Weapon of Desire (2 page)

He confirms
that he will visit the school soon and perhaps their PA could email Patricia some preferable dates. Eventually they say goodbye and he marches over to the table.

I look up from the lap
top as he pulls back a chair to join me. “Thank you for the flowers they are beautiful.” I say as I resume viewing the spread sheet on the screen.

“You’
re very welcome, I have a birthday breakfast here for you if you didn’t manage to grab any this morning.” He sits and clasps his hands in front of him resting on the table. “Would you like coffee?”

“I would love
coffee.” I smile appreciatively at the offer.

He strolls across the roo
m to the phone and politely requests Patricia arrange coffee for us both. Then he returns to the table.

“Darcey I want you to take me through
current financial reports and staffing structures. This may take some time but I want to fully understand our status.” He leans forward with a serious expression and then slides the last report towards me.

“Shall we start with this
one?” he raises his eyes to look at me. “This is the last set of financial accounts.”

I
glide the report closer towards me. “Ok, let’s start with breaking down the various departments’ costs,” I recommend as I pull up another spread sheet.

We are interrupted by
a knock at the door and Anthony stands and scoots across the room to open the door for Patricia who is laden with a cafetiere and crockery on a tray.

“Thank you Patricia.” Anthony takes the tray and puts down on
the table. She exits closing the door swiftly behind her.

Anthony starts to pour the coffee.
“Do you take milk or sugar?” he holds the milk jug in one hand.

“Yes please and one sugar, thank you.” I reply without looking away from the screen.

Anthony sets the coffee down on the table beside me and then leans forward peering at the screen over my shoulder. His cologne tantalises my senses with a deep exotic musk. He moves closer to the screen behind me, placing one hand on the table to my left. I notice his tanned fingers and manicured nails. My mind wanders and images of him sunning himself on a golden beach in the Caribbean or perhaps the South of France flash into my head.

The spread
sheet holds detailed data regarding staff and departments’ operational costs. “As you can see we’ve gradually grown in staff with higher running costs as more officers are relocated to Dorton. This has been due to closure of nearby airfields.” I point to references on the screen.

He starts to talk in a low,
relaxed voice, moving closer to get a good look at the data. “So government funding has increased with more staffing levels and the higher running costs controlled?”

I can
hear and feel each deep breath he takes and with every word I sense him putting me into a trance. The back of my neck starts to tingle with each letter he pronounces.

I glide my hand over the keyboard to retrieve more data
. “Yes but as each department grows, restructures have taken place to improve services and make further savings. These savings have helped to fund the new school that we setup on site.”

He moves to perch his
shapely bottom on the edge of the table and reaches for the bowl of fruit. My eyes follow the line of his arm as he stretches producing tension in his shirt against his firm chest. My eyes drop to the keyboard and then slide sideways noticing his thighs that protrude through his navy trousers as he sits on the table.

Is
he doing this on purpose - invading my space, parading his body? Can he also feel this fierce electricity or is it just my wild imagination doing over time with the caffeine hit. I look up and see his jaw moving as he eats the grapes, popping another between his lips. I gulp and reach for my coffee, I need something strong and wet as my mouth is dry and I feel as though I’m not breathing. Wow, what an effect he is having on me. I can’t concentrate on anything else. This isn’t good news for our working relationship.

He
stills and then walks backwards and forwards behind me. “So you say all savings have been identified through reviews of each department?” He shuffles and then throws his jacket onto the sofa to my right. I feel as though I’m in a court room and daren’t move my head to give away my curiosity at the removal of his jacket.

Oh no
! I think to myself, this means more body will be on view through his tight shirt. My brain is now galloping at speed with further images of a six pack dripping with sweat after excessive activity. I’m going to self-destruct at this rate!

“Yes
,” I conjure up after I clear my throat. “The problem is that central funding is reducing and therefore further reviews and possibly outsourcing may be required.” I sound convincing not giving away that my concentration has evaporated.

“Is it warm in here or
is it just me?” Anthony questions as his tie joins his jacket on the chair and then parks his bottom back onto the table beside me. He’s fiddling with his top button and I’m at a point ready to explode.

I swallow again and feel
the urge to move as I restrain my head to turn and look in his direction knowing that there will be the small triangle of flesh now on view. “Yes it is quite warm.” I comment. That’s a bloody understatement!

“So what are we
currently doing about further reviews or new income streams?” He continues to remain focused and I’m glad one of us is.

I stand slowly, move
around the desk to pour a glass of juice. I need something cool as I look up to see his eyes scanning my tight, navy skirt and I quickly look down at the juice. “Would you like some?”

Anthony
’s eyes are determined. “Yes please,” He replies.

I’
m now able to think a little clearer and relax having the desk between us therefore I decide to tackle his question. I pass Anthony a glass of juice and sit on the edge of the table. I realise that I feel hungry and pick up a plump strawberry from the tray.

“We
collected more useful data and analysed the benefits and pitfalls of outsourcing. We’re also looking into the possibility of turning the school into an independent boarding school due to our excellent results and growing external interest.”

I stop to take a mouthful of the
sweet, juicy strawberry which dribbles down my chin. I dart a look at Anthony hoping he didn’t notice but he is staring at me over the top of his juice glass. I catch a glimmer of a smile in his eyes. Was I imagining the chemistry that seems to be causing sparks whenever we looked at each other?

We bot
h are silent for a few seconds. I’m starting to feel tenseness in the air. I pick up a napkin to wipe my chin and thankfully his phone rings slicing through the heady atmosphere.

“Hello.” He
abruptly answers looking down at his desk. “Yes, please book in for Monday next week, thank you Patricia.”

He turns and walks back to my laptop trying to apply a professional approach
as he utters “Now where were we?” He doesn’t look at me and stares at the screen. I smile to myself realising I’ve ruffled his feathers and he can’t contain the effect. The power feels good but I respect his directness to re-establish the boundaries of our professional relationship.

The remainder of the day i
s equally intoxicating but we maintain our safe distance and I ensure that I steer clear of the strawberries. Tilting back quite tired in my chair I notice its 6pm. There’s a knock at the door and Patricia looks into the room. “Darcey, Daniel’s here waiting for you.” I look at Anthony who smiles and looks up at the clock.

“Is that the time
? Oh and it’s your birthday!” He stretches in his chair as I think to myself I wish you wouldn’t do that in front of me.

Anthony stands
. “I need to get a coffee. Where’s Daniel taking you this evening?”

“I’
m not quite sure.” I reply as I power down the laptop. We walk together through the corridor. Daniel is running a hand through his wavy light brown hair and looks relaxed and sexy in casual jeans and a soft navy lightweight sweater. “Hi.” I reach up to plant a kiss on Daniel’s cheek. “Daniel this is Anthony.”

They shake hands and I can sense them
assessing each other. “Hi, it’s good to meet you. So where are you taking Darcey this evening? Somewhere nice I hope. I’ve kept her locked away in my office working hard all day.” Anthony smirks and I’m aware that he is enjoying the awkwardness.

Daniel
smiles uncomfortably. “Oh yes, somewhere extremely expensive!” He jokes as he takes my bag from my hands.

“We must get moving as the table is booked for 7pm.” He smiles
and winks at me. “Nice to meet you Anthony.”

Anthony looks on sternly
. “Have a lovely evening, don’t drink too much Darcey. See you tomorrow.”

I
flinch at what seems a very controlling statement. “Yes see you in the morning” I respond “Oh and thank you again for the lovely roses.” I turn to exit as Daniel holds the door with a baffled look on his face. I snigger thinking yes that was for your benefit Daniel, what happened to your flowers?

As
we walk towards the car park Daniel is pensive as he puts his arm around my shoulders and remarks “Anthony is good looking for an older man.”

I ca
n’t hold back my amusement. “Are you jealous?” He opens the boot of his Mercedes throwing my bag inside and then looks over as I wait at my car door.

“You’
re such a tease Darcey Brooks.” He grins. “You better follow me as you’ve no idea where we’re going.”

I sink into the comfort of my car and before
I start up the engine I take a deep breath. What a day, Anthony and I have worked so hard and I feel exhausted. All that mental tension has drained me. I really could snuggle up on the sofa with a good bottle of wine.

We arrive at the waterfront and
Daniel opens my car door offering his hand as I twist to exit my car. The evening is still warm and I’m looking forward to a good glass of wine. I tell myself I deserve it and of course it is my birthday. We reach the entrance of a wonderful French restaurant and Daniel escorts me in.

I
instantly see Mum, Daniel’s sister Lola and my brothers all seated around the bar. “Hello!” I squeal in excitement as I hug each in turn. “This is a lovely surprise.”

M
um is gorgeous in a navy dress and looks young for her 58 years. She never acts her age which is great fun, like having another best friend to hang out with. Her shiny black hair swings as she reaches behind her to pick up a silver sparkly present. “For you,” she announces as she kisses my cheek.

I excitedly tear back the paper.
“Wow, oh thanks mum.” I give her a squeeze as I see the beautiful handbag that we had drooled over during a recent shopping trip to Cambridge.

“My turn!” Lola exclaims as she twirls to pick up a present. Her tiny, flawless figure is on full display in her tight red dress, with golden tanned legs. Lola dresses to impress with her blond shoulder length hair, groomed to perfection which comes with the territory of being a beauty therapist. My brothers admire the view and Lola having met them several times before ignores their ogling. At 27 she is a smart girl knowing exactly what she wants, holding out for a wealthy, older man to keep her in a rich lifestyle. She holds the present out as she kisses me on the cheek “Happy birthday Darcey.”

I remove the paper to reveal a small purple box containing a beaut
iful silver jewelled bracelet. “Oh thank you Lola it’s gorgeous.” I give her a hug as I place the bracelet onto my wrist admiring the stones from a distance.

Lola and Mum discuss the funky
Spanish shop where she had found the bracelet while my brother Samuel orders drinks at the bar. He looks cool in his silver grey suit, devoid of a tie with his white shirt top buttons open to show off his tan from his recent business trip. “Champagne?” he calls across.

“Yes please
,” we reply as Daniel weaves his arm around my waist tugging me a little closer.

Joseph
the elder of my two brothers presents me with a bouquet of flowers and chocolates as he wishes me Happy Birthday.

“Thank you Joe, business must be good, you both have good tans from your trip to
Zimbabwe. Busy were you while you both drank cocktails around the pool?”

Sam smirks
. “It’s a hard job but someone has to do it.” He hands Daniel and I a glass of champagne and the bartender rests the chilled bottle in an ice bucket on the bar. My Mum gives a quick disapproving glare. She doesn’t like me to shorten my brothers’ names to Sam and Joe. She expects everyone to use their full names especially in her presence.

They both look
suave with their designer fitted suits and shiny shoes. Anyone would mistake them for twins even though they are 35 and 36 and Joe has a slightly rounder belly. Both look younger than their years with short, dark blond hair, defined thick brows and blue eyes.