A Twist of Fate (5 page)

“And ruin what
we have?” he quizzed genuinely concerned. He was right, GOD DAMN
IT!! I hated it but I knew that while I could imagine the
satisfaction I would have gotten from mounting him and riding him
hard, this was so much better in the long term. We were friends,
real friends. Mark it on your calendars people, Lexi has met an
amazing, intelligent, kind and extremely sexy man and she IS NOT
going to have sex with him. Guess there was a first time for
everything.

BUZZ.
BUZZ.
My attention snapped away from my computer to my
vibrating iPhone.

- Tomorrow night!!!
7pm... Dinner ideas?? I’m so excited

I couldn’t
contain my mischievous grin. With the excitement of the past couple
of weeks, Matt’s entrance into my life and our harmonious
co-habitation, I’d almost forgotten about it. I had been waiting
for tomorrow night to come for months and could think of nothing
better than to share it with Emma. I quickly texted back

- Tapas?? I’ll
drive

I’d known Emma
since we were teenagers, a friendship that had withstood time,
separation and distance. No matter how much time passed between our
get togethers we would always slip back into each others’ lives
effortlessly. We didn’t need constant phone calls or catch-ups. In
fact, sometimes we went for months without seeing each other. But
when Emma called I would drop everything for her and she would do
the same for me. It was a relationship that surpassed friendship
and entered into something entirely ethereal. Emma with her big
blue eyes and cascading Botticellian curls would boast “We’re soul
sisters”. She believed that the universe was connected with
vibrations and everything you are and received was a reflection of
the vibrations you gave out. A pure soul, sometimes I often
wondered what I had done to have such a gift in my life.

“Sexting on
Kate’s dime? Really, Lexi!” Matt Laughed. I looked at his clear
blue eyes, sensing no jealously or malice. He had taken up
residence at Rachael’s empty desk so I was accustomed to his daily
interruptions.

“Hot date
tomorrow night with Power Station” I volunteered.

“Power Station?
The band from New York?” He took a long look at me, re-evaluating
and reassessing. “Lexi, I never would have pegged you as a
groupie!”

“Whatever,
Matt!” I replied, not the least bit annoyed. “Emma and I have
tracked their career since the beginning; we’ve been to every show
together, we have every album; their music is like a soundtrack for
my life.” I tried to not sound like an over excited teenager.

Power Station
was an all male 5 piece rock band straight out of New York City.
Emma and I had stumbled across them 10 years ago when they were
still nobodies, plugging their stuff on the now debunked My Space,
trying to get a record deal. We followed their rise to fame when a
major label finally signed them and we had even flown to New York
together to watch their first stadium tour.

I remembered
that warm July night, like it was yesterday. Sitting inside
Meadowlands Stadium, our hands clasped together tightly, not fully
comprehending we were actually there! The boys we had watched on
grainy YouTube videos had become Rock Gods, owning their home
crowd. It was both surreal and rewarding to think our earlier
support had played a small part in their now monumental success. We
had stumbled out of the stadium; our ears still been ringing when
Emma asked, “Where are we?? Did that just happen?” We clung to each
other, absorbing the experience and not wanting it to end. We had
attracted the attention of two New Jersey State Troopers who asked
if we were ok, clearly looking bewildered and overwhelmed.

“Are you girls
from New Zealand?” State trooper 1 had asked. They looked like they
could be twins, both men in their earlier 20s, had exceptionally
athletic bodies, and were well over six feet. They also looked like
they had both just left the Marine Corps with their buzzed haircuts
and impeccable uniforms. Well Orrah! Uncle Sam, where do I sign
up!?

“New Zealand!”
I scoffed, “I’m from Australia! You want to start an international
incident?” I flirted as Emma grabbed my arm, dragging me away
before I could get into any more trouble.

“You know James
is married, right?” Matt eyed me curiously, bringing me back to the
present. He’d assumed like most people did that it was the
charismatic lead singer I lusted after. Most women, regardless of
their appreciation of the music, found James attractive. He was the
typical all American guy and he knew how to shake his ass to work
the crowd into a frenzy. His voice could be sweet and melodic or
sexual and guttural. He had broken many hearts when he wed his high
school sweetheart last year. Mine had not been one of them; it was
never James I had dreamed about, it was Alex.

Alex Stone was
born in Finland; his engineering father emigrated with his wife and
two young sons when Alex was 3 years old. Alex grew up in the
States, embracing the only country he’d known as home. He grew up
playing sports and electric guitar; passions which had lead him to
find James in High school. His 6’ 4” frame commanded attention,
especially when combined with the stare of his ice blue Nordic
eyes. Where James was sexy, Alex was pure SEX.

“Yes, I know
James is married!” I scoffed. “Relax Matt, I doubt we’ll get that
close.”

“Good.” He took
a breath before continuing “I just don’t want you getting into
trouble. I’m not sure how the bail conditions work here.” His eyes
sparkled with mischief. “You know I’m only on a temporary visa, I’m
fairly sure I won’t be able to vouch for you.” I threw my post-it
notes at him, hitting him squarely on his perfectly formed jaw. We
both erupted into laughter, much to the curious stares from our
colleagues.

“Working hard?”
Kate snapped abruptly. I hadn’t heard her walk up behind me.

“It’s my fault
Kate, I was just sharing a joke with Lexi” Matt volunteered.

“Matt, while I
appreciate your chivalrousness, I can assure you that Lexi needs no
help in getting into trouble. Lexi... My office.” Kate stormed off
without waiting for my response.

“Sorry Lexi, I
tried…” Matt started.

“It’s ok. Trust
me, I can handle Kate,” I reassured “I’ve known her long enough to
know this isn’t an
I’m pissed at you
outburst and more
I’m going to lose my shit if you don’t help me
. I’ll be fine
but thanks for trying to take the rap for me.” I took a deep breath
and walked to Kate’s office.

Kate was
sitting in her usual chair, perched behind her desk, strain clearly
visible on her face. I entered and closed the door behind me,
slightly unnerved by seeing my boss and friend looking defeated.
I’d barely taken my seat when Kate started. “Lexi, I’m tired... I
haven’t had a dinner at home with the boys in two weeks. I have
spent the past hour on the phone with some asshole about chair
covers. CHAIR COVERS?! I need to go home, I just need a night
without someone wanting something from me.” Kate was human, she
felt safe in confiding in me, knowing I would never use her
weakness as leverage.

“Go home Kate.
I’ve got this.” I put my arms around her and gave her a warm hug.
Right now she was Kate my friend, not Kate my boss.

“I can’t Lexi,
this fucking client has changed their function brief three times
and I just fired the project manager. I need to go down to see them
in person and fix this; it’s going to be an all-nighter.” I hadn’t
seen her this exhausted in a long time. Clearly, it took a lot out
of her to hold her shit together as well as she did.

“Go home! Give
me the client details... trust me, I’ve got this. I’ll stay there
all night if that’s what it takes. I’ll have them eating out of the
palm of my hand. You know I can do this, Kate. This is why you
hired me.” Kate couldn’t argue with me, she knew I was right. My
value lay not only in my astute business skills but also in my
ability to get the job done when others failed.

“You would
really do this Lexi?” Kate asked, hope hanging in her voice.

“Of course!
Especially seeing as you are going to give me a big fat bonus for
doing it.” I quipped with a wink. Kate smiled, grabbed her handbag
and keys. She gave me another quick hug before exiting the office.
I picked up the function brief littered with red notations... Yep,
this was going to be an all-nighter.

~~~~~~

“You sure you
don’t want me to come with you and keep you company?” Matt asked
when we arrived back at my apartment.

“And have two
of us miss out on sleep? Where is the sense in that?” I reassured
him. Besides, I worked better alone anyway. I had a “process” and I
was more effective if I was left to do what I did best - AKA
Get
Shit Done
!

I quickly ran
into my bedroom and shucked my corporate wear for jeans, T-shirt
and pair of steel capped boots. Overnight set-ups with function
crew were hard work and you needed to be comfortable and have foot
protection. I grabbed a jacket on the way out, the air had already
cooled significantly and it was raining.

“Lexi... I hope
you don’t mind but seeing as you don’t need my help, I invited Anna
over to watch the game tonight.” Matt shifted uncomfortably. Anna
had been flirting shamelessly with Matt for days and he seemed more
than willing to reciprocate. I was surprised that I wasn’t annoyed;
I guess we really were just friends.

“The Game?” I
queried.

“Yeah ESPN is
replaying Houston Texans verses the Jacksonville Jaguars and I
promised Anna I’d explain how REAL football is played.” His eyes
glistened.

“I’m sure it’s
THE GAME she’s interested in…” I laughed. “It’s fine. You should
treat this place like your home away from home. Just let me know if
she is going to sleep over.”

Matt
immediately stiffened. “I’m not going to sleep with her on a first
date Lexi” he said, wearing the most uncomfortable look I’d ever
seen on him.

“No judgements
here” I laughed and walked out the door. I was glad at least one of
us you be having a good night.

The event was a
mess. Multiple changes and a lack of direction were only compounded
by the fact that the venue staff had no idea what they were doing.
I took a deep breath and I worked through one area at a time fixing
the problems. Even those stupid chair covers! By 4am it was perfect
and I was running on vapours. I grabbed a can of Coke from the
vending machine and strolled out to my car. The rain was heavier
now and had made the roads slick and it was difficult the see the
lane markings. I knew I was probably impaired from fatigue so I
took extra care navigating the streets. There were barely any other
cars on the road so I was thankful I didn’t have to contend with
asshole drivers.

I felt my eyes
blink for a second too long. I knew that I was tired, so when I
approached the traffic light and saw it turn amber I eased my foot
off the accelerator, eased in the clutch, down shifting before
applying a little brake. I had come to a complete and controlled
stop by the time the light changed to red.

To my right I
heard the screeching of tyres and a horn. A black SUV obviously had
not seen that the light was red, hitting its brakes and aquaplaning
across three lanes of traffic before slamming side-on into a light
pole, narrowly missing my little Honda Civic. Glass shattered from
the windscreen and side window, metal crumbled like aluminium foil.
The horn of the SUV was still sounding and I think I heard
screaming. I was paralysed by shock. I sat for a moment, unable to
move, silently thanking whatever higher power had been in charge of
my narrow escape. I looked around half expecting to see someone,
anyone, come to help, but there was no one. We were alone.

I unhooked my
seat belt and opened the car door, the rain pelted down, drenching
me within seconds of being outside of my car. I ran over to the SUV
which showed no signs of life, hoping that I would be able to offer
some kind of assistance. I slipped on the wet road, grabbing the
driver’s side handle to stop myself from falling heavily on my ass.
Aggghhhhhh. Pain seared me as I realised that I had jarred my
shoulder.

“Hello... are
you ok?” my voice was barely audible over the rain and the horn. I
wrenched at the door and pulled it open to see the driver slumped
over the exploded air bag.

“Ugghhhhhhhhhh,” the male driver mumbled incoherently. I leveraged
my body into the car slightly so I could see if there was anyone
else in the vehicle. I pushed down the airbag and looked over at
the side of the car that had taken the brunt of the impact and
noticed there was a male passenger who was not moving. Blood
stained the window and upholstery. FUCK.

“Ughhhhhhhhh”
the driver mumbled again. I reached down into my pocket to grab my
mobile phone... Shit, where is it?! FUCK. It must still be in the
car. I glanced over at my Civic, the ignition was still running,
lights on. I needed to make a decision and I needed to make it
fast.

Adrenaline
kicked in as I pulled open the back passenger door and climbed into
the mangled mass of metal. “Can you hear me?” I reached across from
my position in the back seat to gently shake the passenger’s
shoulders. No response. By this stage the driver had regained a
semblance of alertness and had started screaming. “Mike,
Mike...Wake up dude... MIKE...WAKE UP!”

“Hey, it’s
ok...calm down... can you move at all?” I asked the driver, who
nodded as he awkwardly climbed out of the car. I contorted my body
over the seat so that I was now almost sitting in “Mike’s” lap. I
placed my ear to his chest. He wasn’t breathing. Shit. “GRAB MY
PHONE OUT OF THE CAR AND DIAL 000 TELL THEM WE NEED A MICA
AMBULANCE NOW” I shouted to the driver who clung to his car door.
“DO IT” I yelled not recognising the voice coming out of my mouth
urging the driver into action as he took off into the direction of
my car. Using my body as leverage, I pulled Mike out of the car. I
knew he might have a spinal injury but I also knew his brain was
deprived of oxygen and this was my first priority.