Page 69 of Pure Recklessness

‘What happened to your arm?’ Oscar frowned as he stepped into my office, his gaze fixed on the Velcro wrist brace I was wearing. I’d had to roll my shirt sleeve up to my elbow because it was so fucking bulky.

Last night when I’d showered in my office, the pain became unbearable, so after my doctor rushed to see me to take a look, he recommended I go straight to the private clinic to get an X-ray on my wrist and ankle.

Thankfully, it wasn’t serious. My ankle was fine and my wrist was just a mild sprain that would hopefully heal in a week or so.

Something told me it’d take a lot longer for my pride to be restored though.

‘I fell off the treadmill.’ I scrubbed the back of my neck with my left hand.

‘What?’ Oscar frowned. ‘How? Why?’

‘I got distracted.’

‘By what?’

‘Eleanor said something and I⁠—’

‘Eleanor? The hot girl in the granny clothes?’

‘Yes. Except she wasn’t wearing granny clothes…’

My voice trailed off as I pictured her in those tiny Lycra shorts and that tight top again.

It was a good thing I’d fucked up my right hand, otherwise I would’ve wanked in the shower again.

At least that was one positive thing to come out of this mess.

‘No way! When you’re on the treadmill, you’re a machine. The world could crumble around you and you wouldn’t bat an eyelid. She must’ve looked really hot for you to lose focus like that! Tell me more.’

Oscar closed the office door, poured himself a Scotch then sat on the sofa his eyes wide with anticipation. I was surprised he didn’t call out to Valerie and ask her to get some popcorn to snack on whilst I entertained him with my tragic tale.

‘She looked…’ Hot didn’t even begin to cover it. Eleanor was a fucking inferno. But I couldn’t tell Oscar that. I was supposed to be setting an example. ‘Different.’

‘Good different, I assume. I bet underneath those shitty clothes, she has a hot body and a great pair of tits. Am I right?’

‘Don’t talk about her like that,’ I snapped.

‘Wait…’ Oscar narrowed his eyes. ‘Oh shit! You like her!’

‘Bollocks!’ I said a little too quickly.

‘You do!’ He laughed. ‘Mr-Thou-Shalt-Not-Fraternise-With-Employees has a crush on his… wait for it… employee!’

‘I don’t have a crush. I’m a grown man, not a fucking teenager.’

‘Call it whatever you want, but you like her! I can tell. Wait until Heath and Seb hear about this! You were so distracted by the hot junior employee in her skimpy outfit, that you fell off the treadmill and broke your arm. This is comedy gold!’

‘Don’t fucking say a word to anyone about this!’ I warned. ‘And I haven’t broken my arm. It’s just a little sprain and I was distracted because of the shit that’s happening with your division.’

‘Chill, bro. It’s under control. I sent some people to check out the factory and they reported back half an hour ago to say that everything’s in order. It was just gossip. You know what Heath’s like. He was worrying for no reason. Panic over.’

I blew out a breath and my shoulders loosened. That was good news.

No. It was fucking brilliant news.

The lingerie division was safe. We wouldn’t have to cut jobs or close any stores.

But we couldn’t rest on our laurels.