by Ellie White
"She's really clumsy," he says as the girl bats her eyelashes at him.
"Ugh, come on, Prince Charming," I say, pushing him along but letting him keep his arm around me as the intern finds her voice.
"Goodbye, Mr Mills," she almost sings in a sickly-sweet voice.
Jake doesn't respond to her. Instead, he continues our walk with his arm firmly in its place while I make a dry heaving sound. When we walk like this, it takes me back to the way things were between us, back when we were friends. Maybe that's why I don't shake him off. Deep down, I miss him.
"Is someone jealous? You could just save us the trouble of all this backwards and forwards and just ask me out," he taunts me with a laugh.
"Pft, I'm not jealous. I'd just rather avoid a sexual harassment complaint against a senior member of staff."
"I'm glad you think of these things, Maggs."
"Well, someone has to," I say under my breath.
We've both come a long way since we started working here eleven years ago. We've both worked our way up and, now, I head up the strategic side of the business and Jake heads up the creative side. We often have to work together but we usually do this from separate floors of our building so he doesn't drive me completely batshit crazy.
"You don't need to worry; I don't dip my toe into the office pool, if you know what I mean," he says with a wink. "It's just a bit of harmless flirting.”
I don't respond and, instead, I shrug out of his embrace as we approach Dad's office, an action to which he pouts at.
"Hi, Nikki, how are you?" I ask their assistant.
"You two look rather cosy," she whispers as we walk into the boardroom, leaving Jake talking in the hallway with his assistant, Thomas, who has appeared from nowhere.
"If ‘cosy’ means wanting to kick someone in the balls then yeah."
"Whatever. You could just screw him and get all this awkward sexual tension out of the way. He obviously fancies you and you can't tell me you don't find him sexy as hell." Nikki has never been one to mince her words.
I shoot her a look, warning her to shut up as he walks through the door to take his seat at the large boardroom table, Thomas dutifully following at his side.
Yeah, Jake is sexy as hell and maybe I do look when he casually leans back in his chair, resting his hands behind his head and showing off his sculpted biceps. He may be a huge shithead but there is no denying he is nice to look at. If he weren’t such a knob, maybe I would fancy him but he’s a massive knob, so I don't.
I don't join the others at the table right away. Instead, I stand with my back to them and look out of the large window to avoid getting caught by Nikki when I will inevitably check him out again.
I'm only human after all.
Out of the three board rooms we have in our office building, this one is my favourite. It has a killer view of the Thames. Tower Bridge on the right, the Financial District across the river on the left, the Tower of London directly in front of us. It's the perfect location for office space. At Christmas, there’s a lovely market down on the riverbank that sells food and gifts by independent traders. There's Potters Field Park, right next to City Hall, where you can sit in the sun and plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance.
The view is beautiful all year round and today is no exception. The clouds are heavy as snowflakes begin to flurry towards the ground. Businessmen and women rush through the crowds of slow-moving tourists in a bid to get back to their offices on the first working day of the year before the snow really starts to fall.
There are people sat enjoying brunch under patio heaters and umbrellas in the restaurants' outdoor seating below, wearing big coats and covered by soft blankets, not letting the cold temperature ruin their plans.
"Your coffee," Sasha says, handing me my new mug. I smile when I see the photo of me, Philip, Laura and Harry that Harry got me as part of my Christmas present. It’s a copy of a photobooth picture we took one night in Vodka Revolution in 2009. It’s a terrible photo; we’re all far too drunk but were having the best time!
I thank her and take the seat on Jake's other side, between him and Sasha, leaving the three seats opposite for Nikki, Dad and Ray.
"Sweetheart,” Dad greets me, kissing my cheek as they walk in the room.
"Quite a party you missed, kid," Raymond says, "After you left, your brother got out the Sambuca and your mum set fire to the coffee table in the conservatory."
Jake doesn't say anything but raises his eyebrow at me. Clearly, James failed to mention to him that I left before the party really got going.
"Sounds about right. Mum loves a Flamin’ Sambuca." Although my brother is almost thirty-three years old, he acts like a uni student on Freshers week and Mum thinks she can drink him under the table. She can't but she gives it a good go anyway. Luckily for James, his long-term girlfriend, Helen, is just as wild as he is.
"Well, thank you both for being here so promptly. We appreciate we didn't give you much notice," Dad says as he and Ray take their seats.
"We won't keep you too long. I understand you have a lot of work to start today, Maggie."
"I've got to start work on preparing the Stephenson’s Chocolate pitch. I got the brief this morning. When everyone is back in the office next week, we can hit the ground running first thing Monday morning," I explain. "We’ll be having a meeting to discuss so Sasha will forward you the minutes from this when we're done."
Dad and Ray agree before getting right down to business.
"Well, Kev," Raymond says, leaning back in his chair. His fingers wound together in front of his chest as his elbows sit on the arm rests. He looks almost nervous when he glances at my Dad. "Think I'll just cut to the chase. We would like to retire but, to do so, we need someone to take over the company."
I fail to find the words as Dad nods along in agreement. Mum has been on at him for years to retire, especially after his second heart attack and subsequent open-heart surgery a few years back, but he always brushes her off when she raises the issue of his health.
"Dad? Are you okay? Is it your heart?"
"No, sweetheart. I'm just old and tired."
"You're sixty!"
"Exactly. Things have changed since we started this firm. Times are different. It's time we let the next generation take the reins."
"So, what? You want one of us to take over?" Jake asks the question I didn't want to. Could I compete with Jake to get the position? I honestly don't know.
"Not exactly. We want you to work together. I couldn't have gotten this far without Ray's strategic planning," Dad answers him.
"And Kev has a creative eye that I simply do not have," Ray adds.
"You want us to run this company together?" I ask, unable to disguise the shock in my voice or hide it from my expression.
"Would that be so bad?" Jake says indignantly, turning in his seat to face me.
"Jake, if I say... I don't know... this notebook is black, you would argue that it's white," I say, holding up my own black notebook to drive home the point.
"Well, technically, the paper inside is white," he says smugly. I can feel my annoyance returning.
"You see?!" I exclaim, dropping my notebook to the table in front of me. "Insufferable."
"I'm not wrong," he argues back, holding my notebook open as proof. "The key to success is seeing things from an alternative perspective to your own. Give it a chance. You might grow to like it."
Highly unlikely!
"Work together on the Stephenson’s pitch. You'll see how important you are to each other’s successes," Dad says, interrupting our argument.
"Are you serious?" I don't have time to process what they're saying before Dad abruptly ends the conversation.
"We've made our choice. It's either pass the company to the both of you or find a buyer. Work together or not at all. Before you argue, your new joint office will be ready to move into on Monday."
"Then we'll do our best," Jake says, smiling. "Right, Maggs?"
&nbs
p; "Of course," I say, putting on my best poker face. On the outside, I'm portraying calm and confident but, on the inside, I'm pushing down the fury I feel when I think about having to share this account with Jake, let alone having to run the company and share an office space with him.
CHAPTER TWO
I'm the first person to leave the boardroom to dash back to my office, leaving Jake behind to make small talk with our dads. Sasha follows, hot on my heels, sensing my impending outburst.
"Can you believe this? They want me to work with him. Like partners," I say as I pace the floor in front of my desk in annoyance.
"Well... Yeah, I can,” Sasha says, being the voice of reason that I need but don't want to listen to right now. "You've both as much right as each other to take over the company. You're both more than capable of doing it."
"But, Sasha, we've worked so hard on this and now we just have to hand over half the credit. Not to mention we have to share an office!" I say, throwing my hands in the air for emphasis.
"I, for one, am really excited about this," Sasha says sincerely.
I huff out a breath of annoyance. I knew she would be excited about this. The way she and Thomas stare dreamily at one another whenever they are in the same room is actually quite cute. I'm not sure if anything ever did happen between them after the Christmas party two years ago and I never asked her as I try not to get involved but it's hard to avoid the idle office gossip.
"Maggie, you're overreacting and you know it. Jake would have gotten involved in this project eventually. Besides, what I wouldn't give to share an office with that delicious man. Many women would kill to be you," she says with a dreamy smile.
"I know you're joking but that is exactly why I don't want to share an office with him. He just needs to glance at a girl and their knickers spontaneously combust! You should have seen him with an intern earlier. Ugh. It's going to be hell. He's just so arrogant and egotistical and-"
"Devilishly handsome?" he finishes for me as my head snaps around at the sound of his voice. "Are you that worried that your knickers are going to spontaneously combust?"
"Oh my god, learn how to bloody knock!" I yell, startled and embarrassed. I can feel the heat of the blush spread up my neck and settle in my cheeks.
"What happened to your 'open door policy'?" he quotes me, grinning while he leans against my door frame and crosses his ankles, an action that has suddenly become a habit of his. He straightens up when he sees the look I shoot at him.
“I was going to call you a shithead, if you really wanted to know.”
"Come on, Maggs. We can put our differences aside and get on with it. Can you remember when we were kids? We'd talk about the day we would eventually take over. You couldn't wait and were so pissed off that I was going off to uni and you had to wait another two years. I know we lost each other somewhere along the way but this is the best thing for our company and, you never know, we could become friends again."
I stop in my tracks, the weight of his words settling in my chest as I turn to face him again. I can see by the way he is looking at me that he meant what he said.
I hate that he's right. I've dreamed of this day for as long as I can remember and I haven't reacted very well to the news at all. More than that, I hate that this man (once one of my closest friends) is virtually a stranger to me. How did we get so lost?
When he uses the nickname he gave me when I was a teenager in his rough yet silky-smooth voice, it takes me right back to that time. I hated that nickname when I was younger which is why no-one else calls me ‘Maggs’. When he says it, I don't hate it at all. For so long I wanted to hear him say my name because that would mean we were speaking again.
"I know, you're right," I admit. " I have rules if this is going to work. I don't want to see, hear or read about any of your sexual conquests. I want you to take this seriously; that means be here on time and give it everything you've got."
"Maggie Jones, I'll give you every last inch of me," he says with a roguish smirk, slightly changing my words to make it sound much dirtier than it needs to be. "Okay, I'll stop with the unnecessary flirting but I also have requests... You need to be less - I don't know - stressy. Try be more laid back, less bossy, more open to seeing my point of view."
"I can do that," I say which makes Sasha bark out a laugh, earning herself a glare from me. "I can!" I insist.
"One last thing. Once a week, on a day of your choosing, you'll have dinner with me. Just me, no inviting buffers like James or Laura or Helen. Just You and me," he adds, grinning.
He cannot be serious. I can barely stand to be around him at work, never mind outside of the office in the real world.
"What? Why?"
"It doesn't have to be dinner, it can be anything you want to do. Maybe if you see me outside of these walls, you might actually see that I'm not as big of a shithead as you think I am." A smile slips onto my lips when he uses my favourite insult.
I glance at Sasha for support but she doesn't notice, she's too busy staring at the floor and trying to hide her own smile, although it's clear she's trying not to laugh uncontrollably.
I don't say anything so Jake breaks the silence again. "I can't wait to tell you about all my 'sexual conquests'," he says, echoing me with air quotes.
"Okay, we can do dinner," I say in mild annoyance.
Truth is, I want to believe that we can be friends again but I can't just ignore everything that’s happened between us. He was willing to throw our friendship away in the first place, who's to say he won't do it again.
"So, how about tonight?"
"Not tonight, I'm going to The George with Laura and Harry."
"Saturday?"
"Sure, that works."
"Right, well, now I know you two aren't going to rip each other’s heads off, I'm going to go and organise this meeting and leave you two to you chat some more." Sasha winks before leaving me to deal with Jake on my own.
I unpack my laptop and turn it on while Jake walks around my office, picking books off their shelves and leafing through the business magazines he’s found on the small coffee table nestled in the corner. He sits down on the high back chair and strokes the arms, admiring the feel of the navy velvet. I glance over at him and it looks like he is taking in the room, like it's the first time he's really took notice.
"So, why did you leave your own birthday party early? You were always the life of that party growing up. You didn't want to stick around for the pyrotechnics?" he says, breaking the silence. I was hoping he had forgotten about that little bit of information, since the reason for me leaving is not something I’d like to go into detail with him.
At one time, I would have been the last one to go to sleep on New Year’s Day. Now, I leave before the party gets to the exciting part like when Mum and James try to out-do each other on Jaeger Bombs and Flamin’ Sambuca Shots.
Instead of coming up with a lie to explain why I left, I ignore the question completely. "Do you want me to run through this pitch with you before we bring in the teams? It will take a while. I’ve been working on it for a long time."
He smiles, acknowledging the fact I've avoided his question but doesn't push further. Instead, he pulls around a chair and sits beside me.
"Yeah, show me."
***
Later that night, I meet Harry and Laura in The George, as planned. The George is a typical ‘old man’ pub that has been recently taken over by the previous owner's grandson. It still has the original vibe of a traditional English pub but with added modern touches like 2 for 1 cocktails, themed quiz nights and a band that plays on a Saturday night. The old beer garden that leads off the main road has been transformed with an ivy and fairy light covered pergola. The path is adorned with beautiful red, orange and green Acer trees, hiding it from the road so it feels private and secretive.
The best thing about this pub is that we can all walk home which is the main reason we drink here most Friday nights.
"You have to share an office with Jak
e Mills!? God, I haven't seen him for years. Follow him on Insta though. How will you get any work done?" Laura says, grinning at me as she pulls his profile up to show Harry.
"Not everyone is as perverted as you are, Laura. Especially not our Maggie," Harry says with a wink as he places our drinks down in front of us. He takes his seat next to Laura and rests his long arms on the back of the booth we sit in. "Although, I see what you mean. Has he always this hot or has he had a glow up?" he adds, raising his eyebrows and scrolling down the page.
"Shit, Harry, you’ve liked his picture from a year ago," Laura says as she quickly unlikes it. "He's going to know I was stalking him now. And yes, he was always that fit. I always thought he had a thing for Maggie, too, but then he went weird on us."
"Maybe he can be the one to re-pop her cherry," Harry says, grinning over his glass.
“Harry, that’s disgusting!” I protest.
“But, also, a fantastic Idea?” Laura adds.
From the moment we met Harry at our local student nightclub, krumping on a podium to Beyonce's ‘Crazy in Love’, I knew we would be best friends. I'll always remember when he dragged an overly confident Philip up to dance with him and that was it; Harry was a part of our family. It was long after Jake abandoned us and I think it was a welcome relief for Philip to have a male in the group again.
"That's not the only thing. I'm having dinner with him tomorrow night," I confess.
As soon as the words leave my mouth I regret not waiting until they had finished drinking their drinks and I narrowly miss getting soaked by the wine they both spit out over the table.
"You're going on a date with Jake Mills!?" Laura squeals with excitement, attracting the attention of several tables around us.
"Keep your voice down," I stage shout. "And no, not a date. He wants me to trust him and he thinks it'll help if I get to know him better. If we become friends again."
