The Holly Man

Enter The Good Man

Amy drove and noted the first Christmas song on the radio with its jangling sleigh bells, relieved it wasn't one of the ones which caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise, taking her back to that Christmas. She pulled into Aerotech's car park, pleased to see Will's sleek black car there too. With Richard out with a combination of holidays and illnesses picked up from his young family, they had spent the early part of this project working more closely than would usually be the case. Oftentimes, Jon and Raj would be there too, but there had been days when the two were over at the manufacturing site, and Will had stepped in to cover Richard's absence. Although Amy had noticed he kept a professional distance in a physical way, she felt they had settled into something you might call a friendship. Apart from work, they discussed literature, and Amy had gently teased him about the bleak nature of his favourite poem, The Wasteland. This had drawn a smile, and she had countered with a quote from Macavity The Mystery Cat, which brought forth a deep rumble of rare laughter to her huge satisfaction. She didn't share anything much about her life outside of work, and neither did he, but she felt a certain level of contentment when he was around and anticipation to see him when he wasn't.

For the last few weeks, with the team back up to full strength, she'd seen him less. The client MD Alex was often found with them in the boardroom, and Amy was required to meet with him regularly to dig into requirements and shape the project to establish the Seattle base and expand the business with all the right safeguards. They were also working with the company's accountants who had to squeeze their team into the same room periodically. Alex was good company, and unlike Will, he often asked about her plans for the house in Evesham and her life outside of work. He was easy to talk to, and Amy felt he gave good council. He'd insisted on taking her for lunch a couple of times, and she had a slight unease more recently that he might ask to take their relationship outside of work. She had a hunch he'd wait until the project had concluded, and unsure of how she'd feel about that, she pushed it firmly to the back of her mind. She tried to imagine what she'd feel like if he touched her, but somehow, she couldn't. Her mind twisted with confusion because she enjoyed the way he ran his eyes admiringly over her body but couldn't connect that emotion with any deeper need.

The entire team had been invited to a masquerade themed party just before Christmas to both launch the Aerotech expansion and raise some money for the company's charitable foundation. Will had committed to a whole table, and Fern was beside herself with excitement. When she entered the boardroom, Alex was standing clutching a takeaway coffee cup chatting to Will about the arrangements. Spotting her, he pointed to a twin coffee on the table a few seats down from Will. Amy saw her boss' eyes track to it. "Morning Amy. I was calling in at the drive-through as I came in, and I picked up one for you. I know you like a decent coffee first thing." She smiled, feeling a fission of embarrassment that Will was now witness to their familiarity.

"Thanks Alex, that's really kind of you."

"Well, it's in my interests to keep my crack team of advisors firing on all cylinders." he said with a smile. Amy laughed, glancing at Will, who seemed unaffected, and she relaxed.

                               ***

Will watched her reaction carefully. His mood had soured as soon as Alex had put the coffee on the table for Amy, but he was careful to school his features into neutrality as he chatted about mundane matters with his client. In truth, he considered Alex a very nice man, with whom in another life he might have developed a friendship. Alex's fondness and admiration for Amy however, was so overt it occupied a lot of his waking moments. He had rationalised over and over that he should be happy that a man like Alex could not only see her worth but potentially offer her a more fulfilling life. However, it was no use. He couldn't come to terms with it.