Skinny Dipping (19 page)

“It’s okay, I’m just skittish when the office is dark,” she smiled, running her hand through her hair.

“So why exactly are you coming here late?”

She rushed to her desk. “Just to get some files. I was going to do a little bit of work from home.” She also needed to talk to him about the campaign, and the office was as good a place as any, she mused.

Matthew’s eyes scanned her desk. He examined her wall between the other desks, the decorations of an animated swimming pool and swimming racer. The pool expertly pinned spanned horizontally across the wall.

“How does this work?”

“Well, when I hit a target, I move the racer along the pool, representing how far she’d gotten to achieving her goal of finishing the project. This animation helps me with my project management, creativity and stuff.”

“You certainly live your job don’t you?”

“Well you should know, ‘
Swimming is for Living’
was one of my campaigns, right? So what about your workplace. Do you work like this?”

A grin spread across Matthew’s face. “I’m looking at our hotel chain at the moment, so I tend to take a notebook around with me everywhere, to see what areas I can improve.”

He’d mentioned the word ‘hotel.’ Sophie refrained from pouncing on the word, but this was the opening she was looking for. This is where she could softly pitch
Clarks
services. She needed to be soft. Gentle in her approach. Not the hard sell. “
Clarks
has actually helped quite a few firms in similar positions, where we’ve helped companies revitalise brands or images. I could spend a little bit of time with the team to generate a few ideas, to see if we could help. Only if you wanted us to, of course.”

Matthew shot her a glance. “I don’t know,” he paused. Sophie understood, there was something more going on here. Their relationship was getting complicated, she saw him so regularly at the pool. She was one of his clients essentially, and they were also building a friendship. “What’s your idea for the swimming centres?”

She laughed. “I had to ask about the hotel chain, as that seems to be all you talk about at the moment. It’s stressing you out.”

“Yeah, a little. But that’s the name of the game,” he shrugged. He was a cool and calm businessman. “So tell me Miss Smart, what is your latest idea for the Silver account campaign?” His expression was blank. It must be a business trick he’d learnt somewhere, and that’s why the Silver’s were multimillionaires. But Sophie was prepared.

She flashed him a smile, her winner smile, showing her confidence. This was the opportunity to explain the idea and get him across the line.

“We have a fabulous idea, a little bit risqué, a little bit sexy. Did you want to hear it now?”

“Shoot. Like I said, I want to be involved in every step of the way. I want to know every single idea your team comes up with, just in case you discard it and I love it.” He sat on the edge of her desk and looked at her, his piercing blue eyes scrutinizing her.

“The idea for your campaign is called ‘
Skinny Dipping
’. Dare to get skinny by ‘dipping.’ The Silver Swimming Centre challenge. It’ll be a competition, using a dare like attitude to encourage people to get fit by getting in the water.”

Matthew’s expression didn’t change; his face was deadpan. “You ever skinny dipped before?”

“Pardon?” This wasn’t quite the reaction she’d been hoping for. A quiver channelled through her, he hated it.

“Have you ever gotten your kit off? Skinny dipped?”

“Um..., no. I didn’t expect that reaction to be honest.”

He hung his head back. “I see. A bit of a prude. Did you want me to get my kit off?”

She gave a shaky laugh. “I’m not a prude. I’m just learning to swim, remember? And I was kind of hoping for other feedback: a slight curve of the lips, a smile. Gushing, maybe.” She exhaled.

“Well I guess I’m making you suffer, then.”

“Making me suffer?” She didn’t understand.

“I love it,” he said with a grin.

“You love it!” She clapped her hands in excitement. “I’m so glad. You got me a bit worried though.”

“But my gut reaction.” He shot her a glance. “I wanted to find out whether you had skinny dipped? I’m assuming not?”

She arched her eyebrows questioningly. “Have you?”

She noticed his eyes were playful, almost dancing, he was definitely flirting with her. “I don’t see a photo of anyone on your desk,” he said, evading her question. “No family; since you’re Daddy’s little girl, I would have thought there’d at least be a picture of him here.”

“Nope, no picture of Roger.”

“Nothing of Mum?

“Nope.”

“You’re not a photo type of girl then are you, because there’s nothing of your boyfriend, either.” He looked down at her hand, examined it for a moment. “You’re not married are you? I mean, I have been known to miss important facts, like you not being able to swim on my own swimming campaign.”

Sophie shot him a glance. “No, no pictures.”

“No pictures because….”

“Long story. I broke up with someone a few weeks back.” She shook her head. “He didn’t like my promotion at
Clarks
; apparently I work too hard.”

“You do seem to work too hard, considering we’re the only ones here and the office is basically empty.”

“I guess,” she said, looking around, and a thought occurred to her, why was she telling him all this?

Matthew nodded. “So how long has he been out of the picture?”

“That’s a little tricky – half my belongings are still in our old flat. But he kind of is seeing someone else.” Her stomach suddenly tied itself in knots. “I ran into him two days after I’d moved out, I was buying a swimsuit, and he was with someone else. Possibly an overlap there.”

“Oh,” he said. “That sucks.”

“No, that’s fine. It wasn’t meant to be. My trust in the male population just isn’t high at the moment.”

“I can understand,” Matthew nodded.

Sophie felt the urge to stand up. She twisted her hands in front of her nervously. This situation had to be considered with care. “What about you?”

He gave a small laugh. “I’m single, I suppose. But my heart is kind of attached.”

“Really? That sounds complicated. Why did you want the surfing wallet so much, was it about that?”

“I suppose I’ll have to tell you at some stage. The surfing wallet. As funny as it sounds, but it was the exact same wallet that my girlfriend, Rebecca, had when she was fifteen. When I saw yours, the memory really took me back and I couldn’t help but think of her. That’s why I wanted the wallet. My girlfriend – fiancé really – Rebecca..., she died about eighteen months ago, drowned. It was a boating accident.”

Sophie felt herself pale. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

“She would have liked you,” he said, after a while.

“Oh,” Sophie said awkwardly.

“We’d been together for so long, since high school, so the oddest thing is that every place I go has a memory of her. Whether it’s something she did, or something she said. The memories used to come flooding back, and I was so afraid to go anywhere, because a memory would appear. A memory from being together at the pool, or racing around the supermarket, or the time I taught her how to drive. Every haunt of ours would cause memories to tumble round me, and I’d revisit my time with her. It hurt so much knowing she’d never come back and there was nothing I could do about it.”

Sophie swallowed. “It must be so hard.”

“I was so angry when she died, how could she leave me? We were supposed to be together, forever. And I know it wasn’t her fault, but she’d gone somewhere and I couldn’t follow. So, I decided to do different things, so I wouldn’t be reminded of her. That’s when everything changed…”

She gave him a curious look. “How so?”

“Just small things. I started driving different routes even if it’s an hour out of my way, because I remember her on the roads to her house. I sold my car. Got rid of the bed linen and bought manly, black silk sheets, something I’d always wanted.” He chuckled. “I quit swimming. I moved house.” He paused. “I go to different coffee shops and restaurants. But doing things differently doesn’t change the fact that she’s not around, that she’s gone. I finally realised I couldn’t forget her, couldn’t just change everything and her memory would be gone.”

“Definitely.”

“I couldn’t avoid some things forever, like swimming – and if she ever found out I quit swimming she’d be so angry at me. So, I got back in the water, for her really. And I started coaching again, well, I started when I met you. She’d have been so angry at me for not trying to help.” He grabbed Sophie’s hand, gave it a squeeze. Electricity pulsed through them. “Thanks to you, I met someone who made me think getting in the water was still important.”

She dropped his hand; this discussion was all a little bit too personal.

“I’m mad at myself for trying to forget her. That’s why I wanted your wallet, I would have paid thousands of pounds for it, because of all the memories the wallet brought back to me. I was so stupid trying to forget her, because now when I close my eyes, I can’t really remember how her voice sounded, or the sparkle in her eyes or how tall she was. My memory’s fading, and I feel so stupid for trying to forget her when I should have been trying to hold onto the small part of her I had left.”

Sophie swallowed. “You must miss her so much.”

“I do, I did. I thought she would be mad at me for being happy, but she’d want me to be happy.”

“Of course she would.”

“I try not to think about her, but I guess that will come in time. It wasn’t meant to be.”

“Oh.” Her mind was whirling. “It’s okay. This must be perfectly normal. You’ll be right in time.”

“So, I’m in this strange position, single and I’ve been out of the game for a long, long time. I’m not sure if I’m actually ready yet. I don’t know.” He shoved his hands in his pockets.

“The heart’s complicated.”

“Miss Smart, I have a proposition for you.”

“The last time you had a proposition for me, you wanted my purse. Is there something else you want now?”

“Yes, there is actually.”

She blushed as his gaze settled on her intensely. “Why don’t we go for a drink? Get you out of this office. Forget about things we can’t control, I need to dig myself out of self pity. Besides, I think you would be the perfect person to come, get some work-life balance, because quite frankly there’s no one else here. Why should you be here? And after this chat, I feel like getting really drunk.”

She paused for a moment. Assessed him. He was a client after all. “Okay,” she said slowly. “Sure, it’ll be fun.” Her knees felt all wobbly, like they weren’t her own, and she hoped it wouldn’t just be the two of them.

Almost as if he read her mind, “I have a few friends from the pool,” he continued. “They’re always up for a drink or two.”

She felt relieved. They wouldn’t be going together, alone. “I could ask my fabulous flatmate Carol and my best friend Mickey.”

Chapter 14

Sophie stood next to a tanned lifeguard she’d seen at the
Highbury Aquatic Centre
. She’s never spoken to him before, but Matthew had invited him along. His height loomed over her. He looked like an iron man, and even in the midst of winter he wore a singlet shirt emphasising his large biceps and angular back. Sophie clutched onto a glass of vodka, she resisted running her hand over his muscles. Licking her lips was out of the question. Delicious, the man she was standing next to, even better than the drink she was holding at the pub.

“It’s nice to go out midweek,” the lifeguard said. “Matthew mentioned your friends might be coming later on?” He seemed to ignore everyone else in the bar as he leaned over to talk to her. Was he chatting her up? Possibly, the way he was looking at her, although he did ask about her friends.

Sophie felt herself blush under his intense gaze. “Yeah, my flatmate and my best friend,” Sophie replied. She sipped her drink, and out of the corner of her eye saw Matthew, deep in conversation with the barman, shoot her a look. Sophie focused on the lifeguard.

“Typical for Matthew, all the girls love him. He’s always surrounded by women. But you’re the only one who got him back into the pool.” The lifeguard chuckled to himself. “What’s your name?” He was standing very close to her.

“Sophie,” she said, looking up from her eyelashes. “Yours?”

“Josh.”

“So do you like tequila shots, too?”

“Ha!” Josh hung his head back and laughed. “Do I ever?”

“Sophie,” a voice shrieked. She turned and Carol threw her arms around her neck. “Guess what?” she said, her face radiating joy and excitement.

“What?” Sophie leaned forward.

“I’m in a new dance company. And, I am the understudy for the principal dancer!” Carol did a jig on the spot. “Swan Lake will be showing through Christmas and for three months after the new year. I will be the most diligent understudy – so much so that they will wish they’d picked me for the Swan Queen. I have a huge future, they’re even touring next year, all the way round Europe.”

Sophie whooped for joy. “Congratulations!” she grabbed her friend’s hands, jumping up and down with her on the spot. “This is a massive celebration, champagne please,” she called to the bar tender.

“Congratulations,” Josh interjected, his gaze scanning over Carol’s slim physique. “Sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

“Call me Carol.” She winked at him and extended her hand.

“I’m Josh.” He took Carol’s hand and shook it longer than necessary. “I’m a lifeguard at the pool where Sophie has lessons.”

“Are you the swimming coach?” Carol asked sweetly.

Josh’s focus had shifted, of course. Sophie shrugged off a feeling of bitterness rippling through her. How could she have forgotten, men and their short attention spans, they’d cheat as soon as they were bored.

Matthew raced over. “Carol or Mickey?” He looked with interest.

“Carol. This is my flatmate I was telling you about. Guess what? She just got into a new dance company and is dancing in Swan Lake.”

Carol beamed at Matthew. “I was getting a little worried but this fantastic dance company heard that I was on the market. Phew. I got in and so I still might get a chance at stardom.”