Page 27 of Little Miss Fortune

‘So is Fuko!’

I am ready to blow my brains out. Last attempt, since Sashka is not understanding, I glare at Toby. Please get it. Please get it.

‘But I am interested in going to an opera, if you have any recommendations.’

Kami-sama ni kansha. I thank which ever godly power was responsible. That’s that Oxford brain coming through.

They look through the National Opera website and select something Hungarian in nature.

Maybe it’s the porky cider talking, but I think I need to stay away from Toby so as not to give him any ideas. Reduce the contact to the barest of minimums. My bad luck could do some real damage here. But I need to shadow him for two weeks as he does his research.

I can do two weeks.

And then I will be moved to the other marketing section with other people around me.

We look through the data in the office with me sitting as far away from him as possible.

‘So, in the brief, the clients have outlined the purpose of the research—what is the easiest and the cheapest way to reach their customers. How would you go about it?’

‘Focus groups? Competitors? Social media is a classic.’ I attempt to answer Toby’s question.

‘All good, we also have our own databases that people shouldn’t get access to.’

‘O-o-o, secret database. Do spies try to break in?’ I joke, but he nods.

‘They absolutely do. Corporate espionage is really high at the moment, so be careful with your kit. IT treats any attempt at a break-in as if we’re the Pentagon, and you look too trusting. Easily corruptible.’

He says the last word with meaningless playfulness, which makes me skip a breath.

‘Uh-huh.’ I brush him off. ‘I don’t think anyone would pay attention to some intern.’

‘Their loss.’ He smiles and cocks his head. ‘I reckon you could blackmail me if you wanted to.’

Does he mean to be flirty with me, or is this his version of cat-and-mouse entertainment?

Over the next two weeks, Toby keeps dropping comments that are... odd? Not in a creepy way, but always in a way that makes me question whether he just thinks I’m gullible and an easy target, or he genuinely doesn’t know that the tone of his voice, the way his eyes slide up and down, the leaning over my shoulder could be misconstrued as... amorous.

And they are always so vague that it would honestly be weirder if I asked about them, because it could be in my head, because it’s been a minute and I might be misreading things.

Like when I asked whether he had a minute, and he responded with, ‘You can have all my minutes you want.’

By itself—not a big deal, just a funny comment. But in conjunction with ‘You are the only person in the office I can trust, you’ve seen me naked’, and ‘I could mentor you, if you want’, and ‘Where have you been all my life?’.

Okay. Maybe they don’t sound like what I think they do, but it was the way he said them. The correct course of action is to ask him to stop, but it’s only for two weeks, and then I am Toby-free. And... I am learning a lot from him. He is great at explaining Steven’s senseless, rambling e-mails and at forcing me to ask the right questions of the right people without bothering them too much. And his research is useful for trend prediction, which has got me a shout-out on the work bulletin board from Adzo. And sometimes when he just sits at his desk I find him deep in thought, not a trace of his usual mildly playful self, which makes him seem more normal. Still, I will be glad to go our separate ways at work. No need to make things more complicated.

‘Toby and Fukoh, I am going to put you on secondment with the PR crisis team for a month,’ Steven announces the next day, mispronouncing my name, as usual. ‘It’s an excellent experience for personal development. I think if you shadow Fawzia, you will increase your take-home salary by at least £1000 after completion. It is a tight-knit group. You will learn how to rely on each other.’

‘It’s only tight-knit if it comes from the crochet region of France,’ Toby whispers to me, and I guffaw.

Hook or needles, something is tying us into a knot that I just cannot escape.

CHAPTER 8

Toby only knows what you tell him, Fuko

The filming with CM Shot will resume after the client, a new skin care company, reviews the comms plan and signs off on the delivery plan. Their entire legal team is on holiday, so Steven let the PR team borrow his officers for a social media refurb—that’s what Fawzia calls it when an important celebrity makes a big oopsie and needs to fix their image.

Fawzia, the PR and crisis manager, is the coolest person in the entire office. She styles her hijab in such intricate ways that it looks more like buttercream than fabric. Her clothes are modest but tailored, making it feel as if Miranda Priestly gave her a silent nod of approval. The accessories go with the shoes, and the bag is covered with pins: a Somali flag, a popular K-pop band’s logo, and a sliced watermelon.