased.”
“So are you out for a drink later? We're going to the George next door for a few.”
“I think I'm seeing some friends, but I'll definitely be there first,” said Katie.
“Great, see you then.” With that, Marge swivelled round in her chair.
Katie returned to the screen and closed the corporate page before she could be accused of staring by anyone else. She opened her e mails and set down to answer as many as possible in the last few hours of the day.
An hour later, her mobile rang again and she answered it.
“Hi Josie, how are you. I'm back from France…..are you on for a drink later? I need to talk.”
“Really? Now that's interesting. Sure, we'll be at the usual place from 7.30 onwards. Did you have a good trip?” said Josie, one of Katie's best friends.
They had met at university and had shared a flat in the third year before coming down to London to continue their friendship in a run down rental flat in Chiswick, together with another friend Sue. Despite them now living apart, they stayed in constant contact with each other.
“Mmmn, that’s what I need to talk about. It was almost too good!”
Josie squealed with delight.
“Oh my god, you're talking about a bloke aren't you? What? You had a fling with some rich old Frenchman who wants to whisk you away to his South of France hideout.”
“Not quite, but something like that,” laughed Katie. As usual Josie managed to lift her spirits and she immediately could not wait to see her.
“I'm going for a quick drink with some people here, but I'll be there later” said Katie. “Got to go now.”
“See you then,” replied Josie. “Can't wait.”
As people started to pack up their desks, Katie too was finishing a preliminary report on her trip and had already started to draw up a project implementation timeline. She knew she had done well with the deal and was feeling good about herself. With this, and the prospect of a good evening ahead, she turned off her computer and started putting her things away.
The end of the week atmosphere hit her as she pushed open the doors to the pub next door to the office. Whilst the cavernous room was mercifully free of cigarette smoke, the air was thick with the smell of alcohol and general reverie. She pushed herself through the crowds, nodding to several people she knew vaguely. As she reached the bar, she felt a hand grasp her elbow. She turned to see Hugo beaming at her. In his hand was a half drunk pint of bitter and from the look in his eyes, it was not his first drink.
“Hi Hugo, how's things?” said Katie. Despite the emotional turmoil of the last twenty four hours, she felt a genuine wave of warmth towards Hugo. They were, after all, on the verge of sleeping together and Katie knew they would not have got this far unless she had real feelings for him. Their relative positions as work colleagues of sorts meant that he could not really be a casual relationship…..it was either all or nothing.
“Marvellous, fantastic and even better for seeing you. Let me get you a drink. We're all over there, by the window and I've saved you a seat. Go and bag it before anyone else takes it. What do you want?”
“I'll have a glass of wine please - but make sure its cold and not one of those cheap plonks they serve up at this time of the week,” replied Katie with a smile and a quick squeeze of Hugo's arm.
He turned to the bar and held his arm up to attract the attention of the barman as Katie turned to make her way across the room.
There were about eight people sitting around a table, all of whom she knew either well or in passing.
“Hey, it’s Katie, salesperson extraordinaire. Come and sit down next to me here,” bellowed Steven Dunn, her opposite number dealing with the Eastern European territories.
“Well done on that deal, tell me all about it. What’s it worth? How big is your bonus going to be compared with mine this year?”
Katie sat down next to Steven and smiled at everyone else. “Thanks Steve.....and don't worry, I'm not about to take your king of the sales crown away just yet. Maybe next year!”
Just then Hugo arrived and put Katie's wine down in front of her. She raised it to her lips and took the first sip. As pub wines went, it wasn't bad and Katie felt its cold warmth slide down to her stomach. She turned to face Hugo.
“And how are you? Thanks for ringing me yesterday. It was nice of you.”
Hugo looked at her strangely, as if sensing that something between them had been lost in the past few days.
“No problem,” he said. “Why wouldn't I?” He looked at her deeply and their eyes met. She immediately became aware in that instant that, whilst Hugo had piercing blue eyes, his look did not stir anything like the same feelings that had been roused from their dormancy less than a full day ago. However, she smiled back at him but then broke the stare to turn her head to Marge who was asking a question.
“So what did grumpy old Sue have to say? She must be pleased with you,” said Marge.
“She was, said it was a great coup for the team and how it would look good with the management.”
“Oh yeah? Look good for her I expect,” retorted Marge sarcastically. Katie knew that she and Sue had a history but she tried to avoid getting caught up in any internal politics, particularly if it was close to home.
Katie did not want to dwell on this so moved the conversation swiftly on.
“It does mean I will have to spend a whole load of time in the South of France, which is terribly tough of course.”
This comment was met with the usual round of mock groans from the assembled crowd. Katie smiled and took another long sip of her wine. On an empty stomach, she could already feel the effect of the alcohol and was feeling more and more relaxed. The next comment however, would change all that.
“And I hear our esteemed leader Mr. Peter Jarvis was also in Cannes on business,” said Nicola Radcliffe, a sales back up p
erson in their department, to the girl sitting next to her. “Probably wining and dining his latest conquest no doubt.”
The other girl laughed. “And what would you do to be that conquest, eh, Nic?”
The girl turned to Katie who had already picked up on the theme of the conversation.
“Hey Katie, did you happen to bump into Mr. Jarvis whilst you were down there? I'm surprised he wasn't sitting in your meetings.”
Katie felt herself redden, although she could not for the life of her reason why.
“No I didn't actually,” she replied. “I heard he was there but didn't see him.”
But it was now Hugo's turn to eavesdrop into the conversation.
“But Katie, you said you had dinner with him. At that restaurant on the Croissette,” he said.
“Ah ha,” squealed Nicola. “You did see him, you lied to us!”
“No I did not! Well yes I did, but I did not have dinner with him. He was just in the same restaurant with a load of his people. We didn't speak at all. Anyway he has no idea of who I am so he would not have known to speak to me, so there.” Katie knew she was gabbling, but could not help it.
“Well, I think young Katie is protesting too much....!” said Marge who had also joined in this new and interesting line of questioning.
“No, I'm not. I saw him but did not speak to him. What's the big deal anyway?”
“Well only that he's one of the most eligible bachelors in London…..and that's according to Vista Magazine which, as we all know, is never wrong,” said Nicola.
“And he's extremely sexy,” said the girl next to her. “I wouldn't kick him out of bed.”
Katie shuddered inwardly. If only they knew what had happened! She was sure they would not take such a light hearted view if they were aware she was within a phone call of having the most amazing sex with him. The very thought made her shudder involuntarily, both from the potential embarrassment and the reminder of how her body had reacted to the event.
She turned to Hugo with what she hoped was a dismissive smile.
“Have you had a good day, Hu?” she said.
“Fine actually. So why did you say you hadn't seen him when you had?” said Hugo.
“Oh, for god’s sake! It doesn't matter. Can we just drop the subject?” Katie responded slightly annoyed.
“Sure, whatever,” replied Hugo.
Katie groaned. The last thing she wanted or needed was a jealous boyfriend, that's for sure.
“Anyway, I've got to go. I'm meeting Josie at 7.30 for a drink,” she said glancing at her watch to emphasize her point.
“Oh, I thought we were going to have a meal. Shall I come along with you then?”
“If you don't mind, let’s take a rain check. Josie has some problems and she needs to chat. You know, girly things. I'll ring you tomorrow. OK?”
Hugo shrugged and smiled.
“OK, fine.” He picked up his drink and drained it. Katie could tell he was annoyed but was not going to pander to him. She just was not up to it. She gathered her belongings and got up to go.
“See you all on Monday, Have a great weekend.”
Goodbyes echoed around the table and Katie was pleased to notice that the conversation had moved on from eligible bachelors. As she turned and made her way out of the bar however, she heard someone say “I bet she's off for a secret love-in with Mr. Jarvis” followed by giggles all around. Katie smarted and realised that this was one of the reasons she had, thank goodness, curtailed last night's activities.
Relieved to be out in the fresh air, Katie made her way to the nearest tube station and slapped her oyster card down on the ticket pad next to the barrier. She was annoyed. She was annoyed with everything. The incident last night (from something that did happen to something that didn't), the attitude of her co-workers and with herself for reacting to it at all. She walked briskly down to the platform and looked up at the arrivals indicator to see that the next train west was due in a couple of minutes.
The single glass of wine she had drunk in the pub had already made her feel a bit light headed and she was already looking forward to her next glass in the company of her friends. She had decided to reveal all and hopefully get some advice on what to do, if anything. She knew she would get an unbiased and supportive response and, as the train rumbled in, she was already feeling more relaxed.
Coming up the steps at Oxford Circus tube and moving into the melee of Friday night revellers, Katie's mind could not help wondering what Peter Jarvis would be doing tonight. She was dismayed to find that she felt a pang of jealousy when she thought about not only what he might be doing but with whom. Whatever the turn of events the previous night, she knew she had been tremendously attracted to the man - certainly more attracted than she had been to anyone, ever, and that thought was still uppermost in her mind when she descended down the steps of the Cats Cradle wine bar and into the murky interior. She looked around for Josie and, spotting her at their usual corner table, made her way over.
“My God, am I glad to see you,” exclaimed Katie, as she hugged her friend affectionately. “Have I got a tale to tell!” Katie looked around. “Where's Sue?”
“Wait, wait,” replied Josie. “Get your coat off, pour yourself a glass of wine and relax first, then tell Auntie Josie all about it! Sue had to cry off…..something about boy problems but I'm all ears.”
Katie gratefully dropped her coat onto the seat next to them and plopped herself down. She reached for an empty glass, which she proffered to Josie who reached for the bottle of cold Sauvignon Blanc nestling in an ice bucket on the edge of the table.
She took a grateful sip.
“How are you Josie?” she said in between mouthfuls of wine.
“Not bad considering half our department were made redundant today, including my direct boss,” was the response from Josie.
“Oh my god, poor you. Wow, I didn't know things were that bad at your place.” Katie responded, reaching out to lay her hand on her friend's arm. Josie worked for one of the big advertising agencies, and the industry had been hit hard by the current recession.
“Oh it’s quite good really. I've been promoted and handed a couple of big clients, so actually I've done rather well out of it. So now tell me what's been going on with you.”
Katie spent the next fifteen minutes describing the previous night and, when she came to the bit in the hotel room, Josie was more than agog.
“But that's amazing Katie. It’s about time you got yourself some good sex. It’s been too long.....and this Peter bloke sounds like a real catch.”
“But that's the point, there is a catch. Oh, and I didn't have sex…..the phone went before we could.”
“And why did a phone stop you from mind blowing bed action?” said Josie rather scornfully.
“Because Mr. Peter Jarvis just happens to be CEO of my company.”
“So? A great catch, a great lay and he's your boss as well. Always good for job security in this day and age.”
Katie sighed at her friend. Throughout their friendship, Josie had always been the more headstrong of the two and that probably reflected in the chaos of both her life and relationships.
“Funny, ha ha. I already had loads of whispering and giggling by some people at work and I do not like it.”
“How on earth did they know?”
“Well, they don’t know the gory details of course but Hugo happened to ring me twice last night. The first time was in the restaurant and I told him about seeing Peter there.....”
“And the second?”
“And the second was when I was about to drop my knickers for him,” giggled Katie.
Josie burst into fits of laughter and replenished Katie's glass from the bottle of wine.
“So where do you go from here?” Josie said. “There's unfinished business if you ask me.”
“Absolutely no way.” Katie almost shouted and then, realising from the bemused look on her friend's face that she had answered too vehemently, she carried
on, “I mean, he was really nice and all that and I did fancy him terribly, but he's my boss, Josie. It would be terrible if something happened and everyone found out. I'd have to leave and I'd be blackballed and I wouldn't get a job in the same business and I'd have to go and live back at home…..and it'd be awful.” Katie realised she was blathering and her voice tailed down to a whisper.
“Wow!” said Josie. “How did we get from a highly charged shag to penniless and living at home? Me thinks you liked him much more than you're letting on.”
“Oh, it’s not that. God, I only spoke to him for a few hours but in that time he had an amazing effect on me…..nothing like I have ever felt before. I mean, it was only a sexual reaction of course. I just fancied him terribly and you know how that makes you feel.”
The Lethal Encounter Page 4