Bad things come in threes, they say.
Well, I’ve lost my boyfriend, my dad and probably the role on the Motor Works project so hopefully, that’s me done for a while.
And wearing healing crystals around my neck?
Bullshit. I hate wearing jewellery now. Having something around my neck is too much of a reminder of what I’ve lost.
Funny how the three things used to be a) my ex-fiancé breaking up with me, b) my ex-fiancé is still my boss and c) finding out my ex-fiancé was cheating on me.
Now those pale in comparison.
But what do all six have in common? Men.
I’m sick of it.
Dad hasn’t been arrested but the police have asked him to come in for questioning. I only know this through Uncle Pat because Dad’s upset and refuses to speak to me.
Of course, I’ve had no contact with Jack.
No matter how many times I turn off and on my Wi-Fi and restart my phone, there’s no stuck message from him waiting to get through.
The only messages are mindfulness memes from Kate and Nisha and other messages that you send your friend when you’ve got absolutely no clue what to say. You’re braver than you believe. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. That sort of thing.
At least they both know so I can actually talk about it.
Nisha says Jack hasn’t been in the office all week but it’s alright for him, he’s the CEO. I’ve been working from home saying that I’m feeling poorly.
It’s not a complete lie because I’m sick with dread.
It’s been two days since Mum and I went to the police station and yesterday, the revelation in the case made the local news.
Thankfully all the report says is that there is a second man in for questioning. No names given. There’s not much coverage because it’s a ten-year-old crime—people get stabbed all the time in London. But this is Jack Knight’s dad we’re talking about.
Anything about Jack makes the news.
Including the apparent fling he had last Friday night that went wrong, i.e. me.
It’s always the woman that the media makes out to be desperate, crazy and running after the guy, especially if he’s a billionaire and she’s a nobody.
So, if my dad’s crime doesn’t rob me of the design role then having a ruckus on the street with the client CEO will.
My phone lights up. Max. I told him about Dad yesterday. To be fair to him, he was pretty supportive.
“Hi, Max.”
“How are you today?” he asks.
It’s the most excruciating time of my life, thanks for asking.
“Fine,” I say because that’s what he wants to hear.
“Bonnie,” he starts hesitantly, “there’s no easy way to say this. I had to tell the partners.”
“I’m off the project,” I finish for him. “It’s fine, I can’t work on it anymore anyway. Not after . . . everything.” I let out a small laugh because there isn’t much else to do. “Bit of a conflict of interest.”
I hear a heavy exhale. “Just a little.”
“Does everyone in the office know?”
“Bradshaw and Brown don’t want a scandal so only HR know about what’s happening with your dad. The last thing they want is for that to get out.”
Nice to see that they care so dearly for their employees after years of service.
There’s a long stretch of silence until he finally clears his throat. “But everyone has seen the social media story. Are you going to explain it to me? Did Jack harass you because of your dad? That’s not on, Bonnie.”
“And if he did, what would you do about it, Max? As my mentor and my boss?”
Silence.
Empty words, Max. Now I realise that all the words you ever said to me were just gas.
“No,” I say firmly. “Jack’s a good man. That’s not why we were arguing. We . . .”
“Bonnie.” His voice turns cold. “Please tell me you didn’t sleep with Jack.”
I don’t reply. This is the last conversation I want to have with Max.
“Jesus, Bonnie!” he snaps. “You actually had sex with Jack Knight?”
He sounds so disgusted I wonder if it’s because I’m his ex-fiancée rather than his subordinate.
“I thought you had more self-respect than to become his one-night stand! What the hell?”
“It wasn’t a one-night stand,” I say, my voice cracking.
“Come on, Bonnie!” he says down the phone. “I didn’t realise you were this naive. This makes things even more complicated. No wonder Jack wants you off the project.”
For some stupid reason, this hurts the most, and my eyes fill with tears. Again.
Why am I surprised? Of course, Jack wants me off his project.
“Have you seen him?” I ask in a small voice, hating that I need to ask Max.
“Who, Jack?” he barks in a tone that says I shouldn’t be asking. “No, he hasn’t been in all week. He’s taking calls from home.” I hear another harsh sigh. “You’ll need to return your Lexington laptop.”
The thought of going to the Lexington office makes me recoil in horror. “Can’t I give it to Nisha?”
“No,” he snaps. “You need to give it back personally as part of the off-boarding. You know this.”
I close my eyes. “Fine, I’ll bring it in.”
“Today, Bonnie.”
Fuck.
I guess the sooner I get this over and done with the better, especially if Jack isn’t in.
“My promotion . . .”
“Is unlikely,” he finishes. “Just for this round.”
“That’s bullshit,” I say, stunned. “I deserve that promotion.”
He lets out a long breath like he’s talking to an unreasonable child. “We need to let the dust settle. With the situation with your dad, the partners can’t be seen to be promoting you in front of Jack.”
I was wrong. Olivia wasn’t the biggest threat to my relationship with Max. The two little dicks, Bradshaw and Brown are the ones he’s in bed with.
***
My blue shift dress hangs off me with a little more space around the hips than it did last week. My heart hammers in my chest as I step out of the lift onto the fortieth floor.
Nisha greets me at the lifts for moral support. “Hi, love.”
The office is packed. Everyone else looks too normal, tapping away on their laptops. Their lives haven’t been royally fucked up this past week.
My boyfriend hates me.
My dad hates me.
Now my bosses hate me.
“Hey.” I smile sadly. “Let’s get this over and done with. I just need to hand in the laptop at the tech bar.”
She tuts. “This is shit that you have to leave the project. You’ve worked so hard and you haven’t actually done anything wrong. It doesn’t seem fair.”
“It’s fine,” I say with a small shrug. “So, the truth . . . is everyone gossiping about the picture of me and Jack?”
She nibbles on her lip as we start to walk down the aisle. Unfortunately for me, the support guys sit at the far end of the floor.
“The truth, Nisha,” I press in a low voice, ignoring the turning heads.
“Yes.” She sighs. “Some of the admins found the link and have been showing everyone.”
I swallow nervously. “What do they think?”
“You had a one-night stand,” she says through a false smile.
All eyeballs are on me. Those colleagues who aren’t looking at me are nudged by their neighbours of my incoming presence.
“I mean it looks like a lover’s tiff a mile off because it is. All the women are obviously jealous. None of them know about your dad though.”
My eyes widen. “I’m a laughingstock. They’ll think that’s why I’ve been taken off the project.”
“People do it all the time.”
I grunt a laugh. “Yeah, not with the CEO of Lexington though.”
“Speaking of one-night stands,” she says through gritted teeth as Darren approaches us.
“Bonnie!” Darren booms too loudly. Anyone that hadn’t noticed my arrival before does now. “So, you and bossman, huh?”
“Keep your voice down,” I hiss. I half consider battering him with the laptop then flinging myself out the window.
“Shut up, Darren,” Nisha spits out, shoving him in the arm.
He grins. “What’s the matter, Nish?”
He turns back to me and leans in. “Listen, do you think you could get the deadline extended? And ideally, get the budget increased to bring in a few deputy project managers to help with workload. I’m swamped.”
I stare at him blankly. “How the hell would I be able to do that?”
“You could mention it to Jack next time you’re—” He winks. “You know.”
“No, I don’t think I’m in a position to swing that.”
“What’s the point of romping with the boss then?”
I suck in a breath. I do not need this shit right now.
“Darren,” Nisha grates, narrowing her eyes. “I won’t tell you again.”
‘Bonnie.’ Max appears behind me, casting an appraising glance my way.
My face prickles with embarrassment. People aren’t even pretending not to watch anymore.
“You need to do a twenty minute debrief with one of the Lexington security officers,” Max says in his most professional tone. “To keep us above board.” He pauses. “We can discuss new projects for you in the next few days.”
I exhale a ragged breath and follow him down the aisle. Everyone stops talking as I pass them. Those that know me well give me sympathetic looks.
I’ve blown it. Bradshaw and Brown will have me cleaning up muck after this. I’ll be lucky if I get to design toilets.
Nisha stays at my side like a guard as we stop at the security officer who is surrounded by so many screens, he looks like he’s single-handedly operating an air traffic control tower.
“Hi,” I say to the guy who doesn’t look up. Any minute now, please.
Nisha inhales sharply. “Oh, shit.”
Huh?
“He isn’t supposed to be in today,” Max murmurs, looking over my shoulder.
Nisha’s eyes meet mine in horror.
Please, God, no.
My pulse goes from resting to racing in a nanosecond.
I don’t turn around.
I don’t need to, to feel his presence.
