His secretary’s secret

Mark

My eyes are shut but I already know that it’s too bright outside.

“Mr McDermott, Mr McDermott” I hear my name again. My head hurts, I drank too much and I’m not ready for the day to start.

“Mark, someone’s knocking at the door” my eyes flash open and I see a woman beside me in bed.

Who is this? Someone I obviously brought home last night, but who? Actually, did it matter?

“Yeah, thanks for that” I say, then I turn to the door to brightly shout “thank you Isla, I don’t need anything” the door barges open anyway.

Isla, our oldest and longest serving maid tisks at me. “Mr McDermott won’t you introduce to me your lady friend” she says with a wry smile and she busies herself picking up clothes from around the room.

I stare at the woman next to me who’s face is looking increasingly angry. What’s the point in pretending, I think. I don’t know her name, I can’t remember most of last night. We wanted tv same thing, s*x. She probably also wanted to get her claws into the family money, but she wasn’t remarkable enough to be someone I’d actually date.

She stares right back at me. Slowly disbelief shows and she grabs the sheet and makes her way to the bathroom with her newly folded bundle of clothes courtesy of Isla.

Isla scolds me and starts another of her lectures about finding a real girlfriend. Someone to settle down with and marry. My father wants me to take over the family business, I could make my own family, she wants to see my grandchildren and the list goes on. Isla is the closest thing I have to a loving mother figure and the only one who could get away with talking to me like this.

She won’t retire until she sees me settled, and as much as I love her, I’m not settling.

Once Isla and the mystery woman leaves I shower then throw a rugby shirt and chinos on. Time in the army didn’t just get me out of the house away from the parents I’d hated, it also gave me a good strong body. I was a born leader and very confident. All reasons father wanted me to take over the business. I however wanted to travel and felt that my little brother Paul was doing an ok job. Yes he was hot headed and impulsive, but surely he’d grown up in the years I’d been away.

I think about this on the drive into work. Of course Paul needed to be chauffeured, he was all about status. I on the other hand was quite happy to fly under the radar. I was going to work on the newest apprenticeship project, show everyone I was completely useless at it, or I’d act that way, then I’d get out of having to do anything with the company. I’d fool Paul easily, he probably wishes I’d got into an accident in my time away. Father won’t be so easily fooled, but if I’m persistently incompetent he’ll have to admit I can’t run a project let alone the business.

I throw my keys to valley and stride into the building past reception. I tap my pass to the reader and punch the top floor into the lift. This is going to be easy.