Friday

Sat alone in her top floor office, Nadine glared at her smartphone. Overdue a call from one of her struggling area managers, she massaged her forehead with her thumb and index finger, her blood on the verge of turning into crimson steam. Her phone lay idle on her desk showing the time on the screen, 17:17. At 17:19 she jumped out of her chair and threw her hands down towards her phone.

"Hurry up you stupid prick. Why do you think you're doing so badly when you can't even make a fucking phone call on time? You're lazy, stupid and fucking SHIT at your job, I don't know why I ever took you on in the first place. Maybe I'm shit at my job for hiring fucking useless cunts like you. You're unbelievable Karl, unbelievable, I've put so much of my time into you for you to treat me like a fucking dickhead."

Nadine's face had reddened, the veins in her neck and sides of her head bulged out. She put both of her elbows on the desk and leaned forwards, her face inches away from her phone, her big, round bottom protruded behind her.

"You better call me very soon, Karl, very fucking soon. Don't make me call you, you do NOT want me to call you, if I do there'll be hell to pay, hell to pay, you fucking idiot. I'll tell you something, if you were here right now I would rip your..."

A knock on the door interrupted her. She snapped her head up in the direction of the knock, her face thoroughly flushed.

"What?" She yelled.

"Ms Parker, it's James, I have those files for you, the ones you asked for."

"Well don't talk to me through the fucking door you drip, come in for fuck's sake."

The thick silver handle went down, one of the double doors slowly opened. A large stack of coloured folders appeared around the door followed by a tall, slender young man. He walked into the room just enough to let the door close behind him and stood in the corner.

"Are you going to put them on my desk for me, James?" Asked Nadine, staring at him over her thinly rimmed glasses, her face began to go back to its regular, tanned tone.

"Certainly." He walked over to her desk and put the folders on the edge nearest him. Nadine fixed her eyes on the stack he'd placed upon her desk. She clasped her hands together.

"Do you think I can read what's in those folders from here, James?" She asked, smiling wryly in his direction. "They are so far away from me you may as well have left them in the fucking lift. Here's an idea for you: why don't you bring them to me and then maybe I might be able to do something with them? That's a good idea, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry Ms Parker, I didn't think, I..."

"You didn't think? I know you didn't think! Nobody here does except for me, do they?" She threw her hands in the air, her fingertips angled down towards him. "Why do you think I'm screaming all the time? I'm surrounded by dickheads James, that's why, incompetent fucking idiots that are ruining my company."

She stood behind her chair and leaned on the back of it with her forearms, her hands out in front of her. "There are going to be some big changes, James, big changes. I need to restructure, get rid of these parasites, I would be better off doing this on my own than with the liabilities my so-called employees have turned into. They are embarrassing me James and WORST of all they're losing me money. I can't take any more of this, I..."

Nadine's phone began to vibrate on her desk, the name Karl Lloyd appeared on the screen. She let out an angry sigh as she snatched the phone into her right hand and pointed down towards the screen with the index finger of her left.

"I mean, look at this joker, five o' clock he was due to call me, five o' clock, look at the time now." She pointed at a large Rolex clock on the wall indicating the time: 17:25. "I'm in two minds whether to answer this or not. I feel like if I do I'll tear him a new one so wide I could fit his fat head in it." Her phone stopped ringing a second before her finger connected with the screen and instead informed her she had one missed call.

"Oh my FUCKING GOD." She screamed as she threw her phone across the room, it smashed against the wall opposite. James froze, hands by his side, his face expressionless. Nadine spun on her heels and walked over to the window, she placed her hands palms down on it and leaned forwards, looking out over the city. As she did, James' eyes involuntarily flitted over her body, forcibly drawn in by her commanding voluptuousness.

"Do you see what they're doing to me, James? They made me break my damn phone."

He broke his gaze before she turned back to face him. She cracked a slight smile and laughed a little, exhaling deeply as she returned to her high backed, black leather chair. She grabbed the arm and turned it towards her. She fell backwards into it, sending it into a spin as she stuck out her well defined muscular legs.

"Ohhh James. James, James, James. I am sorry for being such a fucking bitch to you, I really am. I'm sorry I shouted at you before I was out of order I'm just really, really stressed at the moment - like you hadn't guessed. Please try to not take it personally. I know it must be really hard for you, I do appreciate you and all that you do for me." Nadine put her hands on her head and began massaging her scalp but was unable to do it properly due to her impossibly tight bun. She picked around for the bobble that constricted her hair and pulled it out which released her luscious, wavy black hair.

"It's alright, I understand, it has been a tough couple of weeks for you, for us all."

James lifted the stack of folders from the far end of the long, shiny black desk and brought them round to the side at which Nadine sat. He carefully ensured they were neatly stacked on top of each other. She smiled at his attention to detail and looked the pile up and down.

"I think I have my work cut out here, don't I? Thank you, James. Are you going home now?" She turned her chair to face him and lifted the lever on the underside of it, releasing the lock on the backrest allowing her to recline.

"Erm, well, I have a few things to get sorted for Monday before I do but then yes, I am. Emma and I are due to be going out for dinner tonight, it's been a while. It'll be nice to spend some time together, a bit of time to relax and unwind, y'know."

"Oh lovely, where are you thinking of going?" Nadine put her hands on her stomach, her fingers linked together. "It's been a while since I've been out for dinner, in a non-business sense, that is. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I went out for dinner that wasn't with a client of some kind."

"We'll most likely go to Bellacini's, we like it there, it's a nice place to go to whilst it's good weather. You can sit outside and watch the river, listen to the birds, it's peaceful. You can almost forget that you're in the city and..."

"Bellacini's! Oh I love Bellacini's, I didn't know you liked it there too, perhaps you and I could go some time?" She asked, looking up at him with wide eyes, unclasping her hands and raising her arms slightly, her palms facing upwards.

"Erm, well, yes? Yes, we could do?"

Nadine gently nodded her head. "We will go some time when you are free. In fact, we could go tonight, couldn't we? See Emma another time, she sounds boring anyway, you'd have much more fun with me. I'll pay." She smiled.

"Ahh right... ohh, well, erm, you see, the thing is, I, I probably shouldn't do... tonight? Sorry. I really should be spending time with Emma, I think I've told you about her, we're properly together now and I can't really let her down. I mean we've spoken about this for the past week or so, she'll be angry if I back out. She's been away in Cambodia teaching English, we haven't seen each other in a long time. But I am free all next week. Any day. Whenever's best for you. I'm sure you have a lot more going on than me, aheh-heh-heh. I'm sorry, I can't join you. I..."

James shifted his eyes back to the stack of folders. He edged himself closer to them and ran his hands down the edges as if trying to make them even straighter. Nadine put her right elbow on the arm of her chair and rested her head on her middle and index fingers, looking at James' face from the side.

"Well, I err, I need to go downstairs again now. Got a few things to do before I leave for the weekend." He turned to face Nadine. "Is there anything you need me to do before I go back down? I will probably go home once I'm done, if that's alright?"

"You don't need my permission to leave, James, you are free to go whenever you like, silly boy." She smiled up at James, the whiteness of her teeth exacerbated by her dark plum lipstick. "But before you rush off will you stay and have a drink with me?"

"Oh Ms Parker, I don't know, I, I shouldn't really drink at work. I also need to kind of, go home, quite... soon? Any other night I would be able to, I just can't really do tonight. Sorry."

"Ahh come on James, live a little, it's the weekend. You can surely stay for one with me? Tell your girlfriend your bitch of a boss made you do some extra work or something. Do you want me to call her for you?" Nadine swivelled her chair through 90 degrees to again face her desk. "And what do you mean you shouldn't drink at work? Why? In case you get sacked? Guess what James: you're not getting sacked. But you might if you don't have a drink with me." She added, smiling widely as she leaned down to open the bottom drawer of her desk.

She placed her fingertips on the lip of the drawer and flicked her hand closed which elicited an excitable clink from the bottles within. Her eyes darted over the array of bottle tops til they landed on a crystal one filled with clear fluid. She pulled out the intricately cut stopper with her right hand and brought the bottle to within three inches of her nose with her left. With the opening of the bottle right before her face, she inhaled slowly and silently through her nose, her eyes closed.

"This is some really good stuff." She whispered, exhaling as she turned her head to look up at James. "There's a chair on the other side of my desk."

"I'm alright standing." He replied. "I have been sat down all day it would be nice to stand up for a bit."

"James, sit down please. I'm not going to be able to relax with you stood right there."

"Ahh OK, yeah, well, I wouldn't mind having a look out of your window over the city. I've never actually stood in front of it and looked out properly, y'know what I mean?"

"Actually, alright then, yes, you do that and I'll make us a drink. Do you want any ice?"

"Erm, no thanks. What are you making us by the way?" James took a few steps towards the window as he spoke, his feet sinking into the thick white carpet.

"You can have whatever you like, I've a fair assortment of drinks. If you have one in mind I'll make it for you."

"Oh, well, what are you having?" He turned his head towards her.

Nadine tilted her head to the side and opened her eyes wider, eyebrows raised.

"I'll just have what you're having."

"I think you will like it, it's delicate." She smiled.

James laughed and turned back towards the window. As he faced away he furrowed his brow and smiled, he laughed to himself. He stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back. "Wow, this is amazing! You can see everywhere, oh my god, Ms Parker I can't believe I've never seen your view from this perspective." He turned his head over his shoulder and saw her facing away from him, her body drawing his eyes in.

"James, call me by my name please. Calling me Ms Parker makes me feel like a teacher." She poured herself a short glass of liquor and downed it. "And yes, I agree, it never gets old. I look out there every day and plan my next moves. By the way, if you look out towards the Evening Post building there's the word James painted on a building nearby. See if you can find it." She said, still facing away. Nadine poured some more of the clear alcohol into two crystal glasses.

"Really, are you having me on?" He asked, still facing in her direction.

"No, look out for it. Tell me when you've found it." She opened a shiny silver ice bucket on her desk and noticed James' partially blurred reflection on the side of it.

"So, what can you see?"

"Erm, I can see..." He spun back to the window. "I can see... The Crowne Plaza?"

"The Crowne Plaza is over the road. Are you telling me you haven't seen anything more interesting than a hotel that you see at least five days a week? My view is a lot more impressive than that."

"Ah-ha, yes, so it is. Well, I've, I've seen a lot of things out there. It was a joke. Sorry."

"Right... this is yours anyway." Nadine extended the drink out in her left hand. He walked over to her, took it and held it up to his nose.

"Ahh, ice..."

"That's how I have it. You said you wanted what I was having."

"What is it?"

"Do you want a chair, James?"

"I think I'm..."

"Let me get you a chair." Nadine placed her glass against her bottom lip. She tilted her head back, eyes closed and smoothly poured the drink until she had a mouthful. She swallowed it, pursed her lips whilst inhaling sharply through her nose then firmly placed the glass back on the table as she walked round to the adjacent side.

"Let's not feel like we're having a meeting." She said as she pinched the sides of her skirt and pulled the fabric up whilst bending her knees and cradling the chair with her right hand under the seat and her left on the back. She tightened her grip on it and picked it up, her biceps engorged under the weight of the dense wood and leather. She carried it round to her side of the desk.

"I could have moved that! Let me take it. And it's got wheels anyway you can push it, you..."

"It's moved now, you can sit here." She said, placing the chair on the carpet. She straightened her back and she rolled her head around her shoulders. "Ooh, actually, before you sit down there is one thing that you could do for me."

"Yes?"

"Could you rub my shoulders for me, please? I've been really tense all day and they're quite sore. I would do it myself but I'd look a twat." Nadine picked her drink up and sat in her with her back to him. "Thanks."

James opened his mouth halfway, pausing for a few moments. "Err... Yes? Yeah? Yep. Alright." He gingerly positioned himself behind her and drew breaths scented by a mixture of her hair and perfume. He cautiously placed his hands on the middle of each of her shoulder blades, spaced out his fingers and evenly applied light pressure whilst arcing his hands. He tenderly manipulated her tight muscles. With his arms extended his sleeves lifted which revealed his watch on his left wrist: 17:49. "Fuck." He mouthed, rubbing her shoulders more quickly.

"Sorry, one minute James, I just need to..." She stood up and slid her jacket off, folded it in half then tossed it on to her desk. She started pouring out a drink.

"Ms Parker, sorry, Nadine, I have to go. It's getting quite late, I should be meeting Emma soon."

"Top-up?"

"I can't really have another one, I need to go and meet Emma, it's getting quite late and she'll be wanting to go out. Sorry."

"Oh come on, James, you've been with me for literally ten minutes, have another drink. Please. It's Friday."

"I don't know, I don't think I should, I really should go."

She started pouring him a drink. "Just have this one then go, OK?" She handed him a full glass of a clear liquor. He took a sip and let out a muffled snort.

"Woah, wow, well, that's really quite something. Wooh. I don't know if I can drink this it smells a bit much for me, what is it?"

"Eau de vie, James. This one is made from organic French apples. It's nice. Chin chin." Nadine downed her drink and sat back in her chair. "Come on James, bottoms up."

"You're joking, aren't you? I can't down all that - I'll be smashed!"

"It's only twenty something percent, just do it, come on."

"I just don't want to be drunk when I see Emma though, she'll go mad if I turn up drunk."

Nadine turned her chair and looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "Alright then, you do what you want, I just don't think you're going to be able to rub my shoulders with one hand, that's all." She turned back to her desk.

He frowned as he looked into her hair, downed most of the drink, leaned around her and put his glass on the desk then placed his hands on her shoulders, gripping them more firmly than before. He worked his hands up to the base of her neck whilst slowly rotating his thumbs in a circular motion towards the centre of her back. She rolled her head forwards and exhaled through her mouth. "Ahh, that's actually really nice."

James cracked a smug grin as he looked down at his hands on her body. "I'm glad you like it."

"I can't believe you haven't done this for me before, I can't believe I haven't asked you, why haven't told me about this skill of yours?"

"Oh, well, I don't know. We just haven't talked about it I suppose and it might be inappropriate if I offered you a massage, you might think I'm some kind of weirdo."

Nadine turned to look at him, smiling with her teeth. "I already do."

"Yeah, I know." He smiled.

"Can you move a bit farther down?" She shifted forwards in her chair. 'Just a little bit?"

James tilted his head to the right and pursed his lips.

"Please?" She batted her eyelids as she looked up at him.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, he pulled it out to a text:

"Hey babe are you nearly home? I'm almost ready xx"

James hurriedly pulled his hands to his sides. "Erm, no I actually... can't. Sorry, Emma's just text. She's nearly ready to go out, I really do have to go. Like really."

Nadine turned to look at him. "Ohhh Jaaames, you're so good at that though and it's still mega early as well. It's not your fault she got ready too soon, it's not even six o'clock. Just rub the bottom of my back for me then go, OK?" She turned her back to him.

James looked up to the ceiling and rolled his eyes before closing them. He bit his teeth together and huffed. "I have to go in literally five minutes, Nadine." He took a deep breath and placed his fingertips from beneath her armpits to halfway down her back, moving his thumbs in a circular motion on either side of her spine. He moved his hands further down and hit a spot that made her crease up on her left-hand side and almost touch her thigh with her elbow. She stood up and turned around.

"James... you little prick!" She blurted out as she tried to stifle a giggle. "Do not tickle me." She sat back in the chair.

"Got you there didn't I haha! Sorry."

Nadine turned in her chair to look up at him. "Yes, you did, har-har. You got me that time but if you do that again you will be fucking sorry." Which she followed with a closed eyed, exaggerated, grin.

He picked up almost exactly where he left off but applied less pressure. Within moments her left side tensed up and she jumped out of the chair. She stood around James' side.

"What did I tell you? You're not going home now."

"What are you talking about? I am going home, I'm going home right now in fact."

"No you're not. I said if you tickle me one more time you'll be sorry. Being tickled makes me mad James, I could hit you right now." She opened her eyes widely and drew a fist behind her head, he flinched, she smiled. "I want you to do one more thing for me before you go. I wasn't going to ask you to do it but now you deserve it." She turned her chair around and sat back in it. "Sit down with me first."

"Ms Parker, Nadine, please." He checked the time on his phone. "It's gone six o'clock and I've not even left yet, she knows I'm supposed to finish at five-ish, I have to go."

"James for fuck's sake, sit down for five minutes. Emma doesn't pay you forty thousand pounds a year, does she?"

He looked at her with his mouth open for a few moments, then swallowed. He walked back to her whilst looking at the carpet.