by LK Chapman
‘We’ll talk in the conservatory, if you want?’ Toby said. ‘Normally I’d do interviews in my office–’
‘I don’t want any special favours,’ Natalie said. ‘Please just treat me like you would anyone else.’
‘Okay, the office it is then.’
As she followed him down the corridor, the bare walls caught her attention. ‘You took down your photos,’ she said. ‘You had pictures here of some of the local landmarks, didn’t you?’
‘Oh, yes,’ he said dismissively. ‘We took them down when the halls were painted. Not sure if I’ll put them back up. I fancy a change. And besides, a lot of them were taken a while ago and are out of date. Sometimes trips down memory lane can be good, other times I don’t like it so much.’
He stopped at a door with a sign reading Manager’s Office and opened it for her. Inside was a small but tidy space, the things on Toby’s desk lined up neatly. One of the items was a bottle of aftershave, and Natalie raised an eyebrow. Was that really for the benefit of his guests?
Toby had apparently taken her request to be treated like anyone else to heart, as he gave her a good grilling for the next thirty minutes or so, followed by another information dump about the hotel and the event manager role, leaving Natalie feeling like she’d had a mental workout by the end of it.
‘Well, Nat, I think you’d be a good fit,’ he said matter-of-factly. ‘You don’t have all the experience we’re looking for, but you know events inside out and I can see you’re passionate about weddings. And besides, we’re family, or will be soon enough.’
‘Toby, I don’t want you to–’
He held a hand up. ‘Honestly, Nat, the two other women I’ve interviewed, I couldn’t see it working out. One of them had far too many opinions about how I should do my job, and the other, well, let’s just say her face didn’t really fit.’
Natalie stopped herself from asking what exactly he meant by this.
‘The job’s yours if you want it,’ he said. ‘I think we’d make a good team. Remind me when you finish at Verity’s place?’
‘Next week.’
‘And what does Josh think about you applying here?’ He watched her for a moment as she tried to think how to respond. ‘You haven’t told him?’
‘I will, but there didn’t seem much point until I’d had the interview.’
‘Okay,’ Toby said. ‘Well, I would walk around the hotel with you again, explain a bit more, but my morning is jam-packed.’
‘It’s okay. I might just have a quick wander round by myself if you don’t mind. Just re-familiarise myself with everything.’
‘Great,’ Toby said. ‘I’ll be in touch again later today, and we can have another chat and I’ll let you know a few more details. Sorry it’s been a bit rushed this morning.’ He paused and gave her a grin. ‘Well, welcome to the team!’ he said. He thrust out his hand and she took it, and was treated to a firm and slightly clammy handshake, before he scuttled out of the room.
Natalie hesitated briefly outside the office door. Events Manager at Hartbury Hotel. Fizzles of excitement spread through her as she imagined it. If only the job wasn’t at Toby’s hotel so she didn’t have to break the news to Josh that her new boss was his stepbrother.
After having a quick look at the function rooms, the dining room and the lovely conservatory again, Natalie made her way back into the reception. There were no guests around, so she walked over to the desk. It would be good to have a chat with Angelique – Natalie had sensed there was a bit more to her sarcasm about Toby’s ‘pussycat’ comment than met the eye, and perhaps she could find out what it would really be like to work for Toby.
‘Hi, I’m Natalie,’ she said as she approached. ‘I was just here about the event manager job.’
‘Ah, yes,’ Angelique said. ‘It will be brilliant once we have some more help. At the moment Toby and I try to do the job between us, but now we offer wedding ceremonies it’s too much for us.’
‘Do you enjoy working here?’ Natalie asked.
Angelique looked briefly taken aback by the question, but before she had a chance to answer, the phone rang. Natalie hovered around while she spoke to the caller. I should have asked Toby how many weddings they already have booked for this year. She made a mental note to ask him when he called her later. It would be good to know whether it was a trickle or if she’d be immediately snowed under.
‘Sorry, what was it you asked me?’ Angelique said once she’d finished her phone call.
‘Oh, just if you enjoy it?’ Natalie said. ‘Is it busy here? A nice atmosphere?’
‘Yes, it’s busy. Toby likes things to run smoothly.’
Did she mean something more by that? The phone rang again so Natalie decided to take her leave. She’d hoped to find out a little more. Perhaps she could have a word with the young red-haired woman Toby had been bothering last time. Chantelle still concerned her a little, especially if she was more open to being manipulated, struggling for money with children to feed.
Natalie resolved to talk to Josh as soon as he got in from work. He’d been more settled since Christmas, and he’d be pleased that she’d found a new job that excited her. It’s not like he would be the one seeing Toby every day, so there really wasn’t anything for him to be worried about. And with all this lined up, losing her job with Verity didn’t seem like a disaster any more – it was just a new step in her career. Yes. Josh would be fine about it.
Josh
28
The jangle of his phone broke Josh’s concentration, and he picked it up in a bit of a daze.
‘Josh?’ Natalie said, her voice a little concerned. ‘Where are you?’
He quickly checked the time. He would normally have been home half an hour ago, but he’d been so engrossed in helping Gareth that he’d lost track of time. ‘I didn’t realise it was late,’ he said. ‘Sorry, I should have told you.’
‘Told me what?’
‘There’s a problem at Hearts. There was a security breach and Gareth asked if I could come and check it out after work.’
‘Why you? He’s got his own people, surely?’
‘I know. He’s just–’ He lowered his voice as Gareth was sitting not too far away in his office with the door open. ‘He’s just a little paranoid. Hearts means so much to him, and I think he finds it reassuring to have me involved.’
‘No,’ Natalie said, a hint of irritation creeping into her voice and surprising him. ‘He knows that you’re an expert and he can get you to do it for free.’ There was a pause. ‘Josh, I didn’t mean that. I know Gareth’s not like that. I just … I really wanted you to be here tonight. I wanted to have a chat with you about something.’
‘I can step outside the office for a minute and talk–’
‘Not on the phone. In person.’
Josh glanced over at Gareth in his office. He’d never seen him so agitated. He’d actually said to Josh that he didn’t trust anyone except him to figure out what was going on. He’d been obsessed about the privacy of the messages users had sent to each other, and though Josh had reassured him that hackers almost certainly didn’t want that kind of information, it had done little to reassure him.
‘Natalie, if you really need me I’ll come home. Gareth will just have to make do with his own people.’
‘No, I–’ She was silent a moment. ‘It’s fine. Gareth needs you.’
‘You’re my priority. You know that, don’t you? I am going to get my head straight. Nothing means more to me than you.’
‘Thank you,’ she said, her voice shaking a little.
‘I’m coming home,’ he said. ‘If you’re upset–’
‘I’m not upset. It’s absolutely fine, Josh, it’s nothing bad. What I want to talk about will keep, but Gareth needs your help right now.’
A sense of unease crept through him as he put his phone back down on the desk beside him. She’d said it was nothing bad, but had something happened? Was it to do with her troll? She’d clearly been upset that
she couldn’t talk to him about whatever it was, and perhaps she’d just been trying to reassure him when she’d said it wasn’t bad. He stood up, determined to go home to her anyway, when Gareth came out of his office.
‘Any luck?’ he said. ‘Do you know what happened?’
‘It’s going to take a bit of time,’ Josh said. At the concern on Gareth’s face he sat back down. ‘Don’t worry, I’m going to check everything. It’ll be okay.’
Gareth sat down at the empty desk beside him. Many of the Hearts employees had gone home, and the large open space was quiet, streetlights outside the windows lighting up the falling rain. It made Josh ache to be at home with Natalie, snuggled up on the sofa. ‘You’ve been there for me right from the start of Hearts,’ Gareth said.
‘It’s not a problem.’
‘Did you ever think it would take off the way it has?’
‘I don’t know. I guess not, but not through any fault of yours.’
‘I can’t lose this, Josh. I can’t have Hearts fucked up by this.’
Josh turned to face him. ‘It won’t come to that. I’m going to work out the extent of this with the help of your guys and then we’ll figure out what steps to take.’
‘Everyone will stop using it if they find out we got hacked–’
‘Gareth, look, just don’t panic. Let me work. We don’t even know what happened yet.’
***
The evening wore on, and having already spent a full day at his regular job, Josh’s mind at first rebelled against more work, but eventually the exhaustion gave way to a kind of restless energy. It put him in mind of all the nights he’d spent as a teenager behind a computer screen. He could have taken his life down a very different path if he'd wanted to. No one had realised quite how bloody good he was. He'd felt so powerful as he’d tested his skills those nights, pitting himself against his virtual adversaries, seeing how far he could get into their systems. He could have got whatever he wanted if he'd been willing to cross the line. But that was the thing. It was wrong. He didn’t want to do anything bad or cause any harm, it was just the challenge. It was the rush, the absorption he had experienced that made the whole rest of the world fade away. There had been no Toby when he was at that keyboard. There had been no mum and stepdad, no Mikayla, no school, no anything. It had been another world completely.
I could find out who is trolling Natalie.
The thought sprang into his head and he brushed it aside. Yes, maybe he could.
I could make them pay. She means everything to me and I’m sitting back and letting her be tormented. I should get revenge.
He paused and took a sip from the cooling cup of coffee at his elbow. Since Gareth could do little to help with the investigation, he had taken on the role of bringing a constant stream of hot drinks. He’d also bought doughnuts with the comment it was like a police stakeout, and Josh had wondered if there was anything Gareth couldn’t find some sort of humour in.
I’m just tired, he told himself. His thoughts often got weird at times like this. He was up too late, working too late, letting his thoughts run away with themselves. I wish I could just go home and crawl into bed with Natalie.
Natalie. Just the thought of her made him feel grounded. Safe. She was the thing he could hold on to, she was what made his life make sense and what made it worth living. And I’ve been a rubbish partner to her recently. He picked up his phone and messaged her to say he’d be back late and how much he loved her, but she didn’t reply. She’d probably already gone to bed.
He finished the last of his coffee. He’d made good progress at Hearts and hopefully it wouldn’t be too long now before he would be able to go home. Things would settle down soon. It was hardly surprising that Mikayla’s death suddenly being brought up again after all this time would unnerve him and make him think about that unhappy part of his life, but he couldn’t let it consume him. He’d hold on to Natalie, to the thought that soon they would be getting married, and he really would have a family of his own. Something stable and permanent. Somewhere he could belong, and get away from all his bad memories of Mikayla and Toby. He hadn’t realised until he’d met her quite how much he needed that.
29
By the time Josh got back he was exhausted. Natalie stirred as he got into bed beside her, and then opened her eyes. ‘What happened?’ she asked sleepily. ‘Did you sort it out?’
Josh yawned hugely. ‘Well, there was some sort of breach,’ he said. ‘Not as bad as what Gareth feared, though. The database was accessed and it’s possible the hackers may have got some information. Hearts are going to contact their users about what happened.’
‘He must be upset.’
‘He is, but he’ll be okay, I’m sure of it.’ He was silent for a moment before adding, ‘It was odd, though.’
‘What was odd?’
‘Well, it looked like it had been hacked – I mean, the database had been accessed, but we couldn’t really understand why or even how, really. I identified some security holes, but I feel kind of uneasy about it. It was a strange attack.’
Natalie was silent for a moment, and he snuggled up to her and kissed her hair. ‘What did you want to talk to me about? You can tell me now–’
‘It’s the middle of the night,’ she said, her voice already a little slurred as she drifted off again. Josh closed his eyes and tried to relax, but as he rolled over something poked into his back and he reached down to see what it was. Natalie’s phone. She must have fallen asleep with it in her hand and it had dropped down into the bed. He held it in front of him, his mind racing. Should he just check it? Perhaps if he saw what she had been looking at he’d know what was bothering her. His mind made up, he traced her unlock pattern on the phone screen and was confronted with a post Natalie had made about her top five vegetarian canapés for parties, and the comments beneath it:
I wonder how Josh is going to kill you Natalie.
I hope your honeymoon isn’t near any lakes
If you even live to see your honeymoon.
Josh drowned Mikayla. Face facts. Everyone knows it.
I hope he does kill you, maybe then you’ll take me seriously. Except you’ll be dead, lol.
If you believe in justice, do not follow Natalie Woodrough
Natalie’s just as bad as her killer fiance
***
There she was: Mikayla! He thrashed through the water towards her, where she bobbed and sometimes disappeared below the surface. Her hand broke free, and she stretched it out towards him. Energy surged through him – he had to get to her!
She was beginning to sink again as he reached her; her eyes huge and dark and pleading, her jet-black hair floating around her like fine seaweed. He reached out and caught her arm, but instead of lifting her up he was pulling her down. She struggled, trying to prise his hand away, but he wouldn’t relent. He would hold her there until she stopped moving. Forever. His breathing grew faster, his pulse racing as her struggles grew weaker, then horror surged through him. No, he tried to cry out. No! Stop!
He awoke to blackness. The past felt only a heartbeat away, like he could reach out and touch it, perhaps slip right back into it again. That was real. That was a memory.
No. No, it wasn’t.
Yes, it was. That’s what was real. The memory of saving her is fake.
He got out of bed and fled into the living room. The hateful comments swirled around in his head, mixing with the dream. The memory.
‘Josh drowned Mikayla. Face facts. Everyone knows it.’
He tried to calm down. It had been a late night. He was worn out, confused, emotional. He wasn’t thinking straight.
No. It’s the rest of the time I’m not thinking straight. The dream was real. That dream is the only time I’ve been lucid since it happened.
Josh put his hands up to the sides of his head, pressing it like he could squeeze the thoughts away, and when Natalie came into the room he almost jumped out of his skin.
‘Josh, what–’
> ‘Stay away from me!’ he told her, his voice high and panicked.
‘What … what are you talking about?’ She took a step towards him, though her eyes were frightened.
‘Stay away!’ he told her again. ‘You’re not – you’re not safe here. You’re not safe here with me.’
Since she showed no signs of doing what he asked, he took matters into his own hands. He fled the room, brushing past Natalie without a word. If he loved her, he had to make her safe. He had to make sure she wasn’t around him.
At the lake
30
‘Hey shithead!’
Josh rubbed his head where Toby had hit him, before turning to look at him, hoping he was mistaken and the voice belonged to someone else. But, no, sure enough Toby filled his vision, surrounded by a load of his stupid friends, and some girls too, including Mikayla. Josh quickly dropped his hand from his head – Mikayla would think he was pathetic just sat here licking his wounds. He should stand up for himself. For once. Anger surged through him. It had been a long time since he’d been brave enough to stand up to Toby, but having him turn up on what was supposed to be Josh’s chance to get away was the last straw.
Toby must have seen the look in Josh’s eyes as he laughed. ‘I just wanted to see what you two lovebirds were up to, although I guess I’d rather not know the details–’
Josh leapt to his feet, all reason seeming to have left him. ‘Just fuck off!’ he yelled at Toby. ‘Just leave us the fuck alone!’
Briefly, Toby’s whole gang looked taken aback, and then they began to laugh. Painfully aware of how he must look through their eyes – his cheeks red and his eyes stinging with tears – Josh quickly turned back to Gareth. ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘let’s go.’