Free Meet Clara Andrews: A totally vacuous girl with a hangover... by Lacey London

wants to see what he can come up with.
    ‘Good weekend?’ Oliver asks, pulling up his emails.
    Before I can stop it, my cheeks flush purple and I feel weirdly guilty.
    ‘Um, yes, I did. You?’
    ‘I did as it happens. Moved into my new place, went on a date, did a little car shopping.’
    Date? He went on a date? Who with?
    ‘Date?’ My voice is strangely high pitched.
    I try to remind myself that I also went on a date. Not that it matters to me who Oliver dates.
    ‘Yeah, real nice English girl, we had fun.’
    ‘Lovely,’ I respond, trying not to sound bitter.
    ‘She was. Took her to this little French place, lobster, fine wine, really pushed the boat out.’ He leans back in his seat and folds his arms behind his head.
    Wait a minute. Is he talking about me?
    ‘What do you say, Clara? Do you think that would warrant a second date?’
    He is talking about me! It wasn’t a date! He never said it was a date! What do I say? Feeling truly embarrassed, I pick up the fabric samples and get to work on choosing a lace overlay for some ankle boots.
    ‘What do you think of this Chantilly lace?’ I push the book towards him and try to pretend I haven’t heard him.
    ‘Geez, you English girls are so uptight! Lighten up!’ he laughs and shakes his head, taking the sample book from me and feeling the fabric.
    ‘I like it. Call the company and see what they can do on it. We need a nude and a maroon.’
    Picking up the book and opening my emails, I begin to type out a message. I can’t believe he thought we were on a date! Well to be fair, I kind of did too, I just didn’t want to admit it. After the weekend, I really like George but Oliver has something about him that draws me in. Like he’s the spider and I’m the fly, caught up in his tangled web.
    Peeking at Oliver from behind my screen, I can’t help but mentally compare the two men in my life. George is so lovely, funny and kind. Exactly the type of man you would be proud to take home to your parents. Oliver on the other hand, is enigmatic, intriguing and frankly, a bit of an ass. Exactly the man your parents warned you about. On paper it seems like a no brainer, where as in reality, I want to have my cake and eat it too.
    If only I could merge the two and create my very own Superman. Turning my attention back to my email I find myself wondering, is it really that terrible to date two men at once? At twenty seven, I am well within my rights to play the field, but is it possible to play the field, without becoming a player?
     
    After a ridiculously hectic afternoon, it must be gone midnight when I finally fall into bed. I may have been run off my feet, but today has been quite a success. Not only have I secured a fantastic deal with Martin’s for a shed load of lace, I also managed to squeeze in a coffee with Marc and Lianna and arranged a date with George for Wednesday night. Things seem to going rather well at the moment.
     

Chapter 18
     
    After locking up the studio on Tuesday afternoon, I make a quick trip to the little girl’s room, before heading to the car to wait for Lianna. As a result of breaking two nails, we had arranged at lunch for a late night manicure and a bite to eat in town. Silently cursing her lateness, I turn on the heaters and rub my hands together for warmth. I secretly love winter, dark nights, mulled wine and chunky jumpers. Bring it on.
    ‘Hi! Sorry I’m late!’ Lianna swings open the car door and throws her handbag onto the back seat before climbing in.
    ‘Do you have to treat your bag so badly?’ I wince looking at the scuffed red leather that was once so pretty.
    ‘I am starving! Where are we eating?’ She pulls out her highlighter and begins to touch up her already perfect complexion.
    ‘When are you not starving? And we are manicuring first and then eating.’
    She pulls a sad face and fiddles with the radio.
    ‘How have things been with Mr. Morgan? When Marc told me about the Manchester exhibition I thought he was