The Holly Project (2 page)

I tried to convey my gratitude without getting emotional. “Thanks, Jason.”

“Love you, Hol.”

“No you don’t.”

He laughed at my standard response as he headed for the revolving doors.

“Hey, gorgeous. The usual?” asked my favourite barista in the whole world. “What would I do without you?” I paid the exorbitant price for my drug of choice then found a table by the window and sat down to give myself a small pep talk.

I stared out the window at the passers-by, taking note of the smallest details, trying to imagine what was going on in their lives. I always did this when I needed to relax. It helped me get out of my own head.

Two older guys in tight lycra bike shorts jogged past and waved.
Ugh
. A slightly dishevelled businessman glanced at his watch repeatedly as he half walked, half jogged up the hill. I smiled to myself.
He overslept. He is willing time to slow down. He needs to make it to his desk before his boss comes out of the morning meeting
. By contrast, a woman pushed a double pram slowly past.
In a rare moment when both twins are asleep, she gazes longingly at the office buildings towering around her.
She’s remembering the glamorous life she had before children
and wondering why her world class mediation skills are no match for her toddlers.
A couple of middle-aged women in ill-fitting suits smiled condescendingly at the mother before shaking their heads and rolling their eyes at each other, clearly irritated by the cumbersome pram. Reluctantly, they moved aside to make way.

Caught up in my people watching, I suddenly became aware of someone standing at my table. Looking up, I drew a sharp intake of breath that I desperately hoped was inaudible.

“Do you mind if I share your table?” he asked, in the sexiest voice I’d ever heard. “All the seats are taken.”

Before I had a chance to answer, Darren’s voice sang out. “Hotty, skim cap!”

Talk, Holly. Say something – introduce yourself. Stop staring at the hot man and say something intelligent!

My reply came out in a bumbling stammer.

“Um… Hi, I’m Hotty… Oh God… I mean, Holly. It’s nice to mate you. I mean, meet you! Oh God… um.” I looked to my shoes to break eye contact.

Seriously, Holly. Who are you and what have you done with your brain?

“Hi, Hotty. It’s lovely to mate you too.” His smile could make me forget my own name.
Oh wait, already did that.

“Um, have a seat. I’ll just grab my coffee.” I was completely flustered by the god-like male standing so close to me. “Sorry about Darren. He always calls me Hotty; he likes to embarrass me.”

“I think Darren has the
hots
for you, Holly. Can’t say I blame him, either. I’ll get your coffee.” His eyes swept over me then back up to meet my eyes, holding my gaze for a moment before heading over to get my coffee. He was mesmerising.

“I’m Ryan, by the way,” he said when he returned, coffee in hand.

Given that I was a reasonably tall five-feet-eight, Ryan had to be over six feet. I found him intimidating, yet strangely compelling. Definitely older than me, but it was hard to tell by how much. He was around thirty at a guess. He had short, dark blonde hair and an olive complexion, but it was his eyes that were startling. They were the deepest shade of blue I’d ever seen. Sapphire would be the only colour to do them justice. I felt like I could see straight through his eyes, deep into his soul.
Seriously, did I just think that?
I sounded like a sappy, lovesick puppy. Actually, I sounded like my flatmates. This wasn’t good.

Ryan took a seat opposite me and sipped his coffee. He didn’t take his eyes off me. “So, what had you so captivated out there?”

“Oh, um, I find people-watching relaxing.”

He appeared genuinely interested. “Why?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps I just like to think about someone else’s life for a change,” I responded with uncharacteristic candour. “I’m in my bubble and they’re in theirs. It’s my ‘imagine-their-life’ game.”

“Okay then. Try it on me.”

“What do you mean?”

This was completely surreal. I had only just met this man, but we were chatting away like we were friends. For some reason, I felt really comfortable around him, despite his intimidating hotness.

“Well, you don’t know me, yet, so describe the life you’d assign to me if I just walked past the window.”

“Okay, let’s see.” I stared out the window and imagined Ryan walking by. “You have a good job – maybe something creative. You’re definitely a decision maker. You’re on your way to an important meeting.”

Ryan shook his head and laughed, clearly amused by my little game. He leant forward. “Go on.”

I took a deep breath before continuing.

“Okay. You live with your girlfriend in Mosman. Your right hand is in your pocket clutching a small, blue box. It’s a diamond engagement ring you just picked up from Tiffany & Co. You plan to ask her to marry you this weekend. Your parents will be over the moon. They epitomise the happily married couple, living in their mansion overlooking Balmoral Beach. Your sister, Margot, is a paediatric doctor. She’s married to her high-school sweetheart, Joshua, who is also a doctor. He is currently abroad volunteering with Médecins Sans Frontières.”

“Oh my God, Holly. You’re hilarious,” he replied, chuckling. “Is that really what you get from looking at me? A cookie cutter, perfect life?”

“It’s just a silly game I play in my head, smarty pants. You try.”

“I’m going to ignore the fact you just called me smarty pants. Right, let’s see. I’ve just seen you walk past the window. You glance my way because, let’s face it, I’m that good looking.” He cocked his head and wiggled his eyebrows, trying to keep a straight face.

“I was probably looking at Darren. He’s better looking than you.” I saw a flash of jealousy as he glanced over at Darren.

He continued. “You are by far the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but there’s a sadness to you that I feel compelled to understand. Perhaps you’ve just broken up with your boyfriend, or lost your job. I would run after you and ask you to have coffee with me.”

“You have no idea how to play fair, do you?” I asked, shaking my head. “You were supposed to give me the perfect life too.”

“I did.” He sat back on his chair and disarmed me with another smile. “You were about to meet me.”

Smooth.

“What made you say I looked sad?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“What made you say I was going to propose to my girlfriend?”

“Touché. So there wasn’t any truth to it?”

Shut up right now, Holly. You’re a freaking masochist!

“Your eyes. You have this face and body men would go to war over, but when you smile, it doesn’t reach your eyes. Don’t get me wrong, they’re beautiful and sexy, but you can’t hide the sadness behind them.”

Who the hell says that to someone they just met?

My alarm bells were blaring. I had to escape. Was I really that transparent today? How was I going to hold it together during the presentation if a man I’d just met could strip me bare that easily?

“I’d better get going. It was nice to meet you, Ryan.” I pushed back my chair and tried to stand up gracefully, but the strap of my laptop bag was tangled around my ankle. I nearly fell flat on my face.
Wow.
My exit from this man’s presence was going to be as embarrassing as my entrance. I was horrified to feel my sad eyes welling with tears.

I just stared at him and he stared back. The thought of never seeing him again actually made my chest ache. It felt wrong to walk away, but it seemed like the safest thing to do.

“Finish your coffee, Holly.”

“I’m sorry,” I replied, holding out my hand. “I really do have to go. It was very nice to meet you.”

As he took my hand in his, I felt a bolt of electricity at the contact. Pulling away and stepping towards the exit, I couldn’t resist a backward glance. His piercing blue eyes stared right at me. The physical attraction was hard to deny, but that’s not why I had to leave. This man was dangerous territory for me.

Pausing to get some fresh air before going into work, I grabbed my phone from my bag and quickly typed a text to Audrey.

Got dragged into work today. Not good. Met ridiculously hot guy in the café. Will fill you in tonight x

Before I even made it to the entry foyer, Audrey had responded.

Oh Hol, hope you’re okay. Work drinks tonight. Will see if you’re up when I get home. Need details on café guy! Love you x

“What took you so long?” Jason asked. “I told Slater you’d be right up.”

I put my things down at my workstation. “I was just preparing myself. I’m here now.”

“Well, Slater wants to see you right away.”

“Holly, what are you doing here?” asked Eva, with her usual saccharine bite.

“Jason was good enough to inform me about the last-minute change with the Davenport meeting,” I replied.

Eva “Bitch” McCormack. No prizes for guessing how she hoped influence the decision to have her design chosen.

“You forgot to button your shirt up properly, Eva,” I quipped.

Jason stifled a laugh behind her.

“Jealousy’s a curse, Holly,” Eva said, glaring. She placed one hand on her hip and prodded me in the upper arm with the other. “It doesn’t suit you.”

“Jealous? Why the hell would I be jealous of a crazy b–”

“Breathe, Holly,” Jason’s calm voice whispered in my ear as he dragged me away. “She’s not worth it. She’s just trying to rile you up before the presentation. It’s classic Eva – you know that. And you don’t usually bite back.”

Breathe in, breathe out.

“Well, I don’t usually have to talk to anyone today, so she’d better watch her back.”

“Feisty Holly is kinda hot,” he smiled cheekily.

“Don’t you start.” I was momentarily transported back to my chance encounter with the uber-hot Ryan.

“Okay, not sure what you mean by that, but you need to get your butt into Slater’s office right now.”

Shrugging my shoulders in defeat, I took a few steps away from Jason. Stopping, I turned back. “What would I do without you?”

He gave me a warm smile. “Never going to find out.”

I returned his smile then made my way to Slater’s office. Eva was already there, of course.

“Thanks for joining us, Holly,” Mr Slater said, genuinely. “I know you booked today as annual leave – I hope you didn’t have anything important planned.”

Vitally important, but that was not information that needed to be shared with anyone, least of all my boss and my nemesis.

“It’s absolutely fine. This is a big opportunity for me.”

He nodded. “So, you both have your presentations ready. And remember, I’ll be there to back you up.” He stood up and gestured towards the door. “Let’s head to the conference room for a run-through.”

An hour later, I was well and truly ready for a breather from the suffocating presence of Eva and her breasts. Mr Slater, on the other hand, was mesmerised by them. It was fair to say Eva held the upper hand. The managing partner was showing clear favouritism towards the busty blonde who would no doubt warm his bed if it helped her career. Hopefully Mr Davenport would choose my intelligent design and creative ideas for sustainability over Eva’s cleavage.

“Okay ladies, let’s take a quick lunch break. Stretch your legs and be back here in an hour.”

The second Slater left the conference room, Eva turned on me.

“You don’t stand a chance Holly. I have this in the bag.”

“What do they say about counting your chickens?” I retorted, wishing I could come up with something better.

Ignoring me, she pulled out her phone and started tapping away. “Have you checked out Mr Davenport online?” she asked, without looking up. “He is unbelievably hot. Makes our Jason look like a complete waste of time.” Looking up from her phone, she flicked her hair over her shoulder. “When my design is chosen, I’m sure there’ll be lots of opportunities for one-on-one time with him, discussing layouts. And by layouts, I don’t mean –”

I cut her off. “Ugh… I know what you mean, Eva. I hate to break it to you, but you don’t get to be the successful CEO of a multinational corporation by choosing inferior work based on who is going to warm your bed for one night. I tailored my design to complement the Davenport signature style whilst maintaining my own architectural stamp. If he prefers your approach, good luck to him.” With my rant over, I collected my notes and stood up. “Oh and by the way, don’t ever say ‘our Jason’ again.” I quickly exited the room, leaving a shocked looking Eva alone with her slutty thoughts.

When I got back to my workstation, I found Jason hard at work with his earphones in, bopping his head to whatever music he was listening to. As if sensing my presence, he looked up, pulled out one earphone and gave me a heartwarming smile.

“Want to grab a bite?” I asked. “I don’t have much time, but after what I just endured, it would be nice to have some decent company.”

“Of course,” he replied immediately. “Let’s grab a sandwich and hit the gardens.”

Our office was located one street away from the beautiful and tranquil Botanic Gardens. Jason and I often spent our lunch breaks running through the gardens and along the harbour foreshore. Sometimes we preferred to eat under one of the spectacular trees, surrounded by friendly white ibises. It was one of Mum’s favourite places to take me. We would stare up at the buildings of the CBD, chatting about the architectural genius, or lack thereof. Her passion had inspired me to be an architect, too.

“Er, not today.” I tried to keep the rising emotion out of my voice. “Let’s just grab a bite downstairs, okay?”

“It’s okay to think about her, Holly.” He put his arm around me, steering me towards the lift. “Come on. Lunch is my treat.”

As we walked into the café, I couldn’t help glancing around the tables to see if Ryan was there. It was ridiculous, but I was having serious trouble keeping him out of my thoughts. I was embarrassed to acknowledge the explicit nature of these thoughts.
Seriously, get a grip Holly.

“Order anything you want. Go crazy,” Jason joked. He knew full well I’d order the niçoise salad like I always did.