Page 4 of Losing Control
“Perfect,” she says with a smirk on her face. If she wasn’t such a good friend to me then I might have been more than a little tempted to reach across and slap her.
“Great. Will I actually be able to talk directly to her when we go for a drink?” Michael asks Kim. I have no idea what shade of red I have gone, but my money is on a deep crimson.
“Of course,” Kim replies, completely unfazed by my flustered state.
“I am still here you know,” I say, managing to get my voice to work.
Kim has the decency to shut her mouth at this point.
“I look forward to it,” Michael says as he starts to walk away from my desk.
“Okay,” I answer feebly as I watch his retreating back leave through the office doors.
Once he is out of sight, I turn to Kim. She is smiling at me, mischief twinkling in her eyes.
“Kimberley Jenkins, how dare you,” I scold her.
“What?” she replies, feigning ignorance.
“You know damn well what. Why did you just agree for me to go on a date with Michael?”
“Because he’s hot, he’s single, you’re hot and you’re also single. You like him, and he likes you. Why wouldn’t you want to go out with him?” She makes a good point, but I’m still not over what Tom did to me.
“Kim,” I say on a sigh.
“Look, you’re only going out for a drink. This isn’t a commitment of marriage or anything. It’s just one drink, Luce.”
“But what if it makes things awkward?”
“Awkward how?”
“I work with the guy. How awkward would it be if the drink didn’t go well?” Nerves start to bubble up within me.
“If that happens then you just suck it up and get on with it,” Kim says with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Oh, jeez, thanks for the advice,” I say as I pick up my handbag and stand up. Kim links her arm through mine and we start to walk out of the office.
“Just have a little faith, Luce.”
“Hmmm,” I mumble.
I have been severely lacking in the faith department for months now.
Maybe Michael will be the one to bring it back for me?
Chapter Three
The first date
The last couple of days have dragged by as I have become more and more nervous about my date with Michael. It is now Friday and the clock reads five thirty. Clocking off time, which means that Michael is about to pack his stuff up and walk over here, to take me on our date.
I make myself look busy, tidying my desk, faffing with my handbag, feeling more than a little flustered at the prospect of spending the evening with a man that isn’t Tom. A man that totally knocks spots off of most others in the room. A man that I know will conquer my heart if I let him in. A man that is making his way over to my desk right this very second.
We haven’t spoken much since he asked me out two days ago, but then I have been busy attending meetings and dealing with client complaints. Sometimes I wonder why I ever chose a job in marketing. All day long I deal with other people’s problems. God forbid they actually listen to me, I mean, what the fuck do I know, what with my marketing degree and my general experience of all things advertising.
“Hey, Lucy, you ready to get out of here?” Michael asks as he comes to a stop in front of my desk.
“Uh… Sure.” Great start, Luce. I’m sure he didn’t sign up for a date with a mumbling wreck.
