Seven Days: The Complete Story (23 page)

Oh shit. Oh
shit. Oh shit.

“But you know
each other. You’ve got to admit it seems sketchy.” Mason turns to
me. His eyes probe mine. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

How can I tell
him I didn’t want him to know because of this very reason? It looks
bad and yet it wasn’t ever like that. I have no idea what to say
but it seems I don’t need to bother. Bianca has that covered
too.

“—Because
she’s a lying little slut, Mason. That’s why. I bet she knew who
you were all along. She’s probably slept with Nicholas Lawson as
well. She looks like the type who wouldn’t mind sleeping her way to
the top. I can’t believe you’d bring her to our party. I just can’t
believe you.”

I’m crying
now. The tears are streaming down my face. Why is she attacking me
like this and more to the point why is Mason such a spineless
wonder to let her do it?

Joel puts an
arm around my shoulder, gathering me to him, protecting me from the
tirade. His face is stony but not because of me. He’s angry at
these people, that they could say such things — even if some of
them are true in a round about fashion.

“Come on,
Sadie. I’ll give you a lift home.”

I look to
Mason. “Do you want me to go?”

Not that I’d
stay after this. Even Jamie Dornan couldn’t convince me to endure
more of this.

“I think it’s
for the best,” Mason says. His eyes look sad, defeated, like he
can’t believe a girl like me fooled him.

“Will I see
you tomorrow?”

He shakes his
head.

“Are you
dumping me?” The words come out of my mouth between strangled
sobs.

He doesn’t do
a thing. He simply stands there.

I take my
clutch and drain my glass. I pull a tissue from my bag, wipe my
eyes and blow my nose. I’m stunned. I can’t believe that I came
here with a boyfriend and am leaving without one.

“Are you okay,
Sadie?” Joel asks, as we walk through the house and out to where
the cars are parked. His arm is still around me, protecting me.

“Thanks for
sticking up for me.”

“I think I
created a bit more flack than I was intending to but I couldn’t
stand there and let her attack you like that. Bianca’s a bitch.
She’s always been a bitch. You didn’t deserve that.”

“But why did
you tell them we slept together? It looks so bad, Joel. For both of
us.”

He turns me to
face him. His hands are on my shoulders. “I didn’t mean for that to
happen but then a lot of things I don’t mean to happen seem to
occur when I’m around you. You have that effect on me.” His smile
is soft, gentle.

The car drives
around and the valet hops out. Joel walks me to the passenger side
and settles me in, even doing up my seatbelt for me. He’s being so
kind, so loving it makes me sob even harder. Jogging to the other
side of his sporty little car, Joel puts on his own seatbelt and
turns off the radio. I think he senses music isn’t appropriate.

“Forget him,
Sadie. Any man who can’t stand up for his girl in a situation like
that isn’t a man. He should have defended you. And so what if we
know each other? I don’t care who knows.”

“I think that
was what made him the angriest. The fact that I’ve known you this
entire time and never told him.” I sniff and wipe my eyes some
more.

As we speed
off down the road, Joel reaches over, putting his hand on my knee.
It feels nice and somewhere inside me I think he may have moved the
boundary from incredibly annoying to absolutely irresistible. He’s
melting my heart.

“On the bright
side, we can hook up now you’re single.” He gives me that wink and
I groan.

Joel will be
Joel.

It’s funny
that nobody appears to be upset about the demise of my relationship
with Mason. As soon as Emily figured out why I was bawling my eyes
out — again — she declared she’d always known Mason was a gutless
wonder and that the split was the best thing that could have
happened. Then she bought home a bottle of champagne and we
proceeded to get royally pissed to celebrate.

Joel has been
acting oddly too. He hasn’t been calling or anything but every few
hours I get these sweet little texts checking to see that I’m okay.
He’s started making jokes about Mason and about sex but he hasn’t
over stepped the line we agreed on. He’s keeping it in his pants.
Even the posy of flowers that turned up on my doorstep didn’t seem
like a come on. It was a thoughtful friend thing. There are so many
nuances to Joel that he hides from the world. He’s nothing like the
playboy he appears to be.

And Nicholas?
I’m not sure he even knows about Mason, he’s so wrapped up in the
new project. My second week at Hardwick & Lawson has started
and I haven’t seen him at all, except for the thirty seconds he
took to poke his head in earlier, saying he wants a catch up. He
wants to see the progress I’ve made on my final assignment —
perfectly understandable given his firm is the main topic of the
paper. I’m crapping myself. Not about my work, I know that’s good.
But we’ll be alone. I can’t be alone with Nicholas. It’s dangerous
being alone. I want to kiss him then. And without Mason as a buffer
I’m unprotected. If Nicholas wants more, I have no reason to object
other than professionalism.

As I approach
his office, I notice a streak of light filtering under the door. I
clutch the sheath of assignment papers against my chest and knock,
waiting for permission to enter. I wonder if he knows about Mason,
if Joel told him about the other night? I wonder if what he said at
the theatre was what he wanted — to simply hold my hand. Because it
can never be that. The three of us left that on the beach six
months back and though I’ve tried to put that time from my mind, I
haven’t been able to forget.

“Come in,
Sadie,” I hear Nicholas call.

I enter and
shut the door.

He looks up
from his work. He’s tired; there are deep circles under his eyes.
And his hair is more mussed than I’m used to now. He’s been working
hard. I approach his desk. I want to comfort him, to rub his
shoulders and ease the tension I can see. He gives me a brief smile
as I stand, like a fool, waiting for another crumb to take and add
to my collection of images to be reviewed at a later time. He’s
silent. Silent and brooding. God, I want that.

“Here’s what
I’ve got so far,” I say, putting the papers on the desk. I place my
phone on top of them.

“Great.
Thanks.” He concentrates on the screen for a second longer,
ignoring me.

I wait
expectantly. Should I sit? Is he going to talk to me or keep
staring at his computer? Maybe the signals I got in the past week
were not what I thought. He wants to be my boss. No. A boss doesn’t
hold your hand and kiss your cheek.

Nicholas sits
straighter and stretches his long arms over his head, locking his
fingers. He rubs his hands over the back of his neck, stretching
the sinews from side to side. I can almost feel his hands on me,
skittering over my body. Why is he ignoring me?

“Is there
anything else, Nicholas? If not, I might head home. It’s well past
six.”

Nicholas
glances at his watch. He stands up from the desk and in three
strides has rounded it to stop in front of me. His ,eyes lock on
mine. It’s like he doesn’t know how to act with a woman anymore.
Like he’s thirteen and awkward. “I think we need to talk.”

“Have I done
something wrong?”

“Not about
your work. You know your work is perfect, meticulous in fact. I
want to talk about us. Joel told me about the weasel
boyfriend.”

I smile a
little at the way he says it.

“And?”

“I’ve tried.
Joel’s tried. And I know you’ve given this professional
relationship your best shot but you have to admit we can’t go on
like this. I can’t stop thinking about you. I dream about you
Sadie. It’s like torture being so close every day and not being
able to touch you.”

I know. I
know. “Are you asking me to leave? Is that what you want?”

“Yes.”

He’s sending
me away? Now?

“I mean, no.”
He shakes his head and pushes his hand through his hair in
frustration.

Oh, to ease
that angst, to make him feel good again.

“Is there
something I can do?”

He gestures to
the swathe of paper spread on the desk. “I’m tired and it needs
fresh eyes. I’d like your opinion. You did a good job with the
plans for the indoor garden at Iris.”

So we’re
talking about work now. I can handle that.

“Okay. I’ll
have a look.”

If that’s what
you want me to do.

I walk around
the desk, my hip grazing the side of the wood to avoid his body. I
spread my hands on either side, flattening the documents in front
of me. Nicholas moves to stand behind me. He bends his head over my
shoulder and I’m reminded of the day on his boat last year. I
wanted him to kiss me so badly. It seems his effect on me is as
powerful as ever. The heat from his body is sending me into a spin.
The quiet sound of his breathing makes me weak at the knees. He has
no idea how much I want him, what I would do to have him again, how
consuming the need has become over the past week. Actually, I don’t
think I even did until this minute.

“Are… are…
this the ones you mean?” I stammer, trying to ignore the way his
hip is leaning against my bottom. He appears to have forgotten that
we are keeping this professional. I’m meant to be getting
feedback.

“No, the
other.”

He reaches
further forward and shuffles through the papers, revealing a second
set of plans. “Compare the two. If you were the client, which would
you go for?”

“I think the
first.”

We stay in the
same position as we discuss the plans, Nicholas settled against my
back, his strong arms enveloping me, cocooning me. I feel the
tension leave his body, the confident, in-control Nicholas return.
His voice is quiet when he speaks again. “I don’t want to lose you,
Sadie. The last six months have been hell.”

“But we hardly
knew each other.”

“Yeah. God,
knows what’s up with that.”

“It was the
same for me,” I reply. “I feel that way about you
and
Joel.
That was why I had to go. You know that. I don’t want either of you
to get hurt.”

“And you still
feel this way?”

Unfortunately,
yes.

I nod, raising
my hand to caress his cheek.

“I want you
with me, Sadie. I can’t be without you again.” His lips press into
my palm and I know he’s telling the truth because I feel it,
too.

There’s
another knock at the door and Joel sticks his head in. His hand is
on the jamb and he eyes us up and down before speaking. “You coming
down to the bar for a drink, Nick?”

Nicholas
doesn’t flinch. “Nah. I’ve got some stuff to finish up here.”

“What about
you, Sadie?” Joel questions.

“No thanks.
I’m off home in a minute. I’m shagged.”

Joel gives me
a strange look and I realise what I’ve said. He steps further into
the room, closing the door. His gaze is intense as he assesses the
situation. I can’t escape it. The heat rises on my cheeks and I
lick my lips nervously. “So it looks like professionalism might be
going to take a nosedive?” he states.

“No. Not
yet.”

“Would you
like it to?”

“Are you
offering?”

“You know the
answer to that already.” Joel looks to Nicholas. “What about you
Nick?”

“I’ve tried
but she makes it hard,” he jokes.

“You got that
in one buddy.” Joel snips the lock on the door and flicks off the
light. Walking to the desk, he picks up my stuff and tosses it on
the couch. “We won’t be needing that. Or these.”

He moves
around the other side of the desk swiping the surface clean. Pens
and rulers clatter to the floor. A photo frame lands beside them
and is covered by the papers I gave Nicholas earlier. The plans
fall on top of them.

I look from
one man to the other.

Clearly we are
going to hell, starting now.

I have no
defence for this. I never did. Despite not wanting to hurt either
of them, I find myself back in this situation. There’s nothing I
can do. It’s not in me to say no again. I simply don’t want to.
This is Nicholas. And Joel. And me. We are puppeteers and puppets
in the same show, just none of us knows which of us is pulling the
strings.

“What do you
want?” I ask, looking from one man to the other.

“You,”
Nicholas replies. “Only you.” His breath is in my ear. His left
hand has slid from the desk to my hip. He’s trying to make it
appear as if we’re still looking at the plans but the message he’s
sending, with his hand slowly circling my hip and bottom, is clear.
I try to concentrate but I can’t. Nicholas’s voice is in my ear.
His erection is pressing into the crack of my bum through our
clothing, but it feels as if we’re naked. “You’re very distracting,
Sadie. The way you swish around the office in that tight skirt,
your hips swinging.”

Not as
distracting as his stance when he stands, staring out the window,
looking for inspiration. The way the muscles tighten in his back at
those moments are enough to send me over the edge. The other day I
almost stapled my finger to a book, I got so side tracked.

I feel my
breathing quicken as Nicholas raises his hand from my hip and
slides it along my neck and over my shoulder. He flicks my hair
around to reveal my skin. I feel his warm lips come to rest in the
place he caressed a second before.

“I’ve tried to
ignore it but I can’t. I keep seeing you naked. On my desk.”

“I don’t do it
on purpose.” My voice catches as I say it.

“I think you
know exactly what you’re doing. You’re making me want to fuck you
because you think I won’t act on the desire.”