Page 82 of Exchange of Heart
‘I get it.’ I nodded and slid down the wall to the floor with Lucky in my lap.
Nora’s mouth parted. She scrambled across the floor like a dog trying to grip a slippery floor and kneeled in front of me. ‘I meant for your sake, not mine,’ she clarified. ‘I don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck with me.’
‘It wouldn’t matter how I felt. We’re already stuck together, aren’t we?’
And little did she know, I didn’t mind a single bit.
I typed in Nora’s NeverGiveUp100 password and clicked through her emails first thing on Tuesday morning. For a moment, I was back in my own body staring at an email from my father’s address. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. It was still there.
Did he know? Had he figured it out? Or was he so furious with ‘Nora’ for ruining his deal that he’d decided to rip her to shreds in an email. I clicked into it and braced for the blackmail sure to be waiting for me.
Dear Ms Claremont,
I am writing to congratulate you on such a thorough discussion during our meeting last week. I would like to organise a time to discuss your potential and some opportunities for your future.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me on 0486 628 148.
Kindest Regards,
Craig Flemmington
CEO of Zealy Insurance
What the fuck. My dad was trying to poach Nora? I closed the email as my gaze shifted from Izzy to Chris, heart racing. He wouldn’t replace me – Flemmingtons had been running Zealy Insurance for too long for him to throw it away. It only left one option.
I’d be her boss.
Did she deserve the chance? Absolutely. Did I want to be the one in control of her chance? Absolutely not. Not after learning how much her career meant to her, something I’d never had to worry about. Trust my father to find a way to make my life miserable even when I wasn’t myself. Jumping bodies but maintaining problems? This is what Nora would call karma.
‘Nora?’
I jolted and my hands flew through the air releasing the papers I’d picked up. They scattered and floated through the air like nervous pigeons crashing into each other. As they settled on the floor in a jumbled mess, I lifted my gaze to find Freddie in front of me for the second time in the short hour I’d been at work.
‘I need Gerry’s Gyms report. They’re going to be pissed if they don’t get the forecast by the end of the week.’
I’d started that last week, and a strange sense of accomplish-ment settled deep in my chest at having an ongoing project at Nora’s work. The work itself wasn’t exciting, but the opportunity to establish my own research and achievement filled me with an independent thrill of satisfaction compared to trudging through each day managing everyone else’s work. I missed being responsible for my own private tasks instead of managing an entire team. In fact, managing an entire team filled me with dread.
‘You’ll have it by the end of the day,’ I assured the little shit.
‘Not by the end of the day, by lunch,’ Freddie ordered.
Despite Nora being a head shorter than Freddie, I stood to make my point. ‘Is there a problem with end of day? You said they wanted it by the end of the week, and end of day means you’ll have it on Tuesday. Did you need to do something with my forecast that would take an extra three days before passing it on to them?’
His nostrils flared wide enough to display a yellow crust of snot inside. Instead of replying, he turned and stormed back to his office to ignore the view Nora had been dying to gaze at each day.
‘Nora?’ a nasally voice whispered in my left ear.
I jolted for the second time this morning. Then again when I turned to find the cat lady from down the hall so close to my face that I could smell the fur covering her shirt.
‘I’ve got tickets to an event on Wednesday for us. Are you free?’
I forced my face into a pout. ‘I’m so sorry, I have plans.’ I even scrunched my nose to cement the disappointment I didn’t feel.
‘Oh, Nora.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘We’ll get together eventually. I’m sure of it.’
‘Try me again next week?’ I suggested.
Her eyes widened like a toddler experiencing ice cream for the first time. ‘I will.’
