by Iris Deorre
‘Pick up I know you’re home. I won’t stop until you pick up.’ Ella’s voice travelled through the room.
Jasmine waited until the message was up before making a move across to the passage to where the phone sat. As she was about to disconnect the phone it rang again. Did she really want to speak to Ella? As far as she was concerned she’d paid for the cowardly escape.
‘Pick up I know you’re there. If you don’t pick up I’m going to drive to your house! Just because you don’t want me there doesn’t mean I won’t come.’ Ella said.
Jasmine sighed deeply then picked up the phone.
‘Ah there you are,’ Ella said sarcastically.
‘If you’re calling on behalf of Paul, save your energy,’ said Jasmine.
‘As a matter of fact I am, how could you do that to him? Not only did he feel stupid and embarrassed he gave me an ear full about it.’
Jasmine pulled the phone away from her ear and waited for Ella to finish barking.
‘Jasmine, how could you!’
‘I don’t know what you want me to say?’ she said finally. ‘I know it wasn’t the smartest thing to do but I just couldn’t sit there with him, I had to get out.’
‘Without so much as an apology!’
‘I’m sorry to both you and Paul but you know what I’m like.’
‘That’s not an excuse. I understand that you have your issues but there is no need to be disrespectful to another person.’
Jasmine felt her blood boil and her stomach turn and a feeling of nausea overwhelmed her.
‘I honestly don’t understand you,’ Ella said upset.
‘You know what, I didn’t ask you to set me up with him! I wish you’d stop! I don’t need a man anyway!’
‘You don’t mean that and I thought you liked it when I set you up.’
‘Have I ever said that? It annoys me, I don’t enjoy going out in public places, you know that.’
‘If you don’t go out you’ll become a recluse!’
‘I do go out, with you!’
‘With someone other than me, a man.’
‘I don’t want a man!’
‘Fine, I won’t ever match you up with anyone ever again.’
Jasmine took a deep breath to try and push aside the nausea.
‘Listen, I’m sorry, it came out wrong.’ She sighed. ‘I just...well he was a bit funny.’
‘Funny how?’
‘He kept forcing me to have a muffin and each time I refused he kept pushing. It was like I was some sort of project. He said that you’d told him a lot about me.’
There was a moment of silence from Ella and then she said, ‘I’m sorry too, I didn’t know he was going to be that forward. I only told him just so he was aware not so that he would try and change you.’
‘I just had to leave you know.’
‘It’s fine, I guess I was just a little upset because he had a go at me.’
‘Understandable. From now on no more dates please.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Yes, no more setting me up...just let me be.’
‘Well okay, I just don’t want you to be sad and alone.’
‘What makes you think I’m sad?’
‘Haven’t you ever wanted to be with someone?’
Jasmine had thought about it and she wasn’t going to admit that she’d never been with a man at all.
‘I have,’ she lied.
‘When?’ Ella was confused. ‘All the years I’ve been with you, I’ve never seen you dating.’
‘Well I have so lets leave it at that.’ Jasmine wasn’t going to explain herself. Life was just the way it was and it suited her just fine. ‘Let’s just drop it.’
‘Okay, no more setups,’ Ella said finally.
‘Great, I’m glad we came to that agreement.’
They talked a few more minutes before hanging up. The sick feeling in Jasmine’s stomach had faded and the visit to the bathroom was a false alarm. She knew that at some point things would have to change, she just didn’t know how to change them.
Chapter Four
The weekend came and went and it had been the usual for Jasmine; nothing exciting except the vigorous cleaning of her apartment. Monday morning crept up on her unexpectedly and Jasmine found herself trying on her third outfit that morning. It took another ten minutes before she decided on the black suit with the pink shirt. Finally she walked around the room and began to switch off and on all the appliances in the room. Next she picked up her bag and dashed downstairs. Jasmine walked into the kitchen first and switched all the appliances off and on and then off again a number of times except for the fridge. She walked out about to head for the living room when she felt as though she’d left the stove on.
Jasmine walked back into the kitchen and looked to the switch against the wall that displayed cooker in red. It was off but Jasmine stepped forward and switched it on and then off, then on again and finally off.
‘It’s off!’ she told herself as she looked at it. ‘Off!’ she pressed against the switch one more time this time she felt satisfied.
She headed back to the living room and switched off all the appliances in that room. Finally satisfied that the house wouldn’t burst into flames while she was away, Jasmine headed for the door. She pushed back the chain and unlocked the door; stepped out and let the early warm sun hit her face. There was hardly anyone about but it was perfect; nice and quiet, just the way she liked it. She locked and unlocked the door and locked it again then finally headed for her car.
There was a strange feeling that hit her, a feeling that she wanted to do something different for a change. It wasn’t like her to go a different route but a strange fear that the old route would have a pile up riddled her. At times her mind ran away with her and even though she knew that the majority of her thoughts weren’t rational she just couldn’t ignore them and so Jasmine took a detour.
****
He was already late for work! The weekend had been nothing but a drinking spree to try and get over Kimberly leaving. There was something about her departure that made Zack a little bit relieved. It was more about his ego being bruised than it was her leaving him. If he took a deep look within himself the truth was that he wasn’t in love with her. He’d loved her by his side but when it came to human relationships Kimberly wasn’t really the best candidate. That was especially when it came to his sister whom he loved dearly and if Kimberly had ever made him choose, Kimberly would’ve left anyway.
He dashed out the door in his black suit with white shirt and hit the road. He glanced at the time on the dashboard; there would still be enough time for him to grab a cup of coffee if he got to the public parking on time. Leeds city centre wasn’t great for cars parking but great for business. Thirty minutes later Zack displayed his permit within the public paid car park and dashed off into the busy town centre. Even though he was ten minutes late, he’d informed his secretary to ask the rest of his team to start the meeting without him. After all he owned the company, not that that was an excuse for tardiness. Zack had always been earlier than majority of the people that worked for him...
Jasmine parked the car and made her way into the city centre. As she hurried along there was an urge for her to go into the coffee shop and order a coffee. She wanted so much to taste the coco beans on her tongue and yet she feared what might happen. The last time she’d tried to order a coffee all hell broke loose. As she got closer towards the coffee shop which was on the way to her office, she stopped at the window and eyed the store. There were already quite a few customers all rearing to get a caffeine fix for the morning. Jasmine held onto her handbag tightly and bit her bottom lip, should she or shouldn’t she? She began to walk in the direction of the office but then hesitated and started back towards the shop. It took another thought before she stepped into starbucks and joined the queue patiently.
Behind her stepped a tall handsome man who seemed to be out of breath but very much in control. For a brief moment she turned back and
gazed at the man, he smiled then gazed ahead waiting his turn to be served.
‘What can I get for you?’ the cashier asked Jasmine finally.
‘Oh urm could I have a latté and...she tried to whisper so that no one else could hear her but that was impossible. ‘Could I have that cup, the third one down oh and try not to touch it too close to the top.’
The young man looked at her a little annoyed, shook his head and quickly began to make the latte without a thought to what she’d asked.
‘I asked you not to touch the top of the cup!’ She felt tense.
‘I didn’t I touched the middle, any lower I would have dropped it.’
‘Can I have another cup please?’
The man looked at her annoyed, put the cup down and said, ‘that will be two pound fifty.’
‘I’m not having that one, could I please have another cup!’ She clutched the bag even tighter the more nervous she became.
Zack couldn’t help but notice what was happening right in front of him, nor could the other customers that had just joined the queue.
‘Excuse me, could you hurry it up please, some of us need to get to work,’ said a woman.
‘Listen, I’ll have that one and you can make the lady a new one,’ Zack offered.
‘It’s alright I won’t have one after all,’ she pushed past him and left the shop.
Zack quickly paid for the coffee and dashed out to see where the woman had gone. Had he lost her? Just as he was about to give up he noticed her turn the corner. He walked as fast as he could calling after her until she stopped.
‘Are you talking to me?’ Jasmine wasn’t sure whether or not he was calling out to her.
‘Yes, yes,’ he said out of breath. ‘You’re pretty hard to get a hold of.’
Jasmine held onto her bag as if it would give her the confidence she needed to get through this conversation. Not only was the man strikingly handsome there was something in his eyes, the deep blue eyes that held compassion.
‘I’m Zack,’ he smiled. ‘I would shake your hand but as you can see my hands are full.’
‘I’m not a fan of handshakes anyway.’ She mumbled. ‘I’m Jasmine.’
‘Nice name.’
‘Thanks.’ Jasmine wasn’t sure where this was going or why he’d stopped her. ‘Is there a reason you stopped me?’
Zack had seen the signs, they were so obvious and yet she was so unaware. He gazed into her dark eyes and felt something he’d never felt before. Something in those eyes drew him in and he wasn’t about to let that pass.
‘Would you like to have a drink with me, later today after work perhaps?’
‘Urm...I’m not really sure,’ she said nervously. ‘I don’t understand why?’ He was a gorgeous complete stranger.
‘I’d like to and I thought perhaps you’d like to too.’
She pursed her lips, her eyes wondered up and down the tall gentleman. He was absolutely gorgeous and this just made her more self-conscious. Why would a guy like him want coffee with her? What was the catch? But in his mind there was no catch just a familiar feeling that he’d learned to love a long time ago.
‘It doesn’t have to be for long, I know quite a few calmer places if that’s what you’re looking for.’
Jasmine watched him again not sure what to think.
‘It’s only coffee, you’ll be fine.’
‘What makes you think I won’t be?’
‘You seem pretty tense and nervous right now. I promise I won’t bite.’ He smiled. In his eyes this woman was special, there was more to her that met the eye, he could sense it.
‘I’m not nervous.’ She gripped her bag tighter.
‘Well then that means you can have a coffee with me.’ he teased.
In her heart of hearts she didn’t want to turn this down. She’d never been asked out on a date before. It was either Ella setting her up or as she refused to recall, Stacey making a fool of her. But his kind smile drew her in and she found herself nodding even though her heart was pounding hard!
‘Great, how about we meet back outside the coffee shop at five thirty? Would that be good for you?’
There was a moment’s pause and then she nodded.
‘Perfect,’ he said with a wide smile.
Jasmine blushed. What was it about him that tugged at her heart strings? It was obvious that the man was amazing looking but that wasn’t it, there was something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. The dating world frightened her, there was too much involved and it would make her extremely vulnerable. Jasmine wasn’t sure she really wanted to let someone in and see just how much of a nut she was.
‘So see you soon!’ he beamed and started to walk in the opposite direction. ‘Oh and don’t...’ he turned. ‘Don’t stand me up!’
‘I won’t,’ she said and made her way to the office.
****
Jasmine was already late when she set foot in the office. Before she was even able to make her way to her office Clive called for her. She could tell by the sound of his voice that things weren’t going to go down easy but a part of her didn’t care. She had a date and she was rather looking forward to it and Clive was just a minute voice in the back of her head.
‘Shut the door behind you,’ he said as he sat down behind the huge desk. It made him look a lot smaller than he already was. ‘Have a seat please.’
Clive was a middle aged bolding man without any sense of style. He barked orders rather than asked and he was always looking for fault anywhere he could find it. Clive was a micro manager and it never helped Jasmines situation, it surprised her that she’d lasted that long.
‘This is the third time you’ve been this late, we can’t keep up with this!’ he started. ‘If you weren’t so good at what you do and company’s threatening to leave if you do, I would’ve seen to it that you were out on your butt!’
Jasmine looked at her boss who had given her this lecture before, it never amounted to anything, his bark was louder than his bite.
‘From now on you’re going to have to give back the time you’ve taken by working late, starting from today.’
‘But I can’t do that, not today.’
‘This isn’t a choice, this is an order.’ He pushed back the chair.
‘But I can’t, I have something on at five thirty,’ she panicked.
‘Well you’re going to have to cancel it I’m afraid. That will be all.’
Jasmine hesitated for a moment, tried to open her mouth but Clive stopped her with a hand signal before she could utter a word. She left the room defeated and disappointed and she didn’t get the chance to ask Zack for his mobile number!
Annoyed she swiftly walked to her office. She shut and opened the door twice, something her colleagues were familiar with then headed for the desk. Things had been moved again by the cleaner! Jasmine moved the photo frame of her mum and dad from the left to the right where she’d placed it originally. The flower pot was moved from right to left just behind the phone. There was a pile of paperwork that had been placed in the centre that Jasmine wanted to the far left where she’d left it the last time she was in the office. Not only did the movement of things screw with her head, it shot up the nerves making it unbearable to think.
Jasmine paced a while and tried to calm her nerves. Zack was in the forefront of her mind. What was it about him that made it feel so different? There hadn’t been any awkward looks from him, nor had he made a comment about the drama in the coffee shop. Jasmine stopped for a while and moved the pile of papers back to the middle and then back to the far left. Her skin crawled and it felt as though she wanted to climb out of her own skin.
Get it together! She tried to tell herself but the more she did that the more she wanted to pace, the more she wanted to fix the desk. The knock on the door brought the pacing to a halt.
‘Who is it?’ she asked without taking a further step.
‘It’s Gwen,’ said their senior secretary.
Jasmine’s tensed shoulder’
s dropped and she took steps towards the door to let Gwen in. Gwen was a tall but very pretty young woman who had started with the accounting company a year ago. It had been a stop gap job that had gone on way too long but the economic situation didn’t allow her opportunity to get the job she wanted. She had the kindest smile and the sweetest personality. She stepped in, dressed in a white and blue dress with blue sandals. Her golden hair brushed her shoulders and suited her long face perfectly. Gwen was the only person in the office who seemed to get along with Jasmine regardless of her habits. The rest were either too impatient or just didn’t want to know about it.
‘Hey,’ said Jasmine.
‘Hey, I’ve updated your spreadsheet and wanted to check if you wanted a drink.’
‘That’s kind but I’ll be fine.’
Jasmine had her own cup but feared the kettle wasn’t clean enough. The daily things that haunted her seemed to be getting worse by the day.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes thanks.’
‘Did you have a good weekend?’ asked Gwen.
Jasmine laughed a moment when Paul sprung to mind.
‘Oh no, what happened?’ Gwen knew her well enough to know something happened.
‘Do you really want to know?’
Gwen nodded.
‘Well Ella set me up on a date,’ she started.
‘Again?’
‘Yes, and it was a disaster!’
Gwen couldn’t help but laugh; she could only imagine what had happened.
‘Go on, spill.’ Gwen encouraged.
‘Well,’ Jasmine began to pace and Gwen sat on the desk. ‘Paul was a strange man, handsome but strange.’
‘Strange how?’
‘Well, Ella had told him about me, you know my crazy habits.’
Gwen was familiar with it but she never seemed to mind.
‘It felt like he was trying to fix me in a way, like I was some kind of project. He kept trying to force me to have a muffin I had no interest in.’
Gwen giggled.
‘It was a nightmare.’ Jasmine giggled. ‘And you want to know the worst part of the date?’