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I didn’t push it. Partly because fragile flowers need space to bloom, and partly because I doubted poor Rick could take another round of my brutal honesty.
I’d done more than enough of that for the time being.
David and our senior management team were due at our Cheltenham office for the Friday afternoon festivities. We had champagne and celebratory cake, and a buffet from outside caterers. Hell, we even had balloons.
I suspected we’d also have a fresh round of golden envelopes, but that wasn’t my call. I’d presented the final leaderboard figures with my recommendations, but the final decision on bonuses would be down to David and the finance team.
“It looks amazing in here,” Katie said. Her smile was bright and her eyes were happy. She took a seat at her old desk. “I can’t believe this is the last time I’ll be sitting here, it’s come to feel so comfortable, you know?”
“You can always come back and pick up the phone, for old time’s sake. It’s only over if you want it to be.”
She shrugged. “I dunno, Carl. Maybe I’ll lose my touch.” She looked up at me. “Maybe I’ll be a marketing whizz instead, have you thought of that? Maybe I’ll join Rick in his little design empire and have my own ads up on the kitchen wall.”
I put my hands on her shoulders, gave her a squeeze. “The world is your oyster, Katie. Nothing would surprise me.”
“We could give ourselves a cool funky name.Kat-rick, it’s a bit like hat trick, no? Three in a row. That could be us.” She laughed. “You’d have to join then, though.”
“Unlikely.” I smiled down at her. “Anyway, Rick would want something abstract. Indigo Trout or some crap like that. You know what he’s like. Any excuse for a hip rebrand.”
“I like Kat-rick.”
“So do I,” I said, and tipped her face up to mine.
“Smooching in the office is a no-no, Mr Brooks, very unprofessional.” Her eyes mocked, but her lips were open.
I leaned in further, until I could feel her breath, and she blushed.
“Carl, seriously. What?”
“It’s a celebration,” I said, and kissed her.
I kissed her like we weren’t at work, like it was just us, alone, like it had become so natural to do. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close, and moaned into my mouth as I moaned into hers, and it was perfect, so perfect.
But it was a mistake.
A cough from the doorway doused us with cold water, and my eyes crashed into the stare of Evan Michaels, Finance Director.
“I apologise for the… interruption,” he said, and there was a barb in it. “I was hoping for a word, Carl, about next month’s projections.”
I nodded, gestured to our meeting room. “Of course. Be my guest.”
I flashed Katie a smile as I went, mouthedit’s okin response to her horror.
But the clock was ticking.
It seemed my brutal honesty would likely get another outing after all.
It came even sooner than I expected. The buffet was in full swing when David’s hand slapped on my shoulder, and his expression was friendly but serious.
“We need to talk.”
I nodded. “Yes. We do.”
Katie’s eyes followed us as we left the training suite, and this time it was for another meeting area, far away from inquisitive ears. I closed the door behind us, and David remained standing. I did, too.
“I know I don’t need to ask you for honesty, Carl.”
“No,” I said. “You don’t.”
