Page 4 of The Facilitator, Part 2

F or a couple of days, I watched Mackenzie.

When our paths crossed at work, he was all business and often sharp.

At home, he seemed more tired than usual.

I caught him pinching the bridge of his nose, screwing his eyes shut so tightly he must have had a permanent headache.

I was constantly asking if he was okay, only to be told he was.

Yet he wasn’t, that much was not only obvious to me, but to Alex as well.

“Lauren, do you have a minute?” he asked, as he popped his head into my office.

Alex had moved to sit in the central desk area, vacating his office for me. I had objected at first, but it was part of the handover, he’d told me.

“For you, of course,” I said, placing my pen on a proposal I was scanning through.

Alex closed the door and immediately I was on alert. There was an open door policy, always, at Trymast. If a confidential meeting was needed, it was generally held upstairs, in the boardroom.

“What’s wrong, Alex?” I asked as he took a seat.

“I’m worried about Mackenzie, to be honest. He’s not himself. I don’t want to know if you guys have personal problems, but I’m due to leave in a few weeks, and I’d hate to think I was leaving him at a time he might need some support.”

“Nothing wrong with us, and I’ve been asking him constantly if he’s okay. He tells me he is, but I’m with you, Alex. There is something going on, and if he hasn’t told you, that makes me more worried.”

“Mmm, I see. I don’t want to worry you unnecessarily; sometimes he will keep things close to his chest until he’s ready to share. How about we just keep an eye on him over the next couple of days and see if anything is said?”

“Sounds good to me. I’m glad you’ve noticed, though. He snapped at Mary yesterday, and the fact she didn’t retaliate told me it was a first and she was shocked.”

“That’s so out of character. I know Mary said his ex had been in touch. She left a message asking for him to call her.”

He hadn’t mentioned that at all, and I wondered if I should feel a little slighted. I didn’t expect him to tell me everything that went on in his life, but she was a massive thorn in his side, so to not mention her seemed odd.

“He never said, so I don’t think he could have called her back. I hope she isn’t going to start trouble.”

“She knows you two are living together. She questioned Daniel as to why she hadn’t been told; as if she has a right to know in the first place.” He sniffed at his statement in a way only Alex could. I smiled.

“I wonder how she knew?”

“My mother. I’m sorry. I mentioned it because she asked after you. I think she told her out of spite,” Gabriella replied, as she walked into my office and obviously after overhearing that part of our conversation.

“I was telling Lauren we were concerned about Mackenzie,” Alex said.

“I’ve noticed something is off for a few days, but when I ask he tells me he’s okay,” I added.

“Well, he hasn’t said anything to me, either.”

“Does he tell you everything?” I asked, not sure how that question would be taken. I loved that Mackenzie had Gabriella as his best friend, but if he was troubled, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel if he kept it from me but shared with her.

“He used to; he doesn’t need to now,” she said with a smile.

Alex stood. “As I said, let’s keep an eye open and see how he is in a couple of days.”

I smiled as he left and Gabriella took his seat.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I am. I’m more worried now that it’s noticeable Mackenzie is off. And the fact we’ve all asked him and he’s not telling us anything.”

“He does that sometimes. If he doesn’t have a solution, or an answer, he’ll hang on to the problem until he’s sure what to do about it. He doesn’t believe in worrying anyone unnecessarily, even though I tell him he is,” she said. “Now, can I tell you something?” she added.

“Of course.”

“I’ve decided I’m going to marry Alex, but here in the UK. It would be too much of an epic, theatrical—think Gone with the Wind —type of wedding if I wait until we get home.”

“That is amazing, does he know?” I asked with a laugh.

“Of course not. Although, I do believe because of his title we could get married in St Paul’s Cathedral.”

“Bloody hell, Gabriella! Would you?”

“Oh no, can you imagine? There really will be just the four of us. We’ll let my mother organise a party or something when we get home.” She rolled her eyes and I laughed.

Gabriella had recently celebrated a birthday; I actually shivered at the memory. She had plenty of friends there, so I was a little taken aback by her comment there would be no other guests.

As if she’d read my mind, she continued, “I want something private, I guess. Just Alex and my best friends; I really don’t need anyone else. I know my mother will be furious with me, but I’m going to tell her it made things easier for Alex to transfer.”

“Have you set a date?”

“Well, here’s where I invite you to a girly planning dinner. I’d love to have you beside me as my matron of honour,” she said.

“Wow, thank you. I’d be delighted for both the dinner and the matron of honour role,” I laughed as I replied. It was a nice relief from the worry of Mackenzie.

“Good, grab your diary and let’s get a date in. I’ll tell Alex what we’ve planned, once we’ve planned it all. Or maybe not.” Gabriella gave me a wink as she opened her diary on her lap.

We set a date for dinner, and with a wave, she headed back upstairs to her office. I was still chuckling when the telephone rang.

“Babe, I haven’t spoken to you in sooooo long, I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me,” I heard. Jerry hadn’t even waited for me to greet the caller.

“Ah, herm. I think you’ll find three texts and umpteen voicemails from me. The last one, I believe, called you a prick for ignoring my calls.”

He laughed and I smiled. My relationship with Jerry had faltered as soon as I’d moved in with Mackenzie. I knew why, obviously, but it had hurt. He was my best friend, my only friend other than Gabriella and Alex.

“Are you mad at me? Go on, be mad, we haven’t had a row in years.” I could picture the naughtiness cross his face.

“I’m not mad, and I’m not going to row with you. I’ve rowed with men for way too long to bother with all that malarkey again,” I said.

“I have gossip, when are you allowed out for dinner?”

I could have broken my vow not to argue with the man at that point, but I swallowed it down. Jerry was often snarky where Mackenzie was concerned, and I’d pull him up on it in due course.

“I happen to have my diary in front of me. When are you thinking, and where?”

“How about Thursday evening? I’m away for the weekend, and how about Frank’s Bar?”

Thursday was good for me and the vibrant cocktail bar that went by the name of Frank’s Bar near St. Pancras was perfect.

I could jump into a taxi and then call for a lift home.

Jerry and I chatted for a couple of minutes only, and I felt he was distracted but excitable. Something was up with him, also.

“Men!” I said, as I replaced the receiver.

For the rest of that day, I continued to work through some new proposals Mackenzie wanted my opinion on.

He’d identified another company he thought might work well with Trymast, but I wondered if there should be a period of adjustment before bringing yet another team of new people in.

I hesitated with my thoughts, Mackenzie was the expert in buying and merging, but I began to feel he was a little too distant from the feet on the ground, so to speak.

He wasn’t necessarily looking at the disruption and possible unease from the existing staff. I wondered what the rush was.

I carried on with my day, but I’d be a liar if I said both Mackenzie and Jerry’s behaviours weren’t disturbing me. Added to the fact I felt there was some jealousy between them both, which made life tricky for me, it was going to be an interesting few days.

“You don’t seem with me this evening,” I said, looking at Mackenzie who was staring out the French doors into the garden.

We had eaten dinner and were still sitting at the breakfast bar. Although we’d chatted, for the first time ever, I felt we were both searching for something to talk about. Our conversation didn’t flow as usual.

“I have a few things on my mind. I guess with Alex moving, which was my plan initially, I’m trying to rush things into place before he goes.”

Mackenzie smiled at me, as if to reassure, but I wasn’t fooled. Worry lines had started to form across his forehead. He pinched his nose again.

“Have you had an eye test lately?” I asked.

“No, why?”

“You’re pinching the bridge of your nose a lot, and squinting. Do you have headaches? I wonder if you need your eyes tested.”

“I hadn’t realised I was. Like I said, a lot on my mind. Maybe you need to do something to clear that mind for me.” His smirk set the usual butterflies dancing in my stomach, and it was a clear effort for me to not question any further.

I often questioned how well I knew Mackenzie: I did and I didn’t.

Our relationship was still relatively new, although we were living together.

I was still hurting over my divorce, although, I knew I shouldn’t be, and I’d kept that quiet.

So could I really comment that Mackenzie was withholding information on his ex?

“And what would Mr. Miller need to clear his mind?” I said, pursing my lips as if pondering, while I slid from the stool at the breakfast bar.

I tapped my finger on my lip as I took the couple of steps towards him. He parted his legs and I stepped between them. He placed his hands on my hips.

“Suck my cock, Lauren,” he said, rather directly.