Chapter 12

Gina


Three days had passed since my intense sex-crazy day with Harry Erskine. I woke up the next day feeling great and, for the first time in months, I felt fully rested. My class on Monday went smoothly, and I extended it, making up for my absence on Saturday. No doubt, the girls were a bit disappointed about what happened, but I was planning to run a free workshop next week for all my students.
Josh and Patrick were out when I came home on Saturday evening. Nina didn’t say anything during dinner. My siblings knew I hadn’t come home the night I had gone out with Harry, but they acted like nothing happened. I wasn’t expecting this, and in the end, decided not to bring up the subject of Nina’s boyfriend again.
My next meeting with Harry wasn’t until next week, so I had plenty of time to get prepared. We both agreed that from now on we were only going to be business associates. The sex was absolutely mind-blowing, but I couldn’t keep going over it in my head. We weren’t going to sleep together again. I wasn’t expecting a phone call or anything, but I thought about going on more dates soon.
I couldn’t stop wondering why he insisted on being so isolated. His past was complicated, and I knew that getting involved with him was a bad idea. I had enough on my plate as it was, so maybe it was better that we had made a deal that it was a one-time only thing.
“Miss Martinez, I need to talk to you,” my boss said on Tuesday afternoon, walking into my office without knocking. I didn’t ask for a lot, just simple courtesy.
“Yes, Mr. Davies?”
“There is a marketing event next Saturday in the Edinburgh Metropolitan Arena,” he told me, scrolling through his mobile. He wasn’t even looking at me when he was talking. He dumped a lot of last-minute campaigns on me last night, and I was still catching up on everything.
“An event?” I asked, wondering where he was going with this.
“Yes, only a few respected companies have been invited,” he said. “I’ll be away that day, so I asked my wife to cover for me. I would like you to accompany her.”
I didn’t think I could say no. Besides, Crystal didn’t have a marketing background. She wouldn’t know how to handle clients’ questions.
“All right,” I said.
“Brittany is preparing everything for you. It’s a good place to gain contacts and possibly more clients for the business,” Davies continued. “Our new client, Mr. Erskine, will meet you there, too. He’s going to talk about his campaign and business with other investors.”
Erskine? Harry Erskine—the same man who shagged me the other day in his swanky apartment?
“Mr. Erskine?” I questioned, just to make sure I had heard him correctly.
“Yes, your new client from last week. He is a friend of mine. My wife is going to look after him, so don’t worry about the logistics.”
I was nodding, but deep down I was confused. Erskine was fucking Crystal, so Davies was either blind or stupid. On the other hand, he spent most of his time in the office, so he probably had no idea his wife had already replaced him.
This was none of my business, but the fact that I knew about their dirty affair still bothered me.
The company needed me, so I had to be there. Erskine was my client, and he promised me that our relationship wouldn’t change. I still had to sort his campaign for him, and there was still a lot of work ahead of me. There were things that we had to discuss and analyse. I reminded myself the man wasn’t my boyfriend. All we had was a one-night stand, something I never thought I could go through with.
“Okay, thank you, Mr. Davies. I’ll get the details from Brittany,” I assured him, and then he started going over my pitch again. From very early on, I learnt that part of my job required me to attract new clients. In the past, I had been so busy with the campaigns that I kind of neglected that. During the event I would have an opportunity to finally expand my portfolio.
Davies left me alone and, half an hour later, I went for lunch. I managed to leave the office on time today. I had to get to the other side of the city as I was teaching a new class.
A couple of days ago Josh asked me about Harry. He was hoping I would invite him over again. And Patrick seemed happy, too, that I was getting back to dating again. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that Mr. H and I would never be an item. The man made me swoon, but he had a lot of issues. I couldn’t compare sex with Harry to any of my previous experiences. We got on great, but the man wasn’t planning to let anyone in. He was sleeping around, pretending that was enough for him.
I managed to get to the class on time, but I was distracted. That had never happened to me before. My students were excellent as usual. Around halfway through the class, I told myself I had to concentrate on what was important.
“How was the meeting with Mr. Spencer?” Agatha asked after the class. She was the one who’d managed to pull some strings and arrange a meeting with someone who worked with Adler McDougall. She’d missed a few classes, so I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about this epic failure on my part. Now, I was kind of embarrassed that I didn’t stand up to Davies that day.
“It didn’t happen. My boss made me work through lunch, so I had to stand him up,” I explained, knowing that this kind of opportunity wasn’t going to repeat itself.
Agatha tossed her hair over her shoulder and patted me on the back. “Too bad, he would have loved your business plan.”
“I know, but I’m not giving up yet. There is a lot of money in this business. Someone just needs to give me a shot,” I said, trying to see the silver lining. If I had gone out for lunch, then I would have never met Harry, therefore I would have continued being the old boring me. I had been training with some of these girls for years. An opportunity to compete in London was coming up, but we needed money for costumes, accommodations, and transport. On top of that, I had to book some time off work, but my boss needed a few weeks’ notice.
“You will, just keep your eyes and ears open,” she said, walking away. I continued to clean up, knowing something needed to change in my life and fast. I couldn’t keep working at that job. I had a dream and the determination to make it real.

Harry

There was something wrong with me. For some reason I lost my mojo, and I had a feeling Gina Martinez had something to do with it. After she left, I felt like an idiot. We had a great time, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her what I really wanted.
Then the next day on Sunday, I went to the bar to meet a few friends. I had been very busy during the week, and once a month I played poker with a few guys. We normally hit a few clubs afterward. It was also an opportunity for me to pick up a new woman. Crystal kept calling, reminding me that we had dinner planned. I had already contacted someone who could solve my dilemma with Crystal. He was looking into Davies for me. Ten years ago, I went with Andrew’s ideas, and now I was paying for that mistake.
Damian told me I looked tense, and apparently women could see it in my eyes. I refused to listen to him. Most women knew what I was looking for, but tonight things were awkward for me. I had a couple more drinks, laughed, and then went home without a date. It was a disaster.
The week flew by, and I caught myself thinking about Gina Martinez. I found myself falling into a trap, dialling her number and then hanging up. My mind went over and over that day in my apartment. That one day with her would never be enough. She was everything I wanted and more.
When I stopped dating Louisa, things had gone out of control for a bit. I went to the club every day and started sleeping around. Every night I had a different woman in my bed. Then the idea of the mixer party came to me and I set one up with the help of a mate. It was great fun, but I continued to feel empty.
Then I couldn’t sleep through the night, well, I barely slept at all. Things started getting more and more out of control, and I had to go on meds. People kept telling me that my heart was broken, but they hadn’t realised I didn’t have one.
I never loved Louisa. I liked the idea of being in love, but deep down I knew that I wasn’t capable of feeling anything.
My phone vibrated, and I looked at the screen. Crystal, of course. She hadn’t heard from me in a while and she was checking in.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Hey, darling, how are you?” she asked, with a tone of voice that indicated she was ready to have some fun with me.
“I’m fine, Crystal, busy at the moment. Is there anything specific I can help you with?” I asked her, picturing Gina in the guest bedroom. It was one night that was supposed to heal me. It did to some extent, but now I was back to square one.
“Well, I just want to know what time you are going to pick me up on Saturday.”
“What’s on Saturday? I didn’t think we had any plans?”
“The Gala. Andrew said you were going to be there. He’s away, so he asked that ginger girl to cover the pitch. You know I…”
She was still talking, but I wasn’t listening to her anymore. My head was making some strange connections. Gina would be at the marketing Gala with Crystal. Well, that was a pleasant surprise. We had a meeting in Andrew’s office next week, but we both knew it was about my social media campaign.
I was planning to be on my best behaviour like I promised. She didn’t call and I was kind of disappointed. I secretly hoped she would reach out, but she stuck to our agreement.
“At seven, be ready at seven, Crystal,” I snapped, when she was still mumbling in my ear.
“All right, Mr. Grumpy, I’ll be expecting you. Planning to wear my best underwear.” She giggled and then hung up the phone. The smile on my face came back. I went back to work, wondering how I was going to solve the problem with Crystal. I needed to get my hands on that old paperwork to find out if she was bluffing or not. I doubted very much that Andrew suspected anything. It was all her doing.
Miss Martinez turned my perfectly organised life upside down. Despite the fact that she got drunk, I had a great time with her. Actually, getting drunk caused her to let her hair down and admit she wanted me. It felt real; there was no pretense or games. It was just us.
I shook my head and went back to work, telling myself that I was pathetic. I was fucking Crystal because she was blackmailing me, but deep down I wanted to date Gina. Be the committed guy.

***

I took my Porsche on Saturday evening when I left the complex. I was in a good mood, dressed in my best suit, ready to conquer the world again. However, I was frustrated with how I felt. My uncle called yesterday asking me to pop over. We hadn’t spoken for quite a long time. He was the only family I had left, so my visit to the farm was overdue.
Crystal and Andrew lived in a posh apartment block in the centre of Edinburgh. I parked outside and sent her a quick text to let her know I was waiting for her. I was tense and this wasn’t like me. Crystal was like an annoying insect, buzzing around my head, trying to find the right time to get close to me again. I didn’t want to deal with her this evening. I thought about how ironic it was that Davies introduced me to Gina. She was an expert in her field and I needed her. Andrew didn’t even realise that she was such an asset. The man was blind.
Gina was probably going to be stunned seeing me at the event, but we both knew how to act around each other.
Crystal jumped in the car and kissed me on the cheek. She pushed me to the edge, and always managed to find my weak spot.
“Hello, gorgeous. You look good in that tuxedo. I missed you,” she said, eyeing me up and down. She wore a long shiny silver dress with a low-cut neckline that showed off her cleavage. She was going to kill me with her perfume. It was very sweet and strong. Due to an accident, main roads were blocked, and the event was starting in around half an hour. We were probably going to be late.
“That’s great, now buckle your seatbelt. We don’t have much time,” I told her, feeling annoyed I had agreed to pick her up.
I put my foot down and focused on the road, thinking yet again about Gina Martinez. I couldn’t deny it: I wanted to see her again. She made me happy until I heard the same annoying voice in my head.
It’s your chance to tell Gina what you really want. Get it fucking together and stop acting so weak. It’s up to you to make this happen.
But that would mean letting her see who I really am.