Before We Met: What Happens When You Fall For The Same Man Twice But Don't Even Know It

by Madeleine Cardell

London

  SW15 5UJ

  As Vera was about to seal the envelope, her phone rang in the corridor. She rushed over to answer it; it was Suzy. Vera suddenly shivered as she had a strong suspicion what the phone call was about. Yesterday had marked a week since A Fair Affair had been released, and Suzy was no doubt going to give her the sales figures. What if the book had had a disastrous start, and only sold a few copies? Anxious at what she was about to hear, she also wondered if the publishers could ask her to return the money they had paid her if the book had turned out to be a spectacular disaster.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Vera!’ As ever Suzy was terribly excitable. A Fair Affair is number one on Amazon!’ She struggled to catch her breath. ‘It’s fucking number one! Switch on your computer and look at the chart.’

  Vera struggled to keep on her feet. Her head was spinning. She wasn’t sure if it was the hangover from the night before, or just sheer excitement at Suzy’s news. But Suzy kept on talking.

  ‘That’s not all. Ed wants us to milk it. Create publicity. So I need you to do a reading in a bookshop in Oxford Street. Tomorrow.’

  ‘A reading? Tomorrow?’ Vera repeated quietly; she suddenly felt a little frightened. It was one thing to deal with the publishers, but quite another to meet a live audience. The idea of standing alone in a room full of people left her gasping for air.

  ‘Suz …’ she replied quietly, ‘I don’t think I can. You know that I just had a massive blow to the head …’ - she tried to get out of it using the most obvious of reasons - ‘and it might not go as well as you think it should,’ she added.

  ‘Nonsense. You’ll be absolutely fine. All you have to do is stand there and read your book.’

  Considering that it might not be as scary as she originally expected, Vera was about to agree, when Suzy added, ‘And then you’ll answer some questions for a few journos, no biggie.’

  Vera was silent; it was way out of her comfort zone.

  ‘Vera, remember that this is part of your contractual obligation - interacting with readers and public appearances. I promise that I’ll be there for you. I promise. Have I ever let you down?’

  Vera pondered that indeed since she’d met Suzy in the hospital, she had never said anything that was untrue or far-fetched, and that all of her predictions had come true. And since getting out of it didn’t seem like an option, at least she could rely on Suzy to give her moral support.

  ‘Okay,’ she said finally. ‘What do I do?’

  ‘I need you to be at Dove’s at Oxford Street tomorrow at 4.00pm. The reading will start an hour later. The whole thing might last up to two hours. I’m just on my way there to tie everything up.’

  Suddenly Vera remembered that she and Anthony were supposed to be meeting tomorrow at six, but realized there was no point in telling Suzy that. She switched the phone to another ear and just said, ‘I’ll be there.’

  ‘Great!’ Vera heard relief in Suzy’s voice. ‘And Vera,’ she cried, before hanging up, ‘wear something stunning. In fact, look fabulous!’

  CHAPTER 22

  The following day, Vera visited Veronica’s, her local beauty salon. She’d been there since 9.00am. Following Suzy’s instructions, she paid for not one, but two separate facials, a manicure, an eyebrow wax, an eyelash tint, a one-hour pedicure and a total body cleanse, ending in an aromatherapy massage. When her pedicure was being done, she called Anthony to re-schedule their date, but only got his voicemail. At first, not quite knowing what to say, Vera hesitated, but then she got a grip of herself and said, ‘Hi, Anthony, it’s Vera. Hope you’re okay. I’m just calling to let you know that I can’t make it to Westminster for six o’clock. I only found out yesterday that I have to be somewhere. It’s work-related and I won’t be able to get out until at least seven.’ Vera stopped to regain her breath. ‘So, if you’re okay to meet later, perhaps we could meet at Oxford Street instead.’ She didn’t know what else to say, so she ended the phone call with, ‘Let me know,’ and then hung up.

  After four and a half hours of pure pampering, she left the beauty salon and walked into the hairdressers. For the next sixty minutes, she watched a skillful hairdresser giving her hair shape and an extra bit of oomph, lifting her hair and back-combing the roots, and curling the ends. When the hair was done, what seemed like a ton of hair spray was used to allow the spectacular shape, style and volume to keep. When Vera looked at the mirror, she barely recognized herself. Her hair looked incredible. It was as shiny and defined as the hair of Hollywood stars on the red carpet. It was glamorous, yet very classy. The only thing she needed now was to put on some make-up and to decide what to wear. Throughout the morning she contemplated the choice of an outfit. Shane said that the lace dress paired up with boots was a good choice for a date, but now the stakes were higher, and in comparison with all the effort put into the nails, lashes and the amazing hair-do, she thought that her little lace dress would seem oddly plain. The only one that would do was the Leger bandage dress, with a YSL blazer thrown on top. After all, it was November now and it could get cold anytime.

  When Vera finally arrived home, it was almost 3.00pm. Having only eaten a banana for breakfast, she opened the fridge and tried to find something that she could eat quickly while getting ready. But the only foods in her fridge were eggs, spinach leaves and dry tortillas, so she closed it and hoped that food would be served after her reading. In the bathroom, she applied foundation and finished it off with a warm, sandy bronzer – and added some pink to her cheeks with blusher. Her eyes were green and almond-shaped, and she used two tons of brown eye shadow to color the eyelids, and a black liner to define the contour. To finish the look, three coats of black mascara were applied, and a red lipstick with a glossy coat. The only thing left was a change of clothes. For a brief moment, Vera wondered what the best way was of putting on this incredibly tight dress, and even before she figured it out she began to unfasten it. She stepped into it, pulled it up and then down again by the hem, and she repeated the whole process of pulling it up and then down again until the dress, portion by portion, was all fastened and hooked. It was tiring, but when she looked at the mirror the final effect was breathtaking. She glanced at her watch; it was half past four. In a hurry, she opened the drawer in which she kept her Chanel bag, got it out of the box and dust bag, and threw her bankcard, her phone and a lipstick in it. Then she got the blazer from the plastic bag it was stored in, popped it over her shoulders and ran downstairs. The last thing to put on was a pair of shoes. Vera opened the box labeled ‘Sophia Webster’ and got out the satin flamingo pumps. She put them on and ran out of the door, shutting and locking it behind her.

  In Oxford Street, Suzy and the manager of Dove’s bookshop, were talking through the events about to take place. First, Vera was going to read an excerpt of her book to an audience of mostly female readers - who’d already started to arrive and take their seats. Then she was going to sign as many books as she could, and have pictures taken with her fans. For the last part of the afternoon, Suzy had scheduled a conference for the press. As much as she had no doubt that the first two stages would go flawlessly, she silently worried how Vera, fresh from the accident that had wiped out the memories of her adult life, would answer the questions from the journalists. But as she pondered whether she should step in and sit through the conference next to her, Vera suddenly appeared before her.

  At first speechless, Suzy just stared at her in silence, but then suddenly she cleared her throat - making Vera jump slightly - and exclaimed with excitement, ‘Vera!’ You look amazing, absolutely incredible!’ She span her around. ‘What a transformation! You look like you’ve just stepped out of a magazine cover!’ She walked all around her, before continuing, ‘But down to business, this is how the evening will go: we’ll start in about twenty minutes, with you introducing yourself and reading an excerpt of the book. Then you’ll sit behind the mahogany desk and sign as many copies as time will allow. And then …’ Suzy looked at her remorsefully, ‘we�
�ll go straight to the press conference. How do you feel about that?’ she asked with a worried expression on her face.

  Vera looked around. The rows of wooden chairs in the middle of the floor were fast filling with people, who held their copies of A Fair Affair. Others were queuing to buy one. She imagined herself standing on the very podium on the left, reading her book, with all eyes on her, and signing lots of copies later. It was nerve-wracking, but it was doable. But what she was truly petrified of, was answering the questions that would be thrown at her by the journalists. What exactly was she going to say when someone asked her what the inspiration behind the book was, for example? Or how she came up with the names of the main characters? If they could only put this off by a few days, let her prepare, she’d feel better, much more confident, but now? Her anxiety intensified when she thought about Anthony. She hadn’t heard from him; he hadn’t returned her call. He seemed very interested in her when they were together the afternoon they had coffee, observing her intensely and almost hanging on to her every word. But was it possible that he’d been offended that she’d put her work ahead of him? Or maybe he’d changed his mind about seeing her completely? Perhaps she would never see him again …

  ‘Earth to Vera.’ She suddenly heard Suzy’s voice.

  ‘Sorry,’ Vera said quickly. ‘I’d feel better if you sat in with me, during the conference.’

  ‘I will. I think it’s for the best. This is the bit the publisher wants you to read.’ Suzy handed her a copy of her book, opened on a particular page, and walked away.

  Holding the book in her hand, Vera looked around her again. Almost all the chairs were now taken. A couple of men pulled a heavy curtain across the floor and Vera found herself behind it. Ten minutes later everything and everyone was ready to go, and when the curtain was raised again, Vera walked towards a small podium in the middle of the stage. The many women holding her book got up to greet her with applause. Vera instantly noticed that people were not only sitting on the chairs in front of her, they were hunkered down by the stage too, and many were squeezed at the back where the main door and the cash registers were. Some were even standing on the main sales floor, in between the tall book shelves. The turnout was truly overwhelming. To the left of the stage, several of the journalists were setting up recording equipment. Trying to stay calm, Vera approached the podium, turned to her audience and then said with a shy smile - ‘Welcome. Thank you all for coming.’

  The crowd continued to cheer. She smiled and waited for them to stop, before continuing, ‘As you probably know, my name is Vera Smith and I am the author of A Fair Affair.’ She turned her head to the right and saw Suzy with her thumbs up, standing backstage.

  ‘I never expected that so many of you would buy and like my book, so I am humbled and extremely pleased that you have chosen to spend your time and your energy reading it.’

  As Suzy was watching from the side of the stage, Vera’s phone went off in her bag. Suzy furiously grabbed the bag from the chair behind her, opened it and angrily whispered, ‘Hello?’

  ‘Is this Vera?’ The person on the other end sounded confused.

  ‘No, it’s not Vera,’ whispered Suzy. ‘Vera’s busy. She’s working. Call back later!’

  ‘Can you at least tell me where Vera is?’

  For fear of being heard by Vera’s audience, Suzy moved away from the stage.

  ‘Do you think this is a bloody answering service?’ she hissed. ‘She’s at Dove’s, Oxford Street.’ And then she hung up and set the tone on silent, returning to her place by the side of the stage. By then, Vera had already started her reading.

  CHAPTER 23

  After the reading, Vera sat down behind a huge mahogany desk and spent the next forty-five minutes signing books. Her fans formed a lengthy queue to get their copies autographed. Vera’s appearance had gone down very well, and everyone in the room got up and clapped when she’d finished reading. When the time to sign books and have pictures taken was up, and the dreaded press conference was about to start, Suzy pulled in a chair and sat next to her, squeezed her hand under the table, and whispered, ‘Speak from the heart, they’ll love it.’

  ‘Miss Smith, congratulations on the number one bestseller.’ A woman in her mid-twenties with black hair in a ponytail raised her microphone towards Vera. ‘What was your reaction to the commercial success of your book?’

  ‘I was naturally very pleased,’ answered Vera quietly. ‘But I didn’t expect it.’

  ‘I did!’ Suzy butted in suddenly. ‘Suzanne Reynolds. I’m Vera’s agent.’ She introduced herself with a big smile. ‘I always knew it was going to be a massive success!’

  ‘Where were you when you heard A Fair Affair had reached number one on Amazon’s charts?’ asked a stocky man wearing glasses and a white T-shirt.

  ‘I was at home and Suzy called –’

  ‘She was with me!’ Suzy took over again. ‘We were working on Vera’s next project and the figures came through. We were both ecstatic. Weren’t we just?’ she turned to Vera.

  ‘Yes we were,’ Vera nodded with a faint smile.

  ‘Is Meredith’s character based on someone you know, or maybe yourself?’ asked another reporter.

  ‘Well, Meredith and I –’ she started, but before she’d even had a chance to answer, someone else shouted out -

  ‘You set part of the story in London, mainly in Richmond, why was that? Do you have personal links to Richmond?’

  ‘No, I live in West –’

  ‘What do you think about the romantic erotica in which your book has become a bestseller? Is it a publishing one-year wonder, or is it here to stay?’

  ‘Why have you chosen the title, A Fair Affair?’

  Suzy looked at the journalists talking over each other. The conference was getting out of control. She looked at a fragile Vera, who was trying to speak but looked uncomfortable and tense. As more questions were thrown at Vera, Suzy decided that it was time to call it a day. She realized it was silly to get her to come here unprepared, and it was clear she needed time to learn how to deal with the press. Suzy hoped that Ed would not kick off if they rescheduled the conference for next week. But just as Suzy was about to brace herself and make some sort of statement to end the conference, she saw Vera slowly get up and raise her arms in the air to try to calm everyone down. It took a few seconds for everyone to understand that she wanted to speak. Suzy wondered nervously what Vera was going to do, or say.

  ‘I’d love to be able to tell you that I have a connection to Meredith, or even why I called her that. But in truth, I only remember going to Richmond once, and that was only a few days ago - although I’m certain that I must have been there before. You asked me about romantic erotica …’ She turned to one of the journalists. ‘Well, I don’t know anything about that, and the reason I can’t answer any of your questions, is that not too long after I wrote A Fair Affair I had an accident. And as a result, I have lost most of my recent memories and have amnesia.’

  Suzy sat in shock. Her mouth was open, but she didn’t speak. The whole room fell silent. Behind the scenes, some of the people who worked for the bookshop also stopped what they were doing and listened.

  ‘So, are there any other questions?’ asked Vera. ‘Preferably ones I can actually answer.’ Her voice was dominant and her tone confident.

  ‘Yes, ITC3, Ben Starr. You said that you now suffer from amnesia, what is it exactly that you don’t remember?’ he asked.

  ‘I don’t recall anything past a particular morning when I was seventeen,’ she answered flawlessly.

  ‘And after that?’ he asked.

  ‘After that only what happened after the accident.’

  ‘Who told you about the book?’ Another person stuck a microphone towards her.

  ‘Before the accident I sent the manuscript to Suzy, my agent. She read it and phoned my mother - who arranged for her to meet me in hospital.’

  ‘It must have been quite an experience to deal with the accident, your injurie
s, and find out that you have a written a book?’ yet another person asked.

  ‘It has been quite an experience, yes, but I’m surrounded by very supportive people, so I am dealing with it just fine,’ Vera smiled.

  ‘I suppose you have read the book since your accident? Why do you think you chose that title?’

  ‘It fits with the story and the characters,’ Vera replied. ‘If you read the book you will see why.’

  ‘What are you going to do now you’re a millionaire?’ another voice asked.

  Vera’s smile turned to laughter, and encouraged by the positive response from the crowd, she said, ‘I guess I’ll live as best I can. That’s all I want to do right now.’

  ‘And what’s your next book about? Your agent mentioned another project you are working on.’

  ‘I guess I will let my agent answer that for you,’ Vera said as all eyes turned to Suzy.

  ‘I’m afraid we’re under a strict confidentiality agreement from the publishers,’ explained Suzy, taken aback by the sudden attention, ‘so I can’t reveal anything just yet.’

  The manager of Dove’s suddenly appeared from behind the curtain and said, ‘I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got time for today. The event has come to an end. On behalf of UltraBook publishing, I thank you all for coming. As the store is now closed and the main doors have been locked, please make your way towards the door at the rear. Thank you again.’

  As people started getting up, Vera sat smiling next to Suzy behind the mahogany desk. She felt relieved and quite proud of herself. It has come down two this then - to come forward and tell them the truth, or completely disgrace herself and maybe be caught lying too. But what was good for her wasn’t necessarily good for the publishers. She wasn’t sure what Suzy’s reaction was either, and in the corner of her eye, she could see Suzy sitting next to her, completely silent.

  ‘Was it a disaster?’ whispered Vera, still looking ahead. She knew she was still being photographed. Besides, she wasn’t keen on seeing Suzy’s angry face and that, she realized, could well be on the cards.