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‘So he plans to sully her?’
I shook my head. ‘I don’t think so, but she definitely needs to watch out. He’s a real piece of work.’
‘You’ll have to keep reading and let me know how it goes with Jasper.’ He paused. ‘And with Jeremy.’
I ducked my head and concentrated on my soup.
Thomas left soon after saying he had an early start in the morning. That was fine with me. I didn’t particularly like the idea of sharing my bed with him. But if he’d wanted to stay, I would’ve said yes. But I slept like the proverbial log without giving it too much thought.
The next morning, I was rifling through my wardrobe, looking for something to wear to work. But nothing seemed right. I yanked boring top after boring top along on their hangers until I came to the designer work dress that I’d bought in a moment of confidence a while back. When I’d modelled it for Eleanor and Lily one evening, their mouths had formed twin O shapes.
‘Anna, you can’t wear that to work,’ Eleanor had said, sounding shocked.
‘Why not? It was in the business wear section of the shop.’ It was a black bodycon number that ended at midthigh, with a keyhole neck. Honestly, it looked more a dress you’d wear to a nightclub. But I liked it.
‘Because it’s inappropriate,’ replied Eleanor.
‘Oh, don’t be so stuffy, Nor. It looks amazing on her. And there isn’t a dress code, is there?’ Lily argued, ever the defender of inappropriate clothing.
Eleanor had cocked an eyebrow, looking me over. ‘No, but what kind of “business” would she be conducting in that?’
Her comment had put me right off, thinking the dress was too slutty and I’d poked it into the back of my wardrobe, thinking I’d save it for a date evening, then never went on a date.
I held the dress up and looked at it, wondering if I dared. My mind flashed back to yesterday afternoon in bed with Thomas—his deep brown eyes boring into mine as he touched me, murmuring how sexy I was, how much I turned him on. My confidence rose. If I wanted Jeremy to see me as something more than a boring research assistant, I had to change it up.
Fuck it, I thought. Why not? Let’s get slutty.
I wore my knee-length beige trench over the dress, effectively concealing it, but my black heels and glossy tan back-seamed stockings were very much on show. By the time I reached the faculty, I’d garnered at least half a dozen double takes. My confidence grew further. I was turning men’s heads! A nervous excitement fluttered in my gut as I wondered what kind of reaction I’d get from Jeremy. I’d never flaunted myself so brazenly before, and the thought that I might actually snag his attention made me giddy.
Another image of Thomas materialised: the soft smile he’d given me as he’d leaned in and given me a swift kiss on the cheek before he left. I quickly pushed it aside.
This wasn’t about him. He knew my deal from the start. I doubted very much if he was even thinking about me.
Of course, wearing a sexy dress to work to titillate Jeremy was one thing. Actually, having him see me in it was another. We had no meeting scheduled for today. Becca had the morning off visiting the dentist, thankfully. So I was alone in our office. I glared at the Jeremy hotline, willing it to ring. Come on! Was I going to have to spend ages on my hair and make-up and wear this dress every day for the whole week?
I was indulging in a pleasant day dream about Thomas and how nice our time together had been when the Jeremy hotline rang.
I swiped the receiver off the cradle. ‘Hello?’ I said breathlessly.
‘Morning, Anna. Could you pop in for a quick word?’
Jeremy’s sexy, self-assured tone sent endorphins speeding through my veins like crack cocaine.
‘Of course. See you in five!’ I exclaimed a little too loudly.
He hung up without replying.
I drew a large shaky breath and stood, my palms sweating. This was it. My summons. I checked for mascara smudges, reapplied my Cherry Blaze lipstick, and blotted, smacking my lips together on the folded piece of tissue like a crazed guppy.
Wobbling slightly in my heels, I made my way down the hallway, wishing there was a full-length mirror so I could check how I looked. Perhaps I should veer to the ladies’. But I’d said I’d be there in five minutes, and I didn’t want to annoy him by being late—not when I wanted him to desire me.
I rapped, and Jeremy told me to come in. As per usual, he was absorbed in his laptop. He waved me over without looking up. I started on my short journey to the chair opposite, trying not to trip over the rug and the stacks of books lining my path like a runway. I wondered if he was this untidy at home. Just then, I noticed Jeremy had ceased reading, and his gaze was focused on my high heels. I froze like a burglar caught in a spotlight. His eyes travelled slowly up my stockings, traversed my torso, and kept inching higher until they lingered on my bust area and finally reached my face. My body felt seared, like he’d gone over me with a blowtorch. From his impassive expression, I couldn’t tell what Jeremy was thinking. But one thing was certain: he’d definitely noticed the dress.
I sat down quickly with a nervous ‘Morning. You wanted to see me?’
Jeremy seemed to shake himself out of some kind of daze.
‘Ah, yes. It’s about the interviewees for Becca’s job.’ He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. ‘I’ve narrowed it down to Lucy Flanagan and Peter Wilson. The other girl didn’t have strong-enough data analysis skills, and as you know, I have high standards.’
