Heart2Heart: A Charity Anthology (Collection), Volume 6 by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-30T18:30:00+00:00

“What is going on? Are you ill? Richard says you haven’t been in your office this week.”

“My secretary talks too much,” I grumbled without heat. “I’m fine, and I’m here now. What’s up, Maxi?”

I adjusted my earbuds and wandered to the bank of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Thames. I might not have the biggest office at the top of the building, but it was still a great view…even on a cloudy April morning. I could see the dome of St. Paul’s on my right and Tower Bridge on my left. Pedestrians looked like tiny ants from here, bustling and rushing to get to work or to the next stop on their tour.

My office in Toronto had been laughably small in comparison. I’d been ultra careful not to expand too quickly or to take on more than I could afford. It had seemed wise at the time. I was newly engaged to a woman whose career in freelance fashion journalism demanded a significant amount of travel. One of us had to be stable. That was me. Mr. Stable.

However, conservativism didn’t translate when you were trying to launch a new enterprise. I’d muddled through for a year, closing old accounts at home while trying to find a foothold in a dynamic industry in a new country. Somewhere along the line, I’d clued in that life was all about perception and illusion—the illusion of success mattered as much as stability.

I’d heard once that big-name clients liked physical evidence that they’d entrusted their industrial planning to a successful corporation on the rise. So shortly before my divorce was final, I took a gamble and sprang for a small office in an elite location. I hired two of the finest industrial engineers in the UK, a talented architect, and a chatty, albeit loyal and fiercely organized secretary, and hit the pavement hard.

A few years later, I was pleased to report that my instincts had been correct. My clientele and staff had grown to the point that I could easily justify the mews house in Kensington, my sweet office view, and taking a day or two off without explaining myself.

Okay, maybe not that last part.

Apparently, when you made a habit of being at your desk before seven a.m. and not leaving until at least six p.m., people noticed when you ducked out early. Well, my secretary noticed. And since Maxine was the kind of friend who befriended secretaries, she now kind of sort of knew something was up.

“Nice try,” Maxine huffed. “Richard’s dead worried about you. But he says you were smiling when you came in this morning, so…it can’t be too bad, yeah?”

“I’m fine,” I repeated.

She gasped on the line. “You sneaky bugger. You’re seeing karaoke boy, aren’t you? The bloke from California. What’s his name again?”

“Chance.”

Geez, it was a good thing she couldn’t see me now. I couldn’t even say his name without grinning like a fool.

“Take a chance on romance,” she singsonged. “I like him. You could have just said you were taking the week to shag your new lover boy, you know.

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