Read Just One Night. Part 3 for Free Online Page B

outside.” She grabs the door and throws it open, catching it before it swings too far. A lump of frizz falls into her face and she attempts to blow it away. She fails. I now have spittle on my door frame.
    “Right. Cheerio.” I ignore the rest of her exit in favor of staring at swimming numbers.
    She takes the hint and disappears, but she doesn’t leave me alone for long. As the clock on my desk rings gently that it’s half-past the hour, a private message window pops up on my desktop.
    “I did leave some details off my CV.”
    My hands rise up to rub my face. I’m afraid I’m seeing imaginary things; but no, her message is still there. What are we doing now? Confessions? Have I somehow become an agony aunt for the office? I scrub and scrub at my face, running my fingers through my hair when I’m finished. It’s possible I need a vacation. If I thought I could take one without Ingrid showing up to claim her spot next to me, I’d leave right now. Right this very second. Barbados, anyone?
    Instead, I lower my fingers to the keyboard and type out my response.
    “I’m certain I don’t need to know.”
    Curiosity keeps my eyes glued to the screen. I am not disappointed when she replies swiftly.
    “I’m certain you do want to know.”
    Edward would sweep his hand across the desk and throw everything to the floor. He’d grab the brass and crystal clock and throw it against the wall making a terrific disaster that everyone would talk about for months. Today, I wish I could be Edward. But I am not. I am me.
    “Come speak to me at your earliest convenience.”
    Turning my chair to face the door, I sit back and fold my hands in my lap. When I realize this makes me appear too kind, I rest them on the arms of my chair. There. That will strike fear into her heart. I am a lion and I will bite your frizzy head off if you displease me. Roar, indeed.
    The pink suit is back. “Can I come in?”
    “I don’t know. Can you?” Grammar lessons are lost on her. I know this, and yet I persist.
    She frowns in confusion but opens the door anyway. “I think so.”
    I look purposefully at the chair in front of me and she takes the hint. I say nothing as she settles herself in and then stares at me.
    If this is to be a battle of wills, I shall win. She knows this and I know this. The silence in the room gathers, waiting to see who will bend first.
    “I have a confession to make,” she says. She lets out a stream of air like a balloon being deflated. Her helmet of red frizz trembles a bit at the ends.
    “So I gathered.”
    “I left some skills off my CV.”
    My eyebrow goes up. If she offers me sexual favors I shall send her packing. I’m using all my defenses against Ingrid; I cannot be expected to fight them all. I am a man, after all is said and done.
    “Do tell,” I say dryly.
    “I’m good with computers.”
    I sigh heavily. She’s so dull-witted I’m almost convinced she’s sucking the intelligence right out of my brain, just by sitting across from me. Would an aluminum hat protect me from the effects? I’m almost tempted to fashion one from odds and ends in the kitchenette. I shall enlist the help of the coffee pot.
    “Do you know what I mean?” she asks.
    “I suppose it means you know how to turn one on, click the mouse, enter data, print things …” I shake my head, hoping she’ll give me more to work with. “I really do have things to do today, Miss Meechum. Surely you do as well.”
    “I want to help you.” She appears desperate.
    “You have helped me. You printed out the reports I asked for, you compiled them.” I realize then that she’s fearing for her job. “You’ve nothing to worry about at the moment. I’m not going to make you redundant.”
    She frowns. “What does that mean?”
    “It means I won’t be terminating your employment. Not today.”
    “Oh. Well, I wasn’t really worried about that.”
    My chin moves back towards my neck. She’s surprised me, which isn’t easy to do.