Page 25 of One Month's Notice

“Morning!” Nat pushed his hand away, laughing. “Sorry, I was completely in my own world there.”

“How are you doing?”

“I’m OK.” Nat let out a sigh, her tone a stark contrast to her usual cheeriness. “Just getting set up for the day.”

“Oh, dear.” Jamie sat down and wheeled his chair right next to Nat’s. “Come on, spill the tea.” He placed his elbows on the desk and cupped his chin in his hands. Nat knew there was no way Jamie would let her rest until he knew what was going on.

“So who’s this Clara person?” she said, wanting to test whether she might have an ally in Jamie before she opened up.

“Ahhh. So, you’ve met the ice queen.”

They shared a look and Nat laughed, relieved to know she had a safe space to share her feelings.

“Oh, my goodness.” Nat’s eyes grew wide. “She looked me up and down as if I was something she might have picked up on the bottom of her shoe!”

“Yes, she’s a genuine delight.” Jamie laced his fingers together and stretched them out in front of him. “The IT support team draws straws every time she needs help with something.”

“How long has she worked here for?”

“I think she’s been here right from the start. She knew Michael extremely well from before the company existed, from what I heard.” Jamie raised his eyebrow, a suggestive look on his face.

“Oh!” Nat told herself the jolt in her stomach was from surprise, rather than a pang of jealousy, which it most definitely was not.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that was a long time ago.” Jamie shrugged. “Apparently she’s engaged to some hot-shot and makes sure everyone knows it. I’m surprised she can lift her hand up with the size of the rock she’s got on that ring!”

Jamie brought his lips together in a pout and held out his left hand to show an imaginary ring on his finger. Nat burst out laughing, covering her mouth when she realised the noise had drawn the attention of the rest of the office.

“Surely she can’t have made you feel that bad?”

“Well, it wasn’t just her. The worst bit was Michael just dismissed me as if I wasn’t worth his time.” Nat pressed her lips together. “I know he can be serious, but he’s never been quite like that before.”

“Pay no attention.” Jamie rubbed her arm. “He’s oblivious to anything when he’s in business mode. You should know that well enough by now. He’s not the most socially aware at the best of times. Don’t take it personally.”

Nat smiled and nodded. “Thanks. You always know how to make me feel better.”

“That’s why they employ me. Not only do I give great advice, I also have the ability to communicate entirely through the use of amusing memes.”

“Is that all?”

“Well, that and the fact I’m the only one that really understands the technical code. So, if something breaks—which obviously it rarely does as I’m so good at my job—they need me to fix it!”

Nat placed her hand on her chest. “Your modesty overwhelms me sometimes!”

“You know it!” Jamie winked, then wheeled himself back to his desk.

Nat typed in her login details, got her notebook out and began putting stars next to the most important tasks. She hoped the confidence she had built over the last week would see her through the rest of the day with no major issues.

“I’m going to set up the room for our team meeting,” Nat said to Jamie, standing up. “Make sure you’re early. I have a feeling I’ll need moral support for this. I’ll save you a seat next to me.”

Jamie nodded and bowed. “Anything you say, boss!”

Nat stepped into the conference room and shivered. The air conditioning had been left on so she adjusted the dial up a few degrees. The atmosphere was going to be frosty enough with Clara in the room. She had to do something to bring warmth to the surroundings. She checked the cables of the laptop to ensure they were connected to the projector and brought the presentation up on the screen.

People began filing in, gradually taking up the seats around the large table. As HealthLink was still a small company, everyone knew each other well and the room was soon buzzing with chatter. Nat spotted Michael through the glass, making his way down the corridor. She went out to catch him for a quick chat before the meeting started. Every time she had tried to speak to him that day, Clara would appear out of nowhere, making it clear Michael didn’t have time for her. She finally got his attention and motioned for him to come towards her. He smiled, but before he could get to her, Clara stepped out in front of Nat, right on cue.

“I need to speak to you before the meeting,” she said, ushering him into a small room adjacent to the conference room. Clara turned briefly to look at Nat, her icy stare laced with an undertone of challenge—a daring invitation that further flamed the spark of unspoken tension between them. Nat was left in the corridor alone, surrounded by an overwhelming smell of sickly sweet perfume.

Nat took her seat next to Jamie and distracted herself by chatting with her other colleagues around the table. A few minutes later, Michael and Clara joined them, sitting together at the head of the table.

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