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She stared at the bottle, wondering who ‘E’ was. She wanted to meet her as much as she didn’t. And which other mysterious woman had written the note she’d found stuffed down the side of the chaise longue? Surely not the same person. Did James have a sister?
Estelle sprayed more of the scent on the inside of her wrists, rubbed them together, then onto each side of her neck. Maybe she could ‘borrow’ the perfume and take it home? Apply it before her next yoga class? Would it be the magic that made Isaac respond to her advances?
Ugh. It was easier to break a wild horse than get Isaac Hayward into bed. No matter what she tried, he remained professionally aloof. Why couldn’t she just listen to Eveline and let it go?
Because he’s the only hot man in the village, and he’s also really nice.
She let out a heavy sigh. Unlike James, who may have been hotter than the devil, but had a far less attractive personality.
Spraying the perfume one more time into the air, she walked through it.
Come on. Just follow the plan, then soon Beelzebub will be out of your hair.
‘Hey, co-worker,’ Estelle said breezily to James as she re-entered their office. ‘My laptop’s all set up now, so I’m good to go.’
James was staring at his computer screen, his hands steepled in front of him as if he was posing for the cover of Mafia Today magazine.
Estelle could see how tight his jaw was, so did a turn of the office, making sure each step was small, to increase the amount of noise coming from her feet.
‘Do you mind?’ he spat through gritted teeth.
‘Mind what?’ she asked, standing in the space between their desks and doing star jumps.
‘What are you doing?’ he growled, his gaze finally flicking up to meet hers.
‘Exercise,’ she replied, her feet continuing to impersonate Genghis Khan and his horde invading fairyland. ‘Getting the blood flowing.’
James’s blood seemed to be pooling in his temples. ‘Do you normally do this?’
She changed to jogging on the spot. ‘I usually do yoga.’
‘But today…?’
‘I don’t have my mat. I could bring it tomorrow?’
‘That would be preferable,’ he replied, his gaze returning to the screen in front of him.
‘Can I bring some more things from home?’ she asked, picking up the pace. The noises from her feet were grating on her nerves, however James’s nerves looked frayed to the point of tearing so she wasn’t going to stop.
‘What kind of things?’
‘Personal items. For my work environment.’
He stood. ‘Bring whatever you need.’ Picking up a piece of paper from his desk, he held it out. ‘The code for the main door, so you can come and go as you please. You have my number if you need to reach me outside of work.’
She stopped running and went forward, taking it from him. His gaze was fixed on a point an inch above her head, but suddenly his nostrils flared and his eyes snapped to meet hers.
Her breath stuttered in her throat at his expression. She saw surprise, something that looked like victory, then dark heat.
Oh, shit. The perfume! Do I remind him of whoever ‘E’ is? Turning, she dashed back to her desk.
By the time she took her seat, James was at the door. ‘I’ll leave you to it for a bit. If you need me, ring my mobile.’
Then he was gone.
Estelle put her hand to her heart. It wasn’t the star jumps or running that was making it race out of control. It was James.
Hold it together until the end of the day, then it’s time to put phase two into action.
