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Nick was out all afternoon, visiting a new customer. His phone was turned off for the visit, and he wasn’t surprises to find a number of texts and messages when he fired it up again. It was approaching six in the evening, and he walked back to the pool car feeling pleased with the prospect of a potentially large order for TM-Tech. He climbed into the car, dumped his laptop and briefcase on the back seat, and flicked through the texts.
There were several from his team, with updates and queries, but nothing unusual. Then one from Adele.
Ring me ASAP. Lara knows about Paris.
Fuck. It felt as though he’d been drenched in cold water. His fingers shook, as he dialled Adele’s number. “Adele? I got your text. What do you mean?”
“Hang on a minute. Let me go somewhere quieter.” He heard footsteps. A door closing. Then— “Right. I’m in a meeting room. Can you talk?”
“Yes, I’m sitting in the car. What the fuck happened?”
“Lara came to see me today. She said you told her we slept together in Paris.”
“What?” He was staggered. “I didn’t. How the hell did she find out?”
“I don’t know, but she had copies of our hotel bills, and she talked about us sharing room service breakfasts.” Adele sounded pissed off.
“And what did you say?”
“I was stressed. I thought you’d told her.” She paused. Her voice dropped. “She asked me if I was going to deny it, and I said there was no point. Then I realised she’d been bluffing, but it was too late.”
“Jesus Christ.” Nick paused for breath, his chest felt tight. “How did she take it?”
“How do you think? Jeez, Nick, I felt like a piece of slime. It was pretty shitty.”
He didn’t know how he felt. Angry that Lara had tricked Adele, horrified that his deception had come to light, embarrassed at being caught lying, and appalled he’d hurt Lara so badly. He didn’t want that to happen.
“Fuck.” He couldn’t think what else to say.
“Has she spoken to you this afternoon? Any messages?”
“I don’t think so. I didn’t see any. What the hell am I going to do?”
“I’ve no idea, and frankly, I don’t care. Lara is your wife. I’m worried at what she’s going to tell Karl.”
Karl was the least of Nick’s worries. There was little more to say, and Nick promised to update her when he saw Lara. He thumped the steering wheel in frustration. He was easily an hour’s drive from home—quite possibly longer, since it was foggy again. Did he phone Lara now or wait and see what reception he received? He scanned through the voicemails, but there was nothing from her.
In the end, he sent her a text.
Hi babe. We need to talk. It’s not what you think. LvU, N xxx
He stared at his phone and willed her to answer. She did, a few minutes later.
Fuck off!!! And take your girlfriend with you!!
Great. This was so not what he needed right now. With a sinking heart, he started the engine and headed for home.
He needed to make things right with Lara. Nothing else mattered.
It was dark when Nick pulled onto the gravel at the front of the house. Shapes littered the path and clustered on the doorstep. The car headlights flashed over them. Bags and boxes. A couple of suitcases.
Oh fuck. She didn’t...?
Yes, she did.
A cursory glance revealed that all his clothes, books, CDs, and his precious vinyl collection were tossed out onto the ground. A cardboard box held his toiletries, leaking badly where the bottles of aftershave had not been sealed properly. His clothes were dumped in bin bags, his shoes in a series of shopping bags. It was foggy again, and the moisture in the air was making his clothes damp. His private laptop too, in its leather case. Fuck. It would get ruined outside. He hauled as much as he could into the car, then went to the house. He’d go on bended knees, if he had to.
He grabbed the door knob, but it wouldn’t turn. He shoved the front door key in the lock, but it wouldn’t turn. The fuck? Did he use the right key? Yes, but it jammed when he tried it again, and he had to yank it out.
She’d locked him out.
He rang the doorbell. No answer.
He phoned their home number, but it went straight to the answering machine. The outgoing message was new. “Hi. This is Lara. Nick isn’t here. If you want him, you’ll have to call his mobile or phone his girlfriend, Adele. She’s very friendly. Her number is...” Nick listened in disbelief as she gave out Adele’s private number. What if his mum called and heard that?
Nick tried Lara’s mobile phone next, but that was switched off.
Hammering on the front door produced no results either, apart from hurting his fists. He tried the back door, but that was locked and bolted. He could break in—smash a window and climb through—but would that help matters? There were no lights visible in the house, and their car was gone. It looked as though she wasn’t home. Nick was tired, hungry, and exceedingly pissed off. He didn’t have the faintest idea what to do, so he called Adele back. Her mobile was also turned off.
He started the process of trying to find Lara. He rang her mum, chatted vaguely for a couple of minutes, then made an excuse and hung up. Called his mum on the off-chance, but that was another negative. He called every mutual friend he had a number for, but nobody had seen Lara.
Having exhausted all other possibilities, he called Sylvie. She sounded surprised to hear from him, and anxious when he explained he didn’t know where Lara was. He listened to her ask Alex and Jordan, but none of them had heard from her.
To Nick’s consternation, Jordan came on the line. “Hi, Nick. What’s the problem?”
“Ah... hi, Jordan. Lara’s locked me out, and I’m trying to find her.”
Jordan didn’t sound overly concerned. “You had me worried for a moment. I thought you meant she’d gone missing or something. Do you want to come over and wait for her to get home?”
It was a good suggestion, but Nick figured Jordan would think differently if he knew what actually happened. “No, but thanks anyway. I’ll try a few more places first. Thanks for the offer though. I appreciate it.”
The only problem was he had no idea who else to call.
He’d nowhere to go either, apart from back to the office or to Adele’s apartment, although she’d probably be at Karl’s, wherever that was.
Inactivity didn’t sit well with him. He drove to the nearby shopping mall, with the intention of getting coffee while he figured out his next move, and saw their car on the car park. Was she here? The stores were open late tonight, and the mall was filled with pre-Christmas shoppers, and so he ducked into each of the shops and searched the café. No sign of her.
He climbed back into the Saab and thought hard. Lara was sharp. She was good at calling people’s bluff, and had outwitted both Adele and him. What if she was bluffing? What if she parked the car here, a minute’s walk from their house, to fool him into thinking she wasn’t home? He phoned her again, but it cut straight to voicemail. If she’d gone somewhere without using the car, it would have to be local, so Sylvie was a good option. But Sylvie would have let him know if Lara turned up.
Nick sent Sylvie a text.
I wondered if you’d heard from Lara yet. Thanks.
Her reply was rapid.
Hi Nick. No. Should I be worried?
He tapped out his reply.
No problem. I think she’s gone shopping. Pls let me know if you hear from her. Cheers.
The more Nick thought about it, the more he decided Lara was probably at home, and had been there earlier, to see him scrabbling around in horror, gathering his belongings. Even as he seethed and worried, he felt a grudging admiration for her deviousness. It took a very determined person to get one over his wife.
Of course, if he drove back home, he’d alert her to his presence. No problem. He slipped into his overcoat, turned up the collar against the damp, and set off on foot. This time he’d break in through the back door if necessary. It was dark now, and there would be lights on and curtains drawn. It’d be easy to tell if she was home.
****
Karl was working late tonight. Much as Adele wanted to run the other way, she had to talk to him and hope Lara didn’t get to him first.
With a growing sense of dread, she made her way down to the data centre and hung around, looking for Karl. One of his colleagues pointed out the server room and let her in. It was a busy and noisy space, full of fans running and lights flashing inside cabinets. Karl was in here alone, a pile of cables and connectors at his feet.
His face lit up when he saw her, and that answered the question about Lara. If he knew about Adele and Nick, he wouldn’t be so pleased to see her.
Did she have to tell him? Lara was a good bluffer, and it was possible she’d never say anything. It was tempting to sidestep it, to not allow it to sully this moment, but it would always be hanging over her. Did she want to spend the next weeks or months waiting for an axe to fall?
Months? Yes. She wanted a long time with him. She wanted years with Karl. How did she not notice that she loved him? It crept up on her, and she didn’t see it until now, the point where she might lose him. It’d be good to bask in this moment, and reflect on how wonderful he was, but there was no time, and might never be again.
“Hi,” said Karl. “I’ve nearly finished the patching. I need another ten minutes. There’s a new Indian place opened up the road, if you fancy it tonight.” He turned back to his work.
Adele stood rooted to the floor, in an agony of indecision. Tell him or not? If she kept hoping the truth would never come out, she’d be setting herself up for an even bigger fall.
Karl glanced over his shoulder at her. “Everything okay?”
Through frozen lips, she pushed out the words she hated to speak. “We need to talk. There’s something I have to tell you.”
A wary look flashed in his eyes, and he turned to face her. “Go on.”
She didn’t want to do this. She hoped he’d shrug it off, but that wouldn’t happen. He was too honest. “Lara came to see me earlier. She’s threatened to tell you something about me. I’d rather tell you myself.”
He stood with his back to the cabinet, hands jammed into his pockets. “Lara came to see me too. She seemed worried there’s something going on between you and Nick.”
Adele needed to touch him. She stepped forwards and held out her hands, but he didn’t move. It was important to look him in the eyes. She wanted to see his reaction. To reassure him this had nothing to do with them. There was a lump in her throat, and her heart was in her mouth. “There is nothing going on between us. I told you the truth. Mostly the truth.”
“Mostly?” Karl’s face was blank of emotion. Adele felt like weeping. Damn Lara. There was no need for this.
“I wasn’t coping well in Paris, so I asked Nick to share my room. To keep me company, nothing more.”
“Just your room?”
She refused to look away. “And my bed. But nothing happened. I swear it.” Hurt burned in his eyes, and she hated herself even more. “I didn’t want you to worry that Nick meant more to me than he does, and that’s why I didn’t tell you.”
He frowned. “So what does Nick mean to you? Where does this leave us?”
She managed a tentative smile. “He’s still the same as he was—an old friend. This was before we got together, Karl, and as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t have any bearing on this lovely, new relationship we have.” She stumbled over the words, frightened by the disappointment she saw on his face. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you worrying about something so insignificant.”
A little muscle flicked in his gorgeous, stubbly cheek. “It’s not insignificant to Lara.”
Adele sighed. “No. I know that. And that’s why we were never going to mention it. Nick felt incredibly guilty and didn’t want to hurt her. I feel bad about it too.”
Karl stared at her. “So what happens next time you go to Paris? Or Berlin? Wherever you go on business. Will you keep that a secret too?”
“It won’t happen again. It was a one-off. It didn’t—”
“Please don’t insult me by saying it didn’t mean anything.” His voice was cold. “I hate it when people say that.”
Adele was fed up of this. Lara had wreaked her revenge. Adele had contributed to Lara’s marriage meltdown, and in return Lara had wrecked what might be the best thing ever to happen to Adele. This conversation was pointless.
She stared at the ceiling as she tried to order her thoughts. “Karl, I’m falling in love with you. I love the way you make me feel, and I love how we are together. I can’t turn back the clock and change what happened in Paris, but I do want you to understand that it happened before we got together.” She looked back at him. “You are so very honest and principled, that I know you don’t like it, but this is where we are now. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you. You mean too much to me.” She had no words left. Inside, she was howling.
“I’m going back to my apartment,” she said, her voice choked. “I’d much rather go home with you again, but I’ll understand if you don’t want to. You know where to find me.” She stepped forwards and kissed his cheek. Tears welled up, but she refused to cry in front of him. She ducked her head and turned to leave.
“Adele.”
She turned slowly, to face him.
“Is there anything else I should know?” he asked. “Any other secrets you haven’t told me?”
There was one—a stinking great huge secret she didn’t even like to think about yet. Was there any point in mentioning it? If she was finished with Karl anyway, it was academic.
She stared at him, hating the unhappiness she’d put on his face.
If she was being honest, she had to go all the way. They were only a few feet apart, but it could have been miles. She made herself cover the distance and walked up to him, so close they could touch. “Yes. There is something. A big something. A big promotion coming up in Houston, and Marcus wants me to take it.” She swallowed.
Karl’s face was blank of emotion.
“It would mean moving back just after Christmas.” In that moment, she lost him; the unhappiness had turned into a look of defeat.
“And are you going to? Take it?” he asked.
She held his gaze, wishing things were different. “Honestly? I don’t know. It kind of depends on you.”
“Me?” He frowned.
She forced a little smile. This was it—her last chance with him. “I know this is new to both of us, but Karl, it’s so good. I wanted to see how things worked out between us before I make a decision on it. See if we had a chance together.”
For a fleeting moment, his eyes darkened. He spoke slowly. “Are you saying you’d turn it down to stay here, with me?”
She nodded. She couldn’t bring herself to speak.
“I don’t know what to say.”
All she could do was shrug and look at him helplessly. What she wanted was to kiss him, but she didn’t know what he was thinking. His body language screamed hostile.
They stared at each other for a long moment, and she saw a flicker of a smile. Her heart pounded. Slowly, he pulled his hands out of his pockets and cupped her face.
“This thing with Nick...” His voice was low. “I don’t know how I feel about it. You’ve hurt Lara, and you lied to me. I need to be able to trust you, Adele, if we have any sort of future together.”
“What do I have to do, to convince you? We work together. He’s my friend. I can’t avoid him completely and I don’t want to.”
He stared back. “I don’t know. I wish I had a nice easy solution.”
“I have one.” Adele threw caution to the wind and leaned towards him, to press her lips to his. He groaned softly and responded, his lips soft, and his stubble scratchy, the way she liked it. In the noisy brightness of the humming server room they kissed. At that moment, nothing else mattered.
****
Sylvie stared at her phone. Nick’s latest text had her worried. If something was wrong, she couldn’t sit here and do nothing. She leapt up and grabbed the Audi keys. “Come on,” she said to Alex.
He stared back, perplexed. “And we’re going where?”
“To Lara’s. Jason might be there. Her phone is switched off. She might be in trouble.”
“Wait a moment.” Jordan interrupted. “Nick said she’s not at home, so what are you planning to do?”
Sylvie stuck out her chin. “I don’t know, but I’m not hanging around and leaving her alone. I’m going there, and you can either come with me or stay here.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “I’m coming.”
“Thank you.” She smiled sweetly, pulled her jacket from its hook, and they set off for the car.
“I’ll drive.” Alex climbed behind the wheel. “You tell me where we’re going.”
As she fastened her seatbelt, Sylvie slipped her hand into the top of her left boot. The knife was there, held in place and obscured by the top of her sock. She hoped to never use it, but it didn’t hurt to carry it with her.
****
Lara sat on the bedroom floor, where she could watch the road outside and see when Nick arrived home. She sipped on chamomile tea as she waited. She’d been nauseous on and off today. Whether it was the shock of finding out about Nick and Adele, or morning sickness kicking in, she felt like shit.
She thought she’d feel triumphant to see Nick’s shock and anger. She imagined revenge would taste sweet and satisfying.
It didn’t.
It sucked.
By the time he banged on the front door and shouted her name, she was hunched over with her hands covering her ears, unable to see for the tears streaming down her face.
Lara sobbed when Nick drove away into the thickening fog. She expected him to stay longer, to force his way into the house. To make more of an effort. But he didn’t. He made some phone calls from the car, and then drove off. Probably to cry on Adele’s shoulder.
Her box of tissues was empty. She needed to move.
She didn’t hear the footsteps coming up the stairs, until the landing creaked. She twisted around, to see what made the noise.
“Hello, Lara.”
Jason Farnley was standing in her bedroom.