Eleanor grinned, drained her cup with regret, and stood up.
“Only another hour or so, and then I can go home.”
“More messages to run?”
“Only the one, but I have to make copies for everyone first.”
“We’re all getting one?”
“Yes, from the M.D. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, though. You know Mr. Lomax. His face always gives it away if it’s bad news and he was smiling like the proverbial Cheshire Cat when I saw him earlier.”
Blowing a kiss at Jake, Eleanor headed for the copier and pulled out the envelope that Mr. Lomax had pressed into her hands earlier that afternoon.
“Make sure you get a copy to everyone, there’s a good girl. Do it after the tea break if you can. I have a feeling everyone will be a little distracted when they’ve read it, and all work will be forgotten for the day.”
The words had sounded a little ominous, but Mr. Lomax’s eyes had been twinkling, so Eleanor hadn’t been worried. Now, as she switched on the copier, she opened the envelope with interest.
To: All Staff
From: Gerry Lomax, Managing Director, Cardiff Mode.
Subject: Retirement.
As I am sure most of you already know, my retirement is coming up in a few short weeks. Several of you have expressed an interest in taking over the reins, but as much as I have great faith in all of my staff, I feel that you all do such a marvelous job at the moment that it would be unwise to move you from your current positions.
To that effect, I have appointed Max Charming, former head of London Mode, as my successor. Mr. Charming has several years’ experience running a Mode office, and his recent relocation to Cardiff means that Cardiff Mode can take advantage of his expertise.
Mr. Charming will be arriving tomorrow morning, and will spend the following month shadowing members from every department. Please make your new Managing Director comfortable, and answer all of his queries as best as you can. I am sure you will find Mr. Charming an excellent man to work with. I have every faith that he can continue to make Cardiff Mode one of the topmost modeling agencies in the country.
“That’ll go down a treat,” she muttered as she fed the paper into the machine. Gerry Lomax was loved by all of the staff, and everyone was sad to see him retire. Of course, almost every department head had secretly hoped that they could move their things into the Managing Director’s office. Max Charming would be a blow to them all.
Still, Eleanor rather liked the idea of somebody new joining the team. Maybe they would offer her a promotion in the near future. Gerry was a great boss, but he didn’t like change. Eleanor would always be that “sweet little girl who makes the coffee and runs errands.” Maybe Mr. Charming would look a little closer and find that Eleanor Gibson was more than the office gopher. Maybe he would see that she also had plans for her future, plans that included all sorts of exciting things.
All right, she didn’t actually know what these exciting plans might be at the moment, but she was sure they would become clearer over the course of time.
Smiling at her inner rambling, Eleanor hit “copy” and began to daydream.
“Miss Gibson! Miss Gibson! Kerry Poole here from The Sun! How does it feel to be the owner of Britain’s top modeling agency?”
Eleanor, smoothly dressed and looking fabulous, laughed coyly before she replied.
“Oh, it’s just fantastic, Kerry. I’ve dreamed of this moment since I was a little girl. Of course, I can’t take all of the credit. I’ve had help from some wonderful people over the years, and I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you now if it wasn’t for them.”
“Yeah, right,” snorted Eleanor, shaking her head. “This is why you failed your exams, Eleanor Gibson. Get your head out of the clouds. And stop talking to yourself.”
• • •
As predicted, work stopped for everyone as soon as they got their “emails”. Some of the staff were relieved that it was somebody new taking the helm, mostly because it meant that nobody would be rubbing their noses in failed applications, but a lot of the staff were worried at the idea of somebody unknown breathing down their necks.
The main topic of conversation at the habitual end-of-work meeting at the elevator was, of course, Max Charming.
“I’ve heard he’s a bit of a bastard,” said Derek, looking suitably worried.
“That’s funny, because Gerry seems to think he’s lovely,” said Jake.
“Yeah, I overheard him talking about this Charming feller last week,” piped up Susie. Susie Rawlings was PA to Gerry, and consequently was the required fountain of knowledge for the rest of the staff. “Come to think of it, I should have put two and two together at the time.”
“Slipping a bit there, Sus,” sniggered Jake. “We can’t have that. I need you to fill my gossip needs on an hourly basis, you know that, darling.”
“I still say I heard he was a bastard,” said Derek huffily.
“Don’t listen to Derek, he’s just jealous. I don’t know about his personality, but Max Charming is a stud. Dark hair, blue eyes, and a butt that brings new meaning to the word ‘squeezable’. Derek’s just got his nose out of joint because he knows all the ladies will be panting after the new guy.”
“Jake!” said Susie reprovingly.
“Excuse me, but women don’t pant.” added Eleanor.
“Trust me, you’ll be panting harder than dog on heat when you see this guy. He’s hot with a capital ‘H’.”
Better and better, thought Eleanor happily.
Chapter Two
Eleanor took extra care with her appearance the following morning. Instead of the usual jeans and funky T-shirt, she opted for wide-legged trousers and a tailored silk shirt. She donned a pair of spiky-heeled boots and added a little extra make-up than was normal. Unfortunately, nothing could be done about her mass of black frizzy hair, so she tamed it as best as she could and placed it into a French pleat.
“Not bad, Ella, not bad at all,” she said as she checked her appearance from all angles. “Now, two buttons open on my shirt, or three? What do think, Muse?”
“Meow.”
“Yes, I thought three as well. Might as well flash a bit of my best feature, might take his mind off the hair. Good thinking, Muse.”
“Meow.”
Chuckling to herself, Eleanor patted her cat’s head softly and blew her a kiss. She couldn’t wait to get to work.
• • •
“Wow, you look lip-smackingly hot today, Eleanor,” said Derek, licking his lips to emphasize the point.
“And here I thought I looked good every day, Derek.”
“You do,” he hastily replied. “Today you look extra good, that’s all. Oh. I know what it is; you want to impress Mr. Max Bloody Charming. That’s your game.”
“I wouldn’t say ‘impress,’ Derek, I just want to make a good impression. It’s always a good idea to leave a good first impression, especially with a new boss, don’t you think?”
Derek muttered under his breath and hurried away, smoothing his hair down as he did so.
“Gotcha,” laughed Eleanor.
Unfortunately, Eleanor’s plans for making a favorable impression on her new boss hit a few glitches. With everyone being in similar states of panic, there were messages flying around the building all morning. To add to that, caffeine was required in regular doses, so Eleanor was rushed off her feet.
Literally off her feet, as it happens.
Twelve o’clock saw her carrying a tray laden with seven mugs of coffee from the kitchenette. She was so busy being careful of potential spills that she failed to notice the filing cabinet stood by the wall. This filing cabinet had been at Cardiff Mode longer than Eleanor had, so it was a mark of how distracted she was that she had the misfortune to bump into it.
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“Ooof,” she cried, as she watched seven mugs of coffee tumble to the floor. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Eleanor followed behind them. Somehow she ended up with a shard of mug stuck in her bottom, coffee stains all over her trousers, and a head full of sugar.
And that was the precise moment Max Charming decided to show his face. Unfortunately, Eleanor’s hair had fallen down from its previously elegant arrangement, so all she could see through the blanket of black frizz was a pair of well-muscled thighs.
“Jake, help me up, would you? I don’t believe my luck! Running around like an idiot all morning because of Max Bloody Charming. I put my best trousers on and did my hair just so that I could impress the bloke, and now look at me! I bet he’s a bastard too, just like Derek said he would be.”
“I believe my parents were married when I was born, actually,” stated an amused voice somewhere in the region above Eleanor’s sugar-covered head.
Crap.
Eleanor parted her hair and peered up at the man staring at her, wincing as the piece of china dug into her bottom.
“Um, Mr. Charming?”
“That would be me, yes. And you are?”
“Eleanor. Eleanor Gibson,” she said brightly, offering her hand.
Charming wrinkled his nose, and Eleanor blushed as she awkwardly got to her feet. She wiped her hand on her already ruined trousers and offered it again. Charming shook it briefly and eyed the coffee tray’s debris pointedly.
“That’s an accident waiting to happen. I suggest you go and get something to clear up this mess. I’ll wait here to make sure nobody slips.”
“Yes, Mr. Charming, right away.”
“Oh, and Miss Gibson?”
Eleanor turned around, schooled her features into a helpful expression, and promptly jumped out of her skin as she felt a fleeting brush against her bottom. Charming’s lips twitched as he held out the chunk of broken mug in front of her.
“You might need to visit the local A&E when you’re done. Unless you would like me to check your injury?”
“No! Er, I’ll pop to the hospital as soon as I’m done here.”
• • •
Two hours later Eleanor was enduring the ham-fisted stitching techniques of an over-enthusiastic doctor at the Royal Infirmary. She was still burning with humiliation from her interlude with Charming, and the doctor’s blatant amusement over her injury was adding fuel to the fire.
“There shouldn’t be any scarring,” said the doctor, who was visibly holding back a chuckle. “You’ll be sore for a few days though, so try not to do anything that will aggravate it.”
“Oh sure, I’ll just hold off on the spanking for a week or so,” said Eleanor, rolling her eyes.
At her side, Jake, who had kindly agreed to escort her to the hospital, choked back a laugh.
“Sweetie, and I was so looking forward to our weekly session,” he quipped, earning a glare from Eleanor for his trouble.
“Right, I’m done,” said the doctor, putting the last strip of sterile tape over the dressing. “Come back in a week for the stitches to come out, and in the meantime, no baths or showers, okay?”
Eleanor pouted. Great, not only did she have a sore bottom to put up with for the next week, it now looked like she was going to be dirty, too.
“Don’t worry, darling, I’ll give you a bed bath,” said Jake, winking cheekily at the doctor.
The doctor openly laughed, waving cheerily over his shoulder as he made his way to the next patient on his list.
“I can’t believe you’re laughing at me,” said Eleanor grumpily.
“Oh, come on, Ella. It’s funny, you have to admit it.”
“I don’t see how embarrassing yourself in front of the new boss is the least bit amusing. He pulled a piece of china out of my butt, for Christ’s sake!”
“Did he cop a free feel while he was there?”
“No!”
“Shame. Still, maybe he doesn’t like women.”
“You’re seeing someone, Jake, remember?”
“Of course I am, sweetie, but Danny would never begrudge me a little fantasy here and there.”
Eleanor rolled her eyes.
“I don’t think he’s gay anyway, so there’s no point arguing over it.”
“Not even a little twitch on your gaydar?” he asked hopefully.
“Nary a quiver.”
“Any quivering anywhere else?”
“No!”
“He’s a handsome guy. Single, too … ”
“Jake, don’t even think about it. And how do you know he’s single, anyway?”
“Honey, half the staff knows his vital statistics, and probably what he had for breakfast, too. His relationship status was one of the first things to circulate.”
“Susie,” she said dryly.
“Who else? That woman’s worth her weight in gold.”
They continued to chatter all the way back to Eleanor’s house. Eleanor lived on the outskirts of the city center, in Splott. Her grandmother had left her the little house on Jewel Street several years ago, and Eleanor loved it there. It was a two up, two down terraced house, and both of her neighbors had been good friends with her grandmother. The area was quiet to the point of silent, and there was a handy row of various shops just around the corner. Jake and Danny were always trying to get her to move to a flat in the city center, but although it would be far more convenient, Eleanor refused to budge.
“I suppose you’ll be visited by the Granny Patrol as soon as they realize that you’re home early,” said Jake, smirking slightly as he helped Eleanor through her front door.
“Don’t be a bitch, Jake,” she chided, swatting his hands away. “And you don’t have to hold on to me, you know. It’s my butt that’s injured, not my legs.”
Jake pinched her uninjured bottom cheek and pushed her into the living room.
“Quit moaning and have a seat,” he said, throwing a pile of cushions onto her sofa. “There, that should do you.”
Eleanor winced as she gingerly sat down. Muse tiptoed around her feet, sniffing around suspiciously before jumping onto her lap.
“Meow.”
“Hello to you, too,” murmured Eleanor, rubbing the cat affectionately.
“Tea or coffee?” called Jake from the kitchen.
“Vodka,” replied Eleanor. “And plenty of it.”
Jake reappeared with a grin, holding a bottle of vodka and two glasses.
“You know me so well,” said Eleanor with a smile.
“Straight?”
“There’s some lemonade in the fridge, I think. It’s a bit early to indulge it straight up.”
“Right.”
Several glasses of vodka later, Eleanor was feeling a lot better, and was even beginning to see the funny side of things.
“Of course, it’s all your fault,” she said, pointing a finger at Jake’s somewhat blurry-looking chest. “I thought it was you, not Charming.”
“What made you think it was me?”
“I was facing a dreamy pair of thighs … ”
“You think I have dreamy thighs?” snorted Jake.
“Well, of course you do! Not to mention a cute butt.”
“The cuteness of my butt has never been in question, but my thighs are a different matter altogether, sweetie. You girls aren’t the only ones with cellulite.”
“Pish-posh,” said Eleanor, waving her hands around. “Your thighs are to die for. All muscled and firm.”
“Why, thank you. And while we are on the subject of complimenting body parts, may I say that your breasts looked deliciously perky when they were peeking through your blouse today.”
“They weren’t peeking through my blouse!”
“I hate to be the beare
r of bad news, honey, but when you landed on your butt, you lost a button.”
Eleanor looked down at her chest and screeched.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to spoil the fun. I might be gay, but I still appreciate a nice pair as much as the next man.”
“Oh my God, why does this happen to me? Not only did Charming grope my butt, he got an eyeful of my boobs as well! And he also thinks I’m the clumsiest thing on two legs!”
“There, there,” said Jake consolingly. “Not to worry. They’re nice legs, and lovely boobs. Charming probably had an extra spring in his step after he saw you.”
“Not after what I said to him,” said Eleanor darkly.
“Yes, well. Perhaps the sight of your voluptuous charms made him forget your disaster of a conversation.”
It was a mark of how humiliated she felt that she agreed with him.
“I hope so.”
• • •
Eleanor was able to avoid the new boss until Friday. Having a sore bottom was enough excuse for two days of sick leave, but no more. Consequently, Friday morning saw Eleanor creeping around the Cardiff Mode building doing her best to steer clear of Charming.
She had heard through the grapevine that all of the staff was greatly impressed with Charming, with one exception. Jake had been right when he had suggested to all that Derek was more than a little jealous of the new guy. Cardiff Mode’s former Romeo (as nobody except Derek thought of himself) was well and truly “out,” and Max Charming was most definitely “in.”
Most of the female staff members were arriving at work dressed to the nines in an effort to grab his attention. Of course, this was fairly difficult to accomplish with the likes of Jenni and Heather, who always looked so effortlessly gorgeous, floating around.
Having heard this from Jake, Eleanor decided that she wasn’t going to join the ‘Impress Max Charming Gang’, and stuck to her usual uniform of jeans and a T-shirt. She had tried glamour, and look where that had gotten her. Oh no, she wouldn’t be making that mistake again.
Eleanor managed to get to the afternoon tea break without bumping into her newfound nemesis. She ducked into Jake’s office to consume her coffee and breathed a sigh of relief. Jake gave her a quick “thumbs up” and she grinned back happily.
If the Shoe Fits Page 2