Mrs R (Mrs R & Mr V #1) (25 page)

“That’s what Nate called his new
division. It’s quite apt don’t you think – the beginning of a new world
for us all. Oh – and then there’s the twin thing; typical of Nate to add
a personal note. Good luck, dear girl - my door is always open to you whenever
you need my help.”

Rachel stood up and leaned toward
Ben giving him a little peck on the cheek. Her eyes had inexplicably filled
with tears over the whole Genesis name thing and she was more than grateful for
Ben’s understanding and generosity of spirit.
 
He gave her a friendly squeeze then left
her to contemplate her next move.

The buzz of the intercom made her
jump and interrupted her train of thought; any minute Rachel expected Joe Mason
to burst through her door and berate her decision not to cave to his
termination request. She didn’t relish the thought of that conversation and
snorted remembering how she and Luc pictured him as fat and bald. She kind of
had that image in her head now every time she thought of him or heard his name
and was mildly curious to see how accurate she was.

“Rachel, are you there?”
 
She was glad to hear it was Angela
inviting her to lunch. “C’mon Rachel – I’ll catch you up on all the
gossip – it will be fun.” Rachel couldn’t imagine Angela to be the gossiping
type but she took the opportunity to get away for a while and her grumbling
stomach reminded her she did have to eat after all.

**********

Chomping on a delicious
mozzarella, avocado and tomato Panini in a little sandwich bar two minutes from
the office, Rachel discovered her first impressions of Angela were all wrong.
Gone was the demure office professional and in its place a rip roaring,
hilarious, fun to be with gossip queen. And boy was she loud. “I’m sorry,”
Angela apologised having finally stopped for breath, “it’s hard for me to keep
up the act for too long – I need to release the real me at least once a
day or I’ll combust for sure!”

Rachel loved her instantly. “Oh
thank god – I must admit you were slightly scary before.”

“That’s how they like me – I
have to be able to stand my ground with all the ‘up their own arse’ exec types
we get through our doors. Talking of which – have you met Joe yet?”

“I haven’t had the pleasure. “
Rachel responded screwing up her face as if she had eaten something well past
its sell by date. To her surprise, Angela never said anything just raised her
eyebrows and grinned.

“What? What’s that face for?”
Rachel demanded.

“Oh nothing sweetie – I’m
sure you’ll handle him just fine. Don’t worry about it – he’s not in for
a bit anyway.”

Rachel was about to ask more but
Angela launched into a funny story about a famous client that held her rapt
until the punch line when they both fell about laughing hysterically. Rachel
felt much of her earlier tension drain away and for the first time she was
pleased she’d taken the plunge and come to work.
 

Walking back to the office arms
linked, Angela pointed out several landmarks, and the different places to eat
lunch; who served the best coffee; where to get the yummiest bagels. Rachel smiled
listening to her new friend rattle off her recommendations.

As they turned the corner and
their office building came into view Angela pointed out the local gym. “We all
try to get there – it’s quite a nice place as far as gyms go. C’mon I’ll
show you.”

“I’m not sure I’d use it to be
honest; I’m a bit out of practice” laughed Rachel.

“All the more reason then –
I’ll arrange to have Nate’s membership transferred to your name and you can
decide. They open really early and don’t close ‘till midnight – there’s
no excuse! It’s a great way of relieving tension and believe me there’s going
to be a lot of that once Joe hears you’re staying.” Angela laughed at the face
Rachel pulled.

Reluctantly, she followed Angela
into the foyer of the gym and let herself be guided around. Actually, she was
quite impressed by the sauna and steam room and there was a small pool and
Jacuzzi that looked tempting. A row of running machines filled a smallish room
tastefully done out in light coloured wood with full length glass windows that
looked out on to the river.

“Don’t worry” Angela reassured
Rachel, “it’s one way glass. You can huff and puff away and no one outside is
any the wiser.”

There was a TV on one wall on the
Bloomberg Channel – no surprises there, but it was on mute with subtitles
and Rachel noticed most people had ear buds in anyway. “I think Joe is here
today.” Angela said in passing just as Rachel spied a portly, older gentleman
sweating profusely on one of the running machines. “Oh god, I’m not ready to
meet him yet; quick let’s go.” Rachel grabbed Angela’s arm and dragged her back
on to the street.

“Stop, stop – it’s fine. I
will deflect him for you until you’re happy to be introduced. Honestly, though
I don’t think you need to worry.” Angela gave Rachel an appraising look nodding
her head in appreciation of what she was seeing.

“I sincerely doubt that
considering I’m about to push forward with Genesis against his wishes.” Rachel
looked troubled.

“Well he’s going to have to get
used to not getting his own way some of the time. I don’t think that’s ever
been an issue for him before – the challenge will be good for him. He
wanted to come and work in London; he’ll have to adapt.” Angela shrugged her
shoulders to emphasise her point. “Look – Rachel. I shouldn’t be telling
you this but I think you need some background information to help dispel the
mystery. Joe Mason is part of a New York legal dynasty – his family have
more money than most small countries and he has led a very privileged
lifestyle. He’s been working with his father and older brother in the family
firm but decided to uproot and start again in London where he’s basically on
his own. I believe he was married for a short while – an alliance of
families instigated by their
 
fathers, but he’s divorced now. He has two teenage kids but no
significant other.”

Rachel gaped open mouthed at
Angela. “How the fuck do you come to know all that?” she blurted.

Angela threw her back and guffawed
loudly turning heads in the street. “Holy shit you’re rude. Love it! Anyway
– it’s my business to find these things out about the people I work for.
It helps me predict their needs and manage them better. And I have a feeling
this new CEO is going to need a lot of assistance stroke managing. Listen hon;
I aim to please.”

“You’re not just the receptionist
are you?”

“No sweetie; I’m PA; PR: office
manager: fixer upper – whatever you need me to be.”

“Well; hopefully you’ll be my
friend Angela – I’ve a feeling I’m going to need one.”

Angela stopped to gain Rachel’s
full attention for what she was about to say. “Rachel – Nate was one of
the best people I have ever worked with – he was fair; considerate and
honest as the day is long. He was demanding too but never rude. I learnt so
much from him and we all miss him. It would be an honour to be your friend
because knowing Nate; you must be a very special person.”

Tears welled up in Rachel’s eyes.
Of all the things she was expecting to happen today; making a new friend was
not one of them and she was a little overcome. “You might not think so when you
get to know me better: I swear a lot when I’m mad, and stressed, and I’m going
to need a lot of help.”

“I’m here for you Rachel –
let’s go make it happen.” Leading the way forward on her long legs, Angela
entered their building and headed for the bank of lifts leaving Rachel
breathless and struggling to keep up.

“Maybe I will go to the gym after
all – working in the City is exhausting!”

**********

The rest of the week passed
quickly. Rachel sorted through the remainder of Nate’s stuff and cleared his
office ready for the new CEO Joe Mason to move in. She had yet to meet him but
was less worried than before as the Genesis business was already demanding more
time than she had expected. It really was in its fledgling stages and Rachel
was keen to research every aspect of the project before she was forced to
confront the partners to explain her motives for engaging with pro bono
clients. She knew Ben Pierce was on her side but she wondered how many of the
other executive staff would go up against their new CEO who had already
expressed his negative views on the matter.

Ben had found her a new office
– it was much smaller than Nate’s but perfectly adequate. As promised her
late husband’s desk had been relocated there and she faced it towards the door
so that when it was open she had a good view of the rest of the office. She was
tucked away in a corner but this had the advantage of huge windows looking out
over two aspects of the City, and a little ensuite shower room with her own
loo. It was a very cosy space and Rachel was in the process of personalising it
with some photos and knickknacks from home. She had also commandeered Nate’s
chair and although it was a little large for the room she drew comfort and
strength from it. Facing her desk, along the wall was a small two-seater sofa
in soft tan leather. Rachel had indulged herself with this purchase wanting to
have somewhere comfy to sit as an alternative to her desk and it would be less
intimidating for some of her clients.

Much to her surprise, Rachel had
indeed taken advantage of the nearby gym. Angela often joined her for a run
before work and she was definitely building up her stamina. She had been
updating the Twins daily and they in turn were catching her up on all their
news. Any minute exams would start and Rachel knew she wouldn’t hear from them
for a couple of weeks. Jess and Lucy were the type of girls who crammed hard
over the exam period freeing up the rest of their time to party. This seemed to
work for them as their results so far had always been excellent. Luc was
mentioned in passing by one or other of them and Rachel lapped up any
information about him. She had resisted contacting him directly and Luc hadn’t
called her again. Even though this is what she wanted, it still felt a bit
shitty.

**********

CHAPTER 13

6.00am on a Friday morning was not
the busiest time at the gym if being the sole user of the running machines was
any indication. Rachel had changed into her running gear; black Lycra shorts
and vest top and plugged her ear buds in setting her iPod to shuffle. Fifteen
minutes in and she’d found a good pace; she had built up quite a sweat and
reaching for her towel without breaking her stride she was momentarily
distracted by someone else jumping on a machine behind her. Looking at the
reflection in the glass window Rachel vaguely recognised the man and it took
her a few minutes to remember where she’d seen him before.

“Oh my god – it’s the big
bloke from the revolving door!” Rachel recollected. She couldn’t resist
checking him out and discreetly turned her head to the mirror on the far wall.

“Fuck me” she shouted in her head.
The man was shockingly devastating. She had correctly assessed he was around
the same height as Luc – easily over 6 foot, but the comparison stopped
there. Nothing about this man was remotely similar to Luc, or Nate. Both men
had been fit and Luc particularly was very well defined, but this guy was
massive. He had huge biceps and a broad chest narrowing to a trim waist and
very sturdy legs with thighs the size of tree trunks. He was extremely handsome
and Rachel wished she could see what colour his eyes were because from here
they looked silver and she knew that couldn’t be right.
 
His nose was straight and his mouth wide
with full lips. He had dark hair worn longer than was fashionable but it suited
him. Silky curls brushed his neck meeting his beard. Rachel had never
considered full on facial hair sexy before, but now she wondered just what it
would feel like against her skin.

“Whoa; easy girl!” she chided
herself. But her hormones seemed to have gained control of her senses and when
he took his sweatshirt off her nipples stood up to pay attention. “Oh that’s
just great” she mumbled to herself but still couldn’t help but enjoy the slight
friction inside her bra caused by the steady pace on the running machine. “Just
bloody concentrate!”

Concentrating however, was proving
to be extremely challenging as action man obviously didn’t feel the need to
wear a shirt and his ridiculous pecs were now glowing with sweat. Rachel had
switched her iPod off preferring instead the rhythmic grunting from behind and
her mind raced thinking about all that raw power and what he could do with it
with her.