“You…don’t mean…”
“Mean what? Oh Christ, good God Catherine, no,” he spluttered, “No funny stuff at all. Just a safe night out where I’d show you how I’d behave, what I’d dress in, how I’d talk…that sort of thing.”
“Right…”
“And at the end, you could give me some tips and I’d take you home. That’s all.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes, just a practice run before the real thing.”
They both went quiet. CJ looked unbelievably embarrassed and started playing with a pen, unable to look at her. Cat’s mind raced as she wondered what to do. He was a lovely guy and it all sounded innocent enough, but it was a bit unusual to say the least. She wouldn’t want Graham doing it with one of his co-workers and if anyone they knew saw them out…
“I’m sorry CJ,” she said, “I can’t.”
“No?”
“No, I’m sorry. I really am. But it’s a bit…odd.”
“Okay,” he said sadly.
“Look, don’t worry,” she said, smiling and reaching across the desk to take his hand sympathetically, “You don’t need a practice run, you’ll be fine.”
“I’m a foolish old man, I…I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” she replied, “It’s actually quite flattering.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, I’m glad that you feel you can trust me and if things were different I’d consider it. But I’m married and even if it is completely innocent, it’s…you know…”
“Okay, I suppose you’re right. Shall we forget we had this conversation?”
“If you wish.”
“Yes, now get back to work you. That’s enough slacking on the job.”
She laughed easily and went back to the spreadsheet she was updating.
****
The rest of the afternoon went by without a hitch and the following day, everything seemed back to normal. They spent the day sorting out the last few jobs before the weekend, chatting casually and engaging in some light banter, just like any other Friday on the job. But the following Monday, things changed.
That weekend had been Gemma’s Hen Party and as usual with her, things got messy. They started by doing shots at 5pm, were out until the early hours and when Cat woke the next morning, she had the worst hangover since her student days and no memory of anything after about 9pm. After spending all of Saturday and most of Sunday feeling rotten, she returned to work and found CJ already sat at his desk. But there was something different about him, he seemed very serious that morning which wasn’t like CJ at all.
“Morning Catherine,” he said.
“Morning,” she said with some trepidation, “Uh…is everything all right?”
“Sit down,” he said, “Do you mind if we talk?”
“No that’s fine,” she replied as she seated herself, “What’s up?”
“Cat, I know you went out with Gemma and the girls this weekend, but I need to ask you something…are you and Graham having trouble at home?”
“No,” she said with some worry, “Why? Has Gemma told you something? Graham and me are fine.”
“No, she hasn’t said a word. It’s just…well, she had some computer trouble at the weekend and asked me round to help her out. I had to go through her hard drive quite thoroughly,” he suddenly reached into his pocket, “And I found this.”
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