“It’s a technology company, and the share price is rock bottom,” Clara said.
“OK. But is that all? What do they do?”
“Technology things,” Clara said, irritated.
Ella rolled her eyes. “I’m going to call them and find out. We can’t write a realistic document if we don’t know anything about the company.” Ella walked off to use the telephone.
When Ella had collected more information, she and Virginia worked on the report for several hours. By the time they had finished it sounded realistic enough for them almost to believe it themselves.
“This is great. Fantastic. I just know it’s going to work.” Virginia had perked up.
“Clara, let’s get a bottle of champagne – you know, to celebrate,” Ella suggested.
Virginia and Clara nearly fell off their chairs at Ella’s unexpected burst of enthusiasm.
“I’ve got one in the fridge.” Clara smiled. She went for the bottle via the bathroom.
“How do we get this to your guys?” Virginia asked.
“I’ll fax it tomorrow and they’ll get it back to me in a couple of days,” Ella had already made the arrangements for the forgery.
“How much will it cost?” Virginia asked.
‘don’t worry, it’s on me,” Ella said.
“Thanks.”
“No problem,” Ella couldn’t figure out why she was being so nice, but she felt nice.
Clara returned with the champagne and white powder stuck to the end of her nose. The other two tried to ignore it. “What about timing?” she asked.
“OK. We get the document back in a couple of days. Can we arrange for Josh to meet Isabelle at the club on Friday?” Ella said.
“Don’t see why not. You’ll have to go to ensure that they meet,” Clara said.
“Why me?”
“Because I don’t want to see the man I like seducing someone else. You won’t have that problem and you know Virginia can’t go. You need to make sure that Isabelle doesn’t see you and Josh together. If she does she might get suspicious.”
“OK. Fair point. I haven’t been to the place since you-know-when and I’ll try to make sure she doesn’t see me. I’ll point her out to Josh and he can speak to her. Maybe he should ask her for a game of squash. If he asks her out straight away, it’ll sound obvious.”
“Yeah, that should work.”
“Can Josh play squash?” Virginia asked.
“I haven’t a clue. I’ll call him.”
Ella lit a cigarette. She had never thought that so much detail would be involved in the plans.
Clara came back and announced he was a good squash player. Again, they relaxed.
“Clara, if this messes up your relationship, then I’m sorry,” Virginia said.
Clara looked at her. “It won’t. I would have messed it up anyway.”
“Clara, I think you and Josh will work out,” Ella said.
“What makes you say that?” Clara asked.
“Just a feeling.” Ella was beginning to sound like Jackie.
“Shit!” Clara screamed.
“What?” Virginia asked.
“I invited him round to dinner tomorrow night.”
“So?” Ella asked.
“I can’t fucking cook,” Clara said. The others burst out laughing.
“It’s not funny! I said I’d make him dinner – I can’t give him a takeaway.” Clara was stricken.
“It’s OK. I’ll cook for you,” Virginia offered.
“Really? Can you cook?” Clara asked.
“I’m not bad. Have you got any recipe books?” Clara shook her head.
“Look, as a thank-you for what you’ve arranged for Isabelle, how about I come round tomorrow morning and we’ll go shopping? Then I’ll help you to make it perfect.” Virginia was red but she was holding herself together.
“Virginia, you’re a star. You can cook something fantastic and we can put the finishing touches to the plan together. In a couple of weeks, phase one might be complete.”
Chapter Twenty
As Clara and Virginia pushed a trolley around the supermarket, they looked an odd couple. Virginia was wearing her usual uniform of jeans and a patterned jumper. Her short hair sat on her head like a hat and her awkward movements made her look as if she was still at school. Clara was wearing tight black trousers and a cropped pale blue cashmere jumper. A pair of designer sunglasses sat on her head and she clipped around the supermarket in high-heeled suede boots.
“Where do you buy your clothes?” Clara asked, as Virginia piled fresh vegetables and herbs into the trolley.
“What?” Virginia blushed.
“You should think about updating your wardrobe. I’ll help,” Clara offered.
“Thanks, but I don’t have money for clothes.”
“Well, what do you spend it on? You don’t do anything.”
“I just lost my job, in case you’d forgotten.” Virginia moved on to the meat counter.
“I hadn’t. I just wondered why you only seem to have one pair of out-of-date jeans and a number of horrific sweaters.” Clara now knew why she never went to supermarkets: she was bored out of her mind.
“Does he eat lamb?”
“I don’t know. I guess so.”
Virginia picked out a joint.
“What are you going to cook? By the looks of my trolley not pasta and sauce.”
“Lamb with rosemary and a mint sauce, baby new potatoes and baby vegetables. That’ll be the main course. For starters, you’re having fresh watercress soup. For dessert, cheese. OK?”
“Well, it all sounds a bit ordinary, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, but he’s a man and men like roasts. And you can’t cook so if I produce something complicated you’ll be stuck for ever. Roasts are simple, but done well they’re delicious. And don’t forget, I’ll cook the meal but I can’t stay to dish it up. I’ll leave you the instructions.”
“Good point. God, Virginia, where did you learn about men?”
“From Noel. He loved my roasts. And this isn’t the sort of Sunday-dinner roast. This is a nice roast. The meat will be sliced thinly and decorated with herbs. And I’ll make the soup.”
“OK. Sounds good, not that I eat much anyway. So Noel, he was the ex, was he?”
“Yes.”
“The Bible-bashing virgin who liked roasts.”
“Yes.” Virginia did her best not to get upset by Clara.
“Was he good-looking?”
“He was all right. He was tall and slim with dark hair, but he had glasses on which were always too big for his face.” Virginia had often wanted to tell Noel he should get new glasses but had never found the words.
“Sounds divine. It’s probably a good job you didn’t sleep with him. Did you do other things?”
“Like what?”
“You know hand jobs, blowjobs and pussy-licking. That sort of thing.”
“None of your business.” Virginia blushed and Clara laughed.
“OK, let’s go get some booze.”
When the trolley was stacked high with wine and champagne, they finally made their way to the checkout.
“Do you have a loyalty card?” The girl at the checkout asked Clara as she handed over her credit card.
“I don’t do supermarkets,” Clara replied. The girl looked at Virginia who shrugged.
Back at the flat, Virginia started to make the soup and Clara sat on the sofa reading a magazine. That was how Ella found them.
“I see you’ve got her slaving in the kitchen,” Ella said.
“She offered,” Clara replied.
“I know, but you could help.”
“I went to the bloody supermarket, didn’t I?”
Ella sat down. “I faxed the document and it’ll be ready in a day or two. We probably won’t have it for Josh’s first meeting with Isabelle, but that’s just the introduction, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll make sure Josh knows what he has to do over dinner ton
ight. You’ll meet him on Friday.”
Virginia appeared. “Everything’s under control,” she announced.
“She’s so fucking organised,” Clara groaned.
“You OK?” Ella asked. Virginia nodded. “So, what now?”
“Well, my cleaner must be sick because she hasn’t been this week. I don’t suppose you two could help me get this place clean, could you?” Clara suggested.
Ella looked sharply at Clara. She was the type of person who always got everyone else to do things for her. However, she had come through with the details for the plan that had eluded Ella. She felt she owed her.
“Sure,” they both said.
Ella was helping Clara clean the bedroom when she came across a vanity case filled with wraps of white powder.
“Your coke stash, I take it,” Ella said.
Clara snatched it off her.
“How much have you got in there?”
“Look, I don’t take that much. Tim gave me most of this.”
“So he gave you cocaine as well as everything else.”
“I think he thought that if he kept me high I wouldn’t be able to work.”
“Really?”
“When I started working hard, he gave me more and more coke.”
“How much do you use?”
“Not much.”
“Really?” Ella raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, really. Now, how do you put a duvet cover on?”
The flat was cleaned, the dinner was cooking and Virginia wrote out instructions for Clara before they left. “Have fun,” she said, and Clara watched them go.
“I suppose one of us has to,” Ella said, feeling lonely.
“Ella,” Virginia said.
“Yes?”
“What are you doing now?”
“Going home, I guess.”
“I don’t suppose you want some company? It’s just that, well, being alone is hard at the moment.” Virginia was nervous about saying what she felt, but she finished the sentence.
“I tell you what, come to mine and we’ll have pasta for dinner. Not quite the feast you whipped up for the queen in there, but it’s better than nothing.” Ella was torn between wanting to reach out to Virginia and wanting to push her away. She felt sorry for her, but she didn’t particularly like her. However, she didn’t particularly like herself.
“Thanks,” Virginia said.
***
They sat in Ella’s living room drinking red wine.
‘this is a great flat,” Virginia said.
“I know, but it’s so big,” Ella said apologetically.
“Compared to my shoebox.”
Compared to most flats in London. Great views, though.
“Look.” Ella led Virginia over to the window from where she could see the river all lit up.
“It’s lovely,” Virginia said.
“I know, but it’s so City. Shall I tell you something?” Virginia nodded. “When I got this job, I tried so hard to become a stereotype – I guess I thought it would stop people finding out. I bought this with my second bonus. I’d already bought the fast car and a wardrobe of pinstripe suits. I worked out in the gym with a trainer recommended to me by the HR woman. I mean, how sad is that?”
“You wanted to fit in,” Virginia said.
“I certainly did. But you know what everyone thinks about the City? They think it’s full of pinstripes and Porsches. But it’s more than that. I loved the atmosphere, the buzz, the sheer excitement of making money, the frustration of losing it. It was more than fitting in. I took that to extremes, but I loved my job.”
“I know,” Virginia said.
“How?” Ella asked.
“I can hear it in your voice. I hated my job, and you know why. But I was about to get a job as a salesperson, my lifelong ambition. I wanted it for the same reasons you did, but I didn’t get it. Well, I nearly did, but I guess that doesn’t count, does it?”
“It does. I don’t know how we can have something in common, but I guess we just found it.”
“I know you think I’m boring. I think so too,” Virginia said.
“I don’t,” Ella said, but not convincingly.
“Never be a lawyer, Ella, you’re no good at lying.”
“Virginia, was that almost a joke you cracked there?” They both laughed and went to make food.
By the time Virginia went home, she felt a lot better. And, for reasons she would never be able to explain, so did Ella.
***
Clara decided she loved Virginia. The food smelt divine and her step-by-step guide put Delia Smith to shame. When Josh turned up, Clara had changed into a sexy dress, she had put on her best underwear and had had a couple of lines of cocaine with a large vodka. She felt like a Girl Guide: she was prepared.
When Josh arrived, she almost fell apart just looking at him. She pulled herself together. “I hope you’re hungry,” she said, as he kissed her.
“Starving,” he replied, and pinched her bottom.
“Sit,” she commanded, and went to get the champagne. “How did you find that company so quickly?” she asked, as she poured it into two glasses.
“Luck. My friend was talking about it in the office that morning. He’ll go mad if he knows I’ve told you, but I thought it through and I don’t see how anyone can ever find out.”
“Of course they won’t. And if they do I’ll tell them I seduced it out of you.”
“The judge would probably believe that. I should have held out for more seducing.”
“I’m cooking you dinner, aren’t I?”
“Yes, I was rather surprised. What are we having?”
“Wait and see,” Clara couldn’t resist kissing his champagne lips before they sat at the dining-table.
Ella had set the table saying that she had been a waitress in a past life. She had made it look lovely with candles and flowers.
“I’m impressed. You make better girlfriend material every second,” Josh said, tasting the soup. “God, this is divine. How did you make it?”
“Secret recipe,” Clara blushed. Josh was about the only person who could make her blush.
“I’ll drink to that.” They had white wine with the soup, red wine with the main course, and although Clara didn’t eat much, Josh devoured it all. After cheese then more champagne, they settled together on the sofa.
“I need to talk more about the plan,” Clara said.
“You haven’t decided to abandon phase two?”
“No, you said you’d do this, Josh, you have to.”
“OK. You win, I’ll do it.” Josh was still smiling, but he was confused. He hadn’t expected to fall for Clara so heavily, but he had the minute he saw her again. He had been a bit tired of her before: she loved partying and she was so silly and immature. At the same time, he was going through women like they were about to go out of fashion. No one had held his interest for long, but now Clara seemed more grown-up and even more beautiful.
“You’re going to Ella’s fitness club on Friday with Ella. She’ll point Isabelle out. You need to talk to her at some point, so look sexy. She’ll be playing squash and you should ask her if she’d like a game with you some time. Then you arrange it. That’s all you need to do at this stage.”
“Right, even I can manage that. What if she tells me to piss off?”
“Josh, has a woman ever told you to piss off?”
“No.”
“Well, then. After you play squash you ask her to dinner and then you get her back to your flat. Don’t forget to talk about your work all night, tell her how much information you’re privy to. But we can discuss that nearer the time. I can’t decide whether you should have two dates with her or just one. Um, what do you think?”
“Whatever. Clara, can we talk about us now?”
“No, but you can kiss me.” Clara never felt this good with any other man.
Josh wanted her to stop playing games and admit that she felt the way he did. He knew she would and he would wait. Sh
e was worth it.
Chapter Twenty-one
Virginia woke the next morning and did what she had been putting off. She wrote a letter to her parents and another to Susie, her pen friend, explaining what had happened. In Susie’s letter she kept the details brief. She told her that the e-mails would have to stop for now, but she promised to be in touch when she sorted herself out. She didn’t want Susie to respond, partly because she knew that for the first time in their relationship Susie wouldn’t understand, and also because Susie’s life was normal and hers was anything but. Her parents’ letter was more difficult. For once, she told them everything, Isabelle, the fateful order, the new job, and she tried to convey the unfairness of the situation. She knew what their response would be, but she hoped deep down that they might be just a tiny bit sympathetic. She vowed that if she were ever a parent, she would always be proud of her children.
She hadn’t arranged to meet the others that day – they were all having a day off— and she was unsure of how to fill the hours. She felt the emptiness of losing her job even more. Although she felt closer to Ella, she was almost glad of a break from Clara. Her sniping hurt, and she knew she should fight back like Ella did, but she didn’t know how. Virginia just took everything thrown at her.
***
Ella woke up and went for a run. She found that now she didn’t go to the gym she missed the exercise. She ran along the river and back, picking up a copy of the Financial Times. As she read, she felt pangs of regret and sadness. After her shower, she settled down with a cup of tea and her latest romantic novel.
***
Clara woke at midday to find another note from Josh on the pillow next to hers. She smiled at the memory of last night then tried to put it out of her mind. She took a shower, dressed and made some coffee. She sat thinking about Josh for most of the afternoon. At four the telephone rang and interrupted her daydreams.
“Hello.”
“Clara, it’s me.”
Clara’s heart fell a million miles. “Tim?” she whispered.
“Yes, of course. Clara, I need to talk to you.”
“So talk.”
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