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“Probably,” Caroline shook her head. “Well, come in, then. I’ll make ye a cup of tea and we can talk about what’s going on in the company books, and how ye giving me a ten percent raise.”
She waved me inside and I followed her down the hallway.
“And then, we’re gonna talk about how ye gonna make amends with Amanda.”
Chapter Ten
Amanda
I looked back and forth between two requisitions and back to my laptop screen. Burying myself in work was the only thing that helped take my mind off what had happened between me and Stuart today.
Caroline’s errors accounted for only £5000 of the missing £50,000. I growled at the documentation in my hands. I knew I was close. I felt it was staring me in the face but I couldn’t quite see it yet.
I threw the requisitions down. Numbers usually calm me. But I was skittish, lacking focus. All I could think about was Stuart. And what we did in his office, what was unleashed in his office.
I wanted more.
I’d felt free to be truly me in Stuart’s office - demanding what I wanted, losing control in the heat of passion.
At least I thought it was passion because it felt also like hate.
I needed to talk to him and sort this out.
My phone pinged, making me jump. I let the requisitions fall to the table as I scooped up my phone. Butterflies took flight in my stomach.
Robert:I’m on my way to pick up Stuart and he’ll be home soon. Just thought I’d let you know.
My breath was shaky.
Me:Okay, thanks. I’m ready to talk.
Robert:Okay. You can contact me anytime if you need.
Did Robert know what Stuart and I did? No…maybe?
I took a deep breath fortifying myself for the conversation to come. My phone pinged again, this time my London colleague, Judy.
Judy:Not sure why you need this so urgently but anyway here’s a photo of our policy like you wanted. Hope the Scottish weather isn’t too grim for an Aussie like you.
“Everyone keeps warning me about Scottish weather and yet the sun has shone all week.” I stabbed at the screen to make her photo appear.
I skimmed over the two paragraphs of our policy regarding appropriate relationships with clients. Most was about family ties or any friendships that may affect the outcome of a contract.
But I knew we also covered sexual relationships, dating, that kind of thing.
Any consultant who believes the nature of the relationship with the client has changed and may affect the outcome of a project should alert their manager at their earliest convenience, to ensure the ethical standards of the firm are upheld.
The stomach flopped.
My finger hovered over the call button for Michelle’s number.
But I couldn’t. The last person I wanted to know about what had happened was my manager. Not after being humiliated by a former lover who not only cheated on me, he cheated with a colleague at my firm’s Christmas party.
Somehow the stigma of it had landed on me, rather than the colleague he slept with. Being the one rejected still stung, and it was still whispered about at the work Christmas party.
To tell my manager about my mistake with Stuart meant no promotion, possibly a reprimand. And Michelle was married into his family!
But how was I meant to tamp down on my sensuality that I discovered today?
