Flirting With Magick by Leigh Bennett Read Free Book Online Page B

The message popped up on my screen.
    'Not bad. A lot to remember .' I typed back.
    'Do you live close by? '
    'About twenty minutes, depending on the traffic. You?'
    'Five minutes walk away.'
    'I used to walk to my last job. Great exercise.'
    'I know, but lately my boyfriend’s been driving me.'
    'That’s nice, especially in this weather.'
    'Have you got a boyfriend / husband / partner?'
    'No, not at the moment.'
    Bronwyn walked out of her office and handed me a small pile of handwritten letters. “Abby, could you please type these out for me? When they’re done, you can go home. You, too, Rachel; we’ll just divert the phones. It’s pretty quiet at the moment.”
    “Excellent. Thanks, Bron,” Rachel sang out. After Bronwyn returned to her office and closed the door behind her, Rachel’s next message popped up. 'You’ll love Bron. She’s the best boss. '
    ***
    “Hi, Rach.” First day jitters were a thing of the past when I arrived at work the following morning, greeting the receptionist as I breezed past. Bronwyn had left some paperwork in my in-tray the previous night, which I diligently got straight into. After an hour or so, my mind was so wrapped up in words and numbers that I failed to notice the man standing at my desk until he spoke.
    “Abby, is it?” I looked up and was pleasantly surprised to see that the voice belonged to a handsome man not much older than me with light brown hair, a friendly smile, and a neatly trimmed goatee. His blue eyes twinkled as he extended his hand. “I’m Sean. How have you settled in?”
    “Fine, thank you.” I shook his hand politely. “What do you do here?”
    “I’m one of the Account Managers. They’re great here; I hope you like it.”
    “Thanks.” I smiled as he turned back toward his own desk.
    'Cute, huh?' Rachel’s message popped up on my screen, and I realised she noticed I was still looking at his retreating form.
    'Not bad'
    'He’s single, just in case you were wondering.'
    'That’s nice; now get back to work, young lady. ' I put a smiley face on the end to show her I was joking and heard a little giggle a few seconds after pressing the send button.
    'By the way, I’ve gotten to know everyone here, so I’m your girl if you want to know anything about anyone.'
    'Thanks .' I typed back, then decided it might not be such a bad idea . 'Are you free for a drink after work? '
    'I knew you’d be curious. Can’t tonight; how about tomorrow? '
    'It’s a date. ' I looked over at the rest of the office. Sean had his back to me, his wavy brown hair bouncing as he nodded, deep in a telephone conversation.
     

C HAPTER S EVEN
    “ I TRIED TO RING YOU last Friday night. Did you go out?” My mother was calling for her update. “How’s the new job going?”
    “I saw Luke’s band play again, and yes, the job’s pretty good so far, but it’s only been two days.”
    “How is Luke?”
    “He’s great. He hasn’t changed much really, just gotten taller, and he’s got a couple of tattoos. The girls still love him, and he’s awesome on the guitar.” That should cover it.
    “I can just imagine,” said Mum. “Marie wasn’t happy about the tattoos, and she’s never been overly impressed about all the girls,” she chuckled. She took a deep breath, which meant that she was considering asking a personal question. “Have you heard from Josh?”
    I knew she’d ask eventually and had been biding her time. Josh had been the dream son-in-law of both my parents– handsome, successful career, reasonable finances, treated me nicely — all the stuff my parents deemed a pretty good catch. I think they were more upset about our breakup than I was.
    “I haven’t heard from him,” I told her. “I’m not expecting to, and I’m not contacting him, either. We broke up remember?
    “Yes, I know.” Mum sighed. “Sorry.”
    ***
    The Wednesday happy hour was afoot when Rachel and I walked into the pub on the corner near our office. It was beginning to fill with