The Intimidation Game (Game Series Book 1) Read online

  “Stop. It was so embarrassing. He really is very good looking though, and from what I’ve heard, he’s a genuinely nice person. It beggars belief that he’d be with someone like Astrid. She could turn milk sour simply by looking at it.”

  Damo laughs. “Yeah she’s really one for watching. But don’t you worry I’ve got your back.”

  “You’re a total sweetheart Damo you know that.”

  We are interrupted by the elevator doors opening as the first of the workforce arrives. They have other projects they’ve been working on and all are due to wrap everything up by Friday so that we can get stuck into our project on Monday. I’m so excited by the prospects this job might bring me and the team I have to work with are so enthusiastic about bringing the concept to life. It makes me happy to see that there are some females on the team too. The last places I worked in weren’t as diverse as this place. It was so male dominated with the only females being in receptionist or PA roles. It was very stereotypical of the industry and it used to make me feel uneasy at times. I was one of the exceptions, and I stuck out like a sore thumb.

  As soon as everyone is in, I get on with getting to know them all a little better. Speaking to them all informally and individually, helps take my mind off the impending doom that is my first meeting with the big boss.

  I watch Jed casually flicking through an industry magazine as we sit in the waiting area outside Dan’s office and wonder how on earth he can work with Astrid every day and not want to strangle her.

  “Okay folks you can go on through to the conference room.” Dan’s PA appears at the seating area and motions towards a door next to Dan’s office.

  “Cheers Tab,” Jed says to her and I’m pretty sure I see a tiny eye roll from her as he turns his back to her.

  “Thank you Tabitha,” I say with a smile and she returns it warmly.

  We head into the conference room, Jed with purpose and me with trepidation. In the two days I’ve been here there hasn’t been one encounter with Dan where I haven’t made a complete fool of myself. I have to pull myself together and show him that I’m a valuable asset to his firm if I ever stand a chance of keeping this job.

  Dan is standing at the window with his back to us as we enter the room and turns at Jed’s greeting. “Morning mate, how you doing?”

  I take in Dan’s appearance in the morning glow of the sun. Gone is the scruffy rock-god look of yesterday and in its place is a suave and sophisticated businessman. His dark hair is styled and the suit he’s wearing is obviously tailor made. It fits his form perfectly and my body tingles when he flashes a beautifully warm smile.

  “Good as always Jed. Good morning Nikki, glad you could join us this morning.”

  “Morning Mr King.”

  He gives a little chuckle, as does Jed. “Please Nikki, call me Dan. I’m not into formalities from my staff, we’re a family here. Isn’t that right Jed?”

  “Oh absolutely, all for one and one for all here Nikki. We’ve got each other’s backs just like a real family would.”

  I’m starting to wonder if I’m in an office in Glasgow or some Italian mobster movie here. All this talk of family and having each other’s backs feels more like a warning than a greeting and I’m starting to feel a little uneasy.

  “Sorry, Dan it is then. It’s nice to finally meet you properly. And I apologise for any confusion between us yesterday. I was a little overwhelmed by this place.”

  “No worries and It’s nice to meet you too. I’ve heard great things about you, so you’ve got a lot to live up to.”

  I can’t say I’m surprised he knows about me. Any business owner worth his salt would be diligent when it came to hiring someone new to work in their company.

  “I can assure you I will give this job my everything. I’m so excited to be working for you. You have a wonderful company here.”

  Dan sits at the head of the table and motions for us to take a seat. We sit opposite each other at the top of the table and Dan hands us a folder each.

  I watch as Jed opens his and frowns. “It’s empty. Dan I really need Astrid here if there’s any note taking involved, you know I’m no good with that, it’s why I hired her.”

  The mere mention of her name and the prospect that she may come to this meeting fills me with dread.

  “No note taking necessary mate it’s all in there. Tabitha has put together a comprehensive package for you both that should answer any and all questions you have on the project. It’s nothing you haven’t done before anyway. We just need to make sure it stays under wraps until the last minute. That’s why only you two will have this information.”

  “Gotcha. My lips are sealed.”

  Dan turns his attention to me. “Nikki you will be responsible for delegating responsibilities to your team as you see fit. Your staff have been handpicked from the best of the company in order to deliver this project timeously and as confidentially as possible.”

  Wow this sounds like a higher profile project than I was expecting. “Absolutely Mr K… Dan.” I laugh a little too nervously at my slip up, but he simply smiles at me and nods.

  “Okay, let’s read over this paperwork. I’ve had Non-Disclosure Agreements set up for both of you. As you’ll appreciate in this business you can’t be too careful.” He hands us both a contract and I notice that Jed has gone a little pale.

  “Um Dan I’m going to have to decline this. There will be stuff I’ll need to discuss in front of Astrid. She is my PA and she does all my admin.”

  “There’s nothing to worry about. Nikki will deal with collating her team’s work and you’ll come to me with it. I’m taking an active role in this one, and I know you understand why. Any other admin to be done will be carried out by Tabitha. She’s already signed her NDA. Let’s just say you’re getting off lightly on this project for once Jed. Go with it. Enjoy the freedom.”

  “Hmm okay I suppose you have a point. So, signing this means that any leak on this comes down to four people?”

  “Got it in one. Myself, you, Nikki and Tabitha.”

  Jed narrows his eyes a little and I get the feeling there’s a sub conversation going on between them about something I’m not privy to. “I’m not trying to avoid signing this, but won’t Nikki’s staff know what’s going on with the project too? I mean surely they’ll have to sign these as well.”

  “That’s the beauty of this one Jed. Each member of the team will have their own brief for each part they’re going to be working on. Not one of them will have access to the whole project. That’s why I need Nikki to delegate each part of this to the appropriate person. They are simply setting up the structure of the platform. The three of us will be fleshing it out.”

  For some reason Dan’s explanation doesn’t seem to be getting through to Jed and I’m starting to get frustrated by him. “It’s quite simple really Jed is it not? I think Dan has explained as best he can. If anything is leaked about this project one of us is ultimately to blame.”

  Dan smiles and nods at me. “Couldn’t have put it better myself Nikki. Thanks. So, let’s read this over and get it out of the way. It’s only a formality because, as Jed has already pointed out, we’re like a family and family don’t cross each other.”

  I look at Jed and realise I may have overstepped the mark when he narrows his eyes slightly at me. “Right I get it. Do you have a pen?” He asks Dan, his tone resigned but tinged with annoyance and his glare at me as he takes the proffered pen makes me recoil slightly. Great! It’s my second day and I’ve already made an enemy of my line manager.

  I’ve signed NDAs on a few occasions before. In this line of work, it’s standard practice especially if the company stands to lose a lot of money due to a breach. Dan sits back as we both read over the agreements in silence. I take note of all the clauses, which seem pretty standard, and when I’m done and sit back in my chair, I realise Dan has been watching me. He smiles slightly at me then his gaze rests on Jed, who appears to be struggling with the wording of the document. I rea
lly don’t understand why he’s fighting this. It’s not like he won’t have done this before. He’s in a senior management position after all, so it shouldn’t be this hard.

  “Everything good for you both?” Dan asks, looking at Jed with a smirk on his face.

  “I’m fine with it,” I say, closing the papers over.

  Jed gives me a second of a stony glance and turns to Dan. “Suppose there’s not much I can say about it, so I’m fine with it too.”

  “Excellent, let’s get them signed and witnessed and get on with the day,” says Dan in an almost too cheery voice, totally ignoring Jed’s attitude.

  Tabitha is called in to the conference room and is followed by Joyce, the manager from HR who both interviewed me and gave me my mini orientation meeting yesterday. Jed and I sign our agreements, then Dan, Tabitha and Joyce witness them, and we’re done. It should all be painless, but Jed still has a bee in his bonnet for some reason.

  “Right I have work to get on with. Catch you later.” He turns and stalks out the door after Tabitha and Joyce, leaving Dan and I alone.

  We stand in silence and I’m willing myself to speak and break it, but I don’t know what to say. I’m so grateful when Dan speaks.

  “So how did your first day go Nikki?”

  “Hmm well… okay I suppose. I’ll find my feet eventually, it’s just a big change for me to be working in a senior role.” I am not telling him about Astrid.

  “You’re talented Nikki. In fact, I’m very surprised you hadn’t progressed further with your previous employers. Didn’t you ever want to move up?”

  “Ha!” I clamp my hand over my mouth. “Oh, I’m so sorry Dan,” I mumble behind it.

  “I take it you tried and were passed over?”

  “The people I worked for weren’t as forward thinking as you are. I was a rarity. A female in a developer role in those businesses wasn’t the done thing. It took me a long time to establish myself. If I wasn’t being asked to do other people’s photocopying, I was given tea and coffee orders.” As much as it’s the truth in part, I can’t tell him the real reason I never moved up the chain.

  “Well I hope you’ll find this place a welcome change. And for the record, if you’d done the type of work you did for them here, you’d have Jed’s job.”

  “Yeah on that, what’s the deal with him? I’m surprised you kept your cool.”

  Dan smiles. “Jed has his moments. I can deal with him.”

  Answered like a professional and giving nothing away. Typical of a big boss man.

  “Okay Dan are we done here? I have a lot to get on with if we are going to get this project started on time.”

  “Absolutely. It’s been a pleasure chatting with you Nikki. I’ll be scheduling another meeting with you and Jed for Monday. We have some things to finalise before the project goes live.” He reaches out and touches my elbow and I almost recoil into myself. “I’m looking forward to working with you Nikki.”

  I step back a little out of his touch. “I am too. Thanks Dan, I’ll catch you later.” I leave the room, giving Tabitha a small wave as I pass her desk.

  The elevator is already on the floor and as I step inside, I catch a glimpse of Dan leaning against the conference room door watching me. As the doors close and he winks at me, I stand there, open mouthed, the whole way back to the third floor. And damn it if that wink hasn’t messed with my stupid body.

  Chapter Four

  “Hey girl, what you up to after work tonight then?” Damo asks as he spins circles in the office chair in front of me.

  “Stop doing that you’re making me feel sick.”

  He stops the chair in front of me and laughs. “Oh, hey I’ve done that before. When I was about three my dad put me on his chair and was spinning me round so fast, I puked everywhere. I did a full revolution before he managed to stop the chair. It was like a scene from The Exorcist. Dad was puking because I was and mum was screaming, it was all over when the dog…”

  “Damo if you take this conversation any further, I swear I will throat punch you.”

  “Sorry honey. So, what are you doing then?”

  “I’m actually meeting up with my sister. She’s in the city visiting her friend Gina, so we’re going for an early dinner this evening.”

  “How lovely. Is she bringing the wee one with her?”

  “No, she’s got the day off today. Her fiancé is coming to pick her up later, so I’ll get a quick cuddle before she goes home again. What are you up to tonight?”

  “Oh, my mum’s making me dinner tonight. It’s a thing we do every Wednesday, have done since I moved out. I’m an only child and my da’s been gone two years now so she gets lonely.”

  “I’m sorry Damo, I didn’t know your dad had passed away.”

  Damo laughs. “Shit no Nikki, when I said he was gone I meant he left her. Shacked up with her best pal and moved to England. We’ve seen neither hide nor hair of him since. I couldn’t care less to be honest, the guy’s a piece of shit for hurting her like that. My mum’s an angel of the highest order. You’d love her.”

  “Oh that’s horrid. Your poor mum.”

  “Och she’s better off without him.”

  I watch everyone start to pack up at four pm on the dot. You could set your watch by this lot. They all bid us goodnight as they pass by and within less than five minutes the office is quiet.

  “Right I’m off Nikki, there’s a steak pie calling my name. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Night Damo, enjoy your dinner.”

  “Cheers honey you too,” he says throwing his bag over his shoulder and disappearing into the waiting lift. He blows me a kiss as the doors close and it warms my heart.

  Leaning back in my chair, I let the silence envelope me. A year ago, I had no life. I’d ended up down a hole I saw no way out of and as I take in my surroundings, I give a silent thank you. Granted I’ve had a little bit of a bumpy start, but I feel as though Astrid’s bark may be worse than her bite. However, I’ve come across bitchy girls like her before and if they’re not handled properly, they can be vindictive, dangerous even. Other than her, everyone else seems to be really pleasant.

  The lift pinging startles me and my heart sinks when I see Astrid step out and strut her way over to me.

  “Nikki, good you’re still here. I’ve just come to hand these in.” She holds out a slim white box to me. “Jed says you’ll need them for providing your data every Friday.”

  I take it from her and look inside. It’s filled with internal, confidential folders. “Okay thanks Astrid.”

  Hoping she’d simply leave when she was done is wishful thinking and I know this conversation isn’t going to go well when she smiles slyly. “So, Jed tells me you’ve already been brown nosing the boss. Be careful there honey you’ll make a name for yourself.”

  “Astrid, I’m really not in the mood to argue with you so if that’s what Jed told you then so be it.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t going to argue with you, it’s just some friendly advice.”

  I’m at a disadvantage due to her height and the fact that I’m sitting down. “Consider it noted,” I say trying my best to stay calm, but I can feel my bottom lip tremble slightly.

  “Aw what’s up dear have I upset you? Poor little you.”

  “Are you done? Please leave me alone Astrid, I’ve done nothing to you. What is your problem with me?”

  She opens her mouth to answer but almost jumps out of her skin at the male voice behind her.

  “Astrid, what are you doing here?” It’s Dan and he looks pissed as he stalks towards her from the lift.

  Astrid’s eyes widen in shock and she turns to face him. “Oh, hi Dan I’m just dropping off Nikki’s folders. We were just discussing what we are doing after work. I’m leaving now.” Her sickly-sweet voice makes me shudder. She moves from nasty to butter wouldn’t melt too easily, as though she’s well practiced in it.

  Dan narrows his eyes at her slightly, then turns his attention to me. “You o
kay Nikki?”

  “Mmhm.” I nod, thankful that he intercepted her before she was able to take it any further.

  “Okay then let’s allow Nikki to get on with her night.” He nods towards the lift and Astrid turns to head out but not before giving me a final sneer.

  “I came in on my way back upstairs to see if you were still here. I wanted to let you know that these were in.” He taps the box. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  I nod but I can’t say anything because I know if I do, I’ll start bubbling.

  “Ok I’ll see you at some point this week. Have a nice night Nikki.”

  I watch him walk away and as soon as he’s far enough from me I make a beeline for the toilet. As soon as the door is closed, I let out a shuddering breath. “Shit,” I shout and my voice echoes off the tiled walls.

  I jump as the door opens and I find Dan standing there looking at me. “Why did you lie to me Nikki?” His voice is like silk and his smile makes him even better looking.

  “Uh you shouldn’t be in here. This is the ladies bathroom.”

  “It’s my building. I’ll go where I like.”

  “Well I’m going home.” I grab my bag and walk towards the door. He doesn’t move. “Excuse me please.”

  He still doesn’t move. In fact, he straightens up so that he stands taller and becomes all at once rather intimidating. “You told me you were fine, but you lied. Why? What did Astrid really say to you?”

  I back off quickly trying to put some space between us but my heel slips on the tiled floor and my leg goes from under me. I crash to my knees and the contents of my bag scatter over the floor. I can feel panic rise in my chest and I’m becoming short of breath.

  “My God are you okay?” Dan comes towards me and I scurry away like a frightened little mouse. I’m still on the floor but now I’ve backed myself into the corner between the sinks and the wall with the hand dryer. He comes closer to me and reaches out his hand.

  “No!” I shout and put my hand up as if to defend myself. I’ve obviously put my hand up too high because the hand dryer turns itself on and I scream in shock at the loud noise. I think I’m having a heart attack. I feel like my heart is going to explode and I can’t get a breath in. I’m so scared it feels like I might die.