Chapter 16
“Nate! Nate!”
Oh, Jesus Christ, not again! Not on my last day!
The noise level from the front reminded him of the day the dogs had invaded all those weeks ago. Even as he rushed around his desk and steeled himself for whatever was making that noise, he had a moment of sadness thinking about the hot blonde in the red dress he’d met that day. Meeting Kelly had changed him, and now she was gone. He slipped his keys into his pocket and an involuntary smirk graced his lips.
I’ve changed so much that today I’ll willingly hand over the keys. No heroics on the last day.
He rounded the corner to the waiting area and stopped dead. Helium balloons, coloured streamers and a large group of people filled the space. His mouth fell open while his eyes skated to the front door. Someone had closed and locked it; he could see a handmade ‘closed’ sign stuck to the window, too.
Totally against bank policy.
The cheer that went up a moment after his arrival made him smile. Eight years of working with these people was about to come to an end and, while he was excited to fly out of the country next week, he was overwhelmed with nostalgia for his time here. Despite the changes and the way that it had ended, he would miss this branch and the people who worked here.
Samantha pressed forward through the crowd, clutching an envelope and a bottle of wine. She stood next to him and cleared her throat as he rolled his eyes. The group laughed and she put up her hand for silence.
“Well, Nate, the day has finally come. You’re about to be rid of us!” Everyone shouted and cheered, then Samantha waited for them to quiet down again. “We know you didn’t want any fuss, but when have we ever done anything you said, anyway?”
Laughter spread through the crowd and someone at the back shouted, “Certainly not that time you banned us from having birthday cake!”
“Don’t remind me about the birthday cake incident,” Nate smiled while Samantha laughed and turned back to the crowd.
“Does everyone remember when Nate arrived, newly minted as a branch manager, and told us we were wasting time whenever we had birthday celebrations?”
“Yeeeeeesssss!” the entire room shouted as Nate bowed his head.
“As I said, we ignored you and continued our cake tradition, sometimes in secret, sometimes blatantly leaving crumbs on your desk.”
“Wait, that was from birthday cake?” Nate laughed as Samantha nodded. “I knew you were still doing it. I didn’t know you ate in my office!”
“Well, what you didn’t know didn’t hurt you, did it? And we loved everything else you did for us. Or to us!” She inclined her head at the crowd, “So do we give him his present or what?” The group shouted their approval and Samantha turned to Nate and held out the envelope. “This is a small token of our appreciation for the last eight years. We’re going to miss you so much. Make sure you keep in touch once you’re swanning around the world, too. We don’t want to be forgotten.” She gave him the envelope and held out the bottle of wine. “This is to drown your sorrows tonight when you realise how great we are and how much you’re going to pine for us.”
Amid the laughter, Samantha engulfed him in a tight hug. Nate opened his card and read through the comments in between individual congratulations from the assembled group. He’d wondered at the room full of people, when there weren’t nearly this many people employed at his branch. Long term customers had come to say goodbye as well as ex staff who’d moved on. Ruben, Jasper, Dean and Chris, who all had loans through the bank heckled him from the back of the room. He laughed and smiled his way through each greeting until someone shouted, “Speech! Speech!”
Nate was pushed back to the front and the shouts of ’speech’ continued until he put his hand up like Samantha had. “Okay, quiet down. I’m still your boss, some of you, for another two hours.” Laughter filled the room as he thought about what to say. “I just want you to know that if this branch hadn’t been on the chopping block, I’d never have considered leaving any of you. We’ve had plenty of fun and I hope you’ve enjoyed the years as much as I have. I promise I’ll keep in touch, though it might be sporadic once I leave. My only regret is that I won’t be here for the big party once it’s time to close. You’ll have to Facebook me some photos.”
He grinned at the group and took a step back when someone shouted, “Oh, we have one more gift!”
“You guys! There was no need for all this fuss!”
“Trust me, you’ll want this one,” Samantha said as another envelope was passed to the front. Nate took it and flicked open the tab. He slid out the paper inside and frowned as he tried to work out what they’d given him.
Inside was an airline ticket, for a moment he suspected it was just a printed paper made to look like a ticket. The name printed on the ticket made him no sense. Kelly Foster’s name stared back at him as he looked at Samantha. “I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t,” she laughed and Nate frowned at her. Awkward jokes were always Samantha’s idea of fun and now he found himself on the receiving end of this one. He’d seen this play out enough times to know that she’d let it go on for a few minutes before she put him out of his misery, so he was pleasantly surprised when she turned to the group and said, “Everyone knows what comes next, right?”
There were mutters and laughter as the entire group turned around to face away from him. He watched their backs with a perplexed expression until a voice spoke behind him. “Hey, the party started without me.”
He turned and couldn’t hide his shock. Blonde hair. A wide smile.
God I’ve missed that smile…
“Kelly! What are you doing here?” An involuntary step carried him toward her—one he couldn’t stop if he tried. “I thought you were in Perth.”
“Tracking me, huh?” she grinned and closed the distance between them. “Why do you think I’m here, Nate?”
He ignored the snickers coming from the group behind him. A group that were now sure to be sneaking glances over their shoulders. “This ticket has your name on it.” He held up the paper.
“It does. I cancelled all my upcoming contracts.” She bit her lip. “I want to come along, if you’ll still have me.”
“What about Fang?”
“Dean is going to take care of him until we come back.”
“That’s why he pulled out of housesitting?” She nodded as he continued, “I thought you said you couldn’t afford to take time off?”
“Well, you took the blinkers off a bit. I did some research and found I can get online work. The pay is awful but between that and my savings, I can make it work.” She took his hands and squeezed. “More important than all that, you were right. I was scared. I wasn’t living my life the way I told everyone I was. I want to have an adventure and I’m not going to let the fear of what could happen forty years from now ruin my life.”
The grin that split his face made her brave and she reached up to kiss him lightly on the lips. He didn’t move as her lips brushed against his, then all of a sudden, his hands let go of hers and clasped both her cheeks. His eyes bored into hers, the heat from his stare searing right down to her toes. Someone giggled in the assembled crowd but Nate ignored them as he pressed his lips against hers. She melted against him as he held her tight, kissing her with a passion that had been sorely lacking from her nights these past few weeks. With a small nibble on her bottom lip, he finally pulled away. She smiled up at him and he leaned his forehead against hers.
“If things go badly we can always try to get us some free accommodation in return for work. What skills do you have besides counting money?” Her words made him laugh, but not for the reason she thought.
“I’m a qualified scuba diver instructor.”
“What? You’re kidding me, aren’t you?” She pulled away and slapped her head. “Oh man. You can find work all over the place with an actual skill like that. I was only joking!”
“I’m also a yoga instructor.”
She stared at him with her mouth open. “Who are you? Where did you learn that and why am I just finding out now?”
“Two years ago, I had a quiet mid-life crisis when I hit thirty. I thought I might quit the bank and start my own business. So, I went to a course and got certified. I never used it, but I could.”
She slipped her arms around his neck and pressed herself close. “My big, burly, sensible Nate can teach yoga.” She winked at him and kissed his chin. “How about we try out some of those yoga positions, now that I know I’ve been missing out?”
“Ewww, you two need to stop that right now! We’re all still standing here, you know!”
Kelly’s hands dropped to her sides and they laughed as the group crowded around them again. Samantha made choking sounds as she came up to them. “What the hell was that last bit about? You took a yoga course and never told us?”
Nate grinned before he answered. “I might have told a little lie when I said I wouldn’t have abandoned you all unless I was pushed. For a few months, I thought my own business was a great idea. Then reality took over and I let myself retreat into my cave instead.” He took Kelly’s hand and kissed the back of it as Dean approached them. “I intend to make up for it now.”
“Aww… look at you two,” Dean laughed as he pushed Nate’s shoulder. “You’re all loved up. It’s enough to make a man believe in love.”
“One day you’ll meet the right girl, Deano.”
“I very much doubt that. I enjoy my freedom too much. You two make it look easy, though, so who knows. Sorry I couldn’t tell you why I couldn’t house sit. I didn’t think you’d appreciate Fang chewing your cupboards to pieces.” Dean laughed as Nate’s eyes widened.
“Thanks again for taking him. Can I drop him off tomorrow?” Kelly’s smile was huge as strangers crowded around and congratulated her.
“Of course. I’ve already prepared his room. It’s completely child proofed and there’s not a piece of furniture inside he can eat.”
Nate laughed and slapped his friend on the arm. “Oh man, you have no idea what you’re in for. That dog is the devil.”
“Nah, he’s fine. He just needs some tough love. By the time you come back he’ll be the best-behaved dog you’ve ever met.”
“After what I saw that day in the yard, if anyone can tame him, it’s you. I’m sure Kelly will want progress reports.”
“No problem. I’ll take regular photos. Promise. Anyway, I’ve got to run. I have a dog bed to pick up from the pet store before they close.”
Nate laughed again. “You’re getting him a dog bed?”
“I don’t want him to be cold when he sleeps.” He shook hands with Nate and walked to the glass doors where Samantha let him out.
Nate and Kelly watched him go as Kelly mused, “He’s been sucked in just like I was. There’s a good chance Fang will be even worse when I get back.”
“What are you doing about the house? Is someone moving in?”
“Well, you didn’t actually say you’ll have me along yet. If you confirm I’m coming then I’ll call the agent. She has a tenant lined up, who inspected the place last week, and will take it fully furnished—I just have to give her the okay and she’ll get the lease signed.”
Nate slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her close. “Of course you’re coming. I’ve thought of nothing else for weeks. You could have warned me, though. I almost cancelled my tickets last week and came grovelling to you.”
“Well, luckily that didn’t happen.” She leaned in close to his ear. “How long before we can get out of here?”