Nobody could be working harder right now. I am doing good in the world!
It doesn’t really matter that I might not be motivated by the environmental cause to the same extent that Nolan is. The important thing is that Viridian PR does its best to promote those businesses that are motivated by it.
And there’s no real reason why I have to get into the whole issue of Robert Ainslie Blake. It was a fling. A six-month mistake. Nothing more than that. He blinded me with his cash, his bold manner and his teeth. I was very silly to date him, but it ended a long time ago.
There’s no reason to . . . ruin what I’ve started with Nolan.
I’m not doing anything wrong, I’m not hurting anyone.
Everything is perfectly fine.
. . . what’s not perfectly fine is that, from now on, I will be unable to look at a cockatoo without feeling the overwhelming urge to scream and throw Mexican food at it.
On balance though, I’d say that this date can be put in the positive column. I really do like Nolan a lot. That much has been made evident – even if it took me nearly getting scalped by a parrot to finally realise it.
SQUAWK . . . Who’s a pretty boy, then?
Chapter Seven
THE STICKY THINGS ARE OUR FUTURE
And so, we reach the ‘two people running around behind everyone’s backs, trying to keep things a secret’ portion of this tale.
It was inevitable, I suppose. You simply can’t enter into a relationship with your boss and not have to engage in clandestine trysts behind closed doors, away from prying eyes.
Both Nolan and I have agreed that the last thing we want is for our colleagues to find out about our fledgling romance. It would damage my reputation, of that there is no doubt, and it probably wouldn’t do his much good either.
So, we are being very careful.
Careful to keep our hands to ourselves as much as possible while at work – and arrange dates at times and places that aren’t likely to see us bumping into Nadia, Joseph and Amisha – or anyone else from Viridian PR.
Thus far, it’s working very well.
Okay, there was that one time last week when Young Adrian came into Nolan’s office a mere ten seconds or so after we’d been kissing by Nolan’s new ficus, but I don’t think he even registered how hectic and flushed our faces were, or that my lipstick had gone on holiday across my left cheek.
Other than that, we’ve managed to keep things very secret.
Speaking of secrets – no, I still haven’t told him about Robert. I’m sorry. It’s just not felt like the right time.
Everything is going so well, you see. Not only am I still very much enjoying the work I’m doing, I now have the added benefit of passionate kissing by a ficus with an unconventionally handsome man.
I’ve never had the excitement of a fresh new job and a fresh new relationship before. It’s an extremely heady combination.
And I don’t want to spoil any of it!
So I will keep my sordid past to myself at the moment, if that’s all the same.
. . .
This doesn’t mean that I don’t worry about it constantly, though.
I’d like to just put Robert and my slightly disingenuous approach to Viridian’s environmental cause to the back of my brain – but both keep on surfacing like half-melted icebergs.
I know I should be more honest with Nolan, but I equally know that it will just ruin things if I am.
And I still think that neither thing really matters all that much. Not in the grand scheme of things. Viridian PR continues to go from strength to strength – that’s what matters, and why should a past relationship have any impact on a current one? We all have skeletons in our closet, after all. It’s perfectly okay if I want to keep mine locked away for now.
That sounds convincing, doesn’t it?
Reasonable?
Yes.
I think so.
Definitely.
‘Ellie?’
I jump in my seat as Nolan’s voice interrupts my extensive wool-gathering.
How long have I been sat here, thinking about all of this? Probably far too long.
‘Yes!’ I reply, trying to sound like I’m fully switched on to the world around me, rather than inside my own head, rummaging around in my neuroses.
‘How’s it going on that market research project? Both Hempawear and The Green Tangent are interested in getting their hands on it, and I’d like to be able to give them an estimate on when we might have something for