She didn't bother taking her shoes off tonight, daily tensions were losing their prefix- a permanent fixture, just like the creases engraved in her black leather sofa. Maybe it was the hour, maybe her utopian state but for those few minutes she felt some compassion towards that beaten old sofa. The irremovable coffee stains that no quantity of 'Vanish-Oxi action' could remove hardly summated the spectrum of emotions she alone had experienced perched in the corner. Still, it was late, and hardly the time for philosophy- a sofa was a sofa and she was well...she. Maybe Ella's ranting held some truth, tequila didn't agree with her.

Running in through the foyer of the glass building, neck scarf and Jimmy Choo in hand, hair tousled and a 'repair' job of last night's makeup as her sister called it, hardly made for professional, still she put it down to the ill functioning of Philips alarm clocks, why were those things not able to withstand some light collateral damage.

"Someone got some last night, you bad girl!" Christian shouted from the reception desk, she flashed a smile and rushed passed him straight into the board room.

Fifteen pairs of eyes on her; she muttered an apology and slinked into her seat- which coincidently was right next to him. She looked up and Ella’s mischievous eyes searched her for answers, she tried to reply as only woman full of gossip can do. No communication required; it was a perfected form of sign language the girls had acquired. Truth be told there wasn’t really much to tell, last night was a mistake, although another one on top of the past year’s pile hardly made much difference.

“Jennifer, you promised hot guys! He,” Christian said pointing at some obscure male in the corner, “couldn’t even get a date with a calendar. I thought there would be young twenty-something executives not old men who have visitation rights with their teeth.”

“Could you be anymore vain?” Jennifer replied with a slight smirk.

“Could you have told me more LIES?

“I never promised hot men. We’re here for work, you had to come. You’re my PA Christian.”

“There you go on your power trip. If I hadn’t heard from Sally in marketing who heard from Julie in finance who heard from Taylor in art that you and Jules were fucking like-“

“CHRISTIAN!”

“What? I’m not judging you. I mean okay he is distinctively plain and wears far too much in the neutral palate, but he has nice hair and he seems pretty adventurous. Is it true he asked you too...”

“CHRISTIAN!”

“Chill out Jen, stop screaming my name like that people might think that your invisible panty vibrator has been replaced by experienced cock and frankly...”

A sharp nudge brought her back to reality. Her skin was burning with the heat radiating from him. He was wearing a new suit but he still had that scent, the same little freckles by his nose and that gorgeous dark hair. She looked down at the slip of paper that had been passed her way, “Birthday drinks at Paper Tiger tonight, 9pm.” Jennifer glanced up searching for Grant across the table; she looked up to be met with a coy smile.

Tonight was show time then.