Perfect Stranger

by Sofia Grey

  I stared at the small white card puzzled, and then smiled when I realized its significance.

  Kate Archer, Operations Manager, ComCo,

  4.2 Jenny

  I knew it would annoy Rob, but when Kate sent me a text to say she’d split with Tony, I had to go see her. She’d been in my corner through my dramas—or at least, the ones I told her about. Some were too shameful to voice. The episode with Cade was one. I’d skimmed over that and pretended I didn’t know all the details, but I made sure I painted Rob in a good light. He was my husband. I’d publicly vowed to love and honor him, and that was important to me.

  One day we’d be able to afford two cars, but for now I had to borrow Rob’s, after promising to cook dinner as soon as I got home from Kate’s.

  I gave Kate a huge, tight hug. She looked pale and tired, but not as though she’d been crying. I wasn’t really surprised they split up. They never seemed close or affectionate, not like Isobel and Greg, or the way Rob was with me.

  We settled down with mugs of tea, and she told me what happened. “He’s got a new girlfriend already, Jen. There has to be an overlap.” She hesitated. “I hate the idea he was cheating on me and I was too dumb to notice.”

  Kate was the smartest person I knew. “Don’t call yourself dumb. If he was cheating, then he’s a prick who doesn’t deserve your attention, and it’s his loss.”

  “He said some other stuff too. That I was going through the motions. Who says that? Do you think he was trying to justify his decision?”

  It was my turn to hesitate. “How were things between you? I mean, were you happy?”

  Her brown eyes focused on mine. “I was happy enough. He didn’t set the world on fire, but we got along fine.”

  And there, I felt, was the problem. “Maybe you need someone who will do that. Someone who’s more than fine.”

  “I know you’re blissfully happy with Rob, but not everyone is so lucky.”

  “I am lucky with Rob, but I had to kiss a lot of frogs before I found my prince.” I watched her lips twitch, as though she fought back a smile. “Let’s start lining up some frogs for you. See if one of them turns into a six-foot hunk.”

  Kate’s cheeks colored, and she ducked her head. “Yeah… about that…”

  Huh? “My spidey senses are tingling over here. What haven’t you told me?”

  “I met someone; that’s all. We had dinner and a teeny bit too much to drink.” She put down her mug and told me everything. How she met—and slept with—a guy, and then fled for home. The story poured out of her. To say I was surprised was a giant freakin’ understatement. I gaped at her, and she covered her pink cheeks.

  “Wow. I didn’t expect that. Frog or prince?” I said.

  “Prince. Definitely prince.” She nodded, to underline her words, her face ablaze.

  “Are you seeing him again? Please say you are.”

  “No. And he was lovely. I’m kicking myself now.”

  “Aww, Kate. Why don’t you check him out online? See if you can find his contact details?”

  She pulled a face. “I don’t remember his surname. I think I’m going to have to chalk this up to experience and move forward.” She held up a hand, to forestall my interruption. “No. I’m not going to go crazy stalker on him. It was what it was. So tell me, what’s going on in your world? Things good with Rob?”

  “Of course. I love being married.” I was telling the truth about that, even if I ducked the question about Rob. After months of telling Isobel and Kate how fantastic he was, I had a position to maintain. My pride wouldn’t let me admit anything else.

  “Your parents happier now?”

  “Dad’s still being difficult.” I found a smile. “He’s cut me out of his will. It’s not as though he’d be leaving me a fortune otherwise, but he wanted to make a point.”

  She gazed at me for a long moment. “That’s harsh. I like your dad, and I always thought he doted on you. This looks like more of an issue than just Rob working for the opposition.”

  My dad owned and ran a big construction firm in South Manchester, and I knew Rob had hopes of working for him, but it hadn’t happened yet. Now Rob was a Site Project Manager for a much smaller firm, and he grumbled about it constantly. I was used to his niggling discontent and paid it little attention.

  I waved one hand. “It’s a storm in a teacup. Give him a few months to come around, and I’m sure we’ll sort it out.”

  “I bet your mum doesn’t like it either.”

  “I’m sure she doesn’t. But what can I do?”

  “Talk to them. Do you visit with Rob or on your own?”

  “I—umm—don’t go round much.”

  Kate’s eyebrows tugged together. “Not even Sunday Brunch?”

  That was the problem with having friends who really knew you. Kate, Isobel, and I hung out together for several years, since we all started working for the same company, and they knew about my mum’s get-togethers. They’d come to her lazy Sunday Brunch with me many times.

  Could I tell Kate the truth? That I hadn’t seen my parents since the wedding? That Dad told me he didn’t want to see me while I was with Rob, and Mum backed him up? They couldn’t explain why they disliked my husband so much, but it made things miserable for me.

  They forced me to make a choice. And I had to live with it.

  4.3 Kate

  I gazed at the pile of reports awaiting my attention. It’d been hectic in the office, and I was still catching up on the trip to Exeter. At least now everyone had gone home, I’d be able to plough through the most unforgiving of the documents without being disturbed.

  A noise at the door snagged my attention. It was Adam.

  “Still hard at it, Kate? We may need to review your workload.”

  I managed a crooked smile and gestured to the pile of account printouts on the desk. “Just got a few things to sort out. See you tomorrow, Adam.”

  Instead of leaving, he came into the office and perched on the edge of my desk.

  I was instantly wary. “Was there something you wanted?”

  “Yes. I’d like to talk to you about some changes we’re making around here. It’s getting late, though. Why don’t we go to the pub and discuss it there?”

  This wasn’t the norm. Adam liked doing his wheeling and dealing off-site, but not with me. I’d also have to come in extra early tomorrow, to clear the backlog. I suppressed a sigh. “Okay.” I packed up my laptop and locked away some of the paperwork mountain. “Where are we going? I’ll meet you there.”

  He looked surprised. Had he expected to give me a lift? Or not expected me to agree so readily? “The Quay House.”

  Adam was in his thirties, tall and blond, good looking in a superficial way, and well known to be a womanizer. I couldn’t help comparing Adam to Jordan, the same way I found myself doing with every man I knew. No one matched up to Jordan.

  He was popular with both the Sales Department and my team. The guys thought he was cool, and the girls found him charming. Not me. He pinged something on my danger radar. I felt the need to watch my back.

  Adam waited for me inside the pub and guided me to a quiet table on the balcony outside. In summer, the Quay House was popular. It overlooked the quays, and boats of all sizes could be seen on the water. He had a glass of white wine spritzer waiting for me. He knew what I drank? When did that happen?

  Tonight, it wasn’t my first choice. “Actually, I’d prefer a diet cola. I’m driving.”

  “No problem.” He disappeared inside, while I waited, curious to know what he wanted to talk about.

  When he returned, he sat uncomfortably close, his thigh pressed against mine. I sidled away, but as I sat in the corner, I couldn’t move far. I compressed my knees together and gave him a chilly smile. “Well?” Adam didn’t move, and I cursed my choice of seat. I was stuck.

  He was brisk and businesslike, as he outlined his plans to create a new Customer Services Department, and then he suggested I’d be ideal for Manager. His leg
moved into my space again. I worked hard to resist the impulse to push it away. Making a fuss about my boss being overly friendly wouldn’t go down well. We had to work together, and if it meant I tolerated things like this, I’d grit my teeth and get on with it.

  Then he moved even closer. “Of course,” he murmured, “we have to be sure we select the most suitable candidate.”

  I sighed inwardly. I knew what was coming next. “And how will you decide?”

  “Let’s just say”—his gaze glued to my chest—”they’d have to be capable of sustaining a close relationship with me.”

  Single or not, he was the last person I wanted to get involved with. My thoughts raced, and I pretended to think about his offer. “I’m not interested in that role.”

  “You do surprise me.” His smile was shark like, and I longed to wipe it off his face. Preferably with a blunt object. “You always struck me as being career minded, Kate. Guess I was wrong.”

  My heart thudded, and my temperature rose. How dare he diminish the work I’d done? I had to tread carefully. “I set up the Call Center, and already the team is performing above expectations. We’ve increased sales across a number of key customers, as you well know.”

  At last, he leaned back in his seat and opened a gap I might be able to squeeze through. I longed to tell him to shove his new department up his ass, but I was under no illusions. Not only would it make life very awkward at work, it would be difficult to move elsewhere. Adam knew a lot of people in the industry, and his thoughts carried weight

  Like it or not, I had to remain polite.

  I glanced at my watch, and then stood and picked up my bag. “Thanks for the drink, Adam.” I inched past him, making sure to avoid brushing against his legs.

  I expected him to move, but he didn’t. His smile broadened, and my heart sank. What now?

  “Come on, Kate. You must be lonely at home, now that Lover Boy has left.”

  “Who told you that?” I said nothing at work about Tony leaving.

  Adam smirked. “He’s shacked up with Gillian Banks. It’s the talk of the office.”

  Was he telling the truth? How did I miss that? I felt sick. Gillian had been one of the Sales staff, and she left a few weeks ago. I organized the collection for her going-away present. There was a distinctly unpleasant taste in my mouth. I tried to hold onto my temper. “That’s none of your business.”

  Adam leaned forward and closed one hand over mine. “So let’s talk a little more about my offer.”

  Hell would freeze over first. I yanked my hand free, and in a burst of fury, swept my abandoned drink off the table and into his lap. Ice cubes chinked and clattered like dice on the tabletop, and cola splattered over his shirt and trousers. “Oops.”

  “Bitch,” he snarled, his eyes flashing fire.

  I fled while he grabbed the paper napkins.

  As I sat in the car, I sank my head into my hands. This was not the most sensible thing to do. Adam wouldn’t like being made a laughing stock.

  He’d make me pay for it.

  4.4 Jordan

  Back in my London office, I wasn’t surprised to see Cassie at her desk, despite the early hour. My personal assistant was superbly efficient, and after working with me for over a year, she was able to anticipate my needs.

  I smiled a greeting and slid a box of fudge across her desk. “A souvenir from Devon. Apparently it’s a local specialty.”

  Her eyebrows tugged together in a frown, but then she smiled back. “Go on. What are you after?”

  “Can’t I buy my favorite PA a box of candy?”

  “Your only PA. This might be a good time to remind you I could really do with an assistant?”

  “Okay. Book a slot this afternoon, and we’ll talk about it. How’s my schedule today?”

  Without looking, she reeled off a list of appointments, the first one only an hour away. “I’ve left you some time to catch up on your email, like you asked. Did you have a good trip? Was the conference useful?”

  “Yes and yes. I’ll make a start, but first I want you do a little job for me.”

  “Don’t tell me you want to cancel your meetings?”

  “Nah.” I handed her Kate’s business card. “When you get five minutes, get me a profile on this company, please. It’s not urgent.” ComCo sounded familiar. I’d come across them somewhere else, but couldn’t remember where.

  Marcus teased me about Cassie, saying he wanted to entice her away to his office. In his words, she was heaven to look at and brilliant at her job. She was engaged, as far as I knew. She wore a diamond on her ring finger but never mentioned her fiancé. She was happy to work long hours, do all kinds of dull jobs, and generally make my life easier. I paid her generously, and we worked well together.

  My thoughts bounced back to Kate. Cassie would soon have some information on ComCo. Then maybe I could engineer a meeting? On business grounds, of course. The devil on my shoulder wanted me to call Kate. I had her number, after all. I could simply phone, and say… What? Hey, remember me? I’m the guy you promised to meet for dinner and then ran out on. Nope, wasn’t going to happen.

  I already acted out of character with her and had no intention of making more of a fool of myself. More information was needed, and then I’d decide what to do.

  It took effort to concentrate on the page full of emails waiting for me, but I worked through them, pausing only to thank Cassie for the coffee she fetched.

  I’d worked for my father’s company since my fourteenth birthday, spending every holiday and most weekends learning the business from the ground up. By the time I was eighteen, I’d interned in all the major divisions, as well as spending weeks in the overseas offices. I never thought about a career anywhere else, and now I ran the European arm of TM-Tech, and for the most part, was happy in my role.

  It truly was a family company. Marcus worked for us too. He was currently engaged in developing the European market, and I hadn’t seen him for weeks. It’d be good to catch up with him.

  The morning flew by. Cassie stuck her head around my door before lunch and announced she had some papers for me, if there was time to go through them. I waved her in, and she settled into the seat across from me.

  “I’ve got invoices that need your signature, a couple of contracts to be counter-signed, some meetings I have to schedule, and the portfolio on ComCo.”

  That got my attention. “Let’s do ComCo first. That was quick by the way.”

  “They’re an IT reseller. UK-only at the moment, but hustling for a bigger share of the market. Mergers and Acquisitions have them on their database, and they supplied me with this initial report. If you’re looking for more, let me know, and I’ll carry on digging.”

  It wasn’t unusual for the M&A division to carry data on other companies. TM-Tech constantly acquired other businesses, and we had multiple options on the go at once. That was almost certainly where I’d heard the name.

  I flicked through the thin dossier, while Cassie recounted the main facts—customer reach; number of employees; profitability; position in the marketplace.

  “They’ve submitted a bid for the data-center-expansion project,” she continued, “and they’ve been selected as a potential supplier.”

  My mind leapt with the possibilities. “Find out if we’re doing a site visit, please. I may tag along.”

  Cassie didn’t miss a beat. “ComCo is based in Manchester, and the procurement team is heading up there at the end of next week.”

  “Perfect.”

  Cassie scribbled a note on her pad, and then nodded. “Anything else?”

  I thought for a moment. “Can you track Marcus down, please? Ask him to give me a call. Tell him I want to play squash next time he’s here.”

  A half-smile hovered on her lips, as she took another note. “I didn’t realize I was your social secretary as well.”

  Her dry sense of humor amused me. Cassie wasn’t afraid to say what she thought. I liked that. “Do you mind, Cass?”

>   She looked up, surprise written on her face. “No. I just like teasing you.”

  “Okay, then. Now, what’s this about an assistant?”

  I listened, as she outlined her workload and suggested the additional responsibilities she wanted to take on, but it was a struggle to concentrate, when thoughts of meeting Kate again danced at the front of my mind.

  4.5 Jenny

  I tried to be discreet, but since Rob called my desk phone, I couldn’t walk away to speak to him. I had to be quiet. We’d been invited to a get together at his boss’s place on Saturday night, so I had to tell him I was already going out for Kate’s birthday. So much for my plans of slipping in the news when he was in a good mood.

  In the space of two minutes since my phone jangled, he went from pleased and upbeat to cold and angry. “I don’t see the need to hang around with my ex-colleagues all the time. Why do you? What’s so special about you? You don’t work with them now; you certainly don’t need to socialize with them anymore.”

  Far be it for me to point out that, unlike Rob, I had a group of friends from work I liked to spend time with. This was an old argument, and one we’d sparred over many times. I tried to placate him. “It’s Kate’s birthday, and since she’s just split up with Tony, she needs her friends right now.”

  “You’re too soft,” he said, as though I was a sagging mattress. “You need to tell her to get her act together. She’ll never keep a guy with her attitude.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Well. She’s the kind of chick who always has to be right. She walks all over you, dumpling.”

  I grimaced at his nickname for me. Why couldn’t he just use my name? “Regardless of what you think about my friends, I promised to go out with Kate on Saturday, so I’m really sorry, but I can’t go with you. Can you go alone?”

  “Suppose I’ll have to. I’m not happy about it, though. What time will you be finished?”

  “On Saturday? I don’t know. Might be late.” There was an ominous silence, and as usual, I leapt to fill the void. “I won’t be out all night.”