Office Affair (English Version)

Chapter 6

Francesca POV

I was in the middle of my work when I heard Tina's laughter from afar.
I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes.
There was someone like Tina in every office.
This person who was exaggeratedly loud, hyper and friendly.
Always on the lookout for the latest gossip.
I couldn't stand her.

My head was pounding and my temples were throbbing. The event at the weekend hadn't let me sleep well and I just wanted to get the day over with and face Carlo.
That uneasy feeling I got when I thought about having to look him in the eye tonight.
After what I had done and thought.
I was a bad fiancée.
I had behaved wrongly. Made a mistake.
It was wrong, a mishap.
Hopefully Carlo wouldn't question me too much after the weekend, so that maybe my guilty conscience would slowly subside.

Looking in the mirror this morning was very difficult for me. I struggled with it. I was ashamed about what I had done.
Why had I done that?
Just let myself be seduced by a stranger like that?

How could I live with this mistake?
How could I forget it when I closed my eyes and felt his lips on mine? The tingling in my fingers that was there immediately when I closed my eyes and the guilty conscience when I opened them again.
I exhaled deeply. I had to stop.
My thoughts should no longer revolve around that. I had to look ahead. Into the future, with Carlo.
Especially as it was only a one-off thing with him. I would never see him again.
Out of sight, out of mind.
A brief mistake that had shown me what was dear and important to me in life. My fiancé Carlo, my better half.
I swallowed down the heavy feeling in my throat.
Tina's voice came closer and closer and I looked up from my desk.

"AND back here is Miss Jones' office. She's our head of department."

My office door was always open. In general, the employees had large offices and the doors were always open. I liked this open working atmosphere.

"Knock. Knock. Francesca, I'd like to introduce you to our new intern."
Tina's red-haired head stretched into my office and she knocked playfully on my doorframe. I waved her in while I saved my work on the PC and stood up with a smile to greet her.
"May I introduce Manuel Cruz. He's currently studying marketing at the same university you went to. I've already told him that if he has any questions, he should come to you."

I furrowed my eyebrows grumpily. Thank you, Tina, for apparently sharing my entire career with this stranger. This woman simply had no filter and didn't know the line between private and professional. It was simple. If you wanted the whole company to know, you just had to tell Tina. I tried to avoid it wherever possible.
Tina took a step to the side and my heart skipped a beat as he entered my office with a grin. Annoying Tina was forgotten for a moment.
For God's sake.
That wasn't possible now.
The man from the weekend was standing in front of me!
I was cursed! It couldn't be true!
Panic rose up inside me and my breath stopped.

"Francesca, are you OK?" Tina asked, looking at me with concern.
I pulled myself out of my thoughts and tried not to let it show.
"I didn't realise we were taking on interns this year," I tried to explain my stare without stuttering, my lips pressed tightly together.

"I come by recommendation. Nice to meet you, Miss Jones."
Manuel held his hand out to me and I took a moment to scrutinise him.
His smile looked even more appealing in daylight. He had swapped his shirt and jeans from the weekend for a blue suit and white shirt.
Damn. He looked good.
Was it just me or did he not seem to fit in here?
He was so radiant in contrast to the drab, sterile office. His brown eyes were wrapped around long eyelashes.
I hadn't even realised at the weekend how long his eyelashes were.
Looked good. Damn!
I shouldn't think of him like that!
I wasn't even allowed to be in the same room as him!
"Welcome to the team," I blathered dishonestly, using my professional tone and putting on the most beautiful smile as I grabbed his hand.
His gaze quickly fell on the ring on my finger and I imagined that he briefly stroked the back of my hand with his thumb.
Goosebumps spread across my spine and I shuddered.
With a clearing of my throat, I released my hand from his grip and Tina took the gesture as a small ejection. Hopefully without feeling the tension between us. Was it just me or did he feel it too?
The heat spread through my body.

"Come on, Manuel. I'll show you where you work," she said to him.
Oh, they were already on first-name terms. Classic Tina move, making a pass at the new guy first.

Manuel glanced at me again and his eyes sparkled dangerously.
As if they were saying: I know what you did at the weekend.

I was overcome with nausea and suddenly found it difficult to breathe. As the two of them left my office, I quickly picked up my door and locked it.
What had I said about my door always being open? Let's forget that for a moment, today it had to stay closed.
Panicked, I sat down in my office chair.
Oh my god!
He was here!
What was I supposed to do?
Ok, ok. One thing at a time.
I tried to breathe in and out calmly and calm my pulse.
I had to analyse the situation.
He was here. For longer.
It was difficult to avoid him.
Denial was also impossible. I'm sure he remembered it just as well as I did.
But he had behaved professionally and distantly towards me.
He had also seen the ring on my finger.
Maybe the weekend thing was off the table for him too?
Well, I had to talk to him anyway, briefly. I wanted to make it clear that it was a one-time mistake that should not be repeated and, above all, a mistake that remained in "El Gallo". Nobody was allowed to find out. Otherwise, I would lose everything I had worked so hard for.
After the conversation, everyone could go their own way again and we were able to maintain the professional working relationship.
I was just about to pick up the courage to go and talk to him in private when my phone rang.
"Jones."
"Hi, Franca. James here. I'm editing the photos from the weekend and I've just realised that there's another memory card from Russel.
I've already let Russel know. I've got a few things to finish here for the exhibition in two weeks. I'm afraid I can't leave here. Would it be possible for you to bring it to Angel Event? You're almost the only one who can just walk in and out of there."
I didn't have to think twice. Pay Angèl a visit and get out of his way. This was the opportunity. I hadn't seen Angél for a few months, so it was nice to say hello and hand over the memory card to Russel.
"Sure, I'd love to. Will you put the card in my box? I'll take it with me then."
"I owe you one. Thank you and yes, I will."
We had our post boxes at the front of the entrance hall. It was a good way of distributing the mail without having to go to each office individually.
I was gathering my things and was about to leave when I came face to face with Manuel, who seemed to be about to knock on my locked office door.

"Oh." I groaned and staggered back slightly, visibly surprised.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, but Tina has the rest of the day off and she has no more tasks for me. 'I don't know the others here yet, so I thought I'd ask you what else I can do,' he rambled.

Was he nervous or was he embarrassed that I was his boss?
We hadn't had a minute to talk about the weekend yet.
I suddenly realised that it must have been unpleasant for him too. He had met a woman at the weekend and now it turned out that she was taken and his new boss. I felt a little sorry for him. The situation was funny for him too, it wasn't just about me. The situation couldn't have been more bizarre.

Exhaling slightly, I couldn't believe what I was about to say at first, but my mouth spoke faster than I could stop my tongue.
"Yes, no problem. Tina only works part-time. I was just about to drop something off at the Angel agency. You can come with me so you can get to know the other agency. If you don't like it here, maybe the other agency would be something for you."
Manuel nodded with a laugh and we left the building together, the stick in my handbag.

"What are you doing on Friday evening Medusa? Is our Date still on? Maybe I'll tell you about my plans for the future and whether I like it at the agency or not..." he asked me with a cheeky grin and I couldn't believe what he was asking me.
Was I supposed to regret taking him with me? He couldn't possibly be serious?
And I really had to get him out of the habit of calling me Medusa.
Grumpily, I opened the car door and ignored his question.
"We should talk about something else and for you, my name is Miss Jones. Get in the car."
Maybe it wasn't just Tina who didn't have a filter.
Damn, how did I get out of that?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello dear readers and welcome back.
And what do we say? I would be very happy about likes and comments.
Next chapter will be from Manuel's point of view uuand I can't promise, but keep your eyes open, maybe the next chapter will come this weekend.

I've also chosen the theme song for the story: "Francesca - by Hozier
Be sure to listen to this song. Really, promise me and the next chapter will come sooner ;-)

https://spotify.link/KzZcQLSMrIb

Warm greetings
MadalenaCo