Monday 27th February
It’s Monday morning again. Is it just me or does Monday morning come around more quickly than any other time of the week? I got back from my folk’s house in Ulverstone at 1am this morning so I’m cream-crackered at work today. Next time I go up to see them I’m taking Monday off too, if I have a job to come back to that is. There’s been no word from the agencies, not a peep, and I’m only weeks away from finishing this temp job.
I left two hours early last Friday for my trip so Sam told me I can come in this Saturday to make them up which I will do because I missed an entire day’s wages when I took the day off for Maria’s funeral the other week. It might be a good thing anyway; it should take my mind off of Derren. Laura told me this morning that Derren and Tanya were all over each other in The Railway pub on Saturday night. Laura found out from Neal who heard it from Ben. Along the same line of Chinese whispers, I also found out that Derren refused to go The Tavern with Tanya because he didn’t want to make me feel awkward about going there. I’m not sure what to make of that. He is right. If he had gone to The Tavern it would have made it awkward for me but am I really supposed to be grateful? I don’t think so. His decision to keep him and her in The Railway adds to my suspicion that Tanya is a mere passing whim and he expects us to pick up where we left off when he is done. I am angry with myself for letting things get this way. Bit by bit I have brought us here, to a place where Derren can do as he wants because he knows I’ll always forgive him. I don’t think he realises he has crossed the point of no return this time. It makes me feel sad for us because Derren doesn’t know it yet. He is unaware he is delivering the final blow.
Laura also told me Alana is still resisting Ben’s charms so he has started running with her every week down the Worth Way in a bid to get to know her better. The poor guy is paying her as a Personal Trainer in a bid to win her over! Oh, so many jokes, none of them appropriate. If Ben wants to pay for his prospective girlfriend’s company, that’s up to him. Laura ended up needing reassurance from me this morning when she called to see how I was. She was worried I was going to take my mum up on her offer and move to Ulverstone. I reminded her that I didn’t run away from the Dr Clifton mess and I’m not running away from this. That seemed to do the trick.
Jaycee comes back to the office tomorrow and I keep looking at Steve, wondering what she will has decided. He has gone up in my estimation now that I know he has called things off with April and I’m no longer worried about Jaycee’s decision. He is very quiet today and isn’t playing ball with Gianni’s attempts at their usual banter. In contrast to Steve, April has been acting overly nonchalant. She has been talking non-stop about what a fabulous weekend she had with Greg. Apparently they ‘laughed and laughed and laughed, the whole weekend long’. I don’t buy it. She is trying too hard. She is ignoring Steve and flirting with Gianni right in front of him at every chance she gets. And because Gianni is missing his little playmate in Steve, he seems happy enough to go along with it. It’s crazy. I just hope she comes to her senses before she does something she might regret.
1st March Thursday Afternoon
April has left for the day. When she left, she looked like she was going to throw up and she didn’t say goodbye to anyone. Everybody noticed, nobody said anything. She has been so up and down of late this is now considered normal behaviour for the girl. I’m about to log on to her system, but first, I need to fill you in on Jaycee. Jaycee has been back in the office since Tuesday and she looks positively refreshed by her time away. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to speak to her in private to ask what she decided about Steve all week but she has been either sitting with her team members at their desks or talking with Sam in his office since her return. Then, finally, this lunch time, an opportunity arose. I was lunching alone in the kitchen when she walked in and sat down at my table. People were wondering in and out to use the kettle or retrieve their sandwiches from the fridge so we waited for them to leave before getting stuck into Steve but it was clear she wanted to talk to me. She made a start when we thought the traffic had ceased then I.T Dave came in, picked up his tinfoil wrapped sandwiches and walked out without so much as a word to either of us. Not even a glance.
“So, Boston was good fun, but did you make any decisions about a certain somebody?” I asked enthusiastically. Jaycee gestured to her mouthful of her doorstep bread prawn mayo sarnie and chewed quickly while I apologised for the bad timing. Once finished chomping, Jaycee looked thoughtful and put her sandwich down as though suddenly full from the weight of her predicament. It was a complete turnaround from the smile she had just been wearing while referring to her trip.
“I don’t know. I’ve agreed to spend more time with him to see how it goes. But I’m not ready to put my travel plans to bed yet. I keep… oh, don’t worry.”
“No, go on…”
“Ok,” Jaycee sighed. “I keep getting the feeling he is up to something, with another girl.”
“Well, what makes you think that?”
“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. And his whole life is work, this place, so if I’m right, oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the humiliation I felt last time he messed about at work coming back to haunt me.”
“Have you asked him?”
“Yeah, he swears nothing is going on, with anyone. Why, you don’t know differently do you?”
I looked at Jaycee in shock horror and decided to omit the truth rather than lie outright.
“I don’t speak to Steve much and anyway, people tend not to share their secrets with the office temp.”
See what I did there? Everything I know, I learnt by snooping.
“Oh relax, I was only joking, half joking. Besides, I’ve shared my secrets with you. Probably because you are a temp you know? You’re not part of all the political agenda crap that goes on around here.”
I smiled warmly in thanks for her trust, then felt like a first class shithead for betraying her. I wish I could just tell her but how can I do that? Steve has ditched the office slut now so what would be the point?
“So what are you going to do?” I asked sympathetically.
Jaycee shrugged. “Take it slowly I guess. I have told him we are not stepping back into our old shoes. This is a slow trial of good old fashioned dating. There will be no staying overnight until I am sure of him again.”
“And what did he say to that?”
“He cried. He held me. And he said ‘thank you’ like, a gazillion times,” she said, looking more hopeful now.
“Well, that’s encouraging.”
“Yeah. We’ll see. Anyway, how are you getting along without, Derren, is it?”
“Yeah, Derren.” I say dejectedly. “It looks like the bimbo won that battle.”
“Oh Rachael, I am so sorry.”
“Well, I just hope this is what he really wants because I can’t keep taking him back. If I do, where does it all end?”
“True. Just hang in their Rachael, it gets easier,” Jaycee said. But her advice wasn’t very comforting seeing as she hadn’t moved all that far from the position I found myself in now.
That was lunch today; it’s now time to see what’s going on in the Eworld of April. For the first time since I started, I actually hope to see no further correspondence between April and Steve. Her behaviour has calmed down a lot since Monday so I’m guessing her threats last week were just heat of the moment venting.
I scroll through Friday, there is nothing there. I scroll through Monday, there is nothing there. Then I reach Tuesday and find an email from Steve. I click it open and breathe a sigh of relief – its work related.
***
Salesman Steve: Tuesday 28th February 09.14
Hello April,
Please take a look at the attached invoice and advise if the price is correct. You will need to check against the exchange rate for the sale date, not the invoice date, and please remember to add the margin – spread sheet attached.
Many Thanks,
Stephen Dean
Head of Sales
Lourdes Components
Office Slut: 10.20
This invoice was sent out with the wrong exchange rate, due to confusion over the new US date format. A new invoice has already been sent to the customer. They should receive it any day now.
Salesman Steve: 10.47
Thank you.
Please take care to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
Many Thanks
Stephen Dean
Head of Sales
Lourdes Components
Office Slut: 10.56
Sharma has been spoken to. Please be advised that the greatest of care will be taken in the future.
How’s things with you and Jaycee? Good I hope?
A
xx
Salesman Steve: 14.38
She doesn’t want anyone to know we are thinking about getting back together so it’s best we drop the subject. But thank you for your concern. I’m glad we are both able to be adult about this. It shows we can still be friends. Thank you.
Office Slut: 14.49
No worries. Sorry, didn’t mean to pry. And you don’t need to worry. I won’t tell anyone. If you ever want a chat, you know where I am.
x
***
That was it for the week between Steve and April. She is playing a clever game because Steve has no choice but to humour her even though I’m sure all he wants is for her to disappear. I definitely do not buy into her ‘best buddy’ act. It reeks of boiled bunnies to me. The next personal email I read is to Sezza but Sam keeps waltzing in and out of his office so I take care to wait until he has settled somewhere for five minutes before I dare to open it. I can’t get caught, not now. When I open the email to Sezza I decide I am probably right. It seems that boiled bunnies are indeed on the menu.
***
Office Slut: Wednesday 28th February 14.23
Hey Sez, you would be so proud of me. I am playing this thing soooo cool. I’m moulding myself into the perfect friend and its working! He spoke to me today without me having to go to him!
Sezza: Thursday 1st March 09.08
Well at least you’re playing at being a good friend to someone. What are you hoping to achieve by this April?
Oh, and I’m fine. Thanks for asking.
Office Slut: 09.15
Oh sorry, I was uber-excited about my new plan! How are you, really I mean? I am sorry I didn’t ask.
I am going to be waiting for him on the side lines when it all goes wrong with Jaycee. Which it will.
Sezza: 11.31
April, you are getting obsessed now. Steve is all you talk about to me. Don’t you get it? It doesn’t matter if you play at being his friend or not, you are never going to be Mrs April Dean, he loves your supervisor.
Office Slut: 11.37
You can’t possibly know that Sez, you’re only saying that because of what I told you anyway. Things have changed since then.
Office Slut: 11.38
Hang on, how do you know Steve’s surname is Dean?
Office Slut: 12.13
Sarah, you’re not answering your phone and I know for a fact I’ve never told you his surname was Dean. Please tell me you’re in a meeting or something and I’m just being paranoid?
Sezza: 12.17
I can’t answer my phone at work April. Look, we should really do this in person.
Office Slut: 12.19
Don’t make me come to your office Sarah, tell me how you know. Tell me what’s going on. I know something is going on.
Sezza: 12.21
Come to my office? WTF April? If you must know, I met Steve before, only, I didn’t know it was him at first because he gave me a fake name.
Office Slut: 12.22
A fake name? Who would do that? Unless… Did you meet him at The Sugar Puss?
I mean it Sarah, don’t d ick around, tell me the truth.
Sezza: 12.28
Don’t be like that. Look, we did meet at The Sugar Puss. I had no idea who he was until he got drunk and started droning on and on and on about this girl he loves. He said her name was Jaycee. It’s not a common name so I asked him what his real name was and that’s when I realised. I tried to tell you but decided it was better for everybody if you just forgot about him.
Office Slut: 12.30
Oh my God, it wasn’t the office Tramp he was interested in, was it? It was you all along. I can’t believe this. I feel sick. Is he the one you’ve been sha gging?
***
No! That’s it! That’s all there is! How could they stop there? This is worse than the day there was a power cut during Seven, right where Brad Pitt is faced with the man who beheaded his wife. Laura and I were shouting at the T.V ‘don’t kill him, don’t kill him!’ as Pitt is having his internal conflict over whether to pull the trigger of his gun or not. We had to play three games of charades by candle light with my family before we found out what he did. Ok, so upon reflection, this isn’t worse than that, but it sure is a good contender for second place.
Oh dear. I’m not sure who to feel more worried for now, Jaycee, Steve, or myself. I suspect the web of secrets and lies we have all helped to weave is about to unravel on us all.
Next Week…
Week 9. All Kinds of Wrong
April is still seething from the revelations of last week and has hatched a plan to get back at Steve. Rachael receives an urgent call from Derren.
