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‘Hmm, sorry?’
‘I said if we’re going to have a one-off tonight, you need to keep it hush-hush afterwards.’
I lifted my hand off his foot entirely.
‘What?’
Jeremy made a zipping motion across his lips. ‘I don’t want it getting around that I sleep with my staff. However, as soon as you walked into my office in that dress, I knew, on this occasion, I was willing to make an exception. But it might be a good idea not to wear it again. Go back to your normal attire so I’m not tempted.’ He chuckled.
Wow. He had some nerve telling me what to wear. And this was a one-off?
It seemed it had never entered his head that there was going to be another date. I would indeed be one in a long line of forgettable women for him—even if I could hold my own in a conversation about smallpox.
The veil partially lifted, and I got a flash of who he really was: a handsome slob with commitment issues. And it all felt extremely wrong, me being there.
‘I’m sorry, I can’t do this. I think I’m going to leave.’ I wiped my sticky hands on the cover and moved towards the edge of the bed. ‘Don’t get up. I’ll book an Uber.’
In the end, after multiple failed attempts to locate an Uber or get hold of a taxi, Jeremy got dressed while I waited in the kitchen; and he drove me home. The conversation on the way was awkward and stilted. He parked outside my flat.
‘Good night, Anna,’ he said in a clipped tone, as if he was embarrassed or I’d inconvenienced him—I wasn’t sure which. He didn’t attempt to kiss me good night, even on the cheek. Jeremy, his house, the whole evening, in fact, had completely bewildered me.
The only bright spot was my conversation with Thomas, which had me giggling to myself in the shower as I washed off the grungy feeling of being in Jeremy’s dirty home and, surprisingly, of touching him.
***
At work the next day, I was still going over the whole thing in my mind. It was so weird and slightly bizarre. The Jeremy of last night wasn’t matching with the image I had been cherishing inside my head. What had happened to the Jeremy I loved? Surely, he still existed?
On my way to the kitchen to grab a coffee, I veered past his office with the intention of clearing the air. Before I could think too much about it, I knocked, and Jeremy said, ‘Come in.’
I had my speech already planned, something along the lines of ‘Maybe we should try that again ...’ But I found that he wasn’t alone. A slim blonde girl was sitting in my chair. She and Jeremy broke off from some kind of intense discussion when I entered. My heart sank as I recognised her. Irish Lucy—even more beautiful and bosomy in the flesh, wearing a scoop-necked black-and-white polka-dot dress with a slit up the side. God, he’d be loving that!
‘Sorry, I can come back later,’ I said, turning to go, but Jeremy waved me in.
‘Anna, this is Lucy Flanagan. We were about to finish up, but I think it went really well.’
‘You do? Oh, great,’ said Lucy, simpering at him. ‘And thank you so much for the coffee. I adore espresso.’
‘Glad to hear it,’ said Jeremy, grinning. ‘Well, I’ve got one other interview, but I’ll be in touch as soon as possible to let you know the outcome.’
Lucy beamed, her blue eyes sparkling, and I clenched my fists. I hated her already. How was I going to bear sharing an office with her?
‘Did you want to discuss something, Anna?’ Jeremy asked, but I couldn’t speak. If last night wasn’t bad enough, now he was interviewing someone who was going to worm her way into his affections any chance she got. It was like he wanted to put me in one of those medieval torture devices and twist the screws.
‘No, it’s fine. It can wait,’ I said, gritting my teeth.
‘Nice to meet you, Anna. Hopefully, see you again,’ Lucy said with a knowing look.
I turned on my heel and left them to it. It was a done deal. He was going to hire her—I just knew it.
Fuming, I went back to my office, strode over to the waste paper basket, and kicked it as hard as I could across the room. Then I had to bend down and collect all the scrunched-up bits of paper that had come flying out of it.
Becca stared at me as if I’d gone mad. ‘What’s with you? Did they run out of chocolate digestives?’
I sat down and grabbed hold of my mouse, bringing up the faculty vacancies page. ‘You were right. I think I should look for another position—something with better pay and a female boss.’
Becca didn’t ask anything else, but I heard her say quietly under her breath, ‘You go, girl.’
After firing off several job applications with my CV attached, I felt slightly better, if still a little manic. Jeremy was about to make my life hell, so the least I could do was make his life uncomfortable too, namely by removing myself from his project. Let Lucy edit and footnote his blasted smallpox book. While I was at it, why not schedule in some extra practice sessions with Thomas? Fuck it, why not invite him to my mother’s house?
