Hey!” he exclaimed, as Nadine pulled him into the small meeting room.
She took no notice and instead put her arms about his neck and kissed him.
“Nadine! Someone could see us,” an amused Raymond put up a rather weak defence.
“So?”
“We’re working. We’re supposed to be professionals. Or at least, act like we are.”
They were both volunteers with FRU, an organisation responsible for providing legal advice, case preparation and advocacy in tribunal cases for people who could not otherwise obtain legal support.
“I’m excited.”
“I can see that … although I’m not the cause of the excitement. So, what’s going on?”
“I got a letter from Eldridge this morning.”
“And they offered you a training contract?” It was more of an affirmation than a question.
She nodded.
“That’s great. See, I told you so”.
“Yeah, yeah.”
But he continued, undeterred. “I said they would see what a gem you are, and they would not pass up the opportunity to tap into your potential,” he said, clearly happy for her. He started to kiss her but she pulled away.
“Tease!”
“Now, who’s being naughty?”
He smiled. “Hey, what do you say; stay over at my place tonight and we can celebrate?”
“I’d love to, but don’t you have classes tonight?”
In addition to being a first-year trainee solicitor with a Magic Circle law firm, Raymond was also taking the New York Bar Course. So, he had the necessary classes for three hours every Friday and Saturday evening, including on the odd Sunday.
Nadine had recently begun her final year at the University of Bristol and came to London quite often, partly because of the work she did with FRU. She was one of the many final year law students across the country who volunteered their time and services handling social security cases. Raymond was busy with the firm, his studies and his volunteering with employment cases with FRU. Their schedules did not permit them to spend as much together as they would have liked, with weekends being an absolute impossibility. But they were willing to try to make their relationship work, and make the most of the less-than-perfect situation, in which they found themselves, especially as it would not be a permanent one. They had managed to survive her being in France for a year, and they believed they had something worth hanging on to.
Despite the fact that Nadine spent much less than the mutually desired amount of time at Raymond’s apartment, his apartment was like home to her.
“Not really. I can do the work at home, online.”
“Darling, I don’t want to distract you.”
“It’s kind of late for that,” he said cheekily.
She shook her head.
“C’mon, I’ll cook you dinner.”
“Ah, blackmail. That always works.”
“You won’t get an offer like this anywhere else, you know.”
“Oh, I am very aware of that. Who knows, I might even put on a sexy black number … you know that little black dress …”
Ray nodded.
“… and I might be nice to you.”
“You have no idea what you do to me, do you?” he asked, running one hand all over her back and grabbing her bum with the other, as he kissed her.
A discreet cough made them pull apart quickly. Emmanuel, Raymond’s friend stood in the doorway. “You will get fired, both of you.”
“We weren’t hired, so technically we can’t be fired.”
“You know what I mean. And you ought to get a room if you’re so horny.”
“We have a room. You’re in it,” Raymond replied.
Nadine just stood there silently, trying not to look as embarrassed as she felt.
Emmanuel shook his head and smiled. “OK, lover boy, I came to let you know that you’re needed back at Employment Tribunal right away. Play-time’s over.”
“Wow, that was quick,” Nadine said, obviously taken aback. She knew Raymond shared her sentiments, even if his face seemed inscrutable.
“You’re telling me.”
“Do you think you’ve won, or that the other side settled?” she asked, looking from one man to the other.
Emmanuel shook his head. “It’s hard to call … especially when everyone’s set their faces like flint.”
“I’ll see you tonight,” Raymond said, kissing her goodbye.
“I love you,” she whispered, before he and Emmanuel walked away.
Nadine opened the door and smiled as she locked it behind her.
“Ray?” she called, taking off her coat and hanging it on the rack by the door. There was no sign of her boyfriend, but there was the most inviting aroma she had ever perceived, coming out of the kitchen. In the kitchen, she found him just taking off an apron. The table was already laid out. She walked into his arms and kissed him.
“How did it go?”
“We won.”
“Really?”
“Hey, don’t look so surprised.”
“No, no … I … it’s just the links were really … tenuous. Moreover, constructive dismissal is hard enough to prove, in itself, without the added complications of ‘he said, she said, they thought’.”
“Yeah.”
“How much?”
“Fifty.”
Nadine blinked. “What?!”
“And costs.”
“Excuse me?”
“The defendant’s paying my client fifty thousand pounds, and has been saddled with paying her costs.”
“But they don’t usually …”
“Yeah, that was the panel’s idea of conveying their annoyance at the defendant for subjecting my client to treatment ‘that was not just symptomatic of the Victorian era, but should also be outlawed under the Human Rights Act’. End of quote.”
“Wow! Why don’t I get such prosecution-happy panels?”
Raymond laughed.
“I bet Emmanuel’s turning cartwheels all over London.”
“And painting it all shades of red.”
“Uh-oh.”
They both laughed.
“So, why are you here?”
Raymond shook his head and kissed his teeth. She laughed.
“What are you making?”
“I’m done.”
“Hmm. Nice. What have you got?”
He opened the serving bowls in the middle of the table as he spoke. “It is pretty unconventional stuff.”
“You can say that again,” she said as she saw the product of what had obviously been hard work.
“You’d better be grateful … and nice to me.”
“Ah! You did this, so I’d be nice to you?”
“Nope … but you did promise. And a promise is a promise.”
She laughed. “What do you think your friends would say if they saw all this? You win big at some tribunal that actually had FRU a bit shaky at the knees, yet instead of going out to celebrate with your mates, you’re here with me. I have got you well and truly … house-trained.”
“Hey,” he began, placatory, “I’ve got my credibility to protect, so I suggest we make this our secret.”
“You couldn’t keep a secret if you tried,” she said, obviously joking.
“Hey! I am insulted by that, you know. I am a trainee solicitor. Lawyers are paid to keep secrets.”
“OK, OK I take it back. Don’t twist my arm. You can keep as many secrets as you want. Just not where it concerns us.”
She knew he was as besotted with her, as she was with him. That was no secret. He truly believed she was ‘the One’ and he believed it was only a matter of time before he proposed. It just irked him that she kept dragging her feet when it came to his meeting her parents.
“So, what do you think? You happy with it?”
“Are you kidding? How can I complain? I might get fat, though but …”
“You couldn’t get fat if you tried. Look at you.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my weight. I am fine the way I am.”
“No, you’re not ‘fine’. You’re perfect the way you are. That’s a lot more than just ‘fine’. And I’m looking forward to telling your parents that.”
“Yeah, that’s really going to win them over.”
“Did I tell you how much I loved these curves?” he asked, his hands beginning to roam.
“Loved?”
“Still do.”
“You know, I don’t have that sexy black number you were anticipating but …”
Raymond groaned.
“Hey!”
“OK, go on.”
“But I have the most wicked lingerie underneath these,” she said, indicating her clothes.
He laughed.
“They’re guaranteed to make your eyes … and a lot more, pop.”
“Really.”
“Well, you can either take my word for it or …”
“Or?”
“Or you can test the validity of my theory by going straight to dessert,” she said, unbuttoning her top, teasing.
“Wow! I’ve got to say I am just a bit convinced. Men all over the world know there’s something to be said for the ‘librarian look’.”
“The ‘librarian look’.”
“Yeah you know … looks boring, sexually repressed …”
“Oh, is that a theory?”
He shook his head as he enveloped her in his arms. “No, it’s a fact. Looks are deceptive.”
“What are you waiting for then, soldier?”
He kissed her slowly.
“This won’t go to waste, you know,” she said, referring to the food. “Thank you for making such an effort.”
“I know. You have no idea what you do to me,” he muttered, kissing her again.
“Shouldn’t we go to the bedroom?” she asked, attempting not very successfully to pull away from him.
“I thought you wanted more spontaneity and spice?” He looked into her eyes, smiling.
She pulled his face towards hers, tasting the sweetness of his mouth and simultaneously locking her arms about his neck as he finally unclasped the single obstructing bra-hook before lifting her onto the nearest kitchen surface.