Beneath This Man (This Man 2)

‘Are you okay?’ His question throws me. Clearly I don’t sound okay.

‘Yes, fine, thank you.’

‘Good. So, you broke your own rule?’

My heart skips a few beats. ‘Pardon?’ I squeeze the word through my sudden nervous breathing.

‘Jesse Ward. He’s a client, yes?’

I don’t know what to say. No, he wasn’t a client, not when I was working on Lusso, but I’m not stupid enough to point that out. Mikael knows I’m supposed to be working for Jesse. Supposed to be. I haven’t been back to The Manor yet, and Jesse hasn’t pushed it. ‘Yes.’ It’s the only word I can think of.

‘How long you have been seeing him?’

My blood runs cold as I search my brain for the right thing to say. ‘Urhhh, a month-ish.’ I stammer down the phone. Why is he asking this?

‘Hmmm. That’s very interesting.’ he replies.

My blood runs even colder. Why would that be very interesting? I’m still staring into the green eyes of the man I would die for, and I’ve got another man on the end of the phone sounding like he’s got something to tell me – something that’s going to send me crashing and burning from Central Jesse Cloud Nine, not that I’m on it at this particular point in time.

‘Why would it be?’ I ask. I sound terribly nervous, which is fine because I am. What does he know?

‘We will discuss that when we meet.’

‘Okay.’ I hang up. That was unbelievably rude, but I don’t know what else to do or say. Jesse is crowding my desk, looking like he might rip my head off, but for what? Bloody hell, in the space of five minutes, we’ve gone from cavorting on the pavement to a Mexican stand-off.

We stare at each other for a while and I flick my gaze over to Tom and Victoria, who seem to have settled in for the show. To be fair, it is pink elephant room territory. He’s not to be ignored, and even if their heads were down, I know their full attention would still be on the brooding man looming over my desk, emanating hostility. Their brazenness could be classed as brave.

I settle my eyes back on Jesse, but I’m reluctant to make the first move for fear of it all blowing up and Patrick coming to investigate the commotion. I can’t sit here all day looking at him, though. ‘I’m at work.’ I say quietly and tightly. I’ve no faith in my feigned stanchness. He looks fit to burst with rage.

‘Who was that?’ He nods at my phone.

‘You already know the answer to that question.’ I say, placing my phone on my desk. Was his performance in front of Mikael anything to do with this? Mikael knows something and Jesse knows he does. That much is obvious.

‘You won’t see him again.’ he grinds the words out, clearly and slowly.

Okay, now I’m very worried. ‘Why?’ I don’t bother pointing out that Mikael is a client. He knows that and judging by the look on his face, he doesn’t care.

‘You just won’t. It’s not a request, Ava. You won’t defy me on this.’ He starts chewing that f**king lip, still brooding, still shaking with anger.

I can’t do this here – not in the middle of my office. I also can’t withdraw from the Life contract. I’m totally f**ked – completely f**king screwed. I need a drink, more now than ever. ‘I’ll see you at Lusso.’ I say quietly.

‘Yes, you will.’ He turns and stalks out.

I flop back in my chair and release a long rush of breath that I hadn’t realised I was holding. Life with Jesse is a frigging roller coaster and now he’s stropped off, I’m going to be worried about him for the rest of the afternoon. I’m bursting with uncertainties, but I know one thing for certain. I’m not going back to Lusso tonight. I need time, clear thinking space to sort myself out before I’m landed with more shit. He answers a question, then another pops up.

‘Gosh, that man can do a sexy brood,’ Tom chirps. ‘Been back to The Manor lately, darling?’ He lowers his glasses, and I know immediately that Victoria isn’t as stupid as we all think she is. Victoria starts giggling for the first time in two days.

I want to rant at her and accuse her of prissiness, and then tell Tom to get a personal shopper fast, but that would be childish, and I don’t know if I can trust myself to stop there. I feel fit to burst with frustration and stress, so whoever is unlucky enough to tip me over the edge will be copping it in a big way. Luckily for Tom and Victoria, Patrick saves their bacon before I let loose on them.

‘Flower,’ he says as he perches on the corner of my desk. It creaks its customary protest, I wince my customary wince and Patrick performs his customary ignorance. ‘Now, Mikael Van Der Haus has been in touch and insisted on a research trip to Sweden.’

Oh f**k. I didn’t see that coming.

After being awarded the design contract at Lusso, Mikael’s partner had insisted on genuine Italian everything, so I was sent to Italy on a research and sourcing trip. Mikael has stressed his desire for sustainable materials on Life, but I didn’t anticipate this.

The complexity of this proposal hits me hard in the stomach. The fact that the trip will be in aid of Mikael’s project will probably send Jesse to the grave, and if I go by what has just transpired, I will probably be in that grave with him.

‘Is it really necessary?’ I ask. Please say no, please say no.

‘Absolutely, Mikael insisted on it. I’ll look at flights.’ He creaks his way back up from my desk and takes himself back to his office.

Mikael insisted? I’m in trouble here. There is not a chance in hell that I’ll get to Sweden, not with Jesse to stop me, and then where will that leave me? I know where…job-less, that’s where. I break out in a sweat.