Seven Days: The Complete Story (18 page)
Read Seven Days: The Complete Story Online
Authors: Lindy Dale
Tags: #threesome, #lovers, #love triangle, #18, #romance novel, #new adult, #romance series
“Hashtag
understatement.” I release another spluttery giggle.
“How did you
not know this?”
“Because I’m a
nutter idiot. I mean, an utter idiot.”
“But he’s
Nicholas Lawson. He’s, like, literally famous. He must have told
you his surname when you met him.”
Duh
. I
know he’s famous. I didn’t put the man with the man, if you know
what I mean. “As if I cared about his surname when he was inside
me! I was a bit preoccupied at the time.”
Doubly so.
“But you spent
days with him before you did the deed. You can’t have been looking
longingly into each other’s eyes the entire time. You must have
talked about something. I knew everything about Alex after twenty
minutes on the beach.”
“That’s
because you’re nosy.”
She gives me
the look. I am an idiot. I. Am. Such. A. Massive. Idiot.
Emily comes to
sit beside me on the couch. She pats my arm. “It’ll work out.”
“I don’t think
it will. You seem to be forgetting Mason.” I came so close to
kissing Nicholas I was almost cheating on my boyfriend. In fact, I
was so overcome by desire I didn’t even remember I had one. “I
don’t know what to do.”
“You could
dump Mason.”
Totally what I
expected her to say.
“I meant about
the job, Emily.”
“Hmm.” She
pauses. “I don’t see why you can’t continue on as if nothing
happened. It’s a month. So you hooked up with Nicholas. So what?
Heaps of people sleep with their bosses and live to tell the
tale.”
“I’m not heaps
of people. What about Mason? I have to tell him.”
“There’s no
need for that.”
“But I feel
guilty.” Imagine how I’d feel if I’d kissed Nicholas today.
“Has Mason
told you about every girl he’s been with? I bet he hasn’t.”
“I don’t want
to know.”
“Oh for Pete’s
sake. You’re too nice for your own good.” Emily picks up my almost
empty glass of wine and finishes it off.
“Hey!”
“Shush! You’ve
already had enough by the look of you. Your cheeks are flushed. And
you’re watching re-runs of
Friends
. You hate TV.”
Always a
giveaway.
“Not the
point.”
“No,” she
says, as she shakes the last drips from the bottle into my glass
and helps herself to it. “Let’s get back to that point, shall we?
First, you liked Nicholas. You’ve never slept with anyone after
such a short amount of time. Then, all of a sudden you’re back here
and he’s forgotten. You tell me it was a holiday romance, that it
meant nothing. You start seeing Mason. If the thing with Nicholas
meant nothing why are you sitting here worrying that Mason might
find out? Why are you stressing over a man who means nothing.
Unless of course, he does mean something.” Her look is suspicious
now.
“It wasn’t
coincidence, me getting that place at Hardwick & Lawson.
Nicholas approved it… after he checked that it was me first.”
“He must be
more into you than you were him.”
She wouldn’t
be happy if she knew how into him I was. I mean, am.
“Or he’s a
stalker,” I joke.
“Hardly. I
never understood why you dumped him in the first place. He’s so
nice.”
“I told you,
it was a holiday thing. We agreed. No strings.” I wish there had
been no strings. I can feel the strings pulling me in again,
tugging at my heart, winding me up in Nicholas’ game. But it’s not
a game.
Oh, this is
hectic. My head is literally exploding.
“Then go back.
Stop complaining about something that was obviously nothing. Don’t
be such a girl. Maybe if you go back, the relationship will develop
into something. Even if it doesn’t, you can’t put a hook-up before
your professional dream. Get a grip, Sadie. Suck it up. Build a
bridge. Do
all
that stuff.”
I’d love to
but there’s no way I can be in the same building with Nicholas and
Joel and not want to do what we did before. I felt it today, as
soon as I saw them. The yearning was so strong it was compelling me
to act. I have no idea what would have happened if Joel hadn’t been
so mad.
I pull the
cushion from behind me and hug it to my body, seeking a buffer in
its softness. “When did you get to be so mature? That advice was
actually worth listening to.”
“Ha! Must have
been hangin’ with my homey for too long.”
I giggle again
and toss the pillow at her. “Nutcase.”
“Obsessive
freak.” She tosses it back.
“Maneater.”
“Prude,” she
replies, as she bonks me on the head with the cushion.
After we stop
laughing, we trade a few more insults and Emily quizzes me on the
rest of my day, the part where I was enjoying learning new stuff
and not obsessing over Nicholas and Joel. I tell her about Jill and
how excited I was to work with her and what a pity it will be not
to get the opportunity to learn from her.
“Whoa. Back up
the truck.” Emily holds up her hands. “I thought we’d settled
that?”
I bite my
lip.
“What the hell
is
wrong
with you, Sadie? You’re all over the shop. Geez,
Louise, are you hormonal or something? I’ve never seen you be so
indecisive, like, ever.”
I know I’m
being all those things but I can’t tell her. I can’t. “Nothing’s
wrong.”
“Great. So
tomorrow, you’ll be up bright and early ready for a day at the
office then? Ring Mason and tell him you need to have an early
night.”
“I guess
so.”
“It’s the
opportunity of a lifetime. You can’t pass it up.”
That’s exactly
what I’m afraid of.
*****
Later, as I’m
getting ready for bed my phone buzzes on the bedside table.
Thinking it’s my nightly bedtime text from Mason, I pick it up.
It’s a number I don’t know.
A question
like that can only come from one of the two people I’m trying not
to think about.
That’s nice. I
didn’t expect he’d be so worried about my welfare. He is the
non-commitment one, after all. Plus, he
was
Mr Grumpy Pants
earlier.
Stupid
question.
I type,
you were gonna crap your pants when I walked into the meeting room
today>
What is it
with everyone thinking I’m going to give up at the first sign of
trouble? I admit my immediate history might have created the wrong
impression but I’m no quitter. Despite what I said earlier, I am
going back to work tomorrow. I won’t let them get the better of me.
I can finish what I start. I have to finish if I’m going to have
any sort of professional integrity. I can behave like a grown up…
if they can.
< Not
talking myself up, but it would be a waste of an opportunity
>
that>
Even in my
drunken stupor I knew Emily was right. I might want to run and hide
from the awkward personal feelings but professionally, that would
make me one big fat idiot. The phone beeps again.
Oh no. He
can’t do that. It hurt me way more than him.
commitment. Why should it bother you?>
mark for this prac so I can get a job>
>
Oh my God. He
didn’t miss me. He wants to pick up where we left off.
A second
message appears quickly after the first.
Smiling to
myself, I put the phone down on the table. Then, as I pull back the
sheets, it buzzes again.
Shit, shitty,
shit shit.
*****
I don’t get
much sleep that night. Again. As seems to be becoming my habit, I
spend the night rehearsing scenarios in my mind but this time they
involve me, Nicholas
and
Joel and a rather awkward
conversation. In my head, I obsess over telling them I want no
special treatment because of what we did, that I won’t be starting
up again, I’m there to work. Of course, these imaginings seem to
end with me having really great office sex on the desk, on the
sofa, against the wall.
I am such a
hussy.
Who am I
trying to kid? The guys simply have to ask, and try as I might; I
know I’m going to cave. I may be more outgoing than I’ve ever been
but I’m not strong enough to say no.
The next
morning I arrive at work early. I have covered the dark circles
under my eyes with concealer and put on my brightest lipstick,
which is slightly at odds with the fact that I’m wearing work
overalls and big clomping boots. My plan is to see Nicholas and
Joel together and reiterate what I said to Joel on the phone last
night. With the door open. The door has to be open or I don’t think
I can do this. Not when Joel has access to my phone number and can
send me sexy texts at any minute of the day. I have to trust, too,
that the guys are professional, that they won’t try anything at
work.
After I reach
the office, I drop my bag in the locker I’ve been allocated and am
about to head to Nicholas’ office when Jill comes in. I don’t know
how she can make work pants and boots look stylish but she does.
She’s coordinated from top to bottom and looking more like she’s
off to a fashion show for gardeners, not a job site.
“Hey, Sadie.
Ready for a big day outdoors?”
I smile.
“Can’t wait. I’m super excited about this.”
“We’ll work
the morning at Highfield, finishing the planting out of the garden.
I’ve got a couple of mature trees for the front yard being
delivered and they have to be planted exactly right. There’s no
taking a three metre birch out once it’s in the ground.”
I know how
particular you have to be when planting trees. Like people, every
tree has its good side and bad side. It has to be positioned for
maximum effect.
“The turf guys
will be on site too, so I want to make sure they’re laying it
correctly. Last time some fool tried to lay Buffalo when the client
specifically asked for Couch grass. Contractors will try and get
away with anything if they can. They think we don’t know the
difference between a broad leaf and a fine.”
I’m so pumped.
I can’t wait to get out there and start helping. But I have two
very big problems to deal with first.
“Are Nicholas
and Joel around? I’d like to catch up with them before we leave, if
I can. I was, um, telling them about some new research when we met
yesterday afternoon and I dug out the information last night. It’s
to do with new ways to recycle waste water.” I wave a sheath of
papers in Jill’s direction. I mean, I can’t say I want to see the
bosses without some reason, can I? I can’t say we need to have a
private discussion re their wanting to do me on the desk, can I? It
wouldn’t look good for any of us.
“You are on
the ball,” Jill says. “Trying to impress the boss?”
I can feel my
cheeks redden. If it were as simple as that. “I, er.”
“Neither them
are in today, Sadie. They’re on site at Iris. But you could leave
it on Nick’s desk, where he’ll see it later.”
Damn.
“Maybe I’ll
take it with me on the off chance I see them.”
“Sure, but I
wouldn’t expect anything sensible from those two today. They’re
always fully focused on the job at the beginning of a new project.
Jennifer Hawkins could streak by in her undies and they wouldn’t
notice.”
I don’t know
if I’m happy about that or upset that they won’t know I’m
alive.
*****
About half an
hour later we arrive at Highfield. It’s a grand old house on the
outskirts of the city. Being heritage, such houses are always
tricky to renovate so Nicholas was called in. He’s a specialist in
sensitive remodels and can make even the oldest, most decrepit
houses into works of art. Jill’s been updating the century old
garden too and I’m keen to see what she’s done with it.
As we approach
I notice a long, circular gravel drive has been laid in front of
the house. There’s a garden bed in the middle, which I gather is
the spot Jill’s going to plant the mature tree today.
“You can start
on the urns on the terrace, Sadie. There’s a topiary bush for the
centre of each and a heap of annuals for under-planting. Don’t
worry about the colours. Mix them in randomly.”
I nod and pull
my gardening gloves out of my back pocket. Then I rummage around in
the little wooden basket I keep my tools in for a trowel. This is
so exciting. So, so exciting. My dream is coming true. For a
moment, I think of Mum and a smile comes to my face. I can almost
hear her voice telling me how proud she is of me for not giving up,
for sticking it out despite the fact that Nicholas and Joel are my
bosses. She would have loved this garden too.
I’ve finished
four of the urns and am about to start on the fifth when a
semi-trailer swings into the drive and pulls up. On the back of it
is a massive tree, its branches carefully tied so they wouldn’t be
damaged in the move from the tree nursery to its new home. It’s so
big, the upper leaves are hanging over the cabin of the trailer
like a long green wig. A man hops from the driver’s side of the
truck and stands for a second looking around the garden. He spots
Jill and heads towards her.
