Page 91 of Little Miss Fortune

Small price to pay for the warmth that spreads from just being around someone who is so beloved by everyone, but chooses to be with me.

CHAPTER 31

Just the one rubber duck, actually

‘So you haven’t seen him since?’ Leon asks, popping open his homemade cherry kombucha.

‘Not on purpose,’ I growl, my face on Leon’s DIY-tiled dinner table.

We have tried to see each other multiple times over the last three weeks, but the odds were not in our favour. First came the Tube strike, which made the entire office work from home and disabled any possibility of Toby and I hanging out. Then a pipe burst next to the office, leaving the entire block with no water and no sanitation. Toby was visiting his grandparents that weekend, and I was looking after Dad, who caught some stomach bug at work.

Although we were back in the office this week, he and Steven were too busy with John’s (and partly my) footage, as the campaign went live on Tuesday and now needed monitoring from them. So the only communication outside our calls and texts was Toby leaving Post-it notes on my seat:

‘What’s cooking, good looking?’

‘I corpo-rate you a 10.’

‘Do you like sushi? Because I’m soy into you.’

Mecha corny, but I can’t help but find them sweet. Maahni was always there when he put them up, which I suspect he did on purpose, as it derailed the rest of the day with her questions about our relationship. How long have we been together? Wait, but that’s not long at all, are we serious, or is this a work fling for attention? So, like, it sounds like it’s not that serious at all, like, I shouldn’t trust a man just because he writes a couple of cheesy notes.

‘I’m sorry, but that new coworker of yours is a bit rude.’ Leon scrunches his nose at his table as if seeing a cat cough up some furballs. ‘But it is crazy that you are now dating Mr. Naked Man. I thought we found him obnoxious.’

‘Well, he can be, but he is also very sweet and honest. And he has a lovely face.’

‘And bum.’ Leon wiggles his eyebrows, recalling our earlier conversation in which some details of my sex with Toby might have slipped out.

‘Just the whole thing is quite nice if I am being honest,’ I say. Then I meekly add, ‘Sorry if it’s weird to talk about it after everything with Sashka.’

‘Don’t worry. I actually think he and you were always a better match. You had that magic.’

‘Magic?’ I scoff.

‘Exactly. That’s what starts a relationship, that magical moment. Like when Hugh Grant spills his juice on Julia Roberts. That moment in the film when you know that love conquers all, that the kiss will save the princess. That’s what everyone really wants.’

That’s what Leon wants. His magic, Sashka’s peace, my luck—they are all at the core of our beliefs, true in their own ways. He’s always said that his good luck is the residual of his belief in magical moments all around us. That you must have whimsy that might spill over to lead the fortune straight to you. I never believed him. Not until Toby.

‘Ugh,’ I growl louder. Head returned to the natural position of being slammed against the table. ‘I just want to see him. Preferably before my probation is over.’

‘Girl, then go. What are you doing here?’

I do not give it even a second of thought before saying, ‘Sir, we are watching a film. I even let you choose a different cuisine for the occasion. I’m not about to dip out from our designated time for a man. Plus, I want to hear about your date with the sexy accountant.’

‘Girl, they had a back tattoo. It was so sexy, until I looked closer—I swear it was Princess Diana.’

‘There is nothing sexier than the love for the People’s Princess.’

‘Well, we are not having a second date.’

‘Wow, I hope they have their revenge dress moment, you judgemental prick.’

‘Weirdo.’

‘Prude.’

‘I have seen Sashka recently, by the way.’

‘That’s who you think of when you hear prude?’ I chuckle to distract from the twist my guts are making from hearing her name. I miss her, I miss her so much.