Down London Road (On Dublin Street 2)

‘I was about to sign the letter you were sending out to this client, Joanne, when I discovered two errors.’ His face was red with frustration as he pulled the paper back to shove two fingers in my face. ‘Two.’

I blanched. Damn my lack of sleep. ‘Sorry, Mr Meikle, I’ll fix that right away.’

He harrumphed and slapped the letter on my desk. ‘It had better be perfect. Lucy can always manage it, for goodness’ sake.’ He strode back to his office and then snapped around, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. ‘I thought I had two appointments this afternoon, Joanne?’

I had worked for Mr Meikle for almost two years now, so it was long past the appropriate time to correct him on my name. He’d called me Joanne instead of Johanna since the beginning, despite the fact that he was the one who handed me my wage slip every month. The wage slip that clearly said ‘Miss Johanna Walker’ on it. Numpty.

‘Yes, sir.’ In fact one of his appointments was with Malcolm. ‘You have Mr Hendry in fifteen minutes and a four o’clock appointment with Mrs Drummond.’

Without another word he slammed back inside his office. I stared at his door and then at the letter he’d slapped on my desk. Turning it over, I noted he’d circled the two errors in red pen. I’d missed the apostrophe in ‘Meikle & Young’s’ and had missed the colon after ‘telephone number’. ‘Pedantic twit,’ I muttered, pushing my chair back to the desk. It took me only seconds to find the file on the computer, fix the errors and print the corrected version off. I left it with him without a word and closed his office door behind me.

The firm rented its space on the first floor of one of the old Georgian buildings on Melville Street. The street was quintessential Edinburgh – picture-perfect period properties with their black wrought-iron fencing and shiny big doors. Mr Young’s office and reception area were in the front of the converted flat, and two other accountants’ offices were across the hall from Mr Meikle’s. Meikle’s reception area had a large window that looked down over the street. So did his office. It was a pity his personality didn’t match the refined elegance of the firm’s residence.

When Malcolm walked in, I hurriedly clicked the solitaire game off my screen so he couldn’t see I was mucking around, and I beamed at him, pleased to see him. This was where I’d met him.

After breaking up with Steven, I’d dated a few duds. Then several months later, Malcolm had walked into Meikle’s office for a consultation. While he waited for Meikle to call him in to his office for his appointment Malcolm charmed the pants off me with his self-deprecating humour and great smile. He’d asked for my number, and the rest, as they say, was history.

‘Hi, baby.’ Malcolm grinned at me, and I watched him with pleasure as he approached my desk. He wore another beautiful grey suit from Savile Row, his face cleanly shaven, his skin tanned even in winter. Such a distinguished, classy man, and he’s mine, I thought appreciatively.

And he came bearing gifts.

He held out a coffee cup and a brown bag. ‘Latte with chocolate sprinkles and a white chocolate chip cookie.’ His warm lips brushed mine slowly, gently, seductively. I was disappointed when he pulled back, but he’d brought my favourite coffee and cookie, so I wasn’t complaining. In fact, my insides melted. ‘Thought you might need the pick-me-up. You work too hard.’

‘Thank you.’ I bestowed my most grateful smile on him. ‘I really needed this.’

‘Thank me later.’ He winked at me and I made a face, unable to stop the laughter bubbling up at his boyish grin.

Shaking my head, I waved him towards the seats. ‘I better let Mr Meikle know you’re here.’

A few seconds later, Meikle came out to greet Malcolm and they disappeared inside his office. I sat back with a contented sigh to enjoy my latte and cookie.

I smiled down at the cup and slid a glance towards the office door.

You’ve done well for yourself this time, Jo.

Don’t mess it up.

Feeling a little more awake now, I stared at the computer in boredom. I’d done everything that needed to be done today. I glanced at the filing system. It hadn’t been looked at in a while and it always needed reorganizing. I grabbed my coffee and took it over to the filing cabinets, where I slowly began to work my way through the system. Sure enough, there were misfiles. Mine or Lucy’s? Probably both.

When Malcolm appeared twenty minutes later, he stepped out of the office alone.

His eyes warmed as they travelled over the length of me. I was wearing a black pencil skirt with a high waist and a pale pink silk blouse tucked into it. I wore black kitten heels so as not to tower over Mr Meikle. Malcolm sauntered over to me and I turned into him, not caring how unprofessional it was to let him kiss me. My lips tingled as he pulled back, his eyes drowsy with heat now. ‘We still on for shopping tomorrow?’

‘Of course.’

‘How about Saturday? Are you free? Becca wants to take us out to dinner as a thank-you to me for the gallery show and to you for getting Cam the job at the bar.’

I had to stop myself from tensing against him. ‘What? The four of us?’

Malcolm nodded, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. ‘I could pick you up this time?’

I don’t think so. My throat almost closed up at the thought. Malcolm had never been to the flat. He’d never met Cole. And for now it would stay that way. ‘I can meet you there,’ I insisted.

He trailed his fingers down the thin fabric of my sleeve, as his lips curled in amusement. ‘I have to meet your family sometime, Jo.’