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“He’s married, you know.”
The voice murmuring in Adele’s ear was familiar. Even as she spun on her toe to see who it was, her brain lit up with the answer. “Nick.” she said, unable to keep the smile from her face. “Or Knicker-less, as we used to call you.” How many years since they last met? Twelve? Thirteen?
He looked as handsome as ever, but more sharply dressed. His glasses were trendy and thick-framed, and his dark hair was shorter and more corporate. His grin was as wide and bright as ever. He’d always been popular, with the unshakeable confidence of someone who knew everybody liked him.
Nick pulled a funny face. “Haven’t heard that in a long while. How are you, Imelda?”
She’d been passionate about shoes from before they met at university, and some bright spark had nicknamed her Imelda Marcos, a woman infamous for her shoe collection. Adele leaned into Nick for a quick hug. He still smelled as good as he used to. “I’m good, thanks. Excited to be back in London.”
“I saw your name on the attendee list, so I shuffled the seating arrangement, to be next to you.” Nick held out his arm. “We’ve got some catching up to do. Should we go sit down?”
She laughed. It was good to see him again. She’d heard he also worked for TM-Tech, but so did thousands of others across the globe. What were the chances they were now colleagues?
They walked together from the bar to the dining area, and Nick guided her to a seat at the polished mahogany table. “Have you eaten here before?” he asked as he claimed the chair next to hers.
“No. But I haven’t been in the city in a few years. I’ve been working out of the Houston office.”
“I heard. Working for the famous Thaddeus Merrill. What’s he like?”
“Intense. But if he thinks you’re good, you’re made.” Adele glanced around the table, noting the other diners joining them. Her new colleagues, and the only one she knew was Nick. “What’s Jordan like? I met him briefly.” She’d been staring at her new boss when Nick found her. If she had to describe her perfect man, Jordan fit the profile like a glove. Tall, dark, and handsome. He had the Texan old-world manners and sexy drawl, but a mind like a steel trap. Apparently. And he was married, which she knew, but it didn’t hurt to look. So maybe she crushed on him a tiny bit, but that was harmless too.
“He’s solid. Great boss.” Nick grinned at the guy now sitting opposite them. “Adele, let me introduce you to Jason, the new Chief Financial Officer.”
Jason extended a hand across the table. “Did I hear Nick call you Imelda?” His blue eyes twinkled, laughter lines crinkling in the corners. “Do you guys know each other already?”
Adele gave him a firm but polite shake. “We were friends at university. I had a large collection of shoes, hence the nickname Imelda Marcos.”
“Nicknames, huh?”
Nick groaned. “Please don’t tell him mine. It will be all around the office by Monday.”
“It’s only fair to return the compliment.” She leaned towards Jason and spoke in an overly loud whisper, so Nick would hear every word. “Knicker-less. He had a constant stream of girls in his bed. The guys used to joke he only had to click his fingers, and they lost their knickers.”
“I heard that.” Nick covered his eyes with one hand, as Jason laughed. “Anyway, that’s ancient history. I’m happily married now.”
It was hard to cover her surprise. “Really? Congratulations. Out of our group, you’re the one I least expected to take the plunge.”
He shrugged and flashed the aw-shucks lopsided smile she remembered so well. “And you were the one most likely. What happened to Chris?” His gaze dropped to her empty left hand, before darting back to her face. “Did you stay together?”
Adele hadn’t thought about Chris in years. “No. We split up soon after graduation.” He was the first of several men to dump her. The wound still smarted. Now she preferred to be the one calling time on a bad relationship, even if it didn’t always happen that way.
She was glad she came out tonight. It’d been tempting to stay in her new apartment and claim jetlag as an excuse. She couldn’t hide forever, though, and it would be easier to get accepted with her new colleagues if she socialised with them. And this was why God invented concealer, right? To cover puffy eyes and blotchy skin?
Curtis was the latest disaster in a long freaking string of boyfriends, but his betrayal hurt more. Maybe because he wanted to marry her? Or so he said, before he got his assistant pregnant.
When would Adele learn? She’d given her heart away often enough to know better.
****
Lara stared at the invoice. Another weird one. She’d never seen the project code before, and the only other time she’d come across that vendor name—Devine Consulting Inc.—it was on a similar invoice. She had access to all project codes for TM-Tech, and this one rang suspicious bells for her.
Maybe they were a new supplier? She scrolled through the list of approved vendors on her screen, but DCI were nowhere to be seen. Odd, but not a problem. Not yet.
She fired off an email to the Procurement manager, asking if there was a reason Devine Consulting didn’t appear on the list, and then turned to the next job in hand.
She was temporarily in charge of the Corporate Programme Office, standing in for her manager, Tess, who was recovering from a broken hip. The workload was heavy, but Lara thrived on the challenge. It was late afternoon, and she had a dozen more things to do before she went home. She didn’t intend to work late tonight. Her newly-promoted husband, Nick, was at a company celebration dinner, and Lara had her own plans. With the house to herself, she intended to binge-watch the new vampire series, while indulging in her favourite ice cream.
There was something else she wanted to do while Nick was out, but she refused to think about that now. Work came first.
The invoice nagged at her. A year ago, before the TM-Tech London head office was blown apart by a crazed bomber, she’d been working in the audit team investigating a data leak. As a side project, she’d followed up a number of invoices that also didn’t match up with the right codes. Back then, she wondered if they were real, or if someone had created an elaborate scam, to swindle money out of the company.
Before she was able to do anything with the information, the building was almost destroyed in the blast, and all the employees moved to temporary offices in the area. A clean-up crew salvaged as much as they could, and there were still a dozen boxes of documents awaiting review by Lara and her team. They were due to move back to the rebuilt tower block in a few weeks. Time enough to look through the final cartons before then, in the slim hopes her files survived. The electronic version and all her backups were lost when the datacentre was destroyed, but she might be lucky.
****
Jordan closed the apartment door with care. He took a moment to loosen his tie, then unfasten the top button of his shirt. This felt better. As did massaging his temples with his fingertips. Damned headache. It was worse when he was tired, and tonight was a late night.
He needed to talk to Kate soon. He couldn’t put this off much longer, but how would he slip it into conversation? Hey, you know that thing we always feared? That I might become little more than a drooling mess in a wheelchair? Yep. I think it’s happening. Fuck. There was no easy way to frame it.
It was a few minutes after ten, and she might have gone to bed. Poppy, their young daughter, was a heavy sleeper, but Kate not so much.
He needn’t have worried. She was awake, curled up on the sofa, an empty glass beside her and her tablet lying on her knees.
“Hello, darling,” she said and raised her face for a kiss. “I was going to wait until eleven, then go to bed if you didn’t show. How was the dinner?”
Jordan was good at hiding his fears. He wouldn’t say anything yet. Not while he could pretend everything was fine.
He claimed her lips in a brief but affectionate move, before sprawling on the sofa beside her. The tie came off completely. “Long but necessary. I’d rather have been here, with you and Pops. I haven’t seen her today.”
“She’s sound asleep. Come and see for yourself.” Kate took his hand and hauled him to his feet again.
Poppy slept in the smaller of the two guest bedrooms. As usual, she’d kicked off most of the covers but left a random assortment of cuddly toys in their place. Thick dark hair flopped over her face, and she smiled in her sleep.
Poppy was three years old. Moving back and forth between two homes was manageable now, but they both wanted to get her settled into a preschool routine. With all the catastrophic problems at his father’s global company, TM-Tech, Jordan had reluctantly agreed to head up the European arm again for a period of time—an undefined period at the moment. They’d been here nine months so far, commuting back to Wales every other weekend. The way it was looking, they’d probably be here another year, and this had yet to be discussed with Kate. He knew Kate hated living in London, especially when they’d been so settled in their Rhosneigr home, in the remote Welsh countryside.
He cuddled Kate from behind, and rested his aching head against her shoulders. “She always looks so comfortable when she’s asleep,” he said. “It’s hard to believe she starts at school next year. Where did the time go?”
“I know.” Kate snuggled closer. “At least we have a long weekend at home this time.”
Jordan tried to manage his schedule so they could go home every other Friday, but events such as tonight’s dinner meant everything had to be juggled. “Damn right. We’ll come back on Tuesday afternoon, instead of Sunday.”
Jordan gazed at Poppy and then gathered Kate more tightly in his embrace. He picked his words with care. “If we can’t have any more, I don’t mind. She’s perfect. We’re so lucky to have her.”
The back of Kate’s neck was soft, and he pressed his lips to the pale skin, noting the tension that vibrated through her. “Babe, is something the matter?” he asked.
She turned to face him and placed both hands on his cheeks. Her eyes were wide, but a smile tugged at her lips. “I wanted to wait until we were at home before I said anything.”
He didn’t dare be excited yet. “Tell me.”
The smile broke free, lighting up her face. “I’m pregnant. Around six weeks.”
He was overcome with emotion. If someone asked him to describe his feelings at this moment, he’d be a jumbled chaos of words. Love. Gratitude. Amazement. None of them could adequately sum up the way he felt about his beautiful, incredible wife.
Her first pregnancy ended in an early miscarriage. Poppy was conceived quickly, but then, despite plenty of lovemaking, Kate struggled to conceive again. To find out she was expecting another child felt like a miracle, and Jordan loved her more than ever.
Even if the worst happened, Kate wouldn’t be alone. Not with two children. Thaddeus would look after them, financially. Jordan’s family would want for nothing, and he took comfort in that.
Tonight though, they celebrated life.
Kate giggled, as he lifted her in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. “You won’t be doing that for long. I’ve already started eating more.”
“Do I care? And for the record, you’ve never looked more beautiful than you do when you’re pregnant.”
“You’re pleased, then?” Her voice was shy. For a moment she looked nervous.
“Pleased? Over the moon is a more accurate description.” He kissed her. “I love you so much, Kate. You make me so happy.”
Some time later, as they lay tangled together in bed and he stroked the softness of her still flat belly, he remembered something he meant to tell her earlier. “At the dinner tonight, there was a woman who came over from Houston. She’s been working for Marcus. It got me to thinking about inviting him for dinner next time he’s in town.”
“That’s a great idea. I hate family feuds, and I’d be far happier if everyone was friends again.” She paused, a frown creasing her brow. “I assume he’s coming for the official opening of the offices and the memorial service, with Thaddeus. Why don’t we get together then?”
“What did I do to deserve such a smart wife?”
“Beats me.”
If only everything could be fixed as easily as that.
****
Nick was having a great evening. Catching up with Adele was fun. What ever happened to her long-ago boyfriend, Chris? Better known as Bonington, the guy was famous for his fearless nature, and he and Adele had been well-matched. She had a recklessness, a love of thrills Nick recalled from many a night out with the university crowd. It was always Chris and Adele who dared play the tricks, run the farthest—or fastest—drink the most, and push the limits. She’d been a party animal. And by the looks of her, flirting happily with Jason and Antony, she still was.
Adele and Nick had been way more intimate once, but that was also a long time ago. She didn’t show any signs of awkwardness at seeing him again, so there was no point in making an issue out of it
Jordan kept his speech brief. The dinner was to celebrate a number of recent promotions to key people from Project Phoenix, the programme of work that planned the business recovery of TM-Tech. The impact of last year’s bomb blast was colossal. Seven employees died, dozens were injured, and the building was rendered unsafe. The first priority in the aftermath had been to relocate staff to a temporary location. Over the following month, the teams began to re-group in a new office block. Business and profits suffered badly. The European operations ground almost to a halt for weeks.
As they approached the anniversary of the disaster, things were starting to look better. Business across Europe was slowly picking up. They’d won a couple of large technology contracts, and there was a general mood of optimism amongst the staff.
After Jordan and some of the others left, Jason announced he could get the remaining group into a new club in the West End.
Jason knew everyone and the coolest places to hang out, and Nick was happy to stay and prolong the celebrations. Lara knew he’d be out late, and it was the weekend; he didn’t have to get up early. Man, he loved lazy weekends—sleeping late, pottering around the house, watching sport on TV. Did it get any better? He made his way outside, in search of cabs, and ended up jumping in one with Adele.
“So,” she said, a brilliant smile on her face, “you’re now Director of Sales and Marketing. Congratulations. We’re probably going to be working closely together.”
“You’re Acting Creative Director, so I would think so. How long are you here for?”
“Six months, and then I move back to Houston. It’s enough time to get the new branding in place, and then I’ll hand over to my team.” The cab swerved to avoid something, and Adele bumped against Nick. “Sorry.”
He didn’t mind. “You’ve been in Houston for years. Don’t you miss London, even a little?”
“Not really. I come over every six months or so and stock up on essentials. Marmite, McVities Digestive biscuits, and good teabags.”
He laughed, and by then, the cab stopped outside the club, and he saw the others waiting.
Jason managed to whisk the group into the VIP section of the club. He ordered bottles of ludicrously expensive champagne and acted the gracious host for the next few hours. The man had a never-ending supply of wisecracks and jokes, and kept the group well entertained. He also knew a number of small conjuring tricks and produced coins from ears and mouths, as well as palmed objects, using sleight of hand. He’d move and hide them, before revealing them again from pockets and coats.
Nick danced with Adele. It was like a flashback to his university days.
Sometime around two in the morning, it was time to leave. Nick made his way outside with Adele, Jason, and the final three who stayed the distance, and they waited for cabs.
The night air was cold, and Nick yawned as he sobered up. Drinking and dancing was fun, but he was ready for bed. Next to him, Adele shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. Her black wrap looked too thin to keep her warm, so Nick shrugged out of his suit jacket and draped it around her shoulders.
She looked up at him, her eyes twinkling in the street lamps. “Thank you.” She tugged it across her chest. “This is lovely. I forgot I’m not in Houston.”
“It’s no big deal. I’ll claim it back on Monday.” Nick glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the group. They smoked and chatted, while staring at something on Jason’s phone. They weren’t paying Nick any attention at all. “It was fun seeing you again, Imelda. We’ll have to do this again.” He wasn’t sure what he was referring to. Dinner? Dancing?
He was relieved when Jason nudged him and held out a pack of cigarettes. “Thanks,” Nick said and took the proffered Zippo lighter too. He lit one each for himself and Adele, and then rejoined the group. He didn’t want any gossip about him. They were friends, and that was all.