“It doesn’t say that he has a girlfriend.” Delia’s lips turn down in to a frown. “But I suppose if there was a woman moving in with him, it might just be a private thing. Shame because he is hot. How are you going to live next door to a sex god without losing your mind? Honestly, he’s making me feel things just looking at him.”
The laugh I let out this time is booming and real. Even talking about Theo and thinking about him makes everything that has happened with Mr. Jones all day long not seem quite so bad. Hey, if this guy can give me a good distraction, then I am all for it. And it’s made me think that maybe I should try and find time for dating after all. It’s something that I haven’t even thought about for years, so it’s thrilling and exciting.
“Esme,” Mr. Jones barks, bringing me back to Earth with a thump. Of course, I’m never going to have time to meet someone with him breathing down my neck. “Get back to work now, you have fucked up this invoice…”
“It’s my lunch break, I don’t even do invoices,” I say… but only in a whisper and only to Delia. I don’t have the guts to say it at Mr. Jones’ face because I have no idea where that will lead me. Nowhere good, that’s for sure. No one stands up to him for that exact reason. We’re all under his power. “See you later, Delia.”
Chapter 2 – Theo
“Natasha, I don’t know what I would have done without you.” I pull my sister in for a hug. “Thank you so much for everything that you have done. Moving house is a massive bitch, but somehow you made it fun.”
Natasha doesn’t take the praise too well, but that’s just the way she is. She always puts others before herself without even thinking about it. It won’t have even crossed her mind that she took one of her vacation days from work today just to help me out, that will just come natural to her. I honestly wouldn’t have been able to handle the explosive end of my ill-fated marriage had it not been for her. Even if Jane was the one in the wrong and it was her adultery that ended our relationship, she still had a way of making me feel like it was all my fault.
Thankfully, Natasha always ensures that I have my head screwed on straight, she brings me back to Earth whether I like it or not. If it wasn’t for her constant rounds of kindness, I don’t know where I would be now.
“I still think that it’s dangerous living this close to Jane,” Natasha declares as she pulls back. “Even a city over. That woman finds it hard to leave you alone, you know that much, but I understand why. I know that you didn’t want to change the fire station that you were working for, even if any other place would have taken you on…”
“I like my guys,” I declare with a shrug. “I like the women I work with too. I like it here. Jane has already taken so much from me, I lost my house and everything in the break up last year. I don’t want to lose that too. I don’t think that she will be bothered with me now that the divorce is finally done and she can’t get anything else from me…”
“What about when you move on?” Natasha shoots me a playful wink. “Then she might get involved. She is used to you being on your own. You’ve been single ever since you walked out on her. When that changes…”
“Believe me, I won’t be moving on any time soon,” I reply wryly. I just want to get used to my new house first, my new life without her able to bother me any longer. I’m not in any hurry to find someone else to cause me anymore hassle.”
“Not every woman is the same. Don’t judge us all on her.” Natasha pulls back to take a look at the building. “And I think that you might well have landed on your feet anyway. The house might not be as big as the last one you had, but you’ll feel like you have more space because she isn’t in the way. This will be good for you. You moved because Jane broke you and you always felt too close to her. This is supposed to be a fresh start. You have been single for over a year. Divorced for a few months after all of the legal dramas she caused, now is the time to start getting your life back. In whatever way that means… and if that means moving on then you should go with it…”