King (32 page)

“
It’s
fantastic news about the award Charlotte and I wouldn’t
worry, I don’t think people will pay much attention to his sniping, but he’s
been snooping around us juniors this morning, laying it on thick about you
shagging the competition, and how it was a fix. He reckons Jason let you win
best buddy on purpose. He still doesn’t realise that it was all our smaller
campaigns that did it, the man’s a moron and we are definitely all Team
Charlotte down there” she laughed.
 
That
sealed it and my decision was made. I might have Sasha and my invaluable junior
helpers on side, but there were a lot of people in this building who might well
believe him. I would visit the wine bar which meant fronting it out with my
colleagues and facing Jason. As fate would have it on the latter part, I didn’t
have to wait that long.

I
was in the kitchen, making a cup of tea when I heard the smooth voice in the corridor
outside, laughing with Grayson. I caught his gaze as he strode past the open
door, backing up quickly and smiling broadly at me. “Have you got a spare brew
going then?” he smirked, bending to kiss my cheek, firing up the familiar
feelings of excitement all over my body and I couldn’t help but smile back. A
slight flicker of sadness crossed his faced as he saw me deposit four sugars
into the deep brown liquid. I had won Executive of the Year and I should have
been floating on air, but for reasons which currently stood a foot away, my
mood was still black. Despite the reservations, the confusion and the
resentment over
Tamsin
Lloyd, the desire was as
undeniable as ever as I poured him a tea and beckoned him into my office. “Take
a seat” I gestured him to the chair in front of my desk, his low chuckle
reverberating through me deliciously. “Well this is novel Smith” he winked,
“We’re not normally this civilised when in a confined space together” he said,
laughing gently as I flushed, recalling the hot, fast fuck we’d had up against
his office door. “Well it’s going to have to be that way now Jason, you left me
for her again and even if you hadn’t, I don’t have the luxury of owning the
company and I’m pretty sure Grayson would fire me for fucking you against the
furniture”.

He
gazed at me as I watched the slow trail of his tongue across his bottom lip,
there was no mistaking the desire in his eyes, but there was no forthcoming
justification for ignoring my ultimatum. “Listen Charlotte, I know what you
think, but you’re wrong. I couldn’t stay and I can’t tell you why, but I can
tell you I miss you” and my heart leapt at the admission, emotions and
overwhelming feelings flooding over me in a rush of confusion and I swallowed
hard as the door burst open. “Holy shit, sorry Charlotte” Katie squealed aghast
at the sight of a glorious looking King sat in his beautiful tailor made suit,
relaxed in my office. “I won’t be long” I said quickly to Jason, moving towards
Katie and stepping out into the corridor as she giggled beside me. “What’s he
doing here?” she squealed, eyes wide and staring as I closed the door behind
me. “I don’t know, he’s been with Grayson, he spotted me in the kitchen and
asked for a brew” I whispered, trying to keep the noise down and avert the suspicions
of Alison or anyone else. “What’s he said?” she grinned as I rolled my eyes,
smiling. “Nothing yet, you just burst in and disturbed us” I laughed quietly.
“Shit, sorry. Do you think he’s come to apologise Charlotte?” “I don’t know” I
said simply, shrugging my shoulders. “I think he’s just trying to be friendly”
but she wasn’t buying it. “You are definitely going to the wine bar now” she
grinned as the office door opened, Jason leaning against the frame as if he
owned the place and I couldn’t help but smile. The man had confidence in
abundance and it was difficult to ignore and even harder to resist. “I’ve got
to go
Charlotte,
I’ve got a pitch to do. Thanks for
the tea” he smiled, striding purposely down the corridor, as we both stared
after him, open mouthed.

After
a small treasure trove-over, we were on our way to the fashion gala lunch being
hosted by Tristan Wright. As an up and coming designer he was growing his
network, and I was really looking forward to it. It was something we’d rarely
be invited to by the major established fashion houses, although for some reason
King always was, and my heart sunk as I thought about him. Seeing him in my
office, incomparably handsome, supremely confident and admitting that he missed
me had thrown me, reducing my resolve. Visions of the amazing times we’d shared
last week burst across my brain, reflected in every feature of my face and it
didn’t go unnoticed. “You OK?” Katie smiled as I nodded, forcing myself to look
infinitely happier and less confused than I felt inside. “He really got to you
didn’t he Charlotte?” she smiled and I nodded again. Everything with Jason had
been heightened by the dizzying new experiences he had introduced me to. I had
trusted him implicitly and the intimacy had been propelled to a deeper level
much more quickly than it ought to have been. “Come on” she grinned, hopping
out of the cab as I paid the driver. “Let’s see what treats are in those goody
bags”.

She
was like a child on Christmas day, it was infectious and for a while I forgot
about Jason. I had decided to go the wine bar after the lunch and see how
things panned out. I wasn’t sure what would happen but hiding out was helping
no one. I thought about
Tamsin
and Jason, wondering
if I could cope with whatever was going on. Surely anything would be better
than the feeling of hopelessness that consumed me now. Her face lit up as she
saw Robbie, ignoring the surrounding crowds and pulling him in for a heart stopping
kiss and he responded enthusiastically. I was forced to look away, the heat
between them was a powerful force and I flushed just standing in the same
vicinity. I went to mingle, congratulating Tristan on the turnout, recognising
a number of faces I knew from the other agencies. Rebecca, a pretty petite
redhead and one of Jason’s rising stars was representing King and I smiled as I
met her gaze, a smile that faded instantly when I saw who was stood right
behind her.

I
should have known she’d be here and I couldn’t help but drink in the sight of
her in the flesh. There were good looking people and there were the elite few
that were in a league of their own and she was definitely one of them. So, I
sighed, was Jason. Her inky black hair shone with vitality and she was tall,
much taller than me. Her long limbs of perfect porcelain skin were a pure
contrast to her deep blue eyes, fanned with dark lashes and heavy make-up and
the way she moved was so graceful it was almost non human. She caught me gazing
for far longer than I should and smirked in a way I could only describe as
sour. It wasn’t the playful arrogant smirk that King had mastered to
perfection, it looked bitter and ugly and I came to the conclusion right then,
that in her case, beauty was definitely only skin deep. I looked away, taking
my seat at the table and grateful that Tristan had seated us with Robbie and a
few of his fellow models and far away from
Tamsin
Lloyd.

It
was nouveau cuisine, which I was beginning to realise was the downside of
fashion related events. A beautifully presented slice of chicken measuring
about one square inch, on three pieces of artfully arranged rocket and a
drizzle of sauce constituted the starter, which both Katie and I had finished
in four seconds flat. Thankfully, they were infinitely more generous with the
champagne. The main course was quality, not quantity, fish with a carrot,
broccoli and another drizzle of sauce arranged in small pieces on a bed of rice
which size wise, could be considered more of a pillow. Katie and I laughed as
Robbie admitted the key to the events was always eating beforehand. I excused
myself to the ladies when I finished the fish, having taken my time to cut it
as small as I could, and chew it as slowly as was humanly possible, in an effort
not to appear a total glutton.

 
I was in the cubicle rearranging my dress when
I heard the door open and I stood stock still. “
Tamsin
,
you look amazing” the unfamiliar voice purred across the restroom. “Is that
twinkle in your eye down to a certain gorgeous someone you’ve been photographed
with lately?” the unknown woman quipped and I swallowed hard, my heart beating
wildly.
Tamsin
said nothing, but the way the
conversation continued, she had obviously made
some
 
positive
gesture that would indicate the
woman was right. “That’s fantastic news, that man is glorious. Envy, envy, envy
Darling. I’d heard you were through and he was seeing someone else”. There was
an undeniable bitchiness to the woman’s tone, laced with sycophancy and I
wondered if any of these people were actually real. “Don’t believe everything
you hear Clara. He came over Saturday night, to celebrate his award Sweetie”
she quipped as my heart stopped dead. Thank fuck I hadn’t gone home with him. I
suddenly felt sick and didn’t know who to believe. Jason had promised me we
were exclusive and she was indicating they were an item. I contemplated leaving
the cubicle and challenging her directly but decided against it. We were
through, it was none of my business, and the last thing I wanted was it getting
back to Jason that I’d gone crazy over him in a ladies
room,
the man’s ego was big enough.

I
decided to hang tight until they left, when the shrill ring of my phone
betrayed my position and I was forced to leave the sanctuary of the cubicle. Shit.
She eyed me up and down, sneering “oh dear” as I washed my hands, ignoring the
ringing which started again almost as soon as it stopped. She obviously knew
who I was, it was clear from her comment, but the only person who could have
told her would be Jason. Why would he tell her about me if they were an item?
It didn’t make any sense. The thought crossed my mind briefly that she may have
followed me here, orchestrating this little interaction on purpose, but that
was probably wishful thinking. I had never felt so strongly about anyone before
and my instinct to trust him ran deeply, even in the light of all evidence to
the contrary. It was probably just my brains way of protecting my heart from
the truth, I reasoned quietly to myself. Love was a mystery to me, and loss was
a devastating new experience, what the hell did I know?

When
I ignored her, she left, flicking her long hair over her shoulder and gazing
back as I fumbled through my handbag to shut off my persistent phone, until I
saw who was calling. “Alison” I managed, still stunned from the run in with
Tamsin
. “You need to get back to the office right now
Charlotte” she said firmly down the line as my stomach lurched. She was never
completely friendly but this tone was unrecognisable. “Why, what’s happened?” I
asked stunned by the ferocity of her voice. “Now Charlotte” she repeated,
offering no further explanation and the line went dead. I knew that whatever
this was, it wasn’t going to be pleasant and my stomach sank. I prayed that
this was nothing to do with me seeing Jason. To be chastised or worse, at work
for it, especially now the whole thing was over, would be excruciating and more
than I could take. I rushed back to Katie, relaying the run in with
Tamsin
and the strange phone call with Alison, looking
across the room to find the bitch staring at me. She’d probably think I was
leaving because of her, but right now I had much bigger concerns. “I’ll come
with you
Lotty
” she offered supportively as I shook
my head. “Stay here with Robbie, I’ll meet you in the wine bar in a bit, I need
to go” I said quickly, running outside to hail a cab back to work, with my
heart in my mouth.

Grayson
had me summoned straight to his office on my return. He was glowering at me
from the minute I walked in the door, his puffy face like stone, mouth set in a
firm line, eyes regarding me suspiciously and Alison was only marginally
better. “Sit down” he growled as I frowned at him. I hadn’t done anything wrong
and the man was just being downright rude, betraying the fact that he’d never
liked me. I might have won an award, but it would never be enough for Grayson.
He was old school. I suspected he thought If I wasn’t playing golf with clients
or entertaining them in lap dancing clubs, I should know my place and make the
tea. He’d never verbalise it of course, but it was undoubtedly what he was
thinking. Alison spoke first and I listened intently. “Do you know what this is
about Charlotte?” she asked as I shook my head, suddenly infuriated by
Grayson’s attitude, the way I was being treated and buoyed by more than a
couple of champagnes at the lunch. “I have absolutely no idea, but I’m assuming
it’s not to congratulate me for being named Executive of the Year” I said
firmly back, with more than a hint of sarcasm. I swore I saw a small smile play
on Alison’s lips, but Grayson wasn’t taking that kind of attitude lying down as
he stood, towering over me, his face contorted and growing a deeper shade of
purple by the second.

“Forwarding
our Mercedes creative to your boyfriend is what this is about Charlotte” he
spat as I sat there stunned, my mouth wide open, staring first at him and then
at Alison. “You’ve got to be kidding me” I said in total astonishment. “Oh I
assure you I’m not kidding. Have you any idea how many people have worked on
those ideas for you to go and share them with the competition”. There was no
way I was taking this bullshit. “I only got them through myself this morning,
I’ve shared them with no-one and neither would I” remembering suddenly that
Jason had been alone in my office, my computer open on the Mercedes account.
Surely he wouldn’t have. He always wanted to know what I was working on and had
interrogated my colleagues mercilessly to find out, but it couldn’t be so he
could sabotage me, it just couldn’t.