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“That’s the first time he broke loose, though.” Meredith shrugged apologetically at me, an embarrassed smile on her face.
“You’re always such a gentleman, aren’t you, Harv?” Kat made kissing noises as she scratched the animal’s neck. I washalf tempted to tell her I didn’t like dogs and thought cats were the superior animals, but didn’t want to get on her wrong side so early in our working relationship.
Mentioning that she can scratch you whenever she wants probably doesn’t help the relationship-building either.
Instead of shaking her hand that had some slobber on it, I waved and smiled. “Sorry, I’ve got to go, my team is waiting. See you next week.”
***
On the way back to our headquarters, I wondered how on earth I was supposed to stay civil around Kat. She had the potential to draw out the tiger, to turn me into a feral beast whose only aim was to rut her into oblivion. On top of everything I kept quiet, I would have to be extra careful not to let anything slip to Abbie.
If she found out how attractive my account manager was, she would flip…yet again. It happened more than I liked to admit. Nobody saw it because of the fur, but the bruises on my forearms had become permanent. It wasn’t like I couldn’t take it, I was a big boy, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed it.
After a way too brief honeymoon period, things between us had only gone downhill. It started with verbal attacks, then she’d begun to raise her hand at me.
At first I’d laughed it off. It hadn’t hurt me so I didn’t see why it mattered. But soon the frequency increased, and the days when she didn’t hit me had become few and far in between.
There were a thousand things about me that pissed her off—some things were all right one day but wrong the next, and others made her lose control every single time.
Yet she didn’t want to split up. I’d suggested it half heartedly after a few months of dating, and she’d come crawling back, had pacified me and things had been better for a week or two until shit had started to hit the proverbial fan again. And again. And again.
I felt too embarrassed to tell anyone, though. Not even Lew, my big brother, knew. He’d probably laugh at me if he ever found out his beefy baby brother let himself get thrashed by his girlfriend. It was true, Abbie was tiny in comparison, but it still hurt. The bruises had no chance to fade away and it felt horrible when she hit the same spots over and over again.
With a deep sigh, I clambered out of my black truck, my pride and joy and most recent acquisition. The company car park was packed already as I made my way to the glass double doors leading into our warehouse.
“Morning, Roy,” my personal assistant Declan called over from his desk. With a groan, he unravelled his limbs from his usual pretzel perch on the chair and came over. “Can I get you a cup of coffee?”
“Yeah, thanks, I’ll be right back.”
He turned towards our kitchen area, chatting animatedly to Neda, our sales manager, who was enjoying her daily smoothie bowl. I’d chosen to have my office in the back, a closed off area with large windows that overlooked the artificial lake behind the building.
One quick sift through my emails and calls later, I joined the two at our dining table.
“Morning, Roy.” Hugh’s voice sounded from somewhere between the shelves, and moments later my head designer appeared. He dropped a stack of papers on his desk before coming over to where we sat.
“Here you go, mate.” Dec bent forward to put a sleek white cup on a saucer in front of me, and flinched when he righted himself, cursing under his breath.
“Cheers. Are you okay, Dec?” I enquired, worried for him.
“Yeah, it’s nothing, just a bit of back pain. The usual. My orthopaedic specialist says I should do more sports but–”
“But? You have a gym membership included in your job benefits.”
“What? I never knew that? Is that the same membership you casually drop in every other conversation? The one we should make use of, because you care for our health?” Neda winked cheekily over at me.
“I am passionate about sports, you know that–”
“You worked as a fitness coach, boss.” Hugh piped in as he settled down in a chair opposite Neda’s.
“He did?” Declan stared at our two team members with huge eyes, voice dripping with mock incredulity.
“Oh, come on. Give me a break, you three.” Huffing, I took a sip of my Americano. “I’m just saying that we all sit a lot, and I want us to stay healthy. But yeah, nothing says preventative health care like Dec cosplaying as a pretzel, or you two considering the drive to and back from the office as your daily workout.” They all earned themselves a stern look, and Dec at least had the decency to look guilty.
“I know you’re right, Roy, and I appreciate your concern. I’ll look into it, okay?”
With a curt nod, I decided to let it go.
“How was the meeting, boss?” Neda asked me over her bowl, a grin stretching her brutally handsome face.
