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‘Oh yeah?’ I feel something squeeze in my chest and try to ignore it. I’m distinctly aware that Ava will despise the fact Josie has told me this. ‘Good things?’
Something shimmers in her eyes. I think it’s mischief. ‘Mostly.’
I can’t tell for sure, and I don’t know what battle I’m fightingyet, but I think I may have an ally in Josie.
‘Do you work in this building? Why have I never seen you around?’
She blinks a few times and the glimmer disappears. She tucks her hair behind her ears and says, ‘No, I just had a meeting on the top floor with an accountancy firm to work on their equality, diversity and inclusion strategy. On my side, I consult mostly on disability and accessibility, LGBTQ+ matters, stuff like that. Ways to make companies do more than the bare minimum for minority groups.’
‘Did it go well?’
She shrugs. ‘I think so. It’s hard to tell. Whether they decide to do anything with what I told them is up in the air. We’ll see, I guess.’ She expels a quick breath, then says, ‘It was lovely chatting with you Finn, but I’ve got another meeting in a bit so I should probably shoot off.’
‘I can walk you out if you want?’
‘I’m alright, but thanks. I’ll see you at the party.’
‘Can’t wait.’ She walks away and I wander back to Julien, who’s standing by the table with his stuff packed away, scrolling on his phone. ‘Sorry, I spotted Ava’s flatmate and just wanted to say hi. Are you heading off?’
‘No worries. And yeah, I’ve got to head back upstairs. How was she? The flatmate?’
‘No worries. And yeah, I’ve got to head back upstairs. How was she? The flatmate?’
‘Fine, I think. I have a feeling I might be in her good books.’
I slide my laptop into my bag and we wind through tables back towards the lobby.
Julien looks at me shrewdly. ‘I’m going to join you in the coffee shop this week. I need to decide if I should stage an intervention.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
He shakes his head with a chuckle and steps into the waiting elevator without answering, before my feet take me across the road.
True to his word, Julien starts joining me at City Roast, and it’s as if I’m being watched over by a particularly suave bodyguard. He’s managed to talk his boss into letting him work here, under the stipulation he bring a coffee back for him whenever he goes back to the office.
Some days, he doesn’t let me go up to the till to order, and I can’t even complain, because then he’d know I’m still at the mercy of that tinysomethingI swore to get rid of. The thing that somehow lets me know where Ava is without looking. The thing that feeds on every morsel of attention she gives me, as platonic as it may be. But it’s surely only a matter of time before it fades. And if it doesn’t, I’m leaving in a few months anyway, so distance will do the job for me.
Today is one of those days, and Julien’s leaning against the counter as he orders, his perfectly tailored back to me. I don’t need to see his face to know he’s quirking a half smile, molten eyes switched on. Likewise, I don’t need to see Ava’s to know she is entirely unaffected by this.
I type some nonsense on my computer when I notice him coming back to the table with our coffees.
‘She’s tough to crack,’ Julien says, settling into his chair and opening his laptop. I bite down a laugh. He’s never had issues charming anyone. When he cranks it up to full volume, it rolls off him in waves and I almost want to propose to him myself. So it never fails to make me laugh when someone resists him.
‘Maybe she sees right through you. You just want free drinks and she’s decided to make you work for them.’ My mouth presses into a smirk. ‘And you could’ve avoided having to pay full price, had you let me go up instead.’
‘Nope.’ He wiggles his finger from side to side. ‘You’re not off the hook. I don’t trust your motives. You don’t think I’ve noticed you’re typing random shit on your laptop?’
I flip him off and slide down lower in my chair, making a concerted effort this time to type real words. I’m successful for a while, until my phone pings with a text.
tell Julien he’s trying too hard
I look up and meet Ava’s eyes briefly over the counter as she slides her phone into her back pocket, the echo of a smile on her face as her manager and a young woman approach her. It sends my heart into a flurry.
It’s at this moment that Julien punches me on the arm.
‘What was that for?’ I clutch where he hit me. The guy has force, I’ll give him that.
‘Putain,’ he curses under his breath. ‘I was right. Do you know what you’re doing?’
