Part 15 (1/2)
Hi John, Still trying to corrupt my sweet innocence? Naughty, naughty. Id love to be seen with you, but it will have to be in the morning as we arranged although a lazy lunch is possible, if you prefer. Ill save the silky black dress for another occasion (!!) youll just have to admire my power suit instead.
Penny
xx
I read over the message again. Was I being too flirty? h.e.l.l, this was John and ”flirt” was his middle name so I hit the [Send] b.u.t.ton without further ado. Fewer than five minutes had pa.s.sed before I received his response.
Penny, Lazy lunch it is. We can compare power suits. If my meeting goes well in the afternoon then Ill be in Leamington quite a lot over the next 2 months and you can impress me with your silky attire . Meet you at 12.30pm at Bella Marie?
John
xx
I loved flirting with him. He still had a way of making me feel special. I confirmed the time and place of our next lunch date and allowed myself a few minutes to bask in the warmth of feeling attractive and desirable. The issues with Nathan and Mike slipped from my mind as I contemplated the prospect of spending more time with John. I finished going through my e-mails and the last one was from Dave about the evening event.
Subject: Launch Event Pen, Just finalising stuff for Wednesday. Are you able to meet me in the morning so that I can try out my presentation on you? Also, just been going through some Professional Development stuff. Both you and I need to consider this before our appraisal in July. Do you know of any CIPD events coming up that we could attend to catch up on the latest issues?
Dave I confirmed that I could meet him and asked Phil to call the Chartered Inst.i.tute of Personnel Development to find out any events that would be running in Birmingham in the near future. He found an afternoon event with an optional evening dinner. It would run on 30th June and covered the latest legislative changes in our field. The evening event had two guest speakers scheduled one giving a talk on entrepreneurial behaviour and the other called ”Intimacy at Work”. Given what was going on, the second of these really caught my attention. For those attending the evening event, there was an option to stay overnight in the hotel. I thought Dave would enjoy the first talk so I asked Phil to liase with him and book the overnight option for both of us. Thankfully the day ended without further incident.
Chapter 23.
On the Monday morning, I got into work early and resumed work on the contracts for Dave. Around 9am, the phone rang.
”Phil,” I shouted, ”could you get that for me?”
He picked up the receiver and redirected the call to his own phone. A few moments later I could hear him conversing in a slightly agitated way.
”Im afraid shes......no shes.....shes busy at the moment. Can you......?”
It sounded as though someone was not letting him get a word in edgeways. I mouthed to him 'who is it? but he shrugged his shoulders to indicate that he didnt know.
”Please hang on a moment, sir! Ill see if I can find her,” and with these words he pulled the handset from his ear and gave it a harsh look.
”Who is it?” I asked out loud.
”Its a man for you. Called John. He insists he must talk to you.”
I smiled because it was unusual for him to call me. He may be bold by e-mail but he rarely initiated phone conversations.
”Its okay, Phil,” I say. ”Hes a friend.”
”Well he doesnt sound very friendly to me,” Phil said as he diverted the call to my phone.
I picked up the receiver.
”Hi, John. Is everything okay?” I asked.
”Wednesday. Can you meet any earlier?” he asked without seeming to pause for breath.
”And a 'good morning to you too, John!” I pointed out.
”Sorry Penny! 'Good morning to you. Can you meet any earlier on Wednesday?” he repeated.
”Well, a bit I could bring it forward to 11.30 if that helps.”
”Yes. Thats good. Okay. Ill see you at 11.30.”
”Hang on, hang on!” I say, trying to slow him down. ”What is this all about?”
”Cant say, Penny, not on the phone. Ill tell you Wednesday. We need to talk.”
”That sounds fairly ominous! What do 'we need to talk about?” I said in an attempt to mock him slightly and lighten the mood.
”Cant say, Penny, not on the phone,” he repeated.
”Why not? The heavens havent fallen down over the weekend have they? My sisters wedding hasnt suddenly been cancelled, has it?”
He completely ignored this piece of news and carried on.
”Its better to talk in person.”
”John? Has something happened to you?”
I could feel concern creeping into my being. It was unlike John to sound so agitated.
”No! Not me.”
”Your wife?”
”Penny. I dont want to talk on the phone. Ill meet you at 11.30 we can talk over a coffee before lunch. Try not to worry.”