As promised, here is another, more substantial instalment. As ever thanks to Panaflora for editing, thanks for reading, and thanks for the thought provoking comments.
K
The staff Christmas party was in the same hotel the stakeholders' event had been. They pulled up in a taxi in front of the main entrance and clambered out
Jess was more excited about going this time. Now that she actually knew her work colleagues, she felt like she was going with friends, and she was looking forward to seeing Katie from the outlet and David, who had returned to the Fulham office a few weeks earlier.
But there was the small problem of Gabriel.
Breaking up with him and maintaining a professional distance had been tough. He'd hassled her for weeks, lying in wait in the kitchen, by the printer, on the stairs, outside the building as she left, ready to pounce. A few times she'd nearly given in, but she'd resisted. Eventually he'd taken the hint and stopped. She could go days without seeing him now. When she did it, continued to feel awkward, but she ignored it.
They'd all gone for a drink in The Eagle beforehand. Jess had gulped down her prosecco far too quickly. Lou had squeezed her hand, but she hadn't said anything, she didn't need to, her sympathetic smile told Jess she knew she was nervous.
They climbed the stairs, to find the foyer of the hotel festooned with glitter and greenery. The whole place smelled of cinnamon and citrus, and momentarily Jess was distracted from her nerves when she was handed a glass of champagne, and the prettiest, daintiest mince pie she'd ever seen. It almost seemed a shame to eat it.
Even though things had settled down in the last few weeks, she didn't want to rock the boat. Seeing Gabriel in a social situation, with alcohol involved seemed too much like a recipe for disaster. She wouldn't stay long, she decided. She would have a few drinks, wish everyone happy Christmas and leave before things got a chance to get out of hand. While everyone else drifted off to the cloakroom, Jess found a glass of sparkling wine, tucked herself away in a corner, and discreetly scanned the room.
"He's not here," said a quiet voice from beside her. She spun around to find Lauren was standing next to her. "No one knows where he is."
The anxiety receded a little. "Am I that obvious?"
"No, of course not. I knew you must be wondering, that's all."
When Katie arrived, Jess tried to introduce them but unsurprisingly, Lauren and Katie knew each other already. She wandered off to grab them some drinks and when she got back Katie was telling Lauren the story of the first time she and Gabriel had met. She really didn't want to talk about Gabriel, but Katie noticed her before she could recede back into the crowd and wait for the topic to change. Next, Lauren began enthusiastically filling Katie in on the breakup - on Gabriel telling Jess off in front of everyone. Jess felt her face heat, this was the last thing she wanted to talk about, but the girls seemed oblivious to that.
"We're all on Jessie's side obviously. He behaved like a right dickhead. In front of everyone as well." Lauren rolled her eyes.
Jess tried not to let it show on her face, but it hadn't occurred to her that everyone would have an opinion about what had happened between them, let alone have taken a side.
"Stop talking about it." David had suddenly joined them, sliding an arm around Jess' waist. "This is a party. Jess doesn't want to think about Gabriel, she wants to have fun," he added, pulling her tight against him. Jess squeezed him back gratefully.
Instead the three started on about someone else's relationship woes. They were people Jess didn't know, so instead of listening she had another look around. There was a similar crew at this event as there was at the last one, a mixture of young office staff, older managers and directors and the same group of friends that seemed different somehow. They dressed differently, Jess couldn't put her finger on how exactly, but they were, and they didn't seem to interact with anyone apart from each other (and Gabriel, when he was there), but despite this they were loud, as if somehow they expected to be the centre of attention.
"Does that crowd work at the Fulham office?" she asked David quietly, when there was a gap in the conversation. "I noticed them last time we were here, but I haven't seen them anywhere else."
"No, they're the Capell kids," he replied. "And their friends," he added as an afterthought.
For a moment Jess had no idea what David was talking about, but then she remembered the rushed googling she'd done on the company, the night before her interview. It was a family business.
"The one in the red dress is Georgie, Gabriel's younger sister." She glanced at a pretty young girl with long dark hair, quieter than the others. She hadn't noticed it before, but apart from her eyes, which were brown, she did resemble Gabriel.
'So Gabriel is part of the Cappell family?"
David rolled his eyes at her and groaned.
"But Gabriel's surname is Hunter," she said slowly.
"His mother is Anthony Capell's eldest daughter. You're a crap gold digger, you know that?"
"You didn't know?" Lauren asked, disbelief colouring her voice. "He's going to inherit the family title Jess."
"No, no I didn't," she said slowly as the cogs turned in her mind, and all sorts of things about Gabriel suddenly fell into place; how he had such a senior role in the company when he was at least a decade younger than everyone else in management; why he occasionally acted like he owned the company; why he was allowed to do whatever he liked; the understated confidence that seemed to ooze from every pore -the sort of confidence that only came from an expensive private education.
But the only thing she actually said was, "At least I know where that enormous sense of entitlement comes from now."
David guffawed at that, but Katie just smiled. "I bet you made a lovely couple," she said, for about the fiftieth time. "The way he looked at her that day, David. You would have died."
Some guys from the Fulham office joined their group and the usual friendly banter about the feud between the two offices followed.
A little while later, Jess was returning from the loo when she ran into one of the guys by the bar. She hadn't taken a lot of notice of him at the time, but they got talking and she realised all of a sudden that she was enjoying herself
"I'm Conor," he said, holding out a hand, and she was surprised to feel a tiny jolt of attraction when he smiled.
He was flirting with her, she realised, and although she didn't want to do anything about it, she couldn't help but feel swept away by his charm. He was good looking and funny, and very charismatic.
She indulged him. "Jess, pleased to meet you," she replied. His handshake was warm and firm.
He leaned against the bar looking dashing and the small flutter of attraction in Jess's chest flickered again. It was the first she'd experienced since breaking up with Gabriel. He asked her how long she'd been working for the company, and what she'd been doing before. He knew the village she had been living in, in Thailand.
David joined them. It was clear he and Conor knew each other well.
"Jess is a very good photographer, Conor." David told him, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
Jess opened her eyes wider, and tried to wordlessly tell David to leave it out. She was enjoying the banter but she didn't fancy him, or rather, she didn't want to get involved. Maybe they could have dated if they didn't work for the same company, but they did. She wasn't making that mistake again.
"Maybe you should come to us for a few weeks, Jess," Conor said, watching her intently
"Yes, come and help with the new catalogue shoot!" David added.
They were joking of course, but she could do with a bit of a break from the oppressive Gabriel vibes in the office.They'd eased off a bit, but they were still very much there.
