"Jesus fuck!" Brendan groans as the monotonous alarm reverberates around the room. "Fucking shitty crap." His eyes aren't even open. Monday mornings were never the best for him.
It's 6am. I sit up in bed and turn the main light on.
"Fuck man! What are you doing!" Brendan grunts.
"Grow up. Get up." I grumble, peeling the heavy duvet off my body as I swing my legs around, planting my feet on... something wet.
What the fuck? I think to myself. I look down to see the white rug next to my bed soaked with a brown liquid. My coffee. Looking around, I see my glasses and laptop still in the bed from the night before.
Ah. I say to myself. That makes more sense.
I pick up the cup and set it on the bedside table; retrieving my laptop and glasses I step over the soaked rug and make my way to the kitchen. By this point, Brendan is not far behind me, his brown hair tousled from the bed, his shorts hanging off his slight waist.
"Morning sunshine." I sing, turning on the coffee machine.
"Why were you working late?" He accuses me. I freeze.
"I, uh. I wasn't." I stutter as I put the pod into the coffee machine. Brendan and I almost split about a year ago when I became obsessed with my job. I became an insomniac, working from the bedroom all through the night. He made it very clear that it would not be something he tolerated.
"Why were you whispering on the phone to David at 2am then? Unless there something you're not telling me?" He raises one eyebrow as the coffee starts to pour into the cup. I can't lie to him.
I give in. "Fine. I was working. I had to complete a transaction before I begin mentoring today." I still hadn't told him about my potential promotion. I just know he would lose it.
Brendan chuckles. "Poor soul." He takes my coffee and leaves the kitchen whistling, shaking his arse as he leaves. "We didn't shag this weekend." He calls back to me.
"I know, I didn't -" he leaves before I can finish. Besides, I don't know how to tell him without admitting I was becoming addicted to work again.
Making myself another coffee, I flick through my emails on my phone. As I do so, an email pings to the top of the list, unread. It's from David. The subject line reads:
Today: a little bit about Preston
Hm. Let's see what all the fuss is about. I open the email, which is topped with a photo of Preston. He has startling blue eyes and a furrowed brow, although not enough to make him look irate. His mouse-brown hair is neat, but not slicked back with gel; a small strand falls loosely by the side of his left brow, a slight smile on his lips. Not bad, I think to myself.
He looks well presented and somewhat inquisitive. It makes the idea of mentoring sound a whole lot easier.
"Who is that?" The sudden sound startled me; I turn my head to find Brendan peering over my shoulder.
"My mentee. Now stop being nosey; it's confidential." I say a little too defensively. Three years ago I wouldn't have even given Preston's photo the time of day, but this time I was seemingly drawn to his presence.
"No fucking. Especially if it's Preston instead of me." Brendan shouts out as he leaves the room again.
My brows furrow. "How do you know who he is?" I shout after him.
"The subject line of the email." He shouts from the other room. I didn't even know I was holding my breath until I release it slowly at his words. "He's also Jenna's ex."
What the fuck Jenna?
***
I arrive into the office just before 8am with a takeaway coffee in my hand, flicking through my emails. Not particularly focused on where I'm walking, I hit a wall. Or should I say, a person.
"Fuck me!" I yelp as I spill coffee down my new white blouse. "My blouse!"
"I do apologise, Saskia. I would appreciate it, however, if you could refrain from such profanities in the office." A voice speaks quietly above me.
David.
"I- uh. I'm so so-" he cuts me off.
"Please. Compose yourself and tidy up your appearance. Preston is arriving in forty five minutes." He turns and walks off. Jenna is staring at me.
Great, just great. What more could I need. I scold myself mentally for cocking up so early on a Monday morning.
"Hey. Go wash up - the coffee is more likely to come out if you get it early." Jenna pushes her hand against the small of my back, ushering me to the bathroom.
Once there, I strip off the t-shirt and lie it on the counter. Jenna takes two small pumps of soap and massages it gently into the stain.
"When were you going to tell me that Preston was your ex?" I ask accusingly.
"I wasn't." Jenna's mouth curls into a small smile. "I was waiting for you to figure it out. Plus, it's irrelevant."
I chuckle softly. "Oh, how could I forget." Jenna laughs. "So how long were you together?"
"Hm. Not long. He proposed and I said no." Jenna keeps scrubbing. The comment makes me stand up a little straighter.
"You're kidding. Now I have to mentor him? Oh Jenna. If I knew I wouldn't have said yes. I don't like these kind of situations you kno-" Jenna laughs loudly.
"I'm joking. About two years but we broke it off because I fell in love with someone else." She continues scrubbing for a few more seconds before taking a wet towel to the blouse and holding it under the hand drier. "Honestly. It's no big deal."
I shake my head and stare at my feet. Jenna continues. "I want you to get to know him. I know how unhappy you are with Brendan. I can literally see from your face that you haven't had sex in weeks."
My face blushes slightly. "Is it that obvious?" I mumble.
"No," Jenna responds. "But it's totally obvious now." She bursts into laughter and I can't help but join her. Nothing was too prude for Jenna, and I felt like there was no reason to hide anything from her.
"I do love him, Jen." I speak softly this time. "Like, I do."
Jenna rolls her eyes. "I'm sure. But you'll feel different when he proposes." She hands me the blouse, looking better than it did before I left this morning.
"If he proposes. Thanks Jen." I kiss her on the cheek as I button up the blouse.
***
It hits 8:45am exactly when the phone rings. It's David.
"Morning David. Blouse is fixed." I say in a monotonous voice.
"Good. Preston is here. Can you please come to our office. He will be sharing with you."
Damnit, I thought. I liked having my own office. "No worries, David. I'll be right through."
I stand from my desk and straighten the keyboard and mouse so that it lines up with my screen. I take a swig of my coffee and straighten my skirt; I flatten my hair and pull it in front of my shoulders.
Why the fuck are you nervous, Sas? I scold myself. Maybe because I was attracted to him. Don't be so stupid. You haven't met him yet. Put your fucking pussy away. I shake my thoughts and lock my screen.
I feel like I'm walking to my death on my way to David's office. Everyone is staring at me. Do they know? There is nothing to know, dipshit. Right. Just do your job.
The door is shut; I knock twice, not too hard, not too soft.
"Come in." David says, a smile audible in his voice. I push the door open and see a Male with his back to me. He doesn't turn around. David is smiling at both of us. "Preston, this is Saskia."
Preston turns around, and my god is he beautiful in person. His clear blue eyes fix on mine, and a small smile forms on his lips, his perfectly white teeth shining through. He is wearing fitted navy blue trousers and a tight white shirt that moulded perfectly around his biceps and pecs.
His hair was slightly longer than in the photo, so much so that the waves were more defined and it parted slightly more in the middle. The waves frame his temple, stopping just below his eyebrows. I would love nothing more than to run my hands through his hair.
Christ, Sas. Stop it. He's a colleague. Off bounds.
"Hi," Preston says, standing up and holding out his hand. "I've heard a lot of great things about you. It's good to know I'm learning from the best." His deep voice catches me off guard. I feel a warmth grow throughout my body.
"Preston. It's nice to meet you, finally. I'm looking forward to working with you." I smile. You kept calm. Good job.
His handshake is firm, the perfect amount of pressure. He smiles more fully towards me as our hands touch. I almost don't want to let go.
Fuck sake Saskia. You have Brendan. He's all you need. I snap out of it. Of course. I need to remain professional.
I let go of Preston's hand and turn to David, the smile and blush that I was not aware of leaving my face. "Have you had a chance to review my contract, David?"
David smiles. "Of course, I was just about to ask Jenna to give it to you. She has it on her desk, please grab it on your way out."
"Thank you. I appreciate that." I turn to Preston. "Let me show you your new home."
"That sounds great. Do you think you can show me round?" Preston smiles.
"I'm sure I can arrange something, although I don't think it will be me. Facilities usually deal with that." I smile at him, but internally high five myself for dodging the flirtatious remarks. I see the disappointment spill onto his face.
As I leave, I wink at Jenna and grab the contract off her desk. She stares at me, mouth agape, as I walk off confidently, Preston in tow.
I get to my office and signal at Preston to sit down. "It works as any computer would. Your log in is in your welcome pack." I don't look at him once.
I turn my attention to my contract. I open it and scan through the clauses, ticking them off in my head against my old contract, until I get to a new one.
EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIPS
26. You shall not, under any circumstances, enter into a romantic or sexual relationship with any other colleague, of equal or unequal status, with the consequence of ignorance of this clause 26 being immediate dismissal on the grounds of gross misconduct.
No problem, I thought to myself. Or maybe it is?