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Swivellingon her heel,Francescaexcused herself to boil the kettle.Shecould use the caffeine right now, and she’d noticed earlier that their selection of tea blends had increased by 1000%.Shemay as well stay in the office and get some editing done.
Krishjoined her at the kitchenette.Thewarmth of him standing next to her made the hairs on her arm stand on end, despite the muggy air.Thekettle began to heat.
‘Youokay?’ he asked under his breath.
‘Yeah, fine.’Shewas anything but fine, but it would be best for everyone ifKrishandJessdisappeared soon.
Hishand rested on the countertop, inches from hers. ‘We’lltalk tomorrow, okay?’
Shedidn’t dare look up at him as those stupid tears moistened her eyes again.Shenodded and removed the boiling kettle from its base.
Hepaused for a second before exhaling loudly and pushing himself away from the counter. ‘Right!Allready to go,’Francescaheard him say on the other side of the partition. ‘Seeyou later,Francesca!’
‘Nicemeeting you!’ addedJess.
‘Havefun at the market!’Francescasaid, imitating the cheery note inJess’svoice.
Theywere all being so civil, when allFrancescareally wanted to do was throw things.Itwas an infuriating dilemma: wantingKrishto be happy with another woman, glad that he’d found one that was kind like him, but hating it at the same time.
Humannature, eh?
Sheheard the door click behind her.Toavoid destroyingKrish’soffice, she walked over to the sofa, flopped onto it, shoved a pillow into her mouth, and screamed.
14
Thenext day,Krishdidn’t turn up at the office.
Notext.Nothing.Hejust didn’t show.
Francescawould be lying if she said she hadn’t made more of an effort getting ready after herPTsession that morning.Aslash of eyeliner and a lick of mascara.Allfor nothing, it seemed.
Pickingup her phone, she toyed with the idea of sending him a text.Herfinger hovered over the keys, struggling to figure out what to say. ‘Hey!RememberwhenIgave you a massive hard-on yesterday?Seeyou soon?’
Don’tbe an idiot,Francesca.Sheput the phone down.
Whatwas the point?Hewas probably still angry after her performance at the meeting, and he had every right to be.Thechances of them booking that wedding were slim to none.Itmade her hate herself even more.Herand her stupid mouth and her even stupider hormones.Shewiped at the wetness in her eyes.
Bynoon, she realised that he wasn’t going to turn up and so she played heavy metal, loud, specifically because she knew he would hate it.Nothinglike a bit ofAC/DC’sgreatest hits to go with her mood.Mickpopped up once, to ask if she could turn it down after complaints.Hewas so nice about it that she managed not to snap his head off, although it took a lot of self-control.
Fuckthe world.
Shereplayed yesterday in her head like one of her video clips, over and over.
Fora few moments, she had felt so safe inKrish’sarms, like none of the bad stuff could get her.Whatwould have happened if she’d looked up at him?Ifhe’d curled around her the way he used to, lowering his lips to hers?
Nope.Sheshook her head.Nota good path to tread.Nothinghappened, thank god.Itwould have ruined the fledgling friendship that they’d cultivated, despite their past.Shedidn’t want to repay his kindness by blowing up his life.
Thatdidn’t stop her from playing theWhatif…?game, imagining what kissing him would have been like.
Onething that their near-miss did highlight was that she needed to get away soon.Shehad taken advantage of his generosity long enough.Shefrowned.Shehad enjoyed the week they’d spent working side by side, without her cricket bat in easy reach.
Sheflipped her notebook open and wroteTODOat the top of a fresh sheet.Getlocks changedwas the first item on the list.Shehadn’t been back to her office since the robbery; she just couldn’t face it.Honestly, she didn’t have great memories of working there, but the price was right.If, by some miracle, they managed to book this wedding atBlenheim, then maybe she could afford a better office.Itmight be prudent to wait and see what happened before she called the locksmith.Yes, that seemed like a good idea.Shedrew a line through the first item on herTODOlist.
Nextshe wroteChaseup file recovery.Shehadn’t heard anything from the tech guy, the ‘quick turnaround’ promised on his website ringing false.She’dtried to phone him a few times, but it either rang out or was busy.Nooption to leave a message.Mightas well try him now.
Thephone rang a few times before a deep, annoyed voice answered. ‘Yeah?’
‘Hi,’ she said, unsure. ‘IsthisSpeedyDan’sFileRecovery?’
