Read Guess Who I Pulled Last Night? for Free Online Page A

all, actually I think my moon must be rising
because I feel that I look particularly good today.”
    Charlotte stared at Gwen in disbelief. Her lipstick was way
above her top lip, all over her teeth, and her bedraggled old hairpiece wasn’t
on straight.
    “Yes, quite.  Laura, do you think that you could take
these letters down to Paul for me please?” Charlotte picked up a pile of
letters from her tray and held them out to Laura, the angry teenage office
junior.
    “Right,” she mumbled, taking them from Charlotte’s hand.
    “Oh and Laura, if you see Rob can you ask him to look at the
heater in reception.”
    “Why would I see Rob?” she demanded.  Rob was the
handyman and Laura had a definite soft spot for him.
    “Because that’s where you always go when I ask you to do
something.  I have eyes everywhere Laura, remember that.” Charlotte winked
at the frowning Laura.
     
    Charlotte had been working for about half an hour, on a
business case for a new computer system, when her internal line started
buzzing; it was Debbie.
    “Yes, Debbie.”
    “Charlotte, I rang Mr Devine and he was wondering whether he
could visit this afternoon.  He will be in the area, say about 2 p.m.?”
    “Err, I think that should be okay.  Is Paul available
then?”
    “Yes, I’ve already checked.”
    “Okay, oh and Debbie could you check whether he’s coming
alone… you know… so I can organise coffee.”
    “Sure no problem, thanks Charlotte.” Debbie's line clicked
off.
    Charlotte suddenly felt sick again, what if he brought Grant
with him?  She realised that she had to talk to Paul.
     
    “You don’t really think that Grant would come here, do you?”
Paul asked, running a hand through his mop of blond curls. "If he does I
will refuse to see him, however, unprofessional it may seem.  Okay, maybe not,
but I’ll make sure that you don’t have to see him.”
    Charlotte smiled at him warmly; he had been an excellent
friend apart from being a decent boss, supporting her as much as Kerry and Bets
when she and Grant had split up.  He was a good man all round.  At
thirty-six, he was one of the youngest and most respected businessmen in the
area, mainly because he was honest and not afraid of hard work.  His big
smile, happy nature and unruly hair, forever in his brown eyes, made him an
attractive man, and a good catch for anyone.  The only bad thing about
Paul was he didn’t know how to dress.  It was down to Charlotte that he
wore Hugo Boss and Henry Lloyd rather than nylon trousers, and a home knitted
pullover.
    “You are kind Paul, but you’re right; we can’t lose business
over this.  Anyway, we don’t know how he knows Grant.  Maybe he went
to him first for the insurance, and Grant couldn’t help so he recommended us.”
    “Maybe, we’ll see what happens, but I’ll be there. 
Actually, it will be a good opportunity for you to get your hand in for when
you get your promotion.”
    “Yes, it’s been a long time since I did any
quotations.  It should be a good experience.”
     
    At 13:55 precisely Debbie’s number flashed on Charlotte’s
telephone.
    “Charlotte, Mr Devine is here.  He’s alone by the way.”
Debbie announced.
    “Sorry?” Charlotte questioned.
    “You know, you wanted to know because of coffee.  His
secretary wasn’t sure when I booked the appointment.” Debbie explained.
    “Oh thanks Debbie, could you sort the coffee for in Paul’s
office, and show Mr Devine down in about five minutes.”   Charlotte
replaced the receiver and let out a huge sigh of relief.  Quickly, she
reassessed her make up in her mirror, drew a brush through her hair, and then
one last final detail, and swapped the square-cut diamond ring (a present to
herself) from her right hand over to the third finger on her left hand. 
She was taking no risks; Grant may be a mere acquaintance of Mr Devine’s, but
if he wasn’t then the report back would be that she was engaged.  Finally
ready she strode across