← Back
I slapped the mat twice, rolled out from under her and walked out of the sports hall with my head high and my face on fire.
“Running away?” Kat called after me, and half the office laughed.
I made it to the corridor before my legs went. I leaned on the wall by the vending machine and pressed my hands to my cheeks. It wasn’t the humiliation. I’d survived two years of humiliation. It was that the second her knee had pressed between my thighs, my body had said oh, hello, and I hadn’t been able to talk it out of it.
I hated her. I’d hated her for two years. That was the whole point.
I went up to my room, got into my swimsuit, wrapped the hotel robe round myself and went to find somewhere hot to sulk. The spa terrace had three outdoor hot tubs under a string of lights, steam curling into a cold October night. Two were taken by a couple from Marketing. The third was empty, bubbling gently.
From behind me, in the corridor, I heard footsteps. Long, unhurried ones. I knew those footsteps. I’d heard them walking past my desk to every promotion I’d ever wanted.
I had about ten seconds to decide where I wanted to be.