Playing Irish

by Brooke Harris

Cc: john.mr.doe@ignitetech.com

  Subject: Nice of you to join us.

  Date: Wed 15th July 09.51

  Hi Eva,

  Don’t worry about being late this morning.

  These things happen. You can make the time

  up this evening.

  Best,

  Meghan

  Meghan Sutton

  Production Manager

  Ignite Technologies

  Block 6

  Plaza Exchange

  Dublin 2

  Eva looked at her watch. She was almost an hour late. She had been at least a half an hour early all this week. Didn’t that make up for it? Of course, not. And of course Meghan wouldn’t hesitate to let the boss know about Eva’s tardiness. Eva grimaced. After the idiot she made of herself in his office, this was the last thing she needed…being the idiot who showed up an hour late. Damn, today couldn’t start out much worse.

  ________________

  From: nathan.l.shields@ignitetech.com

  To: evangeline.j.andrews@ignitetech.com

  Subject: Coffee

  Date: Wed 15th July 09.22

  Hi Eva.

  I was getting one for myself and thought you

  might like some. It’s from the place across the

  road. Yikes - that place is posh. I put on a

  weird accent to sound more important when I

  was ordering. We still okay for later?

  Nathan.

  Nathan Shields

  Software Developer

  Ignite Technologies

  Block 6

  Plaza Exchange

  Dublin 2

  Later? Oh, crap. She’d completely forgotten she was supposed to meet Nathan after work. Eva looked at her outfit again. She couldn’t go out wearing that. She would have to make an excuse and cancel. She picked up the coffee waiting for her beside a large pile of papers to be filed. It was cold, and a horrible grey scum lined the top, but Eva couldn’t help smiling. No one had ever bought her coffee before, and posh coffee at that. Posh coffee was the best kind of coffee in the world, wasn’t it? It was long past drinkable, but Eva didn’t throw it out. She felt more important than usual just having its cream paper cup beside her.

  How could she blow Nathan off now? He didn’t deserve that just because she didn’t like what she was wearing. Maybe she could grab five minutes to dash out at lunchtime and pick up a pair of trousers. It would have been nice if someone had taken the time to help her settle in when she was new.

  _________________

  From: julian.harte@yourservice.com

  To: evangeline.j.andrews@ignitetech.com

  Subject: Good Morning

  Date: Wed 15th July 09.16

  Good morning, beautiful. Did you enjoy last

  night’s game? I did. You will need to give me

  your address. I will pick you up at 6.45pm next

  Friday for the ball.

  I look forward to it.

  Yours,

  Julian

  He would pick her up? Eva nibbled on the edge of her nail. Julian’s emails turned her into a skittish schoolgirl. Eva had just assumed that she’d meet him there. She instantly began to wonder what kind of car he drove, and if he would want to be invited in first. It gave her so much to panic about. She definitely couldn’t meet Nathan after work now. She would have to clean her apartment. Eva took a large mouthful of coffee and almost turned green as the cold, tar-like substance swished around her mouth. She spat it back into the cup with an unattractive bleugh noise that she just couldn’t keep in. Yuck, her tongue suddenly felt furry. She kept her head down, too embarrassed to look up and find out who’d seen her practically throw up into her coffee cup.

  __________________

  To: Meghan.s.sutton@ignitetech.com

  From: evangeline.j.andrews@ignitetech.com

  Subject: Apologies

  Date: Wed 15th July 10.05

  Hi Meghan.

  I’m so sorry I was late this morning. It won’t

  happen again.

  I’ll work through lunch to make it up.

  All my best,

  Eva

  Evangeline Andrews

  Administrator

  Ignite Technologies

  Block 6

  Plaza Exchange

  Dublin 2

  Stupid Meghan, Eva thought angrily. But, Eva was angrier with herself. She didn’t have the nerve to stand up to Meghan. No one did. Meghan had free rein for the title of office bitch, and she took the job very seriously.

  __________________

  To: nathan.l.shields@ignitetech.com

  From: evangeline.j.andrews@ignitetech.com

  Subject: Re: Coffee

  Date: Wed 15th July 10.09

  Hi Nathan.

  Thank you for the delicious coffee. You’re very

  thoughtful. I’m so sorry, but something has

  come up, and I won’t be able to meet you after

  work this evening. I hope we can do it another

  time.

  All my best,

  Eva

  Evangeline Andrews

  Administrator

  Ignite Technologies

  Block 6

  Plaza Exchange

  Dublin 2

  Eva felt awful. She hated lying. She fought the temptation to swing her chair around and check if Nathan looked upset. She knew she was being silly. He was probably busy, and he might not see her email for hours. She would just have to wait and see how he took it.

  Her reply to Julian wasn’t as easy to type. It required some thinking - a lot of thinking. She reached for her stale coffee twice. The third time, it was inches from her lips when Nathan swung his chair around to tap her on the shoulder.

  ‘Is everything okay?’ he asked.

  Eva would have much preferred if he had led with a simple hello. She swallowed hard and tried not to pull a face. ‘Yes, thanks. And you?’

  She cringed as the words passed her lips. Why was she asking him if he was okay? Actually, why was he asking her? Was it that obvious that an email from Julian had her completely frazzled?

  ‘I’m good - thanks. I’m a bit worried about this suit business.’

  ‘Suit?’ Eva was only half listening. Another email had just appeared on her screen.

  ‘For the ball. It’s black tie, isn’t it?

  Eva nodded.

  ‘I’ve only ever been to one black-tie event before. It was my sister’s wedding when I was fourteen, and I had a yellow cucumber band; please tell me I don’t need to fish that out. My waist has changed a little since then.’

  Eva laughed. She loved that he said silly things. Things so silly that even she wouldn’t say them. He had talked before he thought. It was easily done, Eva knew, and in their office, he would learn the hard way. She liked him. He had a cute, albeit slightly goofy smile and the rim of his glasses were too thick. But he had kind eyes and he looked at Eva like a lost puppy. And with the right makeover, he could be a pretty good looking guy. How could she not take pity on him? As a fellow put-your-foot-in-your-mouth type, she felt it was her duty to warn him about Meghan before he had the misfortune of discovering for himself.

  ‘I think you mean cummerbund,’ she whispered, hoping she wouldn’t embarrass him.

  ‘No. I mean cucumber band,’ he corrected in a loud contradiction to her whisper. ‘My older cousin thought it would be hilarious to stuff half the buffet down my pants. I still can’t eat salad to this day.’

  Eva laughed more. Nathan might have been your stereotypical nerd, but he knew it and embraced it. Eva envied his courage.

  ‘I’m sorry. I don’t know why I felt the need to share that. I’m just not used to talking to girls as pretty as you,’ Nathan blushed. ‘Or any girls, really. Or I mean…actually, I don’t know what I mean.’

  Eva watched as Nathan fidgeted nervously with a sheet of headed paper. It looked important. She reached across, took the paper, and placed it gently on the desk to his left, her hands re
sting on his for just a moment longer than they needed to.

  ‘There,’ she said, hoping he’d relax now.

  ‘I hope your cousin grew up fat and ugly,’ Eva said, trying to pretend she wasn’t taking a sneaky peek at the writing on the page.

  ‘Unfortunately not. He’s an orthopaedic surgeon in London now. Married to a model, too, he is. She’s a bitch, though, so at least that’s something,’ Nathan said.

  Eva smiled. ‘Aren’t most beautiful women, bitches?’

  ‘You’re not.’

  Eva blushed. Nathan said the sweetest things. If another guy had said it, she’d suspect it was just a line. A well-timed one- admittedly, but they probably used it all the time. But there was something different about Nathan. Eva looked at his eyes. They were naive and smiling. She actually believed that he genuinely meant the compliment. He didn’t seem the type to say something he really didn’t mean. If he was flirting, it probably wasn’t his intention, and it made it easier for Eva to relax.

  ‘He met her online a few years back,’ Nathan continued. ‘Some dating site. All a bit fucked up, if you ask me. How do you know if these people you’re talking to aren’t perverts or murders? Know what I mean?’

  Eva nodded. She did know. If you’d asked her last week, she would have agreed one hundred percent. Today; not so much. Sure, she didn’t actually know Julian. Not in the physical sense anyway, but she liked him more than any real man she knew in the flesh. He made her feel good about herself. He gave her a confidence she never thought she would have. She wouldn’t be sitting here talking to Nathan if it wasn’t for Julian. Not that she could explain. She knew it made her sound weird. Hell, it made her feel weird. Before, she would have ignored Nathan’s advances until he thought she was boring and stopped talking to her. It was what she always did.

  ‘So, it looks posh, doesn’t it?’ Nathan said, picking up the page, Eva had set to one side, and pointed to the text.

  ‘Hmm?’

  ‘The ball. It looks like a pretty fancy event. To tell the truth, I’m kinda nervous about it.’

  Eva had tuned out. She was daydreaming about Julian - again. It was becoming a bad habit. Lovely as Nathan was, she really wished he had work to do. She was desperate to get back to her emails.

  ‘Don’t worry about it. It sounds fun,’ Eva lied convincingly.

  It didn’t sound fun. It sounded daunting and totally terrifying, and Eva knew she would stick out like a sore thumb.

  She looked across to the water cooler. Meghan stood with her hand on her hip, sipping softly from her cup. Five male staff members stood around her like moths drawn to a flame. Eva hated her. Not because she was beautiful, tall, and blonde, with boobs so big Eva was surprised she didn’t topple over. She hated her because she was the biggest bitch in the office. No, scrap that, she was the biggest bitch in Dublin - no, the world. Meghan was the biggest bitch in the world. And yet, every creature with a dick between his legs became a babbling idiot around her. It was like she was some sort of drug to men. They couldn’t resist.

  Eva rolled her eyes and her stare once again settled on the page in Nathan’s hands. She gave the paper her full attention for a second and the familiar wording hit her like a slap in the face. She was startled by the big, bold, gold font asking for a response by the end of the week. A response! What the hell? She snatched the page roughly from Nathan’s grip.

  ‘Where did you get this?’

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Nathan asked, sounding surprised.

  ‘Where did you get it?’ Eva was angry. Her jaw locked as she spoke and she struggled not to scream.

  ‘It…it was on my desk this morning. Eva, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I thought everyone got one.’

  ‘I didn’t,’ Eva growled.

  ‘It’s no big deal, I probably won’t even go…I….’

  ‘I just don’t understand,’ Eva said almost sick with temper and confusion.

  Nathan shook his head. ‘It’s stupid. Don’t mind this.’

  Nathan took the page and ripped it roughly into uneven pieces. ‘There, fuck that stupid ball.’

  ‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ Eva said shaking her head. ‘You’re sweet but you could get in a lot of trouble.’

  ‘I don’t care. Management can’t do that kind of shit. Pick and choose who can and can’t go. It’s fucked up. I swear, Eva. I thought everyone got one. I wouldn’t have said anything if I’d known you weren’t invited. I’m so sorry. ‘

  ‘I am invited. He said I had to go. No need to RSVP, for me, I think. At least I think that’s what he meant. Jesus. I don’t know. I don’t know what the hell is going on.’

  Nathan grabbed an ink-stained tissue from his desk and handed it to Eva. ‘Sorry. My pen exploded.’

  Eva looked up at him with tear stained eyes. But even Nathan’s goofy charm couldn’t make her smile right now. The only person who could explain what was going on was Mr. Doe. She had to go see him. Unannounced and uninvited - shit.

  ‘Nathan, I’m sorry. I have to go.’ Eva left her desk and stormed off toward the elevator.

  8

  Blood pumped through Eva’s veins like fire. She stomped her feet, exaggerating each step like a giant stalking its prey. The elevator bell softly sounded and Eva was on the top floor. It was very different from last time. Last time she reached this dizzy height above the city she was shy and timid and unsure of what lay ahead. This time, she was certain and angry, and she planned the journey down to the last detail.

  Eva stormed toward Shelly’s desk unprepared to offer an explanation. To Eva’s relief, Shelly wasn’t there. It was less complicated this way. At least, she hoped it was. Maybe Shelly would have stopped her or have tried to talk some sense into her before she continued. Deep down, Eva knew she was about to make a stupid mistake, but she had come too far now. She couldn’t turn back. She wouldn’t.

  She thought about knocking on the door, but that would give him an advantage. He didn’t deserve that. She paused for a moment, inhaled deeply, held her breath for a little longer than was comfortable, and charged at the door like a bull seeing red. She caught the handles on each of the double doors and pulled back. The large metal frame creaked as if to announce its distaste at her touch. The doors were heavy and Eva’s shoulders strained and threatened to pop from their sockets. But she managed to pull them open in unison to expose a wide, open mouth into the room. The room was dark, but not pitch black like last time. A huge window lined the back wall and the sun above the city battled with the venetian blind to bring light to the office.

  A soft whimper sounded from the back of the room, followed by the squeak of a chair rocking back and forth. Eva froze. Her presence was unnoticed, she realised. Suddenly her being there felt horribly inappropriate. But she didn’t know how to announce herself.

  ‘Good girl,’ Mr. Doe said between rushed, panting breaths. He was gasping for air.

  ‘You like it, don’t you?’ came a soft sweet reply. ‘Harder, baby, yeah, that’s it.’

  Eva closed her eyes and covered her ears. What was she thinking? She never should have come up here. Mr. Doe would fire her now for sure. She wanted to turn and run, but her shoes felt like concrete, weighing her feet firm against the ground. She couldn’t move.

  ‘Mmm,’ the sweet voice whispered. ‘I’m right there. I’m gonna cum.’

  Oh shit, no. Eva couldn’t think fast enough. A stack of papers towered on a small desk to her left. She lunged forward and knocked them to the ground. Sheets of paper rained like pieces of giant confetti. A hush instantly fell over the room. Eva was afraid to breathe. Her heart raced so fast, she feared it would be heard. She ducked down and began to back slowly out the door, crashing her hip on the hinge as she passed. She winced and tried not to shriek in pain.

  Back in the safety of the hall, Eva nursed her aching side. Her whole body throbbed. A combination of terror and physical pain attacked her. Everyone on her floor had seen her dramatic march toward the lift. If Mr. Doe in
quired about the identity of his peeping Tom, there was a whole department full of people who would be only too happy to rat Eva out. There was nowhere to hide. She would have to stay and explain. Maybe if she could speak to Shelly first, she would understand. Eva was furious with herself. This was why she never took the initiative. It always ended in a mess. This mess being one of her greater mistakes. She would either get fired or arrested. Either way, she knew today wasn’t going to end well.

  ‘That looked like it hurt.’ Shelly appeared behind Eva suddenly, pointing to her side.

  Eva looked up still squinting in pain. ‘You saw me?’

  Shelly nodded and giggled. ‘Subtle isn’t really your middle name, is it?’

  ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t see anything, I promise. I just, well, I knew you were busy…’

  ‘Well, yeah, I suppose busy is one word for it.’ Shelly winked. ‘Eva, it’s okay. You weren’t to know. Usually, Mr. Doe locks the door. I don’t know why he didn’t today.’

  ‘Do you do it every day?’ The question had left Eva’s mouth before she had time to think.

  Shelly pulled a face.

  ‘Sorry, it’s none of my business. I should go now. Sorry.’ Eva stared at the ground, mortified. She couldn’t bring herself to look Shelly in the eyes.

  ‘Not every day. But we do it a lot. I like sex as much as he does, if the truth be told.’

  Eva blushed. Shelly was so at ease. Eva couldn’t even say the word sex without breaking into a cold sweat.

  ‘Wow.’ Eva wished she had something better to say, but she knew she did well to manage even one word under the circumstances.

  ‘He’s good, you know. Really bloody good. I’ve already come twice today, and he’s promised me one more before I go home.’

  ‘Jesus, really?’ Is that not bad for you?’

  Shelly laughed, but Eva was serious. She was sure she read somewhere that overexertion like that wasn’t good for your heart.