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I prop my phone up on the counter, buzzing afresh as I open the fridge door and find how well he’s laid out the ingredients for me. Such care. Such attention.
I get the pan ready with a grin as he talks me through it, realising for the millionth time today that I’m one very, very lucky girl indeed.
Thank you, fate. And thank you, Anthony Bradstone.
There’s a key to the mattress room in my top bedside drawer if you’d prefer to lock it, baby. I always recommend keeping business and pleasure apart very, very carefully. Your call, of course. x
I look at the message with blurry eyes as I wake up on Wednesday morning, and it’s a great relief. I’ve been thinking of ways I can skirt around the room at the end of the landing when Janie pushes for a house tour tonight, but none of them have sounded all that convincing.
It’s Ant’s confidential workspace that I’m not allowed to enter.
It’s a spare room that is private because someone stays so often.
There’s a hole in the floor right by the door, so the room isn’t safe to stand in – that one made me laugh out loud.
Telling Janie the room is storage filing place would be a much safer bet, especially when I can demonstrate the handle, locked up tight. I could have brought the topic up with Ant plenty of times over the past few days, but have been feeling a little bit weird about it, in case he thinks I’m ashamed. Ashamed of what I’ve done in there. With him. For him. Because I’m not. I admire kinky people, and it’s cool I’m learning to be one. I just haven’t told Janie about it because… because it’s private. Because she’s a work colleague. Because… just because.
I figured Ant might be as keen for me to share my slutty camera skills as he is for me to show off my diamond necklace, but it seems I’ve got that very wrong. There will be no mattress room confession for Janie tonight. I’ll get the door locked up nice and securely.
Jeez, my first session of yoga last night has my muscles aching as I get out of bed. Penny was amazing, and I had a great night with her and Janie, but it’s definitely confirmed what I thought. My body isn’t all that flexible, which is a good thing in some ways, as it’s an incentive to do better. I’ve already signed up as a gym member and confirmed my yoga attendance every week for the next three months. I’m going to become a new, fitness focused, healthy Cassandra from here on in. Ant will be so pleased with me.
A hot steamy shower loosens me up before I get dressed, but I’m way too greedy with my time in there. Shit. It’s a good job my muscles have had their hot water recuperation since I’m bounding around the bedroom at super speed, trying to get myself ready and out for work. We’ve got our first consultation at 9 a.m. sharp today, and it’s with a new client. Crap, crap, crap.
Thank fuck I remember Ant’s key offer before I leave the bedroom, since Janie is heading up to the house with me as soon as we leave the office.
Now… which drawer did he say…
I dash around to his side of the bed and open the top one. I’m digging around, trying to feel a rattle of a key with enough effort that I manage to barge the bloody cabinet. The other drawers open with enough force that the bottom one bashes me right in the toe.
TOE STUB! OW!! FUCK!
It’s like tomato on the kitchen floor gate again, but at least Ant isn’t witnessing what a clumsy idiot I’m being this time around.
I go to push the bottom drawer closed, cursing under my breath at I need to be in my car already, but something catches my attention. A weird little blue bag with a tiny rubber monster arm sticking out of it. What the fuck is that?
I can’t resist taking a look inside, and it’s such a bizarre collection of little toys that it makes me giggle. Ant – Anthony hot stuff Bradstone – has a selection of tiny monster finger puppets in his bedside drawer. I tip them onto the bed and there are at least twenty of them, all with goofy, fun expressions on their faces. They must be from the 1980s, definitely before I was born.
I’d call him on the spot and laugh about it if he wasn’t in a meeting and I wasn’t running late, but it’ll be a great thing to cackle with him about as soon as I get the chance. I’ll put ten finger puppets on at once and give him a hello in different silly voices.
