Chapter 6

Nic ignored the giggles behind her as she waited for the elevator. She pushed the huge sunglasses back up her nose and faced straight ahead. She had seriously contemplated calling in sick today, especially considering she couldn't think about what had happened without feeling the burning embarrassment. Plus, several times, she’d woken up haunted by nightmares of her fat rolls hitting Mr Steele in the face. She shouldn’t have come. Maybe the women giggling had somehow heard what she had done. Perhaps they read Andrew's ridiculous interview and, like everyone else, thought she was a bitter, ugly, jealous ex-wife.

Or, quite possibly, they were giggling at her outfit as usual. She was back to her familiar, off-the-rack trouser suit today. And her work shoes were in her bag because she preferred to wear her comfortable trainers to navigate the busy Tube. Her whole outfit didn't fit in at Steele Enterprises, even on a good day. Working for Mr Steele was like being in high school all over again, where all the popular kids stuck together in their cliques, making life miserable for everyone else. Thankfully, she'd learned not to give a shit. She should never have listened to Casey's makeover plan in the first place. There were more important things in life than expensive clothes and the size of someone's waist.

The elevator arrived in the lobby and opened, and she waited for it to empty before she went to the back, nodding a greeting to Andy, the elevator attendant. She caught a glance at herself in the mirrored walls and quickly looked away.

She had to be honest with herself. She looked like shit today. Her face was pale, making her freckles more prominent, and she hadn't actually made an effort with her hair. Tugging at it would have made her headache worse. And the glasses couldn't hide how hungover she was.

The mean girls had every right to laugh at her today.

When the elevator stopped on her floor, she took a steadying breath before walking out. The place was crawling with people for a change, as she had known it would be at this time. She ignored all of them even when she heard them quiet down a little to watch her. She kept her head held high and avoided looking any of them in the eye.

"Morning, Miss Avery."

She glanced at the receptionist, Elizabeth, and saw the smirk on her face. There was no love lost there. Elizabeth would most likely be the first to celebrate if she got fired today. Mr Steele didn't like delay; and there she was, more than just a little tardy. Three freaking hours late.

She nodded at Elizabeth and continued walking down the corridor. Yesterday, she had snuck in like a thief; today, she seemed to be doing a walk of shame. Her head pounded with every step, no matter how softly she tried to tread, and she felt like she would throw up all over the place.

It served her right for drinking so much. And in the middle of a work week.

According to Mr Steele's schedule, he was supposed to be in a meeting. That would give her a chance to try to do something with her hair before she saw him.

Thinking about him made her face burn again. She was such an idiot. Why hadn't she just taken the corset off before it got that far? It hadn’t been worth the loss of her dignity. And now, because of that stupidity, she could be out of a job.

Mr Steele was dickish like that. She had seen him fire people for the littlest things, and her disrupting business in not one but two days was more than a little thing.

Once she made it to her office, she let out a breath of relief as she walked towards her desk. It was a lot quieter in there, and once again, she was grateful she didn’t have glass walls. The first order of business would be to take some painkillers before she tackled her hair. Maybe by the time Mr Steele finished his meeting, she would feel less nauseous and better equipped to face him.

She should have just quit. How was she going to look him in the eye? She hadn't even reached her desk when the connecting door opened, and she froze in her tracks.

"You're late."

She only managed a glance at him, and she felt her cheeks heating up. He always came when she thought of him like a demon she had summoned. He was in a grey suit today, and the quality was obvious even from across the room. For the first time ever, she felt a little embarrassed with her look, especially since she had seen his gigantic wardrobe. And it wasn’t even his main wardrobe because he didn’t live in the apartment.

“Um, yes. I'm sorry.”

Mr Steele stood there, obviously waiting for an explanation. She risked another glance at him and saw the coldness in his eyes. It made her wonder if she had imagined the look in his eyes yesterday. Like he would ever check her out. That was ridiculous.

What could she say, though?

‘I felt too embarrassed about taking my clothes off in front of you, so I got plastered’? That wouldn’t do her situation any good.

“Shall I get you some coffee?” she asked instead.

Mr Steele’s eyes got colder. No. There was definitely nothing sexual there.

“My office,” he bit out, then turned and walked back into his office, leaving the door open for her to follow.

She sighed as she placed her bag and glasses on her table. She probably didn’t need to change her shoes now, anyway, because she was about to get fired.