It May Rain

Chapter Fourteen

The events of Monday morning have happened just like Hugo said they would.

Jacko called me into his office at approximately ten o'clock and served me with a written statement detailing the reasons for the termination of my contact. I played the part of the surprised and woeful employee perfectly; I don't want to make Jacko suspicious that someone somewhere has been leaking information, which might get Hugo in trouble. He did me a big favour by letting me know in advance, and I'll forever be grateful to him for that.

After the way I knocked back his romantic advances I'm surprised it crossed his mind to even let me know. Most men I've been with would have had a bruised ego at being turned down, but not Hugo. Instead, he offers me a job at his godfather's company and makes an effort to keep me up to date with a work issue that doesn't even affect him. In a way, it's refreshing to see that not all men are jackasses.

And the way he made me realise that he's very unlike my ex has been playing on my mind, because there's no way I want to get into another relationship with a man who makes minimal effort. Hugo has got me thinking I don't really know myself anymore. Maybe I could be with someone like Hugo after all...

My curiosity at how he found out and what else he might know has also been eating away at me all weekend. He wasn't even at work on Friday so why was he, a lowly intern, discussing confidential company information with someone high up?

"Hugo! Over here!" I yell as soon as he steps into the retail park coffee shop, our regular lunchtime meeting point these days.

He comes over, and a playful look passes over his face when he spots the paper bag on the table.

"Is that a chocolate cookie or a chocolate mince pie?"

"Neither, it's a chicken panini. It's your lunch so you don't have to spend time queuing up and ordering. Now sit so we can talk," I demand.

"What if I don't want a chicken panini?" he teases.

I shoot him a deadpan look, and he knows he's not going to get a response to that.

He takes a seat and begins unwrapping the paper bag.

"Magnus + Son is on schedule to open our new office mid-February. We're just finalising the hiring of all the staff, and we should be fully operational by March. Do you think you'd be ok to start then? Assuming you do want the job, of course," he winks.

"Yeah, I don't see why not. Jacko only gave me a one week notice period, so I'll be unemployed as of Friday."

"Oh forgive me, I totally forgot to ask. How did it go this morning with Jacko?"

I shrug nonchalantly. "As expected. I mean, it would have been a huge shock if you hadn't warned me, but because you did, I feel weirdly relaxed about it. So thanks so much for the heads up, I owe you one" I say sincerely.

"I'm glad I was able to let you know. I only found out myself on Friday night, but by then it was a bit late to call you."

"How did you find out exactly? Since when were you privy to such high-up managerial decisions."

He takes a massive bite out of his panini, only to find out it's piping hot. He makes a charade of cooling down his mouth, and I have to wait patiently whilst he sorts himself out.

"It's a long story. The details don't really matter. All that matters is that I found out in time to warn you."

"Hugo, I might not have known you very long, but I can tell when you're being evasive or trying to hide something."

Not to mention, I've been surrounded by liars my whole life. He attempts another bite of his panini, but abandons it when he realises it's too hot to eat, then looks up at me with a shy look.