This Man (This Man 1)

‘Yes, sweetie. Ava and I were just discussing the new rooms. She has some fabulous ideas. ’ She rubs his shoulder.

I want to prize her fake nails off of her fingers. The bloody lying bitch! He’s not going to fall for that, surely? The satisfied smile he gives her, before turning it on me, tells me he has. The blind twat!

‘She’s good. ’ he says proudly. He’s making me feel like a fucking kid.

‘Yes, very talented. ’ Sarah purrs, smiling slyly at me. ‘I’ll leave you to it. ’ She leans up and kisses his cheek. I burn with rage. ‘Ava, it was lovely to see you again. ’

I muster up the decency to smile at the beast. ‘And you, Sarah. ’

I hope she detects the insincerity in my tone; I’ve never been more insincere in my life. She leaves the room and me alone with Jesse. Why did I come here, and what role does that woman play in Jesse’s life? She’s been here every time I have. And she was at the Lusso launch too. Will I ever escape the wily cow? She wants me gone, and there is only one reason she would want that…she wants Jesse. The thought of him being with anyone else makes my heart constrict in pain, makes me want to hurt someone. I’ve never been the jealous type, nor clingy or needy. But I can feel all of these new feelings racing to the surface, swamping my entire being. I’m not comfortable with it. I’m in big trouble here – big, fucking, shitting trouble. She said Jesse isn’t the sort of man you build your dreams on. I think I already know that.

‘Let’s have a look then, lady. ’ He slides down the wall next to me, reaching over for the pad. ‘Wow! I love that bed. ’

‘So do I. ’ I admit sullenly. The enthusiasm for my idea has been sucked right out of me.

‘What’s all this?’ He points to the canopy on the bed.

‘It’s a lattice design. All the wooden beams overlap to form a grind like affect. ’

‘So you can hang things from them?’ He looks at me inquisitively.

‘Yes, like material, or lights, maybe. ’ I shrug.

His mouth forms an O as he grasps my concept. ‘What colours did you have in mind?’

‘Black and gold,’

‘I love it,’ He brushes his hand over the drawing. ‘When can we start?’

Author: Jodi Ellen Malpas

Huh? ‘It’s only a draft. I have to do some mood boards, scale drawings, lighting plans, that sort of thing. ’ I don’t know if I’ll be doing any of those things. I’ve fallen into a deep state of depression after being ejected from his office and warned off by Sarah. I’ve got to seriously re-think what I’m doing here. ‘Will you take me home?’

His head shoots up, his green eyes laced with concern. ‘Are you okay?’

I push my numb backside up from the floor, using every ounce of strength I have to plaster a smile – as fake as Sarah’s – onto my face. ‘I’m fine. I’ve got some work stuff to sort out for tomorrow. ’ I smooth my dress down.

‘I thought you didn’t work on weekends?’

‘It’s only work-ish. ’

‘-ish?’ He looks up at me with a small smile. I could cry.

‘Yes, ish,’ I shrug.

Take me home so I can think without you there to distract me with your beautiful face and body.

‘Okay,’ He gets up from the floor with ease and hands me back the pad. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ he presses.

I maintain my fake smile. ‘I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?’ I fight my hand back to my side when it reaches up to grab a piece of hair.

He eyes me suspiciously. ‘Come on then. ’ He takes my bag and fills my empty hand with his.

‘The tray,’

‘Pete will get it. ’ He dismisses my concern and leads me out of the room, back downstairs.

I want to release my hand from his, but I don’t want to give him any reason to suspect I’m anything other than fine. It’s hard, especially when I’m the furthest away from fine that I could possibly be. The more I touch him, the more attached to him I’m becoming.