sure he would have made it himself, he probably just didn’t have the time, so it’s not an untruth exactly.
‘Did he say his ex is still around then?’ she says, when I tell her I think his heart’s still a bit broken.
‘Mmm, she really did a number on him, messed with his head.’
‘Is this your new guy?’ Sameera pipes up. There’s no privacy in this office, it’s just as well that we’re all friends.
‘Yeah, we had the most wonderful night,’ I say, remembering how I woke up in his arms; it felt so natural, comfortable. It was a shame I had to get up extra early and rush back to my flat to get a change of clothes, but worth it. ‘I just hope his ex doesn’t come back,’ I say to Sameera.
‘I don’t think you need to worry about that,’ she says kindly. ‘Sounds like you’re a perfect match, don’t you think Harry?’ she says dragging him into the conversation.
‘Yeah, absolutely,’ he replies – he clearly hasn’t a clue what we’re talking about.
Alex’s ex has been playing on my mind ever since he told me he thought he’d seen her in Worcester. I feel slightly paranoid that he might bump into the bright, attractive lawyer – who may still hold a little piece of his heart.
My doubts soon fade when I receive a text from Alex telling me what a wonderful time he had last night. It’s the first text of many, along with funny GIFs and heart emojis. I know it’s early days, but he makes me feel like a priority already, like I’ll always come first in his life. It was never like that with Tom. I can’t wait to see him this evening. I’m going to drive over to his, straight from work. I’ve already packed an overnight bag so I don’t have to get up at dawn again to schlep across the city to my flat for clothes. We talked about going to the cinema tonight, but I’d be quite happy to just stay in his lovely house together all evening. It makes me realise, all the times I nagged Tom about wanting to go out to places, it wasn’t our social life that was missing – it was us.
It’s been a crazy day with lots of comings and goings. Sameera and Harry have been out all afternoon seeing clients, and it’s after six but Jas has only just returned from being at the police station with a client.
I pop my head into Jas’s office on my way out. ‘I haven’t seen you all afternoon. I have to get off now, but are you okay?’ I ask. She’s sitting with her head in her hands and looks up, like she’s almost surprised to see me.
‘What? Yeah, it’s been quite a day.’ She sighs. ‘I was sitting in that place for six hours, six! What a waste of time.’
‘Ahh, sounds like a nightmare,’ I say, hoping she doesn’t elaborate, as I’m keen to get off.
‘Doing anything nice tonight?’ she asks, absently.
‘Yeah, I’m seeing Alex,’ I say, and wait for her response.
To my surprise she smiles. ‘Lovely,’ she says. ‘I’m now dealing with the sodding paperwork, so you get off, don’t keep him waiting. Have a good one, love,’ she says, and it seems like she genuinely means it.
I call goodbye to the others, and Sameera, who’s obviously heard me tell Jas I’m meeting Alex, tells me to ‘go for it’ and Harry sniggers.
I laugh, we all love taking the mickey out of each other, it’s like being back at school – in a good way.
Hitting the freezing night air, I walk quickly to my car. It’s so frozen that I can’t even unlock it at first. After much jiggling of the key in the lock and breathing on it to attempt to thaw it, I finally get the key to turn and the door opened. I’m so relieved to get into the car, I don’t notice it at first, but after closing the door and putting my seat belt on I’m suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of perfume. A strong, expensive smell – so strong it could be aftershave. Am I imagining this?
I sniff the air, not that I need to – it’s filling my lungs. Shit. Someone’s been in my car. Goosebumps rise on my scalp as, terrified, without moving my head, I let my eyes drift to the rear mirror. It’s too dark to see, but… Oh God, is someone crouching on the back