Page 35 of Just Like That

I straighten my face. ‘Sorry. Anyway, as I was saying, it was a bad morning, so perhaps we could forget about it?’

‘Unless you want to talk about it? I realise I’m at risk of getting balled out by asking that, so to be clear, I’m not hitting on you. Just wondering if maybe I can help?’

I look to the ground again, but this time it’s to stifle a laugh. Nick really has a way about him; a way of saying all the wrong things at the wrong time. Sometimes it’s infuriating, but in this case, when I can see he is well-intentioned, it’s amusing and quite endearing. But do I really want to be sharing anything about my life with him? Certainly not anything too personal, like my situation with Seth. That said, I have an opportunity here to try and develop a positive working relationship with Nick, perhaps even a friendship.

‘How about we get a coffee?’ I suggest. ‘And to be equally clear, I’m not hitting on you either. But if you’re up for getting your ear chewed off about my career troubles, then who am I to deny you of that pleasure.’

He shrugs. ‘I spend my day listening to all sorts of savage sounds, so one more won’t hurt.’

My mouth twitches. ‘Thatwasa joke.’

‘It was,’ he confirms with a sly nod. ‘I’m not completely socially inept. Only halfway there.’

Having finally buried the sizeable lump of animosity sandwiched between us, we amble along the path to the nearest cafe, which is a small outfit – more of a takeaway place with a handful of tables outside. I take a seat while Nick insists on buying the coffees.

Waiting for him to join me, I enjoy a bit of warmth from the sun, which is trying its damnedest to fight its way through the rolling, slightly ominous-looking grey clouds. Tuning into my surroundings, the distinctive call of the peacocks floats across from the other side of the park, along with the odd trumpet from the elephant enclosure, while closer by, I can hear a medley of cheeping and chirruping coming from the outdoor aviary. It really is a hypnotising environment. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m desperate to regain all the things I love about my career, I could perhaps just live my days out in this park, immersed in the incredible sights and sounds, at one with the wonderful animals us humans have unfortunately made life so difficult for.

‘I forgot to ask if you take sugar.’ Nick appears at my side holding two coffees, jolting me back to reality.

‘I usually do.’ I reach up and take the one he offers me. ‘But I shouldn’t, so it’s fine without. Thanks for this.’

‘You’re welcome.’

He takes a seat opposite me and for a moment neither of us seems to know what to say. It’s a tongue-tied moment that likely stems from us never having been in each other’s company without something else to focus on – whether that be playing with Rana, shovelling elephant shit or discussing the planned park events. Other than this morning, that is, and that didn’t go so well.

I smile at Nick and he smiles back warmly. A simple, polite gesture is all it is, but it sends a tremor through me: a sense of a growing attraction on my part. That’s all I need when I never know if I’m coming or going with him, and especially when he’s made it painfully clear that I’m not his type. Not just because he said so, but because his ‘type’ seems to be cute and furry or enormous with grey leathery skin.

‘So, what happened this morning then?’ he asks eventually.

Having forgotten that we actually do have a topic of conversation to kick us off, I find myself regretting agreeing to have this chat. How can I tell him why my morning sucked without sharing the reason my career is in the gutter? Because I definitely don’t want to unpack a whole load of personal stuff with a guy I barely know.

‘Jess, you in there?’ Nick prompts me.

‘I had a conversation with my boss, Craig, and it didn’t go so well.’ I rotate my coffee cup with my fingers absently, while attempting to form my redacted explanation, unwilling to outright lie to him. ‘The reason I’m here at the park is because he’s taken me off the projects I was working on before.’

Nick frowns. ‘Seriously? Why did he do that?’

‘Because he’s lost confidence in my ability to deliver, and if you don’t mind, I don’t want to go into the reasons why. It’s nothing you or Gwen or anyone here needs to worry about. It’s more personal than that.’

I look up at him, concerned at what I might see, but he simply nods his understanding.

‘You don’t have to share anything personal with me, Jess. I get it. But maybe I can ask you what’s happened since?’

‘You can.’ I take a deep breath, attempting to quell the frustration I can already feel rising from just talking about this. ‘I’ve tried to explain to him that he’s jumped to conclusions and made the wrong judgement. That I’m perfectly capable of handling the challenging work I did before. I’ve also told him I don’t have enough to do, I’m bored and I need more of a challenge.’

‘And?’

‘And he won’t budge. Won’t even give me the chance to prove myself. Part of me is thinking maybe it’s time to jump ship – there’s a woman from a rival company who’s been trying to poach me – but I don’t see why I should have to do that because he’s being unreasonable.’

Nick smiles at me with what I initially read as sympathy, but as his gaze lingers a little too long, I can’t help feeling like he’s judging me and I prickle with defensiveness.

‘What? Idon’t. I’m not the one in the wrong here.’

‘Hey, I never said you were.’ Nick adopts a soothing tone and takes a slug from his drink. ‘I understand why you feel that way. So, that’s the only reason you’re here at the park then? Because of this situation? It makes sense in a way. When Gwen mentioned you were coming here, she was so pleased, because she’d looked you up on LinkedIn and saw that you’d led some impressive events.’

‘And from her saying that, you assumed I’d be a jumped-up corporate pain in the arse.’ I smirk.

‘No.OK, maybe a bit. But you’ve turned out all right, other than being a bit over-confident and squeamish for my liking.’

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