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When Noah’s alarm went off, he almost flicked it to a stop and went back to sleep, but then he remembered why he’d set it in the first place.
Angie.
He jumped out of bed, pulled on his dressing gown and burst out of his room. She wasn’t next door. In fact, none of her lotions and potions were out on the dressing table either. His heart sped up. She couldn’t have gone already. It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet.
He raced downstairs and started searching the rooms. No one in the kitchen. No one in the conservatory. When he reached the first sitting room, he found John drinking a cup of coffee.
“You’re up early, aren’t you?”
“Where is she?”
“If you mean Angelique, I expect she’s gone home.”
“Home? When?”
“I don’t know. Late last night. Early this morning. The door to her room was open when I checked first thing and all her stuff was gone.”
Clutching at his dressing gown, he sank into a chair. “Then get her back. Call her up and ask her to come back.”
“Noah, she fucked up. She was supposed to keep your nose clean and she let that bunch of losers in here.”
“It wasn’t her fault.”
“No? Whose was it then?”
He wrapped his robe tighter around himself and lowered his head, speaking almost into his chest. “Mine. It was my fault.” He should have listened to her and sent them packing.
“That’s all very noble and everything, but if she couldn’t control you she shouldn’t have taken the job. No, I’ll find someone more capable to look after you.”
“But she needs this job.” He thought of her little boy and to his shame he couldn’t even remember his name.
“Not my problem. We can’t afford to have you giving in to temptation.”
“Please, John. Give her another chance. It was working.”
“I’m sorry.” He shook his head. “I’ll start looking today and hopefully have someone by the end of the week.”
He could picture it already – some hulking great orderly type with a shaved head who’d manhandle him if he got too close to the pub. Why hadn’t he got rid of Dave when she’d asked him to?
“Look, I know you liked her, but it was a bad idea getting a woman in the first place.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
John smiled like he was humouring him. “Why don’t you get yourself some breakfast?”
“I’m not hungry.” He knew he sounded like a petulant teenager, but he couldn’t stop himself.
“How about doing some more work on the new tracks then? It’ll take your mind off things.”
That wasn’t such a bad idea. He’d noodle on the guitar and try to figure out what to do next. There was no way he’d let John find a replacement for Angie. She’d helped him. He needed her.
And the kiss? Well, that hadn’t even happened, had it? They’d just got caught up in the moment. It was only to be expected when they spent so much time together.
He’d find a way for her to come back and they’d forget all about it.
***
Three weeks later and Angelique had just about stopped beating herself up over the fiasco with Noah Trent. As long as she didn’t think about lawyers or custody hearings, she could almost bear to look at herself in the mirror.
She’d been lucky really – John had made The Cloister sign an agreement to take her back when her stint with Noah was over, so at least she had a job to go back to.
It wasn’t much of a consolation when she thought about the money she’d lost out on and what it could have done for her. Which is why she did her best not to think about those things.
Slipping back into her old routine proved frighteningly easy. After the first few days, it was like she’d never been away. She went through the motions on autopilot. Every day at work was the same.
Until the day she got a message that someone was asking for her on the phone.
She had no idea who it could be – no one ever called her at The Cloister. And then she started to worry. It was bound to be bad news. There was no other reason for anyone to phone her. Please don’t let it be Lewis.
There was only one telephone in the place – in the manager’s office. She made her way through the corridors and knocked on the door. Andy called her in and nodded to the phone.
Taking the call off hold, she put the receiver to her ear. “Hello?”
“Hello, Angelique. It’s John.”
“John?” She glanced at Andy, he was busy on his computer.
“Yes, John Lawson. Noah Trent’s manager.”
She froze. What was he going to accuse her of now? Unless she was wrong and something had happened to Noah. “What is it? What’s happened?”
“Nothing to be alarmed about. I’d like to offer you your job back.”
She stood in silence, staring off into space. That couldn’t be right. She must have misheard. “My job back?”
“Yes, if you’re willing to take it.”
“Why? I don’t understand.”
“Noah’s off on tour soon and we thought you’d be the best person to go along with him.” He oozed oily diplomacy down the line. Something didn’t smell right.
“Is he there?”
He paused. “Not at the moment I’m afraid. He’s busy in rehearsals.”
That did sound plausible. After her initial disappointment, she found she was relieved she didn’t have to talk to him. She’d run off without saying goodbye – without saying anything. It would be too awkward to have to explain herself to him. “I’m sorry, John, I can’t take the job. I’m settled where I am.” She hung up the phone before he tried to talk her into it. There was no point looking back.
But the money...
She pushed the thought aside. All the money in the world wouldn’t be enough to argue away what she’d done. She’d let her son down – got drunk day after day when he’d needed her to look after him. She didn’t deserve to get him back.
Straightening her uniform, she went back out to do her penance.
***
“She said no?”
John nodded. “She said she couldn’t take the job and hung up on me.”
Noah couldn’t believe it. After all those weeks showing John he could be trusted and begging him to get her back, she’d turned around and said no. “It must have been the way you asked her. What did you say?”
“Nothing. I asked her if she wanted her job back and she said no.”
It hadn’t even crossed his mind that she might not want to come back. “But what about her son?”
“What?”
“Nothing.” He hadn’t shared that information with him. It felt like betraying her to say anything to John. “What am I going to do now?”
“Go on tour and make shedloads of money.” This all suited John perfectly – he’d made it clear he still thought Noah was thinking with his trousers.
He shook his head. “I’m not ready.”
“Course you are. You’ve managed without her up until now.”
“No. I’m not.” The only thing that had got him this far was the idea that she’d come on tour with him and keep him steady. What would happen when the first gig was over and someone brought out a celebratory bottle? John said they’d make it a dry tour – no drink or drugs for anyone involved – but how the hell was that going to work?
“I need to talk to her.”
“Here.” John held out the phone. “It’s the last number I dialled.”
“No.” Noah got up. “In person.”
“You’re kidding me, right? There’s no time. You said you wanted to oversee the digital release of the album and you’ve still got to pack for the tour. You’ve got rehearsal time booked in the studio with the band.”
“I’ll be back for rehearsals.” He went to the door. “You deal with the other stuff.”
“Noah!”
He slipped out of the front door before John came up with another five reasons why he couldn’t go.