I knew some of them had to be bluffing, because not everyone got a larger bonus than last year. And here lay the competitive nature of the business. No matter what number those bankers got told when they entered King’s office, they would never let their colleagues see their disappointment.

Like I said, it was all about appearances.

It was mid-morning, and another “pleased”-looking employee had just exited King’s office when I went inside to bring him his coffee.

“Hey. How’s everything going?” I asked, setting the cup down on his desk.

“Monotonous,” he replied, running a hand through his short blond hair.

“Don’t you enjoy telling people their bonuses? I mean, the ones who did well, at least?” I asked, curious.

King only shot me a look that said it all. So he didn’t like B-day. Duly noted.

“Will you thank your mother for the note she sent yesterday?” I said just before I was about to leave.

King glanced up from the papers on his desk. “Note?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I got it yesterday. She wrote telling me she enjoyed my company when I’d stayed for tea.”

A stressed look crossed over King’s face. “Do you still have it?”

“Yes, it’s in my drawer.”

“Go get it,” he clipped.

Frowning, I turned and went to retrieve the note. When I returned, I handed it to King, and he hurried to pull it from the envelope. His eyes scanned the words, and then a relieved breath escaped him.

“Yes, this is definitely her handwriting.”

I let out a nervous laugh. “Who else’s would it be?”

Shutters went down behind King’s eyes and he stood, walking to me and handing me back the note. I took it and watched as he went to the drinks cabinet at the back of the office and pulled out a bottle of expensive whiskey. In less than a few seconds, he’d poured some into a glass and knocked it back. I recalled his words from yesterday.

When I’m stressed out, a nice glass of top-shelf whiskey usually does the trick.

Why had his mother sending me a note stressed him out? And why had he thought somebody else had sent it?

“King, is everything all right?” I asked, concerned.

He closed the drinks cabinet and turned back, his expression hard. Whoa. I’d never seen him look at me like that before.

“Everything is fine, Alexis. Now, I do believe you have work to attend to.”

Brow furrowing, I gave him a quiet, “Yes, I do,” then turned and left his office.

***

I didn’t go to the bathroom for lunch that day, nor did I go the day after. Instead, I ate my sandwich on a bench outside, intermittently browsing my messages and throwing pieces of bread to the pigeons. I’d almost forgotten that King and I had anything even resembling a friendship until he sidled into the office on Friday morning looking like the cat that got the cream. And all of that smug delight was being firmly directed at me. He said his usual hellos to both Gillian and Eleanor, then came to stand in front of me, arms folded, a gigantic smile on his face.

“You’re looking particularly lovely today, Miss Clark,” he said with a flourish.

I glanced at him for a second, frowned, and then continued typing. What was his game? Eleanor got up from her seat and went to use the bathroom, and still he remained standing there like a complete and total oddball, as Gillian’s voice talking on the phone filled the room. Finally, I gave in.

“Can I help you with something?”

“I could fucking kiss you right now,” he beamed, and I sucked a breath.

Okay. Trying to play it nonchalant, I replied, “For what exactly?”

“That social media start-up we discussed the other day? Well, immediately after we spoke, I lined up one of my clients as an investor, and guess what?”

I stared at him. “What?”

“The site has gone viral overnight. Apparently, a couple of celebrities started using it, and now they’re getting new sign-ups by the bucket load.” He leaned forward and braced both his hands on the edge of my desk. “This client was an important one, and he currently thinks I shit daisies. And I have you to thank for it, Alexis. You’re a flipping genius!”

I couldn’t help my smile. He really was laying it on thick and heavy. “Shall I whip out my cock for you to suck now or later? Jeez, Ollie, tone it down a little.”

He blinked at me, and then a second later he was laughing. It was good thing Eleanor wasn’t around and that Gillian was too preoccupied with her phone call to hear what I’d said.

“Did you just call me Ollie?”

Supressing a smirk, I nodded, still typing. A beat of silence passed.

“Did you also just refer to me sucking your cock?”

“Well, you’ve already opened the button and pulled down the fly. You might as well finish the job,” I quipped, and amusement lit his eyes.

He stared at me for so long that I began to get uncomfortable. His smile naturally faded, and now his expression grew serious. “I’m going to put a bonus in your first month’s pay. Think of it as a consultant’s fee.”

Now I was frowning again. “You don’t have to do that. Seriously, picking that start-up instead of the other business was just me thinking out loud. Hazarding a guess. I didn’t do any research. I could have been completely bullshitting for all you knew.”

King leaned closer. “Alexis, don’t insult me. I know bullshit from real shit when I hear it. And what you gave me was the latter.”