Office Affairs

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Every few months, Alastair organised an evening out for the whole office. It could be anything from a sophisticated meal in a high-end restaurant to a messy night at a local club.

He claimed this was all in aid of office bonding, forcing us to socialise outside work and chat about things that weren't related to the business. While nice in theory, I'd always had my suspicions that there was another reason at play: for one night, Alastair didn't want to be a boss—he wanted to be one of us.

I understood that, of course. He obviously had his own circle of friends—who he rarely spoke about—but they were very different to those of us he employed in his office. We represented a sense of normality for him, where there were no expectations.

Tonight, Alastair had gone all out. These evenings were always funded by him—everything from food, to entrance fees, to drinks—and this was particularly generous: a meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant, followed by a night in one of London's hottest up-and-coming bars.

Despite understanding the need for office bonding, I wasn't totally thrilled at the idea of spending an evening socialising with the likes of Amelia and her fellow Sales cronies. After all, it wasn't like they only ever spoke about work affairs in the office; if anything, that formed the minority of their conversations. Most of their topics revolved around people and gossip. Did I want to endure that during a night that was supposed to be about relaxing?

Nah, not really.

Never one to miss an opportunity to look out for myself, I attempted to strategically influence the seating plan by engaging in conversation with the IT guys while we waited outside for everyone to arrive.

Chris, affectionately known as Irish Chris from a time when there had been multiple people in the office sharing his name, looked especially dashing tonight in a navy shirt and beige chinos. I'd told Felipe I couldn't go there because Amelia also liked him, but seeing him in something other than jeans and a t-shirt made me reconsider that.

"Careful you don't break your neck in those things," Irish Chris said, his eyes flickering down to my feet.

"Thanks for your concern, but I've got it under control." I playfully stabbed at his ankle with the heel of my stiletto.

Even though I was tall enough not to need the extra height, I loved the feeling of wearing big heels. Something about them made me feel much sexier, whether it was the way they extended my legs, or purely the beauty of the shoe's design.

"You say that now," Chris said, "but when you've got a few drinks down you..." He bumped his hip against mine, so naturally I grabbed onto his sturdy bicep so that I didn't, you know, break my neck. He was concerned about that after all...

I let my thumb smooth over the tight muscle before dropping my hand to my side again. "Where's Ellen?"

Their female colleague was nowhere to be seen, leaving just Chris and Dan to represent the IT department.

"She couldn't come," Chris said. "Family commitments or something. Poor effort, if you ask me."

My plan paid off. As we entered the restaurant and took our places around the table, I found myself opposite Irish Chris and next to Dan, with the design girls on my other side. Unfortunately, my satisfaction didn't last long. I picked up the menu and realised I barely knew any of the dishes on there.

Apparently, Chris felt the same way.

"Hey, Alastair," he called to the other end of the table. "Do they have English translations of the menu?"