Page 28 of One Month's Notice

“There’s no deal.” Michael tilted his head a fraction. “We studied at the same university. She was dating my flatmate, so she spent a lot of time at our place. We became good friends and kept in touch. When I was setting up the company, I needed someone with a good head for finance as I couldn’t manage everything myself. She’s incredibly bright and came top of her class. The job she went into after university wasn’t fulfilling her and she was looking to push herself, so I offered her a job. So far, she hasn’t disappointed.”

“Ah, so there was never anything else?” Nat suddenly felt awkward at asking such a personal question. As always, her mouth engaged itself before she could think about what she was saying.

“Oh, no!” Michael laughed. “Why on earth would you think that?”

“I just assumed, because…” Nat stopped, deciding whether to continue. “She made such a fuss of you going out for dinner together last night. Then I saw her leave here just as I was arriving this morning.”

“Oh, I see. So you assumed that as you saw her leaving, she stayed here and therefore we must have had sex?” Michael’s expression stayed neutral. “What must the neighbours think of me with you coming and going all the time as well?”

“I, well I…” Nat stuttered, before Michael started laughing gently.

“I’m just messing about. You’re right, she stayed here. But only because it was getting late by the time we had finished dinner…” He paused for a moment. “Dinner with our old university friends. Plus, she’d had an argument with her fiancée and wanted to teach him a lesson by letting him stew at home on his own.”

“Right.” Nat fiddled with her fingers. “Well, this isn’t awkward at all.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Michael gave her a reassuring smile. “And please don’t worry about her. She’s just very focused on doing a good job.”

“Even if that’s at the expense of common courtesy?”

“I didn’t think she was that bad?”

“Clearly not.” Nat watched Michael for a reaction. His expression remained serious and she realised he really was oblivious to Clara’s behaviour. “Well, talking of doing a good job, let’s get on with what we need to do, shall we?”

“Yes, boss.” Michael lifted a hand to salute Nat, then turned to his laptop with a faint grin playing at the edges of his mouth.

The day passed by quickly and Nat’s confidence grew as each task became easier. She enjoyed the fast pace and took particular delight in surprising Michael with having what he needed ready exactly when he asked for it. The job didn’t give her the same satisfaction as her interior design work, but it was good enough for now. Especially as the feeling of being a failure was finally ebbing away.

They had settled into a nice rhythm of companionable silence interspersed with light conversation. Nat continued to share personal information to a degree she often regretted, whereas Michael gave her snippets that only served to intrigue her.

As Nat leaned back into her chair, stretching her arms up and behind her head, a text message pinged through on her phone.

“Oh great,” she muttered.

“What’s up?”

“It’s my friend, Lexi. I’ve been designing her shop ready for the launch in a couple of weeks. We’ve got loads to do still and she can’t make it tonight. This means we’ll have to spend the whole weekend decorating. Otherwise there’s no chance it will be finished by the end of the month.”

Nat contemplated telling Michael about the design contract she was preparing for. But everything had been going so well for the last couple of weeks, she didn’t want him to think she wasn’t committed to the job. Especially as there was no guarantee the contract would be hers.

“To be honest,” she continued, “we’ve been working so hard on it, so having a night off to rest would be nice. I don’t think I’ve ached this much in all my life!”

“There’s a great pool here with a sauna and a steam room. You’re always welcome to use it if you fancy somewhere nice to relax and wind down. You’ll have to bring your stuff though. I’m afraid I don’t have anything you could borrow.”

“I’m surprised. What with all these women you have visiting all the time.” Nat winked at Michael and he laughed awkwardly—unable to hide a trace of embarrassment.

“You’re right,” he said, recovering quickly. “Maybe I should get in a range of bikinis, just in case?”

Despite knowing he was joking, a tiny jolt of jealousy shot through Nat.

“Well, don’t do anything on my account.” Yet again, she immediately regretted speaking before thinking. “I’m going to head off soon. Is there anything in particular you need me to sort out before I go?”

“I don’t think so.” Michael paused for a moment. “Did you want a quick drink if you haven’t got to rush off to the shop now?” His demeanour shifted a little. Nat couldn’t help but wonder if he had become a little shy. “Clara opened a bottle of red last night but didn’t finish it. It’s a good one, so it would be a shame to let it go to waste.”

“I suppose I could settle for her leftovers.” Nat threw her hand to cover her mouth. “I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice muffled. “I don’t know where that came from.”

“I get the impression you really don’t like Clara.”

She could tell Michael was trying to suppress a laugh.

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