Doing the Right Thing Page 8

  “Are you eating lunch?” Genghis snapped.

  “No,” Addie said. It was three o’clock. More like afternoon tea.

  “You’re eating something.” Genghis narrowed her eyes.

  “Do you want to check?” Addie offered.

  “You know the rules about food on desks.”

  “Absolutely,” Addie said, thinking the food wasn’t on her desk. “I’m eating my pencils.” She snapped the end off the one in her hand, put it in her mouth and chewed.

  Genghis looked at her as though she was mad. The wood of the pencil wouldn’t have been too bad, but Addie had the metal tip, complete with eraser, wedged in her teeth and she couldn’t spit it out while Mr Perfect stood there, biting his lip to stop himself laughing. She pushed it under her tongue and winced when the metal scratched the bottom of her mouth.

  “Mr Mansell needs to see the old files. Go and show him where they are,” Genghis said. “Have you handled the other jobs I gave you?”

  “Yes to the press release. I haven’t reconciled the accounts, nor swept the floor.” Oh God, I sound like I’ve got half a pencil in my mouth.

  Genghis glared at her. “You better speed up then, and I didn’t ask you to sweep the floor.”

  Addie rushed ahead of Will so she could sneak a hand to her mouth before she was tempted to swallow. He stayed at her heels when she went to collect the keys from Daisy, followed her round the side of the garage and up the stairs to the store room.

  “There’s no rush,” Will said, as she struggled to get the key in the lock.

  Yes there was, because Addie was afraid of being alone with him. She wasn’t sure she could stop herself kissing him. She dropped the keys twice as Will stood leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as clumsy as you.”

  Addie winced. “Sorry.”

  She wrenched the door open. The light switch wasn’t easy to spot so she nipped inside to flick the switch and fell over a box.

  “You have to be the most awkward person I’ve ever met.”

  Addie’s heart recoiled in pain. How could she like someone who spoke to her like that?

  “They’re all in there. I’ll go back now.”

  “No you don’t. Stay in case I need a hand.”

  Addie lingered by the door as he pulled open the filing cabinet. He’d taken off his tie and opened the collar on his shirt. She could see a triangle of flesh. I’ve see his bare chest, Addie thought and a warm glow swept through her. Aware she was staring, and at an area somewhat lower than his chest, she choked back a mortified wail of despair. What was she thinking? No, she didn’t want to pursue that either.

  Will looked back at her. “What’s on your mind?”

  Addie blushed. He laughed and moved toward her.

  “Are you wondering if it could happen again?”

  “No,” flew from her mouth, then she paused. “What?”

  “Just one kiss?”

  “No, look what happened when you kissed me last time.”

  He gave a slow smile. “That’s why I want to do it again. Why do you think I wanted you to bring me over here? I want to push you up against the wall, yank down your panties and fuck you until you scream.”

  Only he didn’t say that at all. He just opened the filing cabinet and told her she could go. Addie made the rest up on the way back to her desk. Thick cock, heavy balls, gentle hands and those soft lips whispering she was sexy and gorgeous, so hot that she’d set him on fire. Yeah, right.

  Will closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the musty air. That had been close. He hadn’t realized Delia would get Addie to bring him up here. He had to avoid being alone with her. When she’d bent down twice to pick up the keys he’d wanted to push her on the floor and rip off her panties. Will shuddered. As they’d walked here, he’d been petrified she’d see the distinct ridge in his pants and run away screaming.

  What the hell was the matter with him? Will felt almost out of control and he didn’t like it. He’d wanted to say something witty to impress her and instead been unkind. He made her nervous, which was why she was clumsy. She made him nervous, which was why he was mean. Will thought he’d not said anything so inappropriate since he’d asked his teacher why she had a moustache. He hadn’t meant to be cruel then, either.

  Will wished he’d asked Addie to stay. While they were working, he might have found the right words for a change. He had no idea what it was about her that he found so appealing but his cock was now hard enough to hurt. Will glanced at the door. Three steps and he’d opened it to get the key and then locked it from his side. Hardly professional to be wanking off in a cupboard at work but Will had a feeling if he didn’t ease the ache in his belly, he’d be walking around all day clasping files to hide the bulge his crotch.

  He flipped open the button on his pants and pulled down his zip. His escape artist cock practically leapt out of his boxers and Will smothered a laugh. Christ, how old am I? He leaned back against the door of the windowless room and rubbed the silky head of his dick, smearing his fingers with pre-cum. Did she suck cocks? Would she suck his? Will closed his eyes and imagined Addie on her knees looking up at him with those gorgeous eyes, imagined her wet lips wrapped around his cock head, her tongue dipping into the little slit and then swallowing him.

  His hand moved faster, jerking harder. The other hand searched for a tissue, found one and Will let himself move towards detonation. His hips bucked and his breathing quickened.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Will whispered. “Addie.”

  With that word, he came. His cock pulsed into the tissue and delicious shivers of release rolled through his body. Will wondered if she’d swallow.

  Chapter Nine

  After Addie had taken the accounts to Genghis, Daisy dragged her to the loo.

  “Guess what?” Daisy’s eyes flashed with excitement.

  “We’ve won the lottery and never have to come to work again.”

  “We don’t do the lottery, do we?” Daisy looked puzzled.

  “No, Daisy.”

  “He’s asked me out.”

  Addie’s heart fluttered. “Will?”

  “God, no. Ed.”

  “Oh, right.” Heart flutter over. “Have you forgotten you have a boyfriend?” Daisy pulled a face. “No, but Ed’s my boss.”

  That’s all right then, Addie thought.

  “The Harlot is livid and Beth is being bitchy because he chose me. He had such a good pick-up line.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said, would I like to go out for a drink. And I said, what if I said no? And he said, why bother when we both know eventually you’ll say yes.” Daisy beamed.

  “Wow.” Addie tried to sound impressed.

  “Should I have my hair up or down?” Daisy asked. “I’ll put it up and then maybe he can take it down. You ought to do something with your hair, Addie. It will take your mind off Noah. Give you a fresh start.”

  Back at her desk, Addie thought about that. She couldn’t turn back time. All she could do was move on. It was a big thing to her, not Will. Maybe he hadn’t told Ed, or maybe they’d do their sniggering in private. On the other hand, everyone in the office would now know Addie and Noah were no longer an item. Daisy was reliable in entirely the wrong way.

  Addie did want to do something with her hair, but knew she couldn’t achieve a miracle and turn into someone whose locks undulated like glossy paint. She’d rather go to the dentist and have fillings without anaesthetic than be subjected to hours of sitting looking at herself in a hairdresser’s mirror.

  It was a waste of time saying “slight trim”. Hairdressers only ever heard “heavy cut”. Up the mirror would go to show the back of her head and she’d swallow the scream of horror, and say it was fine. Even worse, she’d leave a tip, but the moment she got home, by a roundabout route in case she met someone she knew or scared small children and dogs, she’d wash it herself. Then pull at it, as though she could drag
a few inches out of her scalp to make it longer. The salon had been well named—Curl up and Dye. Exactly what Addie had felt like doing every time she emerged.

  On the way home from work Addie called to buy hair dye. Her hair had always been the same colour—brown. Not sun-kissed light brown or that dark shade of polished wood, but a drab, muddy colour. She was torn between a blonde highlighting kit she should buy because she was “worth it” and a packet offering bright auburn tints guaranteed to “enhance the beauty of the gift nature had bestowed upon her”. The auburn tints won, not because they were the cheapest, but because she knew she wasn’t worth it.

  Addie intended to reinvent herself. Lisa would do the cutting and dyeing. She couldn’t make any worse a job than the hairdresser. Tomorrow Will wouldn’t recognize her. He’d stop looking at her as though she was a piece of chewing gum stuck to his shoe. She’d be a different person and start searching for another job and a new life, away from Leeds, maybe away from England.

  But if Will asked her out, she’d say yes.

  Oh look, a flying pig.

  By the time Will got back to the house he was exhausted. Ed had disappeared from work at 7:00 and left him with Genghis. Will almost called her that a couple of times. He had a feeling she wouldn’t have found it amusing. He dropped his jacket on a chair in the kitchen, opened the fridge and then closed it. He was too tired to cook. He fancied an Indian takeaway, but he wouldn’t call with an order until he’d checked whether Ed had eaten, otherwise he’d lose half his meal. Ed had an uncanny ability to arrive just as Will started to eat. He picked up his mobile.

  “What do you want? I’m in the middle of something here,” Ed said.

  “Anyone I know?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Daisy, by any chance?” Will asked.

  “Yes.”

  Will sighed. “I’m about to order a takeaway. I presume you’ve eaten.”

  Ed laughed and Will felt better. He knew why. Daisy wasn’t Addie.

  Addie softened Lisa up by cooking a butternut squash risotto for their dinner, before she showed her the box of hair dye. “I want to look different.”

  “This is going to be so much fun.”

  “Don’t get too carried away.”

  “Isn’t that the point? Wrap that tea towel around your shoulders. So, how are you feeling?” Lisa asked, as she started to cut.

  “Aren’t you supposed to ask about my holiday? And where’s my magazine?”

  “Don’t change the subject. Heard from Noah?”

  Decision time. “In a way.”

  “What sort of way?”

  Addie thought about it. “It’s a long story.”

  “You think this is going to be done in ten minutes. I’m an artiste.”

  “I thought you only used to do your Gran’s dog?”

  “Yeah, so? Noah?”

  “When I got to work this morning, I found Booth’s had been taken over. The new owner has brought in management consultants to chew, swallow and digest us.”

  “Are you going to be crapped out the other end? I hope you don’t lose your job, Addie. I need your rent.”

  “Yeah, I know.” She’d keep the fact she’d resigned a secret.

  “What’s this got to do with Noah?”

  “When I say this is a secret, Lisa, I mean a secret between you and me, and not you and all your friends and certainly not David.”

  “You’ve got me intrigued now.”

  “Watch what you’re doing with those scissors. Christ, is that a razor blade?”

  “Yes, hold still and keep talking.”

  “You’re going to be pissed off I haven’t told you this before, but it was because of David.”

  Addie told her everything, except for the fact that she’d had a knee-trembling orgasm when Will merely kissed her. Lisa didn’t stop cutting and she didn’t say anything.

  “Sorry,” Addie muttered.

  “I guessed.”

  “You guessed?”

  “I was suspicious after a month or so. It all sounded great at the beginning, but you didn’t even have a photo of Noah and you love taking photos. Then, when that guy said you’d met him at a gym in Leeds, I knew for certain. God, Addie, you’re a complete idiot. Six months, what were you thinking?”

  “No more nagging mother.”

  Lisa tipped her head on one side. “Ah, good point.”

  “It sort of gathered pace like a rolling stone. Only they do gather moss. They gather a whole load of crap. I thought I’d pretend for a couple of weeks and then I couldn’t stop and it got more and more complicated. Noah made me happy.”

  “Except he didn’t exist.”

  Addie winced as the scissors brushed her ear. “Well, no.”

  “What the hell were you doing those weekends you said you were in Manchester?”

  “Stayed in youth hostels, climbed mountains, jumped in rivers.”

  “I always wondered why you came back bruised and aching. I thought it was vigorous alfresco sex.”

  Addie gave a little smile.

  “So when you lured the real thing to your room, you slept with him?”

  Addie blushed. “Not in the way you mean. We kissed and I thought…well, he wants to forget it ever happened.”

  “I can’t believe the guy turned up at Booth’s. I mean fucking hell, what were the chances of that? You need to do the lottery this week.”

  “Ha ha.”

  Lisa frowned. “I am a bit pissed off you didn’t tell me before now. We’re supposed to be friends. I do understand about David. One look from your mother and he’d blab, but think about it, Addie, what’s the worst that could have happened? Your mum is already horrible. It’s like she thinks you’re the child of Satan or something.”

  “I wanted to prove them wrong. At least they all think he exists.” Addie had wanted to prove someone could love her and been caught in her own lie.

  “So, this new hair is to attract Will?”

  Addie felt her face glow. “I don’t want him to look at me and see the person who asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend.” No point lying to herself. I want him to be my boyfriend.

  Ninety minutes later, the transformation was complete. Addie’s hair had been sliced, dyed, streaked, dried and attacked with straighteners. Lisa stood her in front of the flat’s only full length mirror. Addie’s mouth fell open.

  “Do you like it? It’s great, isn’t it? It suits you. You should have let me do it before. I didn’t realize I was so talented. That was one lucky dog.” Addie was silent.

  “Addie, it really is lovely. The reddy colour will tone down as you wash it.”

  Addie nodded and the woman in the mirror moved her head. She flinched. So it was her. She’d been convinced she was looking at another self in a parallel universe.

  “Say something,” Lisa wailed.

  “It looks so different.” Addie managed to speak.

  “Good or bad different?”

  “It’s great, Lisa, thanks.” She looked like an enormous pixie, spiky hair sticking up all over her head.

  “To show your gratitude you can make me a cup of tea and give me a cheque for your share of the gas bill.”

  Chapter Ten

  Will had a lot on his mind. He had check lists of what he needed to accomplish by the end of the week at Magelan’s and at Enerchex, the other company. He also needed to ring his mother and he had to ring Vee. She’d called him twenty-seven times, left twenty-seven messages and fifteen texts. He’d responded with one text “I’ll ring soon” rather than the “fuck off” he felt like tapping in. He wasn’t just trying to avoid her, he was running away from her. Will hoped he’d run far enough.

  It was still dark when he arrived at Magelan’s. He hated these gloomy winter mornings. Will looked for a parking space, pulled in, then changed his mind and reversed at speed in an arc round a small blue car and into the spot on the other side. There was a slight bump and Will swore. Grabbing his briefcase from the footwell, he got out an
d glanced at the rear of his car. Will didn’t see anything and assumed he’d hit the curb.

  Addie opened her eyes to find herself flat on her back in a nest of damp shrubbery. Her head pounded and heart raced. After a brief struggle to sit up, she gave in and lay back in the bushes. What happened? She’d arrived early because she wanted to look for a job online while the office was empty. She’d walked into the yard and seen Will’s car coming, then crouched down, hoping he didn’t spot her.

  It took several minutes for her brain to sort things out. He’d hit her with his car. Addie tried moving her limbs, relieved they now seemed to be working. She pulled herself out of the undergrowth, stood on wobbling legs and clung to a branch. Her coat was covered in leaves and twigs. The contents of her bag lay strewn around and when she bent to pick them up, she zoomed head first into blackness and fell to her knees taking shaky breaths.

  She left her grubby sandwiches for the local fox. There was an ominous crack in her mobile phone, but it was out of credit and hadn’t worked in a reliable way since David borrowed it. She hoped it was broken, one less way for her mother to drive her mad. More concerning was the blood on her ankle and the holes in her hold ups. When her eyes moved to her watch, Addie realized that far from being early, she was now late.

  She stumbled across the car park, brushing the debris from her coat as she went. As she went through the door, Julie pulled a puzzled face. She doesn’t like my hair, Addie thought, her heart sinking. The receptionist pointed to her cheek as she talked on the phone.

  Addie took a detour via the visitors’ toilets and stopped short when she saw her reflection. There were several smudges of mud on her face and a trickle of blood running past her ear. She grabbed a handful of paper towels and cleaned herself up. She took off her hold ups and threw them away. There was a deep scratch on her lower thigh. Blood stained her skirt and ran in a red streak to her ankle. Addie wiped it away. She ran a brush through her hair and yelped when she caught a raised lump. She daren’t spend any longer in there. She couldn’t cope with the wrath of Carne or the fake-sympathy of whiney-voiced Beth.