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As the meeting concluded, I knew two things for certain: one, Gallanach was in good hands for this audit.
And two, our kiss had sparked a fire between us. Seeing her at work, I only liked her more, my desire wholly unprofessional, and she, untouchable.
I was fucked.
Chapter Four
Amanda
I was hiding.
After the conference call with the McAlister brothers, I settled into my space for the audit.
That is, I hid behind closed doors of the meeting room they had converted into a large office, adjacent to the accounts staff and their archive room. It was also directly opposite the CEO’s office. Not that I was keeping an eye out for Stuart. I’d only glanced a couple of times. Six, tops. Maybe ten.
I tried to concentrate on the piles of binders with receipts, requisition orders and end of month reports covering the boardroom table and spilling onto the floor in a line under the windows.
Stuart’s P.A., Caroline, popped in regularly to see if I needed tea or coffee, stationery, the heating adjusted, as well as repeating over and over how lovely it was to have another woman in the office her age. By the third offer of tea or coffee, I relented.
When she came in with a latte from the local coffee shop, I sang her praises and sipped the hot drink. Caroline opened her mouth to say something but baulked when she looked at the mess of paperwork in front of me.
I’d spread out in a fan on the table the most recent invoices for barley, access to water from a loch I couldn’t even pretend I knew how to pronounce, bottle labels and parts for the pot still’s boiler.
“Is something wrong, Caroline?”
“Oh, ehm… My ex delivered those parts for that boiler repair job. Messy break-up. Boss’s cousin, too.” Her face flushed. “Stephen, the ex, cheated on me with not one, but two other women. One lived in Taynuilt and another at Connel. Women all over the countryside.”
I gritted my teeth and nodded, assuming the places were nearby.
“I’ve had ex-boyfriends lie and cheat,” I said softly. “Some men are pigs.”
Caroline gave me a grim smile and we both sipped our drinks.
“Stephen drives lorries for the pot still makers in Aberlour.” Caroline continued as she stared into her tea. “He was here earlier and tried it on with me, if ye can believe it. Thought I’d be up for a night with him while he was in town. Shut that down quick smart, though.”
I took a large swig of the bitter hot liquid in my cup, feeling my rage spike in sympathy.
“Ye have nice nails,” Caroline said, pointing her teacup to my hand. “They falsies or real?”
“Real. I just paint them myself.” They matched my lipstick.
“I got gel tips done after I broke up with Stephen and I’ve still got two fingernails healing after I ripped them off. I’m dying for a pedi with the girls but I have to wait until -” She smiled brightly. “Say, ye want to come out with me and some of the girls tomorrow night? None of this sad nonsense about exes. Have a couple of drinks, a meal and a laugh?”
Her eyes twinkled and I found myself unable to resist. “Alright. Why not?” A girls’ night out sounded exactly what I needed to get a certain someone off my mind.
“Oh wonderful!” Caroline beamed. “I’ll tee it up then. We’ll show ye a good time in Oban.”
A thought blindsided me making my smile fade. What if Caroline had a crush on her boss?
“So, you and Stuart,” I hedged. “Do you and him, you know -?”
“He’s just walked in downstairs!” Someone called out over their cubicle.
“Fuck.” Caroline put her tea down and began sorting through the folders on her desk.
“You what?” I squeaked. Wait, she didn’t mean she and Stuart were sleeping together at all. “Who’s just walked in?”
Someone turned off their radio. Conversations stopped. A young man walked briskly past muttering about hiding in the archives room.
