The Intimidation Game (Game Series Book 1) Read online

  “Nikki you have to calm down. Breathe.” I realise he’s sitting on the floor beside me rubbing my back, all the while soothing me with his voice.

  I don’t know how long we stay there but as the hand dryer turns itself off my breath evens out, and I start to realise I’m not going to die, my emotions quickly change from scared to utter embarrassment.

  “Oh my God I’m so sorry,” I whisper.

  “Hey, what are you sorry for?” He leans back from me and moves my hair away from my tear stained face. “Are you okay to get up? This floor is freezing.”

  I nod and we get up off the floor. I watch as he gets down on his knees and starts picking up the contents of my bag. I want to curl up and die when he picks up the two tampons, but he doesn’t utter a word or even make a face. He stands and hands my bag to me. “Thank you.” My voice sounds feeble and pathetic.

  “Are you okay? I’m sorry for startling you.”

  I shake my head. “No this is my own fault. I have… issues. I’m the one who’s sorry. You did nothing wrong.”

  “Will you join me upstairs for a drink Nikki? I have some things I need to talk to you about.”

  My name rolling off his tongue sounds delicious and I have to look away so that he doesn’t see what it has done to me. “Sure. Can you give me a minute?”

  “Okay. Are you sure you’re alright?”

  I nod. “Yes, I promise I’ll be fine.”

  “I don’t know if I want to leave you like this.”

  “Honestly I’m fine. Go, I’ll see you shortly.”

  He nods and leaves. I let out a long sigh and look at myself in the mirror. Well, if I didn’t look ridiculous before I certainly do now. I get a makeup wipe from my bag and clean my face completely, fix my hair and head out the door. The floor is quiet and as I call the lift, I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I can hear it coming down from the floors above. I get in when the doors open and I can smell Dan, it’s intoxicating. I’m about to press the twelfth-floor button but I can’t do it. Instead I press the ground floor. I need to get out of here and meet with my sister, and I really don’t want to have too much to do with a man that can see anything nice about someone like Astrid.

  I leave the building as quickly as I can and manage to hail a black cab almost immediately. As the driver heads in the direction of the café I’m meeting Charlie at, that sinking feeling I had gets worse and I start to wonder what the fallout from my snub to Dan will be.

  Chapter Five

  I haven’t seen Dan since I left on Wednesday. I’ve felt really bad about leaving without saying anything that night, but I’ve made my peace with myself. I have too many issues to work through right now and I really wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be put on the spot by the boss.

  We close at one o’clock on a Friday and Damo has invited me to go out with him and some friends. I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t been on a night out since I got here, on account of having no friends. Well, I say no friends, I do have Gina and Steven, but they are my sister’s friends. Damo is my first real friend and I intend to keep him.

  I have my team assembled in the meeting room. I need to have a chat to them before we all leave for the weekend. We’ve already run through everyone’s roles and responsibilities, talked over the main brief for the system we’ll be working on and discussed the rota and holiday schedule Damo and I have been working on. Everyone has wrapped up all the other projects they were working on and they are all prepped and ready to get stuck right in on Monday.

  “Now you guys are the backbone of this project so please feel free to question anything I put forward. We are a team after all. Is there anything you want to ask or add?”

  Ben, an older, good looking guy, who was in the army before he came to work here, sticks up his hand. I nod to him.

  “This is not so much a question but a statement. I just want to say on behalf of everyone on this team that we are so glad to have you here. I saw the other person they interviewed, and my God was he a sour faced bastard. You’re a breath of fresh air.”

  I feel my cheeks redden, as there’s a chorus of ‘here here’. “Thanks guys… gosh I don’t know what to say. I’m going to try and be the best team leader you’ve ever had, I promise.” My smile gets wider as they all clap for me. “Right if there’s nothing else you want to say get the hell out of here people, it’s five past one. The weekend has already started.”

  I’ve hardly finished the last sentence, but they are all on their feet and making their way out the door. The office empties in a matter of minutes until there is only Damo and I left.

  “God they were like rats deserting a sinking ship,” Damo laughs. His smile soon fades and my heart hits the floor when the elevator doors open and Astrid saunters through the office holding a white folder in her hand. “Oh, shit what does she want?” He whispers.

  She obviously hears him. “Shut it gay-boy,” she says nonchalantly.

  Poor Damo’s face turns chalk white and he looks at me with such hurt in his eyes.

  That’s it; I’ve had enough of her now. She’s a bully. I bang my fist on my desk. “Enough Astrid. Do you think you’re in bloody school or something? This is a workplace; we are grown-ups so you should start acting like one. God you’re so disrespectful.”

  She takes a slight step back and narrows her eyes at me. “You better be fucking careful what you say to me. You should know by now, I have friends in high places here,” she sneers as she points a skinny finger at me.

  Is she for real? Is she seriously trying to threaten me? “Get out of my office,” I shout at her. I want to crumble into a heap, but I can’t let her know she has any power over me, it simply adds fuel to her fire.

  She bites her bottom lip and smirks at me. “Okay don’t have another fucking mental breakdown. Jed asked me to hand this in for you.” She throws the folder down on the desk and walks away leaving me staring in utter shock.

  As soon as the elevator doors close, I collapse into my seat and put my head in my hands. I can’t stop the tears and before long I am a sobbing wreck. “How could he tell her?” I cry.

  Damo wheels a chair over beside me and puts his arm round my shoulder. “Oh, Nikki please don’t cry. You’ll set me off. I’m so sorry your first week has been like this. I wish she would just fuck off.”

  “I’m starting to wonder why I bothered leaving South Africa you know that Damo. I really don’t need this crap. I left enough of it behind.”

  “I know. Listen if you’re not up to going out tonight I’ll understand.”

  “No, I think I need it more than ever now. You head off, I’m going to clean up my face and head home myself.”

  He gives me a small smile. “By the way we are going to a gay bar tonight. She wasn’t lying when she called me that. I just didn’t want my sexual preference to cloud your judgement about me because, believe me, it does for some people.”

  “I don’t care about that Damo. It’s no one’s business but yours and it doesn’t have any bearing on the person you are. And I already knew. I’m not blind.” I wipe my tears away from my face with a tissue.

  He looks a little embarrassed. “Eh how?”

  “Oh, for goodness sake Damo, I see the way you look at Ben. You’ve totally got a crush on him.”

  “Busted. Well he is handsome, and as straight as they come so all it will ever be is crush.”

  His mock pining look makes me smile. “You’ll find your Ben, I know it. You’re a catch. Right get home, make yourself beautiful and come and pick me up at seven.”

  He kisses my cheek. “See you at seven then Miss Nikki.”

  I gather up my bag and jacket and wave to Damo as the lift doors close. I head for the toilet to clean up and make up my mind to get rat arsed tonight. Damo’s saying not mine, but I found it funny so I’m adopting it.

  Making sure the lights are off I get into the lift and press the ground floor. It takes me a moment to realise that the lift is in fact going up first.
I hope against hope that it’s anyone other than Dan on the other side.

  The lift comes to a stop, the doors open and, just my luck, it’s Dan who is waiting there. He’s wearing navy blue suit trousers and a matching waistcoat. His white shirtsleeves are rolled to just below his elbows, showcasing his muscular forearms, and the collar is casually unbuttoned. I’m so taken aback by the sight in front of me that I momentarily forget I’m pissed at him.

  We stare at each other until the doors start to close and he puts his hand between them opening them again. “Hi Nikki,” he says. “Are you getting out?”

  I shake my head. I can’t seem to move. I back up to the wall when he steps inside. “You owe me a drink.”

  I reach up and push him back from me. “I don’t think so. Get out of my personal space please.”

  He relents and steps back but stands in between the doors. I’m effectively trapped in this elevator. “You’re very mysterious Nikki. What’s your story?”

  “I work here and you’re my boss. I don’t need to tell you my story. Now will you please let me go home?” I don’t understand what’s going on here but there is a certain tension in the air. I realise I’m clenching my jaw and I relax, drawing in a stuttered breath.

  “Okay then. Nikki Olsson I would like to see you in my office right now please.”

  I sigh in defeat. “Excuse me please,” I say as I move to exit the lift. He moves to the side and I stalk past him. Each step I take feels as though I’m walking into quicksand.

  Dan catches up with me and walks beside me towards his office door. I can’t look at him. I’m angry that he’s using his authority over me to make me do as he wants. I wonder if that’s how he controls Astrid. The thought does not sit easily with me.

  He pushes the door open. “Take a seat Nikki,” he says gesturing to one of the seats in front of the desk.

  I sit on the one that’s furthest away and watch Dan pour himself a whisky.

  “Would you like a drink?”

  “No. Please just get this over with and tell me why I’m here?” I can hear the anger in my voice, and I can see by his expression that he does too.

  He takes his seat. “Are you mad at me for some reason Nikki?”

  I shake my head and look at my hands. “Why did you tell her?” I ask, my voice low and full of defeat.

  “Tell who, what?”

  “Astrid. You told her about my breakdown in the toilet.” I look at him and I feel tears surface at my lids. “How could you do that?”

  “Nikki, I didn’t tell her anything. I spoke to Jed about it. I asked him to keep an eye on you.”

  “Bullshit. You’re sleeping with her so of course you told her. Please don’t insult me.”

  He laughs and it only serves to boil my blood further. “Oh, you’ve just got to love the rumour mill, haven’t you?”

  I’m starting to feel less brave now and I can’t believe I just spoke to my boss like that. “I’m sorry Mr King. I’ll be more careful what I listen to in the future.”

  There is the tiniest glint in his eye but it’s enough to make me notice. “You’re a troubled young woman aren’t you Nikki? Something’s happened to you in the past and it’s affecting how you treat people. Do you want to talk about it? Sometimes it helps. And call me Dan for goodness sake. Mr King makes me sound over the hill.”

  “I’m sorry Dan but I don’t really know you, I don’t think it’s appropriate to air my dirty laundry right now,” I bow my head, “and I wouldn’t want you to think any less of me than you do already.”

  “Nikki.”

  I keep my head lowered.

  “Nikki, look at me please.”

  I look up and see a sincere pair of warm brown eyes. Really taking in his beautiful face this time my breath catches slightly in my throat.

  “I think very highly of you actually. You’re an intelligent young woman. Do you think I’d hire someone who wasn’t? How about we change tack here then? How has your first week been?”

  I let out an over-exaggerated sigh. “Where do I start?”

  “That bad Huh?”

  “You could say that since the second person I met on Monday has taken an instant dislike to me for some reason.”

  “Hmm. Tell me what happened on Monday. You looked like you’d seen a ghost when you came in here. Did it have something to do with Astrid?”

  “Yes, and it was then I knew I’d have to be wary of her.” I tell him what she did, and how she’s been talking to me since we first met, and when I’m done, he leans forward in his chair, clasping his hands on the desk.

  “I’m going to let you in on something Nikki. I don’t know what it is about you, but I feel like I can trust you and I think if you know more about the software project, you could really help me with what I have planned.”

  My brows knit together. I’m intrigued. “Okay.”

  “You have to promise to keep this quiet or it will blow everything.”

  I make a cross sign over my chest. “Cross my heart. I already signed that NDA though so I would never tell anyone anyway.”

  He nods. “What I want to tell you is more to do with the background to why the project is happening in the first place. That wasn’t covered in the NDA, so I need your discretion on this.”

  “Oh, well carry on then.”

  “I met Astrid about seven years ago at a charity boxing match. She was one of those walk-on girls. You know those ones, all tits and teeth. Anyway, I got extremely drunk and ended up, well I think you can guess. Let’s just say it wasn’t one of my finer moments. We had a one-night stand and I didn’t see her again until a year ago when she was hired as Jed’s PA. It was a huge leap to go from a walk on girl to a PA but, apparently, she’d managed to get herself a PA diploma from a distance learning college. Jed was impressed with her and her credentials stacked up. As much as she’s not the nicest person to work with, she’s good at her job. Doesn’t make her the best though. I have that one.,” He gets up and pours himself another whisky. “You sure you don’t want one?” He holds an empty glass up.

  “I’ve never tried it.”

  “Let’s change that. You’re not driving, are you?”

  I shake my head. “No, I can’t afford a car yet.” Why I chose to tell him that I don’t know.

  He pours me a glass and places it on the desk in front of me. The golden liquid looks fiery in the clear crystal glass. He takes his seat behind the desk. “I’ll show you how to drink it.”

  “Sorry?”

  “There’s a certain way to drink whisky, to really taste it. Have you ever done a wine tasting?”

  “You do know I’m from South Africa, don’t you?” I laugh.

  “Ah yes excuse my oversight, of course you’ve been to a wine tasting.” His smile lights up his eyes and I think he looks a little embarrassed, like he doesn’t normally make slip ups like that.

  “I’ve been to many wine tastings but, and don’t tell anyone, I prefer Californian wine.”

  He laughs. “Your secret is safe with me. Well when tasting wine, you take air into your mouth right?” I nod. “But with whisky you don’t. You take a sip, hold it in your closed mouth for a few seconds then swallow it. That’s when you taste it. Like this.”

  I watch as he takes a sip and keeps his mouth closed. He swallows it and holds his glass up. “Cheers.”

  I lift the glass, which is remarkably heavy, and clink it with his. “Cheers.” I take a sip and hold my mouth closed. The liquid is instantly warming and when I swallow it, I feel as though my throat is on fire.

  “You like?”

  “Um it’s interesting. I’m still tasting different things even though I’ve swallowed it.”

  “Yeah for four hundred pounds a bottle it should do that.”

  I cough and look at the glass. “Wow that’s an expensive little glass full there.”

  “So anyway, back to my story.” He takes another sip of his whisky and I do the same. This time my palate has a taste for it, and it goes dow
n much easier. “I didn’t remember Astrid at first, but she went out of her way to try and jog my memory. She did all sorts of crazy shit which I won’t bore you with but let’s just say I wasn’t interested, and I’m still not interested.” He says this pointedly making sure I heard him.

  “Okay I get it. I was just saying what I’ve heard everyone else say.”

  “It’s like bloody Chinese whispers in here sometimes. Now what I am going to tell you is strictly confidential. Got it?”

  I nod.

  “Jed is having an affair with Astrid.”

  “Really? Damo said he’s happily married.”

  “Oh, it’s not as simple as that. Right now, I’m conducting an internal investigation. In the last year I’ve had two different software products pulled out from under me, one of which was significant enough to cost me a lot of money, and I think Jed and Astrid are at the centre of it.”

  “Are you saying you think they are corporate spies?”

  “That’s exactly what I think. It pisses me off no-end because Jed has been with me since the beginning. I’m worried he’s involved in something he can’t get out of, although unless someone kidnapped his wife and kids and forced him to do it, he’s just as culpable as her. And that’s where you come in. I set up your team to try and catch them out. The software you are working on will never do the job it’s intended to do.”

  I’m seriously confused, and I really don’t like to think where this is going. “What do you mean?”

  “Your team and your project are a sting.”

  I’m shocked. “Do you mean to tell me I don’t actually have a real job? My staff aren’t actually my staff? Dan, I left South Africa and a good job for this.” I stand on shaky legs; this news is like a punch to the gut. “If I hadn’t been in here this afternoon would you even have told me?”

  “Of course I would have. I was going to tell you on Wednesday, but you didn’t come up. I’ve been in London since that evening. I only got back a couple of hours ago. I was actually coming down to see if I could catch you before you went home. I really felt like I needed to speak to you after what happened in the bathroom.”