Page 133 of The Reno
Do not text Liam
“Kat.” I heard a voice, but it was miles away. My attention was fixed on the logo of Organism, a computer softwarecompany. Something about the logo was off, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
The all-male company was often referred to as “orgasm”, so the logo needed to be formal and masculine. Nothing that hinted at sex toys. No bright colours. Essentially, boring as fuck, just like the snooze-worthy onboarding call Willa and I sat through with their team. Clients like Organism would have had me itching my skin a few months ago, and Willa would have put them with Clara or Kieran. But things had deteriorated over the last few months. Willa’s dad had got involved in the business in an attempt to save it. Clara and Kieran had been made redundant. I took a voluntary pay cut that Willa reluctantly agreed to—a clear sign things were much worse than she’d let on when she visited Everly Heath.
On the outside, Willa seemed fine. Her dresses and pencil skirts were immaculate. Her tone with demanding clients was formal and professional. But I knew her better. She’d started going to Elias’s most nights. I’d go with her when I could, and she’d drink a bottle of wine, stumbling out to call a cab to her apartment in Soho. The next morning, there were no signs of her hangover, apart from the condensation of her Diet Coke on her desk.
I’d tried to speak to her about it, but she shut me down, and Willa didn’t like to be pushed.
We were both relieved when Organism signed the contract for twenty grand for a complete rebrand. And for her, I would do the work. Smile at clients. Get it finished on time. And I promised to celebrate with her at Elias’s, even though the thought of crowdedbars and sticky floors made me feel ill. It made me think of my auntie’s smiling face, ugly patterned carpets and Liam’s gaze on me.
But for Willa, I would go and smile and sip champagne.
Besides.
It was my last week at Horizon.
One week, and I’d go back home.
“Kat.” The feminine voice was louder now, so I pulled off my headphones. Willa was standing next to me, a look of concern on her symmetrical face. Her eyebrows pinched. She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
I looked up at her. “What’s up?”
Willa pointed a pink nail to my screen. “You’ve been looking at the screen for five hours straight.”
“And?”
“You haven’t looked up, tried to make a cup of coffee and failed three times. Nothing.”
I shrugged. “I just want to get this done for you.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with Kat Williams?” Willa said it dryly, but I knew she was hiding her concern under the joke.
I smiled. “Still here, Wills.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t want you working yourself to the bone for me, you know. You need to tell me if you’re working all hours. I don’t care if it’s your last week.”
“I know, I know. God, you’re such a mother hen sometimes.”
Willa rolled her eyes. “Someone has to be.”
Sometimes, I wished someone would swoop in and look afterWilla for once. I kept that thought to myself because god knows she wouldn’t let me do that.
Willa wiggled her Best Boss mug I’d bought her for Christmas last year in my face. “I’m making a coffee. Do you want anything?”
I nodded. “A brew would be nice, ta.”
Willa raised an eyebrow. “A brew.”
“Tea. Tea would be nice.”
I checked my phone. The timer read seven days, three hours and forty-five minutes left. I thought of deep brown eyes, wide shoulders, and insufferable smirks. I thought of the smell of tree sap and petrichor. I thought of Lydia’s dirty laugh and the smile lines by Brian’s eyes.
