Excellent Angela interviews the person she's feared for twenty years. Me. Her. Him : Me. Her. Him - Chapter Two by Jacob1395 Book of the Month contest entry

Warning: The author has noted that this contains the highest level of language. Background Angela has spent nearly half her life hiding from a man in her past. But when he finally tracks her down, it isn't him she's scared of. It's what he knows. I’m trapped. I have nowhere to run. The door to the boardroom clicks open and Kirsty shows William through, striding purposefully in front of him, carrying two mugs of coffee, one for me, one for Olivia. The scent of caffeine hits me in the face; I breathe it in. God, it looks like she’s even touched her make-up since I first saw her ten minutes ago. I need to warn her, she can’t fall for William the same way I once did. She plonks the mugs on the table. ‘Thanks, Kirsty,’ Olivia says, smiling. Kirsty moves out of the way and drifts back into reception, shutting the door behind her. William’s standing in front of me, his icy blue eyes fixed on mine. I glance into my lap. Perhaps he doesn’t recognise me. This could all be a coincidence. ‘Hi, William it’s great to meet you.’ Olivia gets up from her seat, holding her hand out. William shakes it. ‘Thank you; it’s a pleasure to be here.’ ‘Please take a seat,’ Olivia says, sitting back in hers. ‘Have you travelled far to get here?’ He shakes his head as he sits, crossing his knees over. ‘Not too far, I’m based in Witham, I had to get the train in today as my car’s being serviced, bad timing, I know, but these things can’t always be helped.’ ‘No, that’s true. Anyway, let’s get introductions out of the way. I’m Olivia, I’m the managing director, and this is Angela, she’s our office manager. She’s the person who you’ll need to report to if you join.’ William fixes his gaze on me, the corner of his mouth twitching, like it used to always do when we were alone together. ‘Hello, Angela,’ he says. I squirm in my seat. Get a grip of yourself, Angela. I get a whiff of his cologne, the same lemony scent he used to wear all those years ago. Every time I smell it now, it always reminds me of him, and of the long summer evenings we would spend out in the small courtyard outside our apartment drinking, and perhaps, smoking the occasional joint. I force myself to smile at him. ‘So, from your CV, you’ve stated you’ve worked in Insurance before,’ Olivia says, glancing back at his CV, running her finger across the page. She’s trying to make it seem as though she’s not paid too much attention, when in fact I know she would have memorised everything, particularly if she thinks he’s the better candidate. William fixes his gaze back to her. ‘Yes, that’s right, I worked for a company about, God it must be half a decade since I left. Five Insurance it was called, based in London. I loved my job there, but I wanted to take some time out for myself.’ Olivia nods. ‘Ah yes, when you spoke to me earlier you said you were searching for a family member?’ William rubs his hands together. The corner of his mouth twitches again. ‘Yes, I . . . I haven’t actually seen her in twenty years. We had a bit of a fallout back then, but I . . . I want to kind of make amends for what happened between us. She was so special to me once, and I’ve left it far too long to make an apology. It's really important for me that I am sorry for how I . . . treated her.’ He’s keeping his gaze fixed on me as he speaks. He can see right through me, I’m sure of it. I glance towards the wall to my left. ‘Well, I’m sure she would appreciate that you want to say sorry. We do stupid things when we’re young, but of course, we learn from our mistakes the older we get.’ ‘Yes we do,’ he says. It’s like he’s trying to get into my head. The interview continues. I can’t relax into my seat as Olivia continues to ask him about his past employment history. When he says something that makes her laugh it makes me hairs stand up on end. He’s putting on the same charm he did with me all those years ago. He’s going to know he’s got this job in the bag. ‘So, I think that just about covers everything. Angela is there anything you’d like to add?’ Olivia asks. I blink; Olivia’s switched her gaze round to me. It’s like they’ve both remembered I’m still here. Olivia’s frowning at me now, shit, she must be able to see the strained reaction on my face. ‘Um, yes, is there anything you think that you can bring to the company?’ I shift in my seat. I want this over with. I want him gone. Why hasn’t he mentioned that he knows me? ‘Well, like I’ve said I’ve worked in Insurance before, so I can bring the knowledge I’ve built from my previous job to the company; I have extensive knowledge of computer systems, so you don’t have to waste precious time training me up. I also get on really well with people; I’m a people pleaser, as I’ve always been told,’ he replies.  ‘That’s a great asset,’ Olivia says. ‘We’re a tight nit team here so I think you’ll fit in really well.’ Shit, she’s already thinking she wants to offer him the job, we haven’t even seen the next candidate yet. Claire, her name is, she isn’t going to stand a chance. ‘Thank you,’ William says, smiling. ‘Well, I think that’s everything then.’ Olivia gets up from her seat. ‘Oh, when should I expect to hear from you if I’ve been successful?’ William asks, once he’s standing. ‘You should hear from us by the end of the week,’ Olivia replies. Kirsty returns to show William out. I listen to the sound of their footsteps getting further and further away once they leave the room. They’re chatting to each other, but their voices are too distant for me to work out what they’re saying. ‘D'you mind if I take five minutes?’ I ask, sucking in a lungful air. ‘Yes, I think you should, you look terrible. Is everything OK?’ ‘Fine, I’ll be back in a sec.’ I dive out of the room and into reception. I can feel Olivia’s eyes on me as I step back outside. Kirsty’s showing in a young woman in a green dress. It must be Claire, the next candidate. She keeps smoothing down her dress as Kirsty speaks to her. She’s nervous, that’s not going to help her chances, not with Olivia. I bolt in the direction of the bathroom, yanking open the door, disinfectant hitting me in the face as I step inside. I march over to the sink, run the tap and splash my face with cold water, before glancing at my reflection in the mirror. I’m shaking. William’s here for a purpose. But why didn’t he say anything to me in the interview? Was he sitting there hoping I would be the one to say something to him? Pulling out my mobile from my pocket, I jump into my contacts and find the contact I’m looking for. Michelle, my best friend from when we were at university. She’s the only one who knows what happened, she’s the only one who can help. I dial her number, breathing steadily as I wait for the call to connect, keeping my focus on my strained reflection in the mirror. We haven’t seen each other for ten years. Ten years ago she told me she thought it would be best for both of us if we went our separate ways. I never totally understood why. The call goes dead. Shit, shit, shit. I hold my hand to my forehead. Should I leave a voice message? I decide against it and instead open up my messages to her. I stare at the last text we sent each other, saved from ten years ago, when she asked to meet me for a walk. I type my message, my fingers stabbing at the letters on the screen, leaving sweaty marks on the screen. Ring me please, I need to speak to you, it’s urgent. I need your help. I press send, my chest tightening. She has to get in contact with me, she has to. She can’t leave me to fend for myself. I think of something else, something else that will demand her attention. I send another text. It’s William. He’s looking for Caz. ******************** Character List: Angela Watkins - Protagonist  Paul Watkins - Angela's husband Rebecca Watkins - Angela's daughter  Michelle Blake - Angela's former best friend  Kirsty - Receptionist (Angela's friend)  Olivia - Angela's boss William Harris - Angela's former friend  Caroline (Caz) - Angela's friend  Hayley - Angela's former friend Lauren - Angela's former friend

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