Page 37 of The Blind Date

“Sure,” Victor scoffed and turned to share a knowing look with Owen.

The teasing continued for a little longer before it switched over to what Victor did for a living–he was a fancy lawyer and soon-to-be attorney. I was glad that the attention was no longer on me, but I couldn't bring myself to pay attention. Not with all the conflicting thoughts rushing through my mind.

Did I kiss Cedric because I was trying to get him worked up–a rather strange stab at revenge–or did I kiss him because I wanted to?

ChapterEight

Ididn’t need to be in the office first thing in the morning, but I did need to be awake early just in case any issues arose from tonight’s release. It didn’t look like there would be any, but I knew better than to be too sure about these kinds of things.

I had been burnt on more than a few occasions.

The early morning meant that I wouldn't have time to shower, so the options were to either shower now or go to work tomorrow on day three of going without a shower. The thought alone was all the motivation I needed to strip down to my birthday suit even though it was past eleven at night.

My eyes were heavy, and my mind was drowsy when I turned on the water and stepped underneath the spray. I immediately squealed and plastered myself against the wall, now fully awake, shivering and gasping for air.

I waited several minutes for the water to warm up, but it didn’t happen. I waited for several more, but if anything, the water just got colder.

Shivering, I wrapped the robe around me and scurried into the bedroom in search of my phone.

I clicked my landlord's name in my contacts and pressed my phone to my ear, willing for her to pick it up. It rang several times and just when I was about to end the call, she picked up.

“Do you know what time it is?” Sandra, my landlord, grumbled into the phone. Given her age which had to be somewhere between sixty and seventy, and how late it was, I concluded that I had probably woken her up.

“I'm sorry to call you so late, but this is an emergency."

“The apartment better be on fire,” she grumbled some more.

“I think there’s something wrong with the boiler,” I told her, moving into the kitchen to turn on the taps and test the water there. Freezing cold, just like the shower. “Something is definitely wrong with it. All the water in my apartment is freezing cold.”

"Your boiler is old. That’s probably just it,” Sandra sighed. “I’m up in Liverpool for the next week, visiting some friends, and I’m not back until Sunday. I’ll call an engineer as soon as I’m back to take a look at it.”

“Sunday?” I all but screeched into the phone. “What am I supposed to do for the rest of the week? Shower in freezing water? You know it’s October, right?”

“Your parents live in London, don’t they? You could always move in with them for the week.”

"They live in North London. It’s too much effort to get to work every day during rush hour,” I groaned. "Why can't I just hire someone to fix the boiler tomorrow? I'll pay for it now, and you can pay me back when you get back?”

“You know money isn’t the issue here, Saffron,” she told me, and I knew she was right.

Sandra, my landlord, was a reasonably wealthy woman. She owned three apartments in this building and another four in the apartment building across the street. Renting six of them out and keeping one for herself allowed her to live a very comfortable life and enjoy her retirement to the fullest.

“You know I don’t trust builders to do a good job without me supervising them. They’re all a bunch of crooks, looking for a shortcut but taking money for the full job,” Sandra repeated what I had heard from her several times before, once when there was an issue with the pipes and another time when the power went out randomly one night. “Cowboy builders is what they’re called. Unless there’s someone experienced to watch over them, I guarantee you that they’re going to cut corners.”

“But Sunday is six days away. What am I supposed to do until then?”

"I'm sorry, Saffron, but this is very unfortunate timing. I would return if I could. I’m really sorry, but I don’t trust those no-good cowboy builders to fix it properly without me there to supervise. I'll waive one week's rent this month for the inconvenience. How does that sound?"

"Sure.” I had no choice but to agree.

After I ended the call, I immediately scrolled through my contacts and called my dad.

“Hey, Dad. I hope I didn’t wake you,” I apologised as soon as he picked up.

"I wasn't asleep," he denied even though I could hear the sleep in his voice.

“Are you sure?” I asked, hesitant. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I didn’t have a shower tonight, but it might just be if the next time I could have a shower was Sunday.

"Yep. I was only resting my eyes."

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