Driving to work the next morning, Kate could still feel the anger surging through her veins. The night before had been a nightmare. Her mother had insisted that she was home in time for dinner. Then as though nothing had been said, she’d promptly gone out the moment Kate had got home. Which to be fair, would have been exactly what Kate would have wished for, until of course she’d taken a call from Rob, and some cock and bull story as to why he’d be late again. Which meant that once again they couldn’t talk and by the time he had arrived home, it had been way past midnight.
Pulling into one of the parking spaces in front of the office, tears of frustration filled her eyes and Kate took a moment to compose herself. As she walked past the bakery the aroma of freshly baked bread, doughnuts and scones hit her. Taking a diversion, she chose a selection of pink and chocolate iced doughnuts, along with a few random cupcakes, to make her feel better about last night.
‘That should cheer us all up.’ She smiled gratefully, took the box from the assistant and carefully made her way through the front door of Parker & Son. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the brown leather settee, where Ben was sitting with a very young, slim, dark-haired woman, who may as well have been sat on his knee. Her hand rested close to his leg, making Kate’s head spin.
‘I… I brought doughnuts.’ Was all she could think to say as she hurried past. ‘I’m going to…’ She felt her cheeks flush. ‘I’m going to put them in the kitchen?’
‘Thanks Kate. That’s great,’ she heard him shout out from behind her, but she quickly closed the door and stood with her back pressed against it and with a sigh much bigger than the situation deserved, she dropped the doughnuts onto the side. Even though she knew she shouldn’t, she felt a huge rush of disappointment.
After a night spent with Rob, who had made it more than clear that he was only in their bed because her mother was in the spare room, she’d barely slept at all. And even though she’d woken up on the verge of exhaustion, she’d still got ready with a smile, because she’d been looking forward to seeing Ben. Which now she thought about it was ridiculous. They’d only just met. He was the boss’s son and now feeling a surge of jealousy flying through her, she felt the need to berate herself. But the sight of seeing him with another woman had disturbed her just a little more than she’d ever admit.
Moving from the kitchen to the office, and so as not to be seen, she slammed the door behind her to see a puzzled looking Eric. He was stood at the evidence board, with his pen at the ready.
‘How do you fancy a haircut.’ He glanced across, gave her a smile and made Kate suddenly feel self-conscious. Her hand shot upwards and with an anxious sigh, she pulled a compact from her bag and checked her appearance.
‘Why, what’s wrong with my hair?’
‘Nothing, but I’ve gone through Isobel’s diary and she’s due to have her hair cut later this morning and Gloria has secured you an appointment at exactly the same time. In the same salon.’ He tipped his head comically from side to side, and added, ‘With a different stylist, of course.’
‘Oh?’ Kate picked up the ruler that had been haphazardly thrown on her desk, lined it up with the keyboard, then shook her head, opened the drawer and dropped it inside.
Eric was laughing. ‘Of course, Parker and Son will pay for the haircut and you, my dear, will be in the right place at the right time. Women tell their hairdressers everything, don’t they? So I thought it would be a great way for you to listen in on her conversation.’ He held his hands out, one to each side. ‘Go on, tell me how ingenious I am.’
‘Who’s the woman in reception?’ Kate suddenly demanded. ‘She’s draped all over Ben like a leech.’
Eric spun around on the spot. ‘Wow. Okay…’ He paused, took a step back. ‘Oh my God. You’re not jealous, are you?’ His finger waved up and down in the air. ‘Because that would be crazy.’
Kate shook her head. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. She looks like she’s twelve. Not the type I’d have thought Ben would be into. Anyway…’ She rolled her eyes upwards. ‘It’s none of my business.’ She looked back at the door, realised that the woman was in fact much older than twelve, and growled internally at her own reaction. ‘I brought doughnuts for everyone, that’s all. Her being here took me by surprise. I didn’t count on extra guests when I bought them.’ She sat down and picked up the telephone, held it to her ear and then placed it back down. ‘Does this thing ever ring?’ she asked in a vain attempt to change the subject.