A few days before Christmas and a day after the office Christmas party, Bryan returned from Australia.
The office was virtually empty. A lot of the staff had gone for Christmas shopping. Alot of them were going either singly or in groups to sunnier places like Florida, the Caribbean and Sharon was leaving with David for Vienna, the next day.
Sharon was trying to clear her table of the files there. The phones kept ringing and she had to answer them at the same time since she was the only person in the office and it was not making the work easy at all.
David had gone to see a specialist in Harley Street with whom she had an appointment. It was his first appointment with the therapist and he was very nervous about it.
When the door opened, Sharon turned towards it unsuspectingly, thinking that it was David come back early from his appointment. Then her heart thud as she looked into Bryan's eyes.
'Hello, how are you?' he said strolling into her office and allowing the door to shit behind him, leaning on it, his arms folded, his lean strong body casually at ease.
'You are back', Sharon said stupidly in a dry voice.
'I can tell that you are thrilled to see me', he mocked.
Sharon ignored that, 'Did you have a safe trip?'
'I learnt alot', he drawled. 'When I entered the office, I felt like I had entered a grave yard. The offices seemed empty. Where is everybody?'
'Mostly gone away for Christmas', Sharon managed to huskily answer not able to stop herself from staring at him.
Seeing him again after this long interval, made her realise how much in love she was with him as she drank in the sight of him like a thirsty man in the desert soaks up water.
His days there had given him a deep golden tan and it became him admirably. He always came to the office wearing suit but because no one expected him at the office, he wore a white turtle necked cardigan that showed off his strong lean body to perfection.
'Has David gone away too?' he asked.
'No, David is...' she broke off, looked down, realising that she had almost betrayed David's confidence. 'Out', she concluded.
Bryan's black eye brows arched. 'Are you and David the only people at work today?
'No, I expect alot of staff are doing Christmas shopping in their lunch hour. For most of us, this is our last day at work for the season. David decided to give most people two weeks off at Christmas, although there will be a skeleton staff at work each day. We worked out the rota long ago, don't you remember? By the way, we had the office party yesterday, I'm afraid you missed it'.
'I expect I shall survive the crushing disappointment', he dryly said,moving away from the door with the cool prowl of an animal stealthily making his way through its own familiar jungle.
'Was it a good party?' he enquired picking up some telex messages from her desk.'Lots of drinks and a few chrips and things on cocktail stocks?'
'It was fun', she said pricking at the way he watched her out of the corner of his eye. 'Clients dropped in, brought bottles with them. We put on the music and danced'.
'Magic', he said. 'Who did you dance with, or can I guess?' Did David make it a romantic evening for you? How lucky I was away, I might have spoilt the rosy glow'.
'I'm sure you would have done your best', she snapped.
He laughed coldly. 'You can bet that I would. Well where would you be spending your Christmas? Do you have a family you can go home to?'
'Yes, I do and I usually spend the Christmas holiday with them....'
'Well where do your family stay?'
'In the North', she said and remembered that though he did not grow up here, he knew England very well. 'In the borders between Scotland and England. We have a hill farm there. It's nothing grand just a little farm and we have farmed there for generations.
My father keeps sheep and some pigs, goats and hens', she was speaking fast, wanting to get it over with and not wanting him to ask her any other personal questions.
He was watching herl. He was lounging against a chair. His jean was tight. She tried to stop her eyes from wandering down to them, noticing the fine smooth line from his waist and hips, the tension where the demon stretched over his thighs.
'Do you have brothers and sisters?' he asked curiously and she shook her head.
'I am an only child'.
'Ate driving over there or are you going to take a train?'
She hesitated but had to say it. 'I'm not going home for this Christmas actually'.
She sensed his alertness.'What are you going to do then? Are you going to spend Christmas alone in London?'
'Ni, we are going to Vienna', she said in an offhand tone.
There was silence. She looked sideways, her nerves jumping but he was still leaning against the chair but his body was no longer casually at ease. His body seemed to have tightened, every muscle in his body seemed prosed for some violent action. Suddenly, the room seemed to be filled with tension and Bryan's eyes seemed molten.
'We?' he asked coolly. 'Who is we?'
'Me and David'.
'You and David are going to Vienna' he said in a controlled and quiet voice that made the hair to stand at the back of her neck.
'Yes'. No word had ever been so difficult to say.
'Just the two of you?' the voice was like a sword at the back of the neck now.
'That's what I said. Yes'. She burst out so jittery that she was angry. How dare he come here to cross examine her like she was in courtroom. She was not going to put up with a man coming into her office to terrorize her. Especially one who was looking at her as though she had committed a terrible crime of some sort.
'You are going there for some sort of business definitely, aren't you?' he asked and she raised her chin up at him, her green eyes stormy.
'I told you we are spending Christmas there in a hotel'.
She heard him breathing on the other side of the room.