“She’s very serious,” Dad stepped in. “Too serious for much of the time. I told her she could only take the work experience here this summer if she assured me she’d head to university afterwards.”
“Good call,” Mr Lindon said. “That’s truly the case, is it, Faith? You’ll be attending university in September for a decent degree effort?”
I hated the thought, but nodded anyway. “Yeah, I will. Warwick. Accountancy.”
He offered a simple nod. “Good. I’m pleased to hear it.” His eyes burned mine hard, and in that moment I was right back in the garden, staring on while his hand gripped Penny’s throat. He cleared his throat and dropped his stare. “You’ll be learning the most from Erica,” he said. “You’ll be shadowing her.”
My belly dropped again, but I forced a nod. “Thank you, sir,” I told him. “I look forward to it.”
Dad’s smile was bright as he reached over the desk for a handshake from his boss. His friend and boss. “Really, thanks a lot, Miles,” he said. “She’ll be grateful for the experience.”
I hovered like a clumsy teenager as my dad retreated from there, my gaze flitting from Erica to Mr Lindon and back again while my new boss still perused my file.
Already this initial encounter was nothing like I’d imagined. Nothing I’d been dreaming of for months. It was nothing like the sizzling tension I’d hoped would be spitting and bubbling from the moment I stepped over his threshold. It was nothing like the hungry stare I’d been hoping for as he’d realised I was a young girl zooming quickly into adulthood. The kind of adulthood he wanted a piece of.
“You can introduce Miss Martin to the ropes of auctioneering,” he said to Erica, and she nodded.
“I’ll introduce Miss Martin to the fundamental building blocks of office life around here first and foremost,” she replied, and there was a chill in her smile.
“I’m looking forward to learning,” I offered, but it was all to Mr Lindon, and I felt a fresh round of goofy as Erica pointed me towards the office doorway.
My eyes slammed into my crush’s once more before I retreated, and it was heavy. The crash of our stare was a whole ocean of unspoken.
We were in the garden, both of us reeling. Both of us guilty. Both of us hungry and filthy and dirty for more.
We were in the tension of this office environment, me feeling like a blustery little girl out of her depth, and a whole new woman all at once.
We were in my bedroom when I was seven years old, stroking Miss Tiddles, the cat he’d given me, and reading the Owl and the Pussycat while I fell asleep.
We were riveted. Burning bright. Frozen cold.
We were a mess.
“Let’s start with the basics,” Erica said, and her hand landed on my arm. Her fingers squeezed tight. “I’m sure you have a brain plenty big enough to handle the office building blocks in a heartbeat.”
I managed a nod. A nod and a shuffle. Gracing just one more goofy smile back over my shoulder in his direction before she guided me on out of there and closed the door behind us.
I was coasting in the aftermath, following her past photocopiers and printers with my heart still pounding, feeling every bit the dreaming Faith Martin who’d finally come face to face with her love icon all over again. Until my new office manager spoke. Until she pulled up sharp in a room that looked like some kind of monstrous filing zone and tugged the door closed tight behind us.
“Let’s get the basics clear,” she told me, and her voice sounded like a cat’s hiss. “You’re here to tick the boxes and learn the basics. Nothing more. Nothing more glamorous than any other simple office girl craving a piece of Miles Lindon, no matter who your dad might be.”
“Sorry –” I began, but she handed me a pile of paperwork with a thump.
“You think this is bargain beater,” she said. “But believe me, it’s not. It’s nothing of the sort. If you’re lucky, you’ll see a few auctions. If you’re lucky, you’ll see Miles get to slam his hammer down. That’s it. All that you’ve got on the table.”
“But I want to learn…” I started. “I want to learn to be an auctioneer…”
“Then you’d better get started with the A’s,” she snapped, and pointed at the filing cabinets.
I was still staring open-mouthed as she stepped on out of there. Still, what choice did I have? I was here for the journey.
I started putting the papers in alphabetical order and hoped for the best.Chapter TwoMilesI already knew what was coming. Her bitter slit of a mouth, lips pressed tight.
Erica stormed into my office, her inner ice queen on full display, pitted eyebrows sharp enough to slice.
“You could learn to knock like everyone else,” I snapped.