Rules of Harte (Harte Series #1) (4 page)

‘Real life isn’t like that.
’ Shelly finished her sentence for her.

             
Eva smiled. Shelly seemed friendly but her confidence and beauty made Eva nervous.

‘I really hope he doesn’t call me up here again. Not sure my nerves could handle it.’ Eva stretched out her hand and wobbled it for dramatic effect.

Shelly giggled. ‘Maybe next time, he’ll just fancy tea and a chat.’

Eva looked to floor before raising her head to meet Shelly’s
smile. ‘Maybe.’

Eva knew Shelly was politely humouring her. It was sweet. But unnecessary. She’d grown up with an asshole alpha male dominating her family. She could handle a boss with a chip on his shoulder. She just needed to pull herself together.

              ‘Til next time,’ Eva said, winking and coming across far more self-assured than she actually was. She pulled her cardigan across her chest and paced towards the lift, catching Shelly return to her tea out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t ask about the parcel. Maybe Mr Doe would just forget. Maybe?

Eva struggled to concentrate on work. Mr Doe had a reputation; Eva had heard all the tales on her first day. The girls in the office were only too happy to swap stories over morning coffee. They were like giggling schoolgirls discussing the size of his cock and how many times he made them come. An orgasm was the first step up the ladder. A double meant promotion. Hell, go for multiple orgasms and you could end up head of a department. Fake it and you got fired. It was an unwritten rule. If you got the call to go upstairs, you knew what to expect. Mia must have had her fair share of calls, Eva thought. Why then did Eva get a power cut and lecture? She couldn’t stop thinking about it. Was she that unattractive that even a nymphomaniac womaniser didn’t want to touch her? She wasn’t sure whether she was more insulted or relieved, or if any job was worth this kind of stress.

             
Mia buzzed around Eva like a bumble bee over a sunflower. Eva tried hard to ignore her. Mia drummed her fingers on the edge of her desk and chewed her pencil until it resembled a slender tooth-pic. Her buzzing eventually stopped right in front of Eva’s desk, waiting forcefully for her attention.

             
‘How did it go?’ Mia asked casually.

‘Okay.’

‘Just okay?’

‘Yes, just okay.’

‘Jeez, Eva, why do you do that? It’s a simple question? I’m just trying to be nice here,’ Mia said like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

Eva knew better but she didn’t want to be rude.

‘There isn’t much to tell. He saw my email to you earlier about the ball.’

Mia interrupted mid-sentence. ‘Oh about that, I meant to tell you
; I sent it on to him.’

Eva closed her eyes and sighed deeply. Mia had stabbed her in the
back; there was nothing new about that, she had made a habit of it from day one. But in this instance, Eva was delighted to hear of Mia’s underhand tactics. It meant Mr Doe wasn’t reading her emails after all. Her private life was, well, private.

             
‘He said I have to go to the ball, it’s compulsory. I don’t see why we all have to go. It’s weird.’

‘It’s not
,’ Mia said. ‘Compulsory, I mean. It’s specifically invite only. Actually, I was surprised you were invited. Sorry, Eva. Don’t mean it like that. Just, you know... You don’t really do the social thing, do you?’

             
              Eva knew from Mia’s smirk that she was freaking out that Eva’s nerdiness might tarnish the ball. She wanted to catch Mia by her irritatingly fabulous hair and shake her. Eva was going to the ball, the decision was out of her hands but Mia was, as always, trying to make things as uncomfortable as possible. Did she hope Eva would chicken out and get fired? If what Shelly said was true, it would make sense. Fuck her, Eva decided. She’d been direct to the top. Mr Doe knew she existed now. No more crossing her fingers for a quick word with Mia. She would go direct to Mr Doe. She wasn’t prepared to suck his cock for a salary increase but maybe if she worked hard, he’d appreciate her for her contribution. She’d start by making a great impression at the Ball.
Damn
the bloody parcel
. She’d have to go back for it.

             
It was hard to get rid of Mia. She lurked around Eva for the rest of the day. Normally, Eva would have been delighted to be seen with the office manager so close to her but all she wanted was privacy. She rearranged some large files on one side of her PC screen and draped her cardigan over her pen holder on the other. Satisfied her screen was hidden, she Googled escorts. It was a long list but Julian’s agency didn’t appear. She couldn’t remember how she found him last time and she’d cleared her browser history - obviously. She really wished she’d kept his contact details. She tried putting other key words in her search; like dating service and gigolo but it just led her to some very dodgy porn sites. She panicked and closed the links as fast as she could, freaking out that someone from the IT department would report her for unsavoury conduct.

             
She was stressing out so much she almost missed the instant message at the bottom corner of her screen.

Julian:
Working hard, Evangeline?’-

Eva’s face lit up.

Eva135:
I was just looking for you.’-

Julian:
I’m flattered.’-

Eva wanted to explain it wasn’t a compliment. She didn’t want to get in touch because she thought he seemed like a lovely person. He didn’t. In fact
, he seemed like a complete arse. She was purely after a business arrangement. Simple as that. But Eva didn’t know how to type that without appearing like a complete bitch. Maybe she should chat for a little while first, she thought.

Eva135:
How are you?’-

Julian:
I’m well, Evangeline - thank you. How are you?’-

Eva tried desperately to come up with a response that wasn’t boring but all she could manage was one word.

Eva135:
Good.’-

Julian:
Do you still insist you don’t require my services?’-

At first Eva was annoyed that Julian was so pushy
, but she hoped she could use it to her advantage.

Eva135:
I said I didn’t need an escort. I never said I didn’t need your service.’-

Eva bit her bottom lip and crossed her legs, eyeing her screen excitedly. She was flirting. She never flirted. It was actually quite thrilling.

Julian:
But I am an escort, Evangeline. That’s what I am; it’s what I do.’-

Eva135:
I know. But I don’t want to be the girl who has to hire an escort. No offence.’-

Julian:
None taken. Would you rather we called it something else?’-

Eva135:
Like what? A date?’-

Julian:
Sure. If that works for you.’-

             
Eva thought for a moment. A date sounded nice. She might drop it into conversation over the water cooler. A casual, ‘Oh, I have a date tonight.’ But that might lead to questions that Eva had no answers to. Like, where they met, or was he a friend of a friend. No; she wouldn’t say anything.

Eva135:
A paid date, isn’t that a little weird?’-

Julian
: Who said anything about money? That’s not what it’s about for me.-

Eva135:
It’s not?-‘

Julian
: Of course not. Why would you think that?’-

Eva135:
Cause it’s what you hear about, you know? Sleazy guys who get paid a fortune to make ugly women feel good.’-

Julian:
Do you think that’s what this is?’-

Eva135
: I dunno…yeah suppose, maybe. A little bit.’-

A little bit?
Yeah right
.
A big bit.

Julian:
Evangeline, I can assure you I am no sleaze. And you, my darling, are most certainly not ugly. You are beautiful.’-

             
Eva’s eyes whizzed around the office frantically. He couldn’t see her, could he? She rolled her eyes and snorted feeling foolish. She had seen one too many spy films. She knew he was just being polite, but she still allowed herself to enjoy the warm tingle in her cheeks from the compliment. Being told she was beautiful, even if it was by a man who had never seen her, made her giddy.

Eva135:
Why do you do it then?’-

Julian:
Because I want to. Isn’t that the best reason to do anything?’-

Eva135:
But why do you want to? I don’t get it. Who wakes up one morning and decides they want to be an escort?’-

Julian:
I did. I enjoy a challenge, Evangeline. I always have. I challenged myself to be a millionaire before I was thirty. And now I challenge myself to help women free their inhibitions.’-

Eva135
: You’re thirty and a millionaire. That’s very impressive.-‘

             
Eva smiled at the irony. She’d gone the last three days without talking to anyone expect the postman and her dentist. And in the space of an hour today, she had chatted with two millionaires. She didn’t believe him, of course. She knew strangers talked themselves up on the internet all the time. Who wouldn’t? It must be nice to feel important for a while, even if it was a lie. She thought about describing herself as a tall, stunning and managing director but the idea of lying, even to a stranger, made her uncomfortable.

Julian:
I’m thirty one now and a billionaire, but I don’t find it impressive. It was never about the money, just the challenge of making it. And just so you know, I’ve never set myself a challenge and not succeeded. Until now. You are a challenge, Evangeline. A very big challenge. I don’t know if your inhibitions can be freed.’-

             
Eva slammed her pen on her desk and jumped out of her chair. ‘How dare you?’ she shouted at her screen.

She blushed instantly and quickly sat back down. The new guy at the desk behind her turned around to stare.

‘Silly website thingy; trying to sell me a Russian bride,’ Eva said.

He snorted and nodded. ‘Know the feeling; so long as they don’t try to sell you Viagra
, you’ll be okay.’

They both forced a laugh at the bad joke before falling silent again.

‘Best get back to this,’ Eva said, pointing at her desk, instantly wishing she hadn’t. Her screen saver hadn’t kicked in yet and her conversation with Julian was blinking at her in black and white.

The new guy nodded, smiled and swung his chair back around to face his desk. Eva breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Julian:
You still there?’-

Eva135:
Yes.’-

Julian:
Where did you go?’-

Eva135:
I’m at work, Julian. I can’t chat all day.’-

Julian:
Oh, okay. I see. Good luck with those inhibitions.’-

Eva135
: I don’t have inhibitions.’-

Julian:
Really?’-

Eva:
Yes really.’-

             
Eva ground her teeth until they hurt. She could almost hear Julian’s sarcastic tone. How did he do that? How could he make her feel like he was belittling her when he wasn’t even in the room? He didn’t know her.

Eva135
: I don’t have to prove myself to you.’-

Julian
: Really?’-

Eva135:
Stop saying that. Is that your favourite fucking word or something?’-

Julian:
Now, now Evangeline. There’s no need to get upset.’-

Eva135
: I’m not upset. Why the fuck would I be upset?’-

Julian
: People tend to use profanities when they’re upset. I don’t care for it personally.’-

Eva135:
Sorry.‘-

Eva hit send and instantly regretted it. She should take Mr Doe’s advice and stop apologising every time she was challenged.
Julian was an arse. An arrogant arse, she decided.

Eva135:
I can say whatever the fuck I like.’-

             
Eva’s heart raced reading back over her last reply. She would never dare be that assertive in person but her conversation with Julian gave her a new sense of confidence. Besides, Julian twisted everything she said. He was infuriating. She hovered her mouse over the little red X button at the top left of her screen. All she had to do was click it and Julian would disappear. Click it, she told herself. CLICK IT. She didn’t.

Julian:
Do we have a date, Evangeline?’-

Eva didn’t reply. She needed a little more time to think.