Hero Next Door (Next Door Romance Book 2) Read online

  Ah, the lady banter, just one of the reasons why I love my job. Because we have such serious work to do, nothing else is taken seriously. Even the very messy end of a relationship is up for grabs to be laughed at.

  “Yeah, flying high, mate.” I mock flapping my wings like a bird. “Never to be tied down again.”

  “I don’t blame you. You need to come out with me and Ben some nights. A one night stand is all you need.”

  I say nothing to that because I haven’t ever been the one night stand type of guy. I’ve always been in relationships, in it for the long haul. Even before Jane, there was Michelle and I was with her for a long time. But at twenty-eight-years-old, maybe it’s time to try something new since my life method clearly isn’t working out for me. I don’t know about one night stands, but short flings with no strings attached could work out well for me. Maybe even with the mysterious red head carrying all the weight of the world on her shoulders. She clearly needs a good time…

  Oh God, I can’t believe I even could think like that. It’s too disrespectful. I guess that will never be me.

  “Yeah, we’ll see,” I eventually declare. “Could be a laugh, but I hear that you guys are trouble.”

  “Stop it you lot,” Tamara shouts over us all. “You never know, Landon might want to talk. He might need a shoulder to cry on at the end of his marriage, so why don’t you all stop being such bitches.”

  Her words make everyone fall in to silence, one that could be flooded with guilt if everyone didn’t immediately burst out laughing only moments later. Of course, I don’t intend on bursting in to tears at work. No way. That isn’t me. It isn’t any of us really. We just aren’t like that. I didn’t cry even at first when it all fell apart with Jane. I just accepted it as the truth now. We were immediately not going to be together anymore, I couldn’t stay with a cheat, no way. I just went to work and carried on as normal. It took everyone a while to even know that something was going on. But that isn’t an issue, I don’t love talking about my feelings either. That’s just the way that I am.

  Even if it hurt me bad, even if Jane made sure that I don’t want anyone else for a very long time, I still don’t need to sit around and bleat out my feelings about it. I would much rather just get on with it all. Especially now all this time later. Only my work is the same, everything else has changed so the fresh start will be good for me.

  “”Let’s get back to work, shall we?” I rolled my eyes and laughed, joining in with the joke a bit. “We don’t need to talk about my new house like it’s the end of me and Jane. That was forever ago. I’m okay to not think of her.”

  “Yeah, but now you’ve escaped her completely,” Tamara reminded me kindly. “This is a good thing.”

  She’s right. Jane doesn’t know where I live and she won’t come to my work. She has made that mistake before and it didn’t end well. Now I have a new cell phone number and blocked her from all of my social media, so she can’t hassle me that way any longer either. I can shake off the shackles that she shoved me under and start being free at long last. I smile genuinely to myself, happy for the first time in a very long time. I didn’t quite realize how broken I was during my time with her. But now I understand how she put me under the constant stress, but thankfully now it’s all gone. I see it for how it really was.

  Perhaps that’s the issue with Esme as well. Maybe that’s why I feel a connection with her. It could be she has had someone bringing her down, harassing her and making her life hell. Maybe I can give her some advice so she doesn’t get stuck in it when she doesn’t have to be for a very long time like I did. Jane and I should have cut all contact the moment we spilt up, we shouldn’t have gotten embroiled in a toxic divorce, I shouldn’t have let her rant at me all those times… but I’m not broken anymore. I’m stronger. Better.

  It’s all done now and it’s time for me to move on at long last. If I can help someone else come to that conclusion much quicker than I did then I will be very happy about that.

  Chapter 3 – Esme

  “It’s bull shit, absolute bull shit. I can’t handle this anymore, Esme. This is going to leave us in trouble…”

  I clutch my folders closer to my chest, too afraid to ask what that means. He has been yelling at me about money for a long time, so does that mean we are in a lot of financial difficulty? If this company folds, just like many have done ever since the recession hit just over a decade ago, then I don’t know what I would do. I’ll really be stuck. Every reason why I haven’t told my boss to stick his job yet will happen anyway. I might lose my house if that happens.

  “How the fuck am I going to get all of our clients back, Esme? How will I make up for your mistakes?”

  “I… I…” I want to mention the cheaper materials, I feel like I should since Delia mentioned them, but I can’t

  “I don’t know how to deal with this. Honestly, I don’t know why I put up with it all. I mean, how am I supposed to keep a business afloat when you can’t even get the simplest of tasks right? I should fire you…”

  Oh God, we always have this. At least twice a week he threatens to fire me because of my incompetence. During weeks where I feel okay about myself, I can just float by this and allow it to wash over me like water off a duck’s back, but when I’m already feeling a little bit shitty, I become very sensitive and it has me wanting to cry. I mean, this man reminds me all the time that my life is virtually in his hands. If not for him, then I don’t know where I would be now. I would be homeless probably, living on the streets, eating out of bins.

  I can’t be blamed for a lot of this, but if I were a better employee then he wouldn’t even be able to bring me in to the mix, would he? I can’t help but feel that way, like I am responsible in some way for the failures of this company. The personal assistant role is the glue that holds the whole company together, so perhaps I am in the wrong.

  “Sorry, Mr. Jones.” I hang my head low, trying to disguise the stray tear that so desperately wants to break free. “Sorry that all of this is happening. If there was anything that I could do to make it right again…”

  “There’s nothing,” he snaps, shutting me down instantly. “Nothing that someone like you could do. As usual, it’s up to the organ grinder to fix the fuck ups of the monkeys… and I have more monkeys working here than most.”

  This is why I never get home before dark, because I am always the one put in this position. Listening to the end of the day yelling and having the weight of the world shoved on top of me. It’s horrible.

  It wasn’t always like this. Mr. Jones has always been an unpleasant man and his company has always had to face issues, but back then the yelling was at everyone. I didn’t even notice that it had slowly become only me over time until Delia started working here and pointed it out to me. Now, it’s all that I can think of. It has to be me, doesn’t it? I have to be contributing to what Mr. Jones perceives as the issue, otherwise it would still be the same.

  We could laugh about it then, cheer each other up equally, but now it isn’t a joke. Now, it’s hell.

  “I need all of my meetings moved around tomorrow, Esme, and I need you to sort that out right now…”

  “But, boss, most people will have gone home for the day…” I try, not that it gets me anywhere.

  “The PA’s are there to be on call twenty four hours a day, seven days a week…” I wonder if all bosses believe this. If so, then it really should be there in the job description to warn people. I can’t be the only person who didn’t realize that when I took on the role. “They will be available. I need my morning free to sort out this fuck, but I also don’t want to lose out on any of my meetings because they could lead to new business, and God knows we need that. So, I need you to get that ass of yours back to your desk and make some calls. Don’t just stand there…”

  “I’m only standing here because I don’t know if that’s going to be possible.” I feel like an idiot. Why does he have to make me feel like such an idiot? “You have meetings all mor
ning and afternoon tomorrow.”

  “See, this is the sort of shit that I am talking about! This exactly.” He waves his hands in my direction very dismissively. “You can’t just make something happen for me, can you? Like a decent personal assistant would do. You have to make it in to a self-centered drama. I have enough going on, right now. I don’t need you to set about making my life more difficult. It’s just fucking bull shit, that’s what it is. I don’t need it.” His face is flaming red with sheer temper. I step backwards, trying to escape his glare. “Just go and make some calls, will you?”

  “Y… yes,” I stagger backwards, nearly falling. “I will go and make the calls right now, I will… I’ll change the meeting times and lengths to… to fit things in. I will make sure everything is… is easy for you.”

  I run out of the room, tears flooding down my face, my heart pounds, sickness floods through my body. I need to find a way to make Mr. Jones’ life easier, he’s right about that. I do suck at doing that. I should have just found a solution. Other personal assistants would. They would know exactly what to do. I need to know what to do as well. I need to get better at making this company run smoother so that he can’t blame me anymore…

  Weariness blocks my vision as I drive home. It’s hard to keep my eyes open to be honest, it feels dangerous to be driving, but I don’t have any choice. I have finally escaped the hell of being around Mr. Jones and I don’t want to stick around for another second longer. I have considered sleeping in the office before, or in my car in the parking lot, just because he has made me so tired, but I’ve never followed through with that. He scares me too much.

  “Home at last,” I mutter thickly to myself as I pull the car to a stop. Sometimes I’m amazed by the miracle that I haven’t smashed in to the side of my house yet. I guess my conscious down there somewhere takes charge however shattered I am because I don’t have the means to afford any repairs on the house at all. “Time for some rest.”

  It’s not much of a life, is it? Home and then work, then straight back to home again. I don’t feel like it’s an ideal situation, but it’s all that I got. When people discuss perfecting a work life balance, it makes me want to laugh. I mean, what would that even entail of? Things I can only dream about as I crash to sleep hard.

  “No neighbors,” I mutter to myself as I pass their house. It isn’t just the darkness of the house that confirms that fact for me, it’s the truck gone from the drive way. I would imagine that the hot fire fighter would be at work, but then where is his girlfriend? Maybe they are out having a romantic dinner or something, the sort of thing that couples do. I clutch on to my stomach with hunger rocketing through me as I wonder what that would even look like, being taken out for dinner. Most nights, it’s just ramen instant noodles for me because I don’t have the energy to cook.

  Anyway, I’m used to no neighbors, that isn’t an issue for me. It’s good because if they are the partying late nights and making a lot of noise, then it’s going to be a real issue for me. I don’t think that I will be able to hack it. I’m not a yelling, confrontational type at work, but if the people living next door to me push me to the edge, there is no guarantee that I won’t become that here. I just don’t need any more stress in my life. I am at my limit, always.

  With a deep sigh, I head inside and plod up the stairs as if my legs are made from lead. I know exactly where I’m headed and nothing will hold me back. After that shit storm of a day, I need a hot bubble bath to wash it all off. Hopefully, then I will just sleep and dream about anything other than Mr. Jones’ reign of terror.

  My eyes threaten to close at the relaxing sound of the water pouring in to the bath tub, and even peeling my clothing off to stand in the bathroom stark naked doesn’t assist in keeping me awake. It’s just good that I have decided to bring my cell phone in to the bathroom with me to give me something to focus on. I don’t normally do that because this is my time and I like that to be without technology and the risk of work contacting me, but tonight I need to. Ever since Delia found Theo online, I have wanted to look him up myself in the privacy of my own home.

  Yes, that makes me a crazy person, I know that much, and virtually a stalker, especially since he has a girlfriend, but he doesn’t have to know. This can just be a delicious little secret for myself. It can be the closest thing that I get to a man without actually having to try and master dating around my bull shit job…

  Oh no, that actually sounds even worse. It’s nearly sickeningly tragic, just like my life. Still, it doesn’t stop me from diving right in to his social media sites as soon as I am in the safety of the water, to take a look at him.

  “Oh wow.” I touch his face on the screen. “He is stunning. Like a freaking God.”

  He looks like the guys that are seen on a fire fighter calendar, not the sort of person that I would ever expect to really work for the fire department. He’s a model, a dream come true, and it stirs me all up inside. He doesn’t seem to be vain either. The pictures of him are all posted by his friends and he doesn’t respond to all of the comments telling him how hot he is. I can’t help but notice that there isn’t any sign of his girlfriend, like Delia stated, but I guess she really is just super private. I mean, I understand that, I don’t post a lot about myself either because I don’t want people to know. Maybe I would be more in to selfies if I looked like her, but there has to be a reason.

  Anyway, it really doesn’t matter what the reason is. It’s not for me to find out. I have too many of my own issues to be worrying about anyone else. What I really need to do is focus on this week with Mr. Jones and getting through it without losing my mind. I don’t know if that’s going to be possible, he definitely won’t make it easy for me, but I suppose I have survived worse, so I will get through this as well. I don’t have any choice.

  Chapter 4 – Theo

  My eyes hurt as I head back home, it’s been a long shift and after moving house it was more of a struggle than I thought it was going to be. I won’t tell Natasha though because she worries about me enough. I will be okay anyway. Straight to sleep now, then when I wake up everything will be so much better. All will be forgotten. I’ll wake up bright and breezy and ready for action all over again. Ready to be a hero once more. My favorite thing.

  When I can be a hero, nothing stands in my way, not even moving home and tired eyes. I absolutely love it.

  Even without my suit on and even after a shower at the station, I still smell of the smoke that came from the fire in the restaurant kitchen. It was a tough one to put out, a fryer fire that got out of hand quickly, but thankfully because some smart person called nine-one-one early on, we managed to sort it out before there was too much damage to the building and anyone hurt. That’s always the worst for me, people being injured. Buildings and stuff can always be replaced, but human lives can’t. I do take any loss of life personally. Thankfully, that isn’t something that I have come across a lot, otherwise I don’t know what I would be like today. More broken than I am, probably. I think that it would take me even longer to get over the bad things that happen in my life. I would probably still be struggling now with the heartbreak that Jane put me through. Thankfully, I am more than over it. Ready to start again.

  I’m making a difference in the world, I remind myself as I park up my truck outside of my home. That’s all it matters. Not many people can say that they are improving the lives of others. I should be proud.

  I smile to myself, I am feeling a little proud actually. It’s rewarding work, even if it’s hard. When I hear about other people complaining about their work, I can’t help but wonder if they would feel better if they were making a difference. Then, even if it’s challenging, there is something to keep you going. Like tonight, with the restaurant fire, it took a long time to go out, and even longer to clean up after, but it’s worth it. Always.

  I soon spot my neighbor, about to head out to work just as I’m coming home. I slip out of the car much quicker, wanting to say hello to her. I keep thinking abou
t the conclusion I came to earlier, about her having someone in her life who is trying to break her, and succeeding to some extent, and my immediate reaction is to try and build our bond even more. That way, when it comes down to it, she might actually listen to my advice and listen to me.

  “Hi.” I step out the car and wave to Esme with a giant smile on my face. I step closer to her, ready for more of a chat this time. I want her to see me as a friendly person, someone who she can confide in. “How are you?”

  “Er…” She’s barely looking at me, searching in her bag for something. All of a sudden, I feel like I am in her way, making her life harder, and all that I did was say hello. “Oh right, fucking, fucker, fuck.”

  Wow… she looks too sweet for those terrible curse words to be flying out of her mouth. Immediately, I step backwards, knowing that the best thing for me to do is get away from whatever drama she is going through. This is what I want to avoid, drama. I don’t need to be a hero for Esme as well and try to lodge myself in to the middle of her issues. There isn’t any need for that. I can walk away from this and avoid getting sucked in.

  I told Natasha that I don’t want any more drama, and I stand by that. Even if it isn’t a romantic thing, I don’t need to get myself in the middle of it. I don’t need any new friends that much, thank you very much.

  “Oh God, no,” she wails. “Fucking hell. I need to…” She stares at me for a second, but her eyes are blurry and she might as well be looking right through me. There is nothing there behind her eyes, she blocked everything out. I don’t know if it makes me want to move away from her or if I should hold her in my arms and hug her until it’s better. Whatever it might be, I honestly can’t tell. She’s definitely panicking about something though, which is hard for this early hour of the morning. “I have to go and deal with this. I don’t have time for this shit…”