Grief-stricken, Vera looked at her reflection in the computer screen. Suddenly her hair didn’t look so good anymore - not in comparison with Lucy’s anyway. Her clothes were always so ‘safe’, and her outfits lacked imagination or flare. Lucy’s style was always so unique. She was known for her fearless dress sense. No matter what she wore, it was always eclectic and elegant. She had it all. And now she also had him - the upcoming designer and maker everyone was talking about - complimenting her image like a stylish handbag.
Vera’s head collapsed on her keyboard. Why oh why did she have to look at these pictures? Why couldn’t she have just stayed away from all of this like Emma advised her to? What could she do now? Could she phone Tony to let him know how she felt? Tell him that she still loved him, that she’d always loved him, and try to get their relationship back on track? But would he want her again? He might acknowledge what she was saying, and then leave her hanging on – that’s what she feared – but she didn’t want to be left hanging on. She wanted commitment, marriage and eventually children. And she couldn’t achieve any of that by contacting him now, by asking for another chance. So she slowly forced herself to raise her head off the keyboard and get up. She wiped her face with the palm of her hand and went to her bedroom.
‘I can do this,’ she said loudly on the way up. ‘I have to be patient. Even if Tony’s dating Lucy, he will soon realize that we are meant to be together. It’s not all over between us yet. I just have to be patient.’
CHAPTER 6
“‘Meredith, I already told you a hundred times not to call me at work! I’m sure my P.A. is starting to suspect something.’ Arnaud was upset and his French accent would always get heavier when that happened.
‘I used to be your PA, and I never suspected you were having an affair.’
‘Only because you were the one I was having an affair with,’ he dutifully reminded her. ‘Now, be good and get off the phone. I’m expecting a very important person - the President of the Bank of Philippines.’
‘Is he more important than me?’ Meredith’s voice turned child-like. ‘He can’t be.’
‘Meredith, please … I can’t do this now. I can’t –’
But before he had a chance to finish she said seductively - ‘I’m lying on the bed wearing the mink fur you brought for me from Moscow, and nothing else … if you could only see me now …’
Arnaud took a deep, deep breath and tried in vain to control what was going on in his trousers.
‘Your gardener seems to like me,’ she carried on. ‘His shovel dropped to the ground when he saw me in the conservatory this morning.’
‘Cherie, but I really have to – ’ he started.
‘I’m just reaching for my toys, honey … imagine you’re with me. She lowered her voice and started to breathe slowly into the handset.
‘Jesus, Meredith, not now, not now …’ He pulled his jacket across his lap.
‘I can feel your breathing on my skin and I can’t wait for you to kiss me…’ Meredith had no mercy.
Suddenly Arnaud heard noise of the door opening outside his office. It was the president; he’d arrived. He instantly dropped the phone and fastened the button on his suit jacket to hide his erection. Then Liya, his P.A., announced the guest over the phone. He got up, walked slowly towards the door and greeted him. Before the meeting got underway, he told Liya not to connect any phone calls for the next two hours.
Back in Richmond, Meredith was furious- she couldn’t believe that Arnaud had hung up on her. She rang him straight back, but was informed that ‘Mr. Cloutier is in a meeting and will not be taking any calls’ - so she hung up and then hurled her diamond encrusted phone against the bedroom wall.”
In an effort to stop thinking about Tony, and what she’d seen that night, Vera continued to write her book. For as long as she was writing, she had a chance of avoiding entering Tony’s name into the laptop, and if that’s what it took, she was going to carry on. For a moment she thought about her agent and the website client. Suzy was seriously on her case. She still hadn’t started that job and the company wanted to see a first draught the next morning. For once in her working life, the usually responsible Vera was guilty of neglecting her client. But she felt compelled to erase the pictures she’d seen out of her memory. She also thought about the party she’d agreed to go to with Shane. The thought of going anywhere this evening did not appeal to Vera at all. She couldn’t face people and had no strength to pretend she was okay. She didn’t need company either. The only person she wanted and needed right now was Tony…
But, of course, Tony wasn’t with her. Tony was probably with Lucy. Tears rolled down her face yet again as familiar pain and neediness resurfaced, taking over every rational thought. She knew this feeling very well, and knew that the only person who could get her out of feeling like this was Astrid. Astrid could take away the sadness, brighten up the dark thoughts, and completely change her mood with her positive and uplifting predictions. Immediately Vera’s eyes located the phone resting near her. She stared at her handset. The only thing stopping her from dialing Astrid’s number now was the fact that she was broke, completely broke, and she charged £1.50 per minute, plus VAT. No, she thought, reluctantly taking her eyes off it, there was no way she could afford a reading today, and went back to the writing.
“‘Arnaud, your gardener acts very strangely around me.’ Meredith took a small sip of her decaf cappuccino. She and Arnaud were eating breakfast in the conservatory of his Richmond mansion. ‘Yesterday, he actually spoke to me on the patio. Well, he tried to speak to me … but I ignored him,’ she carried on.
‘Why?’ he asked her, unmoved. He was enjoying reading his French newspaper.
‘Work it out!’ she urged him.
‘I’m sure he’s making small-talk because he wants to impress me. It’s only his third week on the job. He wants to make sure he’ll keep it.’ Arnaud still didn’t take his eyes off the paper as he spoke.
‘For a man of your brains and fortune, you can be extraordinarily naive sometimes,’ Meredith replied. ‘It’s obvious he fancies me!’ She leaned in and tried to look him deeply in the eyes, awaiting reaction.
‘Of course he does, baby, everyone fancies you,’ he concluded, without emotion.
‘Aren’t you jealous?’ she asked, disappointed.
But ignoring her, Arnaud got up and left the conservatory to go upstairs and get ready for work.
She didn’t follow him; there was no point. She sat back, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the early morning sunshine warming her face through the glass. The feeling of warmth on her neck and chest made her dream about holidays in the sun. Arnaud and she hadn’t left London for a while now. Perhaps they could book a trip to Mauritius, she thought, or even grab a few days in the Canaries. She imagined them lying on the sun loungers of a five-star hotel with a private beach. Every man’s eyes would be glued to her body. They would be unable to stop themselves from staring at her. Arnaud would be so proud of her. How wonderful it would be to get away from London now!
‘Miss Adams.’ Suddenly a male voice snapped her out of her daydream. She jumped from a sudden fright and looked at the man standing above her; it was the gardener. ‘I’m sorry Miss, I didn’t mean to scare you,’ he said.
‘Well, you did! She took a breather. ‘I thought I was alone! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be working over there?’ She waved her hand in the air, indicating the garden.
‘Yes,’ he smiled. ‘If only I had the key to the side gate. The housekeeper said that Mr. Cloutier used the gate this morning and he must still have the key.’
‘Why would Arnaud use the side gate?’ Meredith asked, confused.
‘I don’t know, Miss,’ he replied quietly, and looked away.
As he stood above her, Meredith scanned his physique from behind her oversized sunglasses (it was very bright in the conservatory). It was the first time she’d properly noticed that his twenty-something body was tanned and extremely well-toned. He
was at least six feet tall and had lovely, muscular arms. His straight, dark hair was falling across his forehead and face, but wasn’t covering his best assets - bright blue eyes and prominent cheekbones.
‘I see.’ She tried to cover her distraction. ‘He probably still has the key then. I’ll get it for you. Wait right here.’ she got up and headed for the door.
As she walked down the long corridor, but before she reached the stairs, she noticed herself walking much more slowly than usual. Her hips moved sexily from one side to another, and she imagined the gardener’s eyes were now glued to her bottom. She suspected that he was admiring her amazingly long legs right now, and wished she was wearing something sexier. When Meredith got to the bottom of the stairs, she stopped and turned around – the gardener was standing in the conservatory door with his mouth wide open and eyes filled with lust …”
At half past four in the afternoon, Vera’s novella was complete. She saved the document on her laptop giving it the work name: A Fair Affair. She wondered what her agent would think of the book, so she clicked on ‘New Mail’, and entered Suzy’s email address, uploaded the book, and pressed ‘Send’. She laughed a little when she imagined Suzy reading the first few chapters tomorrow morning, admiring the characters and the storyline, and then calling her to say that she had ‘a dirty mind’. But then a sudden feeling of panic set in - she now had no chance of completing the agency assignment by tomorrow! She was going to have to lie and tell Suzy that she urgently had to go home to Reading to see her parents, that something unexpected and important was taking place and she had to be there. But now she as good as had revealed what she had really been doing! Suzy would no doubt decrease the amount of work flowing her way from now on, because she’d put her own project ahead of the agency’s.
Vera put her head in her hands and rested her elbows on the desk. It was too late to change anything; the email was sent. She felt like she’d had enough. How much drama could one person take? she wondered. On top of her troubled love life, she could now face financial difficulties - and that was the last thing she needed. Vera glimpsed longingly at her handset. She had even more reason now to know what was going to happen. She had to speak to Astrid.
She picked up her phone and dialed the number.
CHAPTER 7
‘Hello, Sunshine Predictions, Cathy speaking, how may I help?’ A friendly voice answered the call.
‘Hello, this is Vera Smith, I’d like to speak to Astrid. Is she available?’ Vera was clenching her handset, her eyes staring blankly ahead.
‘Astrid … let me see. I’ll put you on hold and find out what she’s doing tonight.’ Vera heard the sound of euro trash music in the handset. ‘Good news, Miss Smith’ the woman’s voice came back soon after, ‘Astrid has just had a cancellation and she’ll be able to speak to you now.’
‘That’s excellent. Thank you very much!’ Vera was relieved and delighted at the same time.
‘You’re very welcome. I’m connecting the call right now. You will be charged as soon as your reader comes on.’
Before Vera managed to say anything else, she heard another voice - ‘Hello it’s Astrid, who am I speaking with please?’
‘It’s Vera here. Vera Smith.’ She tried to sound calm.
‘That’s a lovely name, darling, may I take your date of birth please?’
‘Sure, it’s the 24th of January, 1983.’
‘Thank you for that,’ she said politely. ‘Now, may I ask you to concentrate on your predicament. We’ll tune in together.’
They both fell silent. After a short pause - that left Vera feeling extremely on edge - Astrid started to read.
‘I can see that there has been a lot of anxiety around you recently and that you’re feeling uneasy about something. Can you relate to this?’ she asked her. ‘I feel you think you have a choice to make and don’t know which way to go. Do you understand this, Vera?’
‘Yes, I do. I was, still am, waiting for my ex to call me. I dumped him five weeks ago, but now I’m thinking that maybe it was a mistake and I should contact him. I’m confused, you see …’ Vera was close to tears again. ‘And this is why I’m calling you … to find out what to do …’
‘Why are you waiting for him to call you, if you’re saying you ended the relationship with him?’ Astrid sounded confused.
‘Because I wanted him to realize how much he loved me. I guess I wanted to be cruel to be kind.’ As Vera said the words she wondered if she was indeed being cruel all this time. ‘I already spoke to you about him. Surely you must remember?’ Vera took a deep breath.
‘No, I don’t,’ Astrid replied instantly. ‘It’s impossible for me to remember all my clients. I do about twenty readings a day. Vera, my spirit tells me that you’ve jeopardized a good relationship. Your ex didn’t not want you, he just needed time,’ she concluded.
‘He … he just needed time?’ Vera repeated, as she tried to get her thoughts together. ‘I thought that I was showing him that I was not needy, not desperate. You said so yourself! And last time we spoke you also said that he’d be in contact with me again, and that you saw us back together.’
‘Yes, I definitely see you together in the future,’ Astrid went on, ‘And yes, you will be in contact again - just give it some more time,’ she concluded.
‘Well, how much time?’ Vera raised her voice. ‘I am afraid that he’s seeing someone - a woman called Lucy - I feel that I should call him and explain before it’s too late …’ She was so upset she was struggling to speak.
‘My spirit says that he’s not interested in her, that it’s you he likes. He has a deep connection with you, Vera, and he still thinks about you often. But you won’t see him just yet. In fact, you two won’t meet for a while.’
Like a sharp knife, her words cut right into Vera’s heart. The last thing she wanted was to get on the wrong side of Astrid, but the clock was ticking, every minute of this reading was costing her a small fortune, yet still she felt she had no choice but to push on for more specific answers.
‘But that’s not enough for me right now, Astrid, I’m sick of waiting for his phone call. I can’t live like this anymore. I want to know when. When will he call me?’ she demanded. ‘I’m going out of my mind,’ she continued, ‘and everyone else around me is too. Please just tell me?’
As Vera fell silent, Astrid took a deep breath, and then said - ‘Vera, I’m sorry, but I don’t see him calling you. However, I maintain that you two will meet. In person.’
‘But not so long ago you said that him contacting me was imminent. I remember clearly - you said “imminent”!’ Vera whispered.
‘Contact doesn’t necessarily mean a phone call, Vera,’ stated Astrid calmly. ‘As I said, I see you two meeting in person. You’ll just have to wait a little longer.’
She paused again and Vera could hear her talking to herself as she often did during the readings. But devastated, and left with little hope of reconciliation with Tony, Vera had heard enough. She didn’t want to continue the conversation anymore. She slowly allowed herself to slide down her chair and hit the carpet, dropping the handset to the floor and crying uncontrollably. The phone was only lying a few feet away, but because of her own sobs she couldn’t hear Astrid’s voice anymore …
‘Vera, please listen to me,’ Astrid was saying. It’s very important. I need to tell you to be careful, especially outdoors when you cross busy roads … Vera, are you still there? Hello?’
CHAPTER 8
After lying on the floor for an hour, Vera sat down with her back against the wall and thought about what had just happened. She tried to put things in perspective. She felt so hurt, so emotionally exhausted, and so used. Not only did Astrid fail to reassure her about her relationship with Tony, but also managed to push her into new depths of despair. And when she thought about the money she’d spent on her readings - a sum close to £300 - she pondered in embarrassment how silly she was to take what was, in truth, a bit of fun, and mistake it for reality, and plan h
er life around it. Her thoughts got even darker when she reminded herself that this latest phone call would send her straight into an unauthorized overdraft. On top of that, she remembered, she hadn’t done any paid work in the past few days; she hadn’t made any money, and instead probably just outed herself as a person who couldn’t be trusted anymore with assigned work. It just couldn’t get any worse.
Vera wished Shane was with her right now. He was right about Astrid all along. What did Astrid really know about people she’d never met? How stupid was she to think that a psychic she’d never met in person, could tell her about her life and future? And how silly of her to wait for Tony’s phone call. Astrid said that they would meet, but how? How would they meet without calling each other first? He was down south in Bromley; she was in North West London. They didn’t move within the same social circles, so the likelihood of them bumping into each other was almost non-existent. To meet face to face, they’d have to speak on the phone first. And Astrid said that she couldn’t see that happening.
Suddenly Vera wished she could talk to Emma. She’d make her feel better, show her the way out of this desperate conflict between her heart and her head. She looked around the room. She didn’t want to be here all alone, and in a split second, decided to meet Shane and go to the party. She got up and headed for the bathroom, and only fifteen minutes later she left the apartment and stepped into the street.
As she erratically walked towards the station, she stopped at the postbox and threw Emma’s letter in. Than, as she continued to walk, she went over the events of the last five weeks in her head.
Before We Met: What Happens When You Fall For The Same Man Twice But Don't Even Know It Page 4