A Proper Charlie (35 page)

They’d enjoy the theatre, and afterwards they’d talk over dinner and he would find out how Charlie felt about becoming his… his what? Girlfriend? He felt a thrill at the word. He sat in his office chair, stared at the telephone, and willed himself to use it. His hand hovered over it several times, and several times it dropped away again. His confidence, like sand in an hourglass, was slipping away.

What if she refused? What if she laughed at the thought of going to the theatre with him? Come on Ben, he said to himself. Pick up the phone. Pick. Up. The. Bloody. Phone.

It rang, and Ben almost fell off his chair in fright.

‘
Camilla, for you Ben,’ said Clair.

‘
Thanks, put her through. Cam?’

‘
Have you asked her?’ his sister said immediately.

‘
Asked who what?’

‘
Don’t be dim. You know who.’

Ben rubbed the back of his neck. Camilla was probably the only person who could see through his ‘British stiff-upper lip’ exterior. Inside he was quaking. ‘I was just about to, but then you rang.’

‘
Ben,’ she admonished. ‘It’s nearly lunchtime –’

‘
Eleven o’clock actually.’

‘
Whatever. My point is you said you would ask her first thing. I know what you’re like, Ben, you’ll put it off and work yourself into a state and then not get round to asking her.’

‘
Let me off the phone and I’ll ring her.’

‘
I’m off,’ she said, and the line died.

Ben replaced the receiver, wishing he had kept her talking. The more she chatted the less chance he had of messing up asking Charlie to the theatre, he figured. He stood up and stretched his arms above his head, before lowering them and putting them on his hips for side bends. Lumbering up, he thought. Lumbering up for the big race.

He touched his toes.

His office door swung open and Clair entered without waiting for permission. ‘Oops sorry,’ she said, without looking apologetic. ‘I thought you would have left for the morning meet by now.’

John Fanton and various heads of sections met up every morning where reporters’ and editors’ ideas are presented and a tentative plan is made on what content is to be included in tomorrow’s edition of
London Core.

He righted himself, and pointed to his shoe. ‘Undone,’ he explained.

‘
Right.’ She moved across the office towards his filing cabinet.

‘
They can cope without me,’ he said. ‘I’ve, er, work to do here.’ He picked up a boring looking financial document.

Clair closed the cabinet. ‘Shall I tell them? I think they’re waiting for you.’

‘
Tell them to begin without me. Er, Clair?’

‘
Yes?’

‘
No more interruptions, OK?’

She pulled a face, ‘OK,’ and closed the door behind her.

Ben put the document down and picked up the phone. He pressed Charlie’s extension number quickly, almost angry at his own hesitancy. It was engaged.

Ben replaced the phone with a sigh.

*

Charlie had been buzzing with anticipation since Ben had ‘maybe’ asked her for coffee in the canteen yesterday. She knew it was like believing in a fairy-tale: the lowly office clerk and the bigwig in a suit, and at the back of her mind had a secret suspicion that Melvin was right about Ben.

She wasn’t pretty enough, not smart enough, not tall enough or had the right hair colour to be associated with Ben Middleton. What did he see in her?

Despite her uncertainty she was wearing her smartest dress, a simple navy affair with kick-away pleats falling to her knees. She thought it extremely business like and elegant. Even Faye had complimented her on it this morning – although in a backhanded way.

‘
Nice frock.’

‘
Thanks.’

‘
Was that the last of the sale?’

The morning was whiled away as Charlie battled to get through her workload. Her brain was all mushy and
Core
wasn’t going to get much out of her today. Luckily, she was able to hide her inability to work as she slipped from Solitaire to real work on the computer whenever someone walked by. She kept one eye on the door in case Ben came through –
hoping
he’d come through – kiss her in front of a gawping office, which would instantly stop all gossip that he was ashamed of her. Failing that, she willed her phone to ring and for him to be on the other end telling her he loved her. Maybe she could put it on speakerphone?

‘
Coffee Charlie?’

Failing all of those, maybe there was another letter in her tray? Maybe he’d squirted it with his aftershave and endorsed it, ‘lovingly yours forever, Ben. XXX.’

‘
Charlie!’

‘
Eh?’ She looked up.

‘
Coffee?’ Melvin stood watching her, looking amused. ‘I’ve never known you so quiet. It’s weird.’

‘
Don’t knock it, Mel, I like it!’ said Faye. She held out a Betty Boo mug. ‘I’ll have a coffee; make it in that? Plastic cups are so not me.’

‘
Since when?’ laughed Melvin, taking the mug.

‘
I’d have said plastic is very you, Faye,’ said Charlie.

Faye gave her the finger, and Charlie grinned.

‘
Mel,’ she hissed as he turned.

‘
Your lipstick is still on, doll,’ he replied without faltering towards the coffee machine.

‘
How’d you know?’

‘
Because you’ve been asking me all morning. Your lipstick, Sizzle Me Hot, is still on –’

‘
How’d you know its name?’

‘
Because you’ve told me that too. The dress looks fantastic and your tresses are wonderful. You’ll knock him dead, so now can I finally have a few moments to savour my coffee break?’

‘
And the shoes? You didn’t mention the shoes.’ She wheeled back her chair and stuck out her leg. She wore her old, but newly cleaned, black stilettos.

Melvin looked from her feet to her face. He was clearly weary of her daydreaming, and mooching around the office, he sighed, ‘For God’s sake Charlie, just call him already!’

‘
Ooh, I couldn’t!’

‘
Oh, you certainly could. Quicker than you nipping to the canteen every five minutes anyway,’ he grumbled.

She grinned, biting her lip. She picked up the phone and dialled his extension, the pink tip of her tongue caught between her teeth. It was engaged.

She replaced the handset. ‘Engaged,’ she explained. She clutched her head in mortification. ‘But thank God! What would I have said! I can’t believe I just did that. Mel, how could you influence me like that?’

‘
What’s she jabbering on about now?’ asked Faye.

‘
Oh, the usual Charlie stuff,’ said Melvin.

‘
Crap then?’

‘
Yeah.’

Charlie beamed.

Feeling a thrill, she reached for the phone again.

*

Ben picked up the phone. ‘Charlie Wallis for you, Ben,’ said Clair. ‘Do you want me to put her through?’

He felt sick; no, he was going to be sick. ‘I… er… yes. Yes please, Clair.’

‘…
wondering if you meant for me to meet you for a coffee yesterday and I had inadvertently stood you up, seeing as, you know, you haven’t called me, or... Hello?’ Charlie had obviously begun to talk the moment Clair had put her on hold with regards to putting her through. ‘Hellooooo?’

Ben’s mouth twitched and he realised he wasn’t nervous any more. ‘Hello Charlie,’ he said.

There was silence on the other end and then, ‘Oh God.’

‘
No, it’s Ben. Or Frank,’ he said, feeling so happy he thought he would burst. ‘Or even Burt, if you like.’

Laughter, ‘We didn’t get off on the best foot, did we?’

‘
I’d say we did.’

‘
Oh.’ She sounded, for once, lost for words.

‘
I’m glad you rang.’

‘
You are?’ she sounded surprised. Delighted, but surprised.

‘
I wanted to ask you to the theatre this Saturday.’

‘
Like the pantomime?’

Ben chuckled. ‘Not quite. I’ve heard that
Chicago
is very good. I’ve seen the film with Catherine Zeta Jones and –’

‘
And Richard Gere. Ooh yes, I’d love to see it. Melvin went with his boyfriend the other week and has raved about it ever since. Melvin was going to take me one weekend, but we never got round to it. I adore Richard Gere. It’s the silver hair,’ she gushed.

Ben smiled; he could almost imagine her dancing around in excitement. ‘Unfortunately Zeta Jones and Gere aren’t in the theatre production,’ he teased. ‘And you’ll have to make do with my brown hair instead of Gere’s grey –’

‘
Silver,’ she amended.

‘
OK, silver hair. So, is this Saturday OK? At six?’

‘
Is this a date?’

‘
I hope so,’ Ben said. ‘That is, if you want it to be?’

‘
As in a real couple?’

Ben began to feel hot. ‘That was the intention, however, if you’re uncomfortable with –’

‘
God, no! I just can’t understand why you’d want anything to do with a pleb like me.’ Her voice was lowered and muffled as if she was speaking under her hand. ‘Flipping ‘eck, a couple, me and you… er, I mean, you and I.’

He laughed. Happy and relieved. ‘Don’t change Charlie. Not for me. Not for anyone.’

*

Charlie replaced the phone in its cradle, and then paused for dramatic effect before giving Melvin and Faye the thumbs up sign.

Faye was shaking her head. ‘I can’t believe it.’

‘
It’s true,’ Charlie insisted.

‘
Unfortunately, it
is
true,’ Melvin told Faye. ‘Our Charl is not only a novelist in the making but she’s bagged the boss!’ His face became serious. ‘Trouble is I don’t like, or trust, his intentions. I mean, he’s upstairs in his grand office, and she’s here scratching around earning a living to keep a roof over her head.’

‘
Who’s “she”?’ grumbled Charlie. ‘I am here, you know.’

Melvin ignored her. ‘Something’s fishy, that’s all.’

Faye was nodding. ‘I agree. But bloody hell, Charl, what an opportunity! Think of the alimony.’

Turning her face away, Charlie put up her hand, palm outward, to them. ‘I’m not talking to you two until you can say something nice.’ She bent her head and began to get on with her work, or rather finish her game of Solitaire as Melvin and Faye sniggered between themselves.

‘
Er, Charl?’ said Faye, as Melvin said,

‘
Baby doll.’

‘
I told you, no more.’ She cursed as the computer brought up the menu: ‘no more available moves’ and then noticed a presence standing beside her – or rather her skin did. It went all tingly. She looked up, and straight at Ben. With an easy smile on his face he bent and placed his hands on her desk, then kissed her soundly on her surprised lips.

‘
I forgot to tell you that we’ll be going out to dinner afterwards,’ he said softly when they broke apart. ‘Is there any food that you really dislike?’

She shook her head dumbly.

‘
That’s good.’ He winked. ‘I’ll pick you up at six, then?’

She nodded dumbly too.

He smiled, tapped her nose and left.

Faye’s jaw had hit her shoes. Sarah, over by the vending machine, was holding the hot water button for tea and it was flowing over the top of her cup as she gawked. Her teabag floated out and lay pathetically in the sluice tray. Melvin’s face was contorted in strange angle.

‘
No!
You
reall
y are
going out with Mr M!’ said Faye, who’d managed to pick up her jaw after all. ‘Flipping, bloody, hell.’

Charlie nodded, a wide grin across her face. She clutched her head in her hands. ‘I can barely believe it myself.’

‘
Bloody hell, neither can I!’ Sarah sipped her ‘tea’, not seeming to notice that it had no tea in it.

‘
Doll, I may have to hand in my notice,’ said Melvin. ‘Because if he breaks your heart I will kill him.’

‘
Oh, shurrup Mel, this is serious,’ said Faye. ‘Charlie what was he whispering? When are you seeing him?’

‘
Tell us all,’ added Sarah running over, spilling her ‘tea’.

‘
We are going to the theatre on Saturday and then on to dinner,’ she said, attempting a posh accent. Unfortunately, she sounded like she had been sucking helium out of balloons.

‘
I nominate myself to be your stylist,’ Faye said, rubbing her hands together briskly. She looked at Charlie critically. ‘Hmmm about my height, only you’re fatter.’ She flapped a hand as Charlie’s mouth fell open at her cheek. ‘Never mind, I’ll bring a stack full of clothes from my wardrobe to yours Saturday afternoon. Your clothes are only fit for charity shops and then they’d be in the bargain bucket… No need to thank me.’ Faye turned on her six-inch heel and headed back to her desk.