Ebony & Ivory [H.S]

Four

"I could not fathom I would ever be without your love. Never imagine I'd be sitting her beside myself."

Where did I place those swatches for the upcoming shoot?

I scour my desk in a frantic state, searching for these bloody swatches that I need for the pitch meeting this afternoon. They are the entire basis for the presentation, and how will they ever get approved without management actually even seeing them?

Oh gosh. I can see it now. We're going to be a laughing stock for years to come. We'll forever be known as the stylists who pitched fabrics for a line, without physically having them there.

I frantically flip through pages upon pages of paperwork filed in my desk drawer until my colleague, and co-presenter Ollie appears, brandishing my coffee order. He's looking relatively cheerful despite his impending career doom.

Probably one of the very few friends I keep in the office. He's always reminded me somewhat of a happy Labrador. I guess it could be said that I like to keep to myself during work hours. A firm believer in keeping business and pleasure separate, however Ollie made it almost impossible for me to continue declining his numerous offers for after work drinks. Somewhere along the way, we became a little more than acquaintances, and bonded over our shared taste in men. He frequently tells me what he'd like to do to my boyfriend, and has no shame at perving on Harry when he visits on the occasional lunch.

"Morning Essie," he grins.

"Ollie, can you please stop messing about and help me look for the fabrics we decided upon for the issue?"

His demeanour doesn't change in the slightest - the happy-go-lucky attitude, blissfully unaware of the firing we are sure to receive. I mean, I know he's quite daft, but surely his mood requires a little more sense of urgency.

"You mean these?" he smiles smugly, brandishing the swatches from his back pocket in a flaunting manner. He dangles them over my head as I'm bent over on the desk mid search.

I snatch the examples from his manicured fingers frustratedly, and place them into safe keeping for later use.

"What would you do without me?" he grins haughtily, pleased with himself for 'saving' the day.