This Man (This Man 1)

‘You know him?’ she asks incredulously.

‘Sam, he was at The Manor. He’s a friend of Jesse’s. ’

‘Fucking hell! Jesse’s a member of the hot gang. ’ She giggles, her eyes widening with excitement. ‘Why have I never heard of this place?’ she asks. ‘I’m coming to your next site visit. ’ she’s says determinedly, and I know she’s not joking. ‘Hey, he’s coming over. Introduce me, please!’

I shake my head at her. It’s one more first date for her to get her teeth into. Wait…I suddenly panic. Did he see me with Matt? Hang on…why am I worried about that?

‘Hi, Ava, how are you?’ Sam reaches the table, still smiling and flashing that dimple. He really is very cute, with his unkempt hair and twinkling eyes. He’s in jeans and a t-shirt again. Casual must be his thing.

‘I’m good, Sam, you?’ I finish my wine off. I could do with another, but Patrick won’t appreciate me returning to the office half pissed. ‘Been here long?’ I ask casually.

‘No, just got here. How’s Jesse?’ he enquires on a grin.

Why would he think I know that? Has Jesse told him? I feel my face blush, even though I’ve reached the swift conclusion that he’s playing with me. He’s Jesse’s mate, he should know how he is. I shrug, because I really don’t know what to say. And, in actual fact, I have no idea how Jesse is because I didn’t turn up for our appointment. When I left him yesterday, he was firing on all sexual cylinders, and I was panting like a desperate, wanton loser. Now, I expect, he’s slightly irate that I’ve cancelled our meeting. Ha! What’s he going to do? Sack me? He probably should. It will save me all of this brain ache and turmoil. I feel a sharp crack on my shin and look up to see Kate scowling at me.

‘Oh, Sam, this is Kate. Kate, meet Sam. ’ I wave my hand between the two of them, watching as Kate turns all angelic, putting her hand out to Sam, who grins before clasping it.

‘Nice to meet you, Kate. ’ he says smoothly, maintaining his grin and running his free hand through his mousey waves.

‘You too. ’ She arches a brow.

She’s a brazen hussy! She’s flirting with him. She giggles as Sam compliments her on her wild, red hair, their hands still linked. My phone declares a text. To escape the blatant flirting exchange going on in front of me, I pick it up and open the message with one eye closed.

There better be a GOOD fucking reason for you standing me up. Someone had better be dying. I’m going out of my fucking mind, lady. NO KISS

Ah, he’s worried! My heart does an unexpected skip of approval, but then I snap myself out of my pathetic bubble of contentment, reminding myself that I’m not answerable to him. He certainly likes compliance. Besides, I didn’t stand him up; I delayed a business meeting. My poor bloody brain feels like it could explode. What’s happening to me? I put my phone on the table

and look up to see Kate performing the best flirting act I’ve ever witnessed. She’s such a tart, and their hands are still clasped.

She drags her attention away from Sam to look at me. ‘Jesse?’ she asks unashamedly. I kick her under the table, feeling Sam’s eyes on me. I’ll kill her.

‘Jesse?’ Sam asks. ‘He just called. He’ll be here in a minute. ’

What?

Kate starts laughing like a hyena, earning her another boot under the table. Did Sam tell him I was here?

‘I’d better be off,’ I go to stand. ‘Kate,’ I smile sweetly as she gets her laughter under control. ‘Haven’t you got a two thirty appointment?’

‘Nope. ’ She smiles back, trumping my sweetness level. She’s a pain in the fucking arse.

I narrow my eyes on her, picking up my bag and phone. ‘Well, I’ll see you later then. It was nice to see you again, Sam. ’

He releases Kate’s hand and kisses me on the cheek. ‘Yeah, and you, Ava. Keep it real. ’

I turn to leave, but swing back around, all straight faced and cool. ‘Oh, Kate. Dan’s back next week. ’ I toss it into the air like a grenade and wait for the explosion. It takes just a nanosecond for her jaw to drop, like a huge lump of lead, to the table.

Ha! I fling her a don’t-mess-with-me look and turn on my heels with immense satisfaction. My smugness is short lived, though. Jesse is stood behind me, glaring at me like a rabid dog. I shrink on the spot

‘Who’s dead?’ he barks.

He’s really mad. ‘I was at work. ’ I defend myself nervously.

He scowls at me, good and proper. ‘And that renders you incapable of answering your phone, does it?’ His voice is dripping with displeasure.

Oh yes, me not answering his calls might be a contributing factor to his annoyance. I turn and find Kate and Sam silently observing our little altercation. Kate starts looking anywhere and everywhere but our direction, and Sam struggles to regain control of his raised eyebrows, doing a really rubbish job of looking uninterested. I sigh, turning back to Jesse, who still looks like he’s about to hit something.

‘I have to get back to work. ’ I say, sidestepping him and leaving the bar. This is beyond an over-reaction and dangerously in the realms of controlling and manipulating. Neither of which I want.