Page 44 of The Fool
“Shut up,” he says, sounding just like Ben would with me in the same situation. “You’re not a pain. Mom’s going to wait for Jess while I drive you home. Got any medication?”
She nods, seemingly no longer able to bear talking. Nathaniel looks back at me and smiles.
“Thank you, Bea, I can take it from here,” he says, and I nod quietly before taking my cue to go.
God, what is wrong with me? Am I being an idiot for even contemplating doing anything with my boss? Or am I a fool for not leaping on top of this genuinely caring Adonis? I sigh heavily as I walk home. An apartment where I live with my brother and his girlfriend humping at all hours, in a room for one. Perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate my life; to finally move forward.
Chapter 15
Bea
“Morning Nathaniel,” I smile as he walks into the office. “How’s Helena?”
“Morning, Bea, she’s fine, thank you,” he replies, then walks straight past me and into his office. I think I’m just another employee again, which is good, isn’t it?
The morning drags on and I don’t hear a peep from my boss, otherwise known as my missed opportunity, so I’m literally counting down the minutes until I can leave for my retail therapy session with Callie. I flip from cursing myself for turning him down to praising myself for doing the right thing for the sake of my career. By lunchtime, my head is beginning to ache from all the over-thinking. Luckily, my new gal pal arrives and it's enough to take away some of the strain.
“Aren’t you early?” I grin at Callie as she perches on my desk. “I thought you didn’t finish until one.”
“I know but I had some flexi and work was dull, so here I am!” she sing songs.
“Well, Iamhere till one, so you might have to entertain yourself for a bit,” I tell her with a long sigh.
I get back to writing up some emails, only to still when Callie gets up and grabs the intercom into Nathaniel’s office from my desk.
“Mr Carter, your twelve o’clock call girl is here to do unspeakable things to you,” she purrs in a seductive tone of voice. I can’t help but giggle over her antics.
“Mr Carter is busy right now but if you’d like to call back later, I still won’t be in,” he replies jovially.
“Nate, get out here now!” she shouts through the door playfully. “There he is!” she sings out to him when he opens the door to reveal a smirk on his face. “Can I steal your girlfriend away early, pretty please?”
“Beatrice is not my girlfriend,” he says dryly, “but you may take my PA early, on one condition.”
“And what is that, Mr Fancy Pants?” she continues, all the while she grins innocently at him.
“You both have to accompany me to Helena’s house tonight while I watch Jess,” he says in his usual commanding tone. “Hels is still out of it and my parents are at one of their soirees tonight, so it’s been decided that I need to step up. I know fuck all about entertaining a pre-teen, so I’d be grateful for the reinforcements.”
“Sure, we can do that can’t we, Bea?” Callie says, turning to offer me a cheeky wink. He looks at me expectantly, so I take a risk and nod.
“Good, I’ll pick you up at half four?”
“Sure, just text or call when you want us,” Callie grins as she grabs my bag for me. “Switch off that computer, Miss, we’re out of here.”
_____
Bea
The afternoon was more fun than I could ever have expected. I’ve not stopped laughing the whole time and I feel blessed to have actually reached out and made a new friend. I know she’s missing Lily, but I think I’m making a good substitute. Callie is the funniest, most ridiculous person I have ever met, but I also think she is loyal and genuine. If the chips were down, she’d be there for you, no questions asked. I’ve come to value that more than anything when forming relationships with people, it’s what first drew me to Finn.
At about four o’clock, we head over to a little boutique where Callie tries to make me break out of my comfort zone. She picks out a whole bunch of skimpy dresses, the sort that I would never wear, not even when I was in my teens, and begs me to try them on. No one but us two and the changing room is going to see me, so in the end, I concede. The first three don’t even make it out of my cubicle, they look that awful; the next two earn me a burst of laughter from Callie, and the last one won’t even do up.
After trying no less than three times to make the zipper work, I decide to take it off. Alas, as soon as I try to pull it up and over my head, I become stuck. In fact, I’m becoming acutely aware of the fact that I am now completely immobilized from the neck up. My arms are up in the air, I can’t see anyone, and I have the heart-stopping thought that someone is going to have to come in and cut me out.
Shit, what the hell do I do?
“Callie?!” I shout frantically. “I’m stuck!”
Nate