Search History // Stuart Twombly.

chapter four.

The next morning had rolled around and your head was pounding. You awoke, hands wrapped around your torso, head nested in a fort of pillows. Glasses put haphazardly on your bedside table, resting on top of his phone that buzzed relentlessly, the alarm shrill and demanding at the early hour of the morning. You shouldn't of had that much tequila, the burn in your throat reminded you of all the drinks from the night before. Memories of him in the back room of the bar, the way he had kissed your neck in the cab. Your body flooded with warmth as he pressed into you, his hands light on your stomach. "If we ignore it maybe it will go away" he groaned, shying away from his phone. "Come on, no matter how shit we feel we still have to go to work. Everyone else was at the bar and we left early, they're gonna wonder why we didn't come in" you sighed, trying and failing to leave the comfort of your bed. Slipping into your slippers and your robe once more, you padded out into the kitchen. You set to making some decent food, greasy enough to soak up the bars worth of alcohol you had ingested last night.

Footsteps echoed behind you as Stuart followed suit, drawn in by the smell of bacon and eggs. "Are you sure we have to go to work? I'd rather work on you all day" his voice was low as soft kisses were placed on your bare neck. "Unfortunately we do have to Stuart. Now come on, we have to get ready" Your mind blanked forgetting that he didn't have a spare change of clothes to wear. "What exactly are you planning on wearing today might I ask? I know you didn't prepare for this." You asked worrying what people would think. I mean it was bad enough you'd left together but if he had to do the walk of shame? You couldn't deal with this before coffee. Brewing a fresh cup, you nursed it in your hands as you two talked about what you were gonna do. "I'll tell you what, I can afford to come in late I mean technically I am senior staff and I never take days off. I'll run by my place, change my clothes and be at work in an hour tops!" Stuart had thought this through. Sat in your kitchen you two ate in comfortable silence, only the sound of cutlery hitting ceramic rang through the air.

Stuart said his goodbyes as you jumped in the shower, washing off his kisses and the feel of him from your skin. You dressed quickly, your hair still damp and making your white shirt ever so slightly see through. You smiled, loading the dishwasher with glasses still marked with your lipstick. The pounding in your head had subsidized over the course of a shower and your breakfast, the unease in your stomach dissipating as you climbed in your car to drive to work. Traffic was slow, but the high of last night was never ending, a smile permanently etched on to your face. Once off the highway you sped to work, pulling into your normal spot. Neha stood there, coffee and aspirin in one hand and a cronut in the other hand. "We're evolving are we Neha? You know I love cronuts? Are they the ones from the bakery on the second floor? The one with the really cute baker boy?" Neha nodded as you stuffed the sugary treat in your mouth almost forgetting to chew. You weren't very ladylike, never really had been. "Yeah, but I have a question for you? Where did you and Stuart run away to last night? All I know is you went to the bar and then Stuart was sending me a message saying he was taking you home? Are you okay?" She sounded worried and suddenly guilt washed over you. You'd been dying to tell her about you and Stuart but your agreement had clearly stated you couldn't utter a word to anyone. "Yeah, I just had a really bad headache and I was feeling really sick. I couldn't tell you cause you were on a date and I-" You lied through your teeth reassuring her that you were absolutely fine. Her mood lifted when she was sufficiently sure that you were okay, sipping her coffee as you walked to the office.

When you entered the office, you threw your bag down, noticing a post it on your desk. You smiled to yourself, knowing that meant that Stuart had got here before, probably missing all the traffic as he left earlier than you did. "Meet me in the copy room at 9?" Looking at your watch, you read 8:55am. It would only take a few minutes to get to the copy room so you looked over a few emails. Clicking through your inbox you noticed an email going to the entire office. You clicked on it and you were sent aback into your chair. Your heart plummeted into your chest and you wished the ground would just swallow you up and never bother to actually spit you back out. It was from Graham, simply entitled Dani. You swallowed back bile as you looked at the CC list. Lyle, Neha, Yo Yo. Everyone was on this, including that girl from HR. You stood quickly, turning your screen off and bolting out the room. You sped to the copy room, a pile of papers in hand. Stuart stood waiting, leant against the copy machine, his eyes glued to his phone. When he heard you come in his eyes shot up, anger just behind his eyes. "I'm going to end him, I mean it Dani. If I knew that he was gonna do something like this I wouldn't have sent it" His voice seethed with rage as he strode out the room. You followed suit, your heels clicking fast as he ran to Grahams office. "Stuart, don't! He's a piece of shit but lets just let HR deal with it. He isn't worth the effort or the air you breathe."