Free The Blame by Nichola Park

company car. 
    “So, what do you think?” asked Daniel as he joined the flow of traffic with barely a look in the rear view mirror.
    Laura resisted the temptation to look back over her shoulder to check the oncoming traffic. She made a mental note to include defensive driving skills in the training.
    “There’s definitely a lot of work that needs to be done before people realize that accidents don’t only happen to other people. For every one serious accident that occurs, there are probably another 600 near misses.”
    ***
    “Workers must be able to automatically identify potential hazards as soon as they enter a building site. They must then inform the supervisors and corrective actions have to be taken at once.”
    “And is hazard identification covered in the training?” asked Sandra.
    “Of course. I’ll send you all the relevant course material this evening for your appraisal.”
    “Good. Well, that wraps it up for today, then.”
    “OK, I’ll be off now if there’s nothing else you need.”
    “No, that’s fine. Oh, hold on a minute. I almost forgot. Hugo wants to go over something with you before you leave.”
    Laura’s mouth suddenly felt dry.
    “Sure. Where is he?”
    “Upstairs, in the boardroom.”
    She took the stairs to the top floor, her safety boots squeaking on the marble steps. She felt breathless and she knew it wasn’t exclusively due to exertion.
    Her feet sank into the thick carpet as she paused to listen at the door of the wood panelled boardroom. Nothing. Was he alone?
    She took a deep breath and knocked. A moment later the door opened and Hugo stood there, his face inscrutable. He stood aside to let her pass, and shut the door behind her. A quick glance round the room confirmed no one else was there, although one end of the large mahogany table was strewn with blue prints, bottles of water and laptops.
    Laura placed her shoulder bag on a chair and turned to face Hugo.
    “Sandra says you wanted to speak to me?”
    Silence.
    “Hugo?”
    He stared at some fascinating spot on the floor, the muscles of his jaw clenching and unclenching.
    “Hugo, is something wrong?” she asked tentatively.
    He reached her in two long strides, took her in his arms and crushed her lips with his own.
    Taken unawares, Laura froze for an instant, hands fluttering about his shoulders.
    Then she yielded.
    He kissed her long and hard until they were both panting when they finally parted.
    “You have no idea how I’ve longed for this moment,” he murmured, his pupils dark and dilated.
    Laura was unable to speak; she felt sure that Hugo could hear her pounding heart. As he embraced her once more, she pressed her palms against his chest.
    “No, Hugo. Someone might come in.”
    Reluctantly, he let her go and ran a hand through his short hair. She tucked her shirt back into her jeans and tried to regain her composure. Strands of hair had escaped from her ponytail and she retied it neatly at the base of her neck. Then she reached out and wiped a trace of lipstick from his face with her thumb.
    “I’d better go now,” she said thickly, picking up her bag.
    “Wait.”  He grasped her hand. “You can’t go yet—we have to talk. Have lunch with me, Laura.”
    “No, Hugo, I can’t. Not today. There are things I have to see to.”
    He cupped her face with his hand and traced her jawbone with his thumb. “All right. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
    She gave him a tremulous smile and left the room, closing the door softly behind her. She caught the lift down to the garage in a haze.
    I’ve done it, she thought. I’ve actually crossed the line Sara warned me about—the point of no return.
    And to her surprise, it didn’t cause her much anguish.
    ***
    She spent the rest of the afternoon running around town trying to organize the necessary inspections and licences in order to get their utilities connected. Surprisingly, it had all gone very smoothly and quickly, which only added to her elated mood. As she