The Bridesmaid's Secret

by Sophie Weston

  His voice was so unemotional, for a moment Annis did not think she had heard him correctly.

  He went on levelly, ‘That’s private. I don’t need to tell you that.’

  ‘No,’ she said, stunned. ‘Do you—I mean—who?’

  ‘An interesting question.’ Still no emotion.

  Annis thought of the legal structure of the company. She had gone through it with a fine-tooth comb only three months ago.

  ‘They must have someone inside. One of the partners,’ she said, thinking aloud.

  ‘Quite.’

  Her eyes flew to his face, remorseful. He had three partners, every one of them an old and trusted friend. If this thing was true, then it would be a betrayal of more than business ethics.

  ‘Oh, Gil, I’m so sorry,’ said Annis, distressed.

  He gave a barely perceptible shrug.

  ‘I can deal with it. I just need to get to New York without arousing the insider’s suspicions. I thought—if I said it was part of your analysis of my job but you needed to get it done before your wedding, I would have a sound reason for bringing forward my usual April trip to now.’

  ‘Camouflage,’ Annis said, enlightened.

  ‘Yes. Will you do it?’

  She hesitated. She had planned to stay in England until the wedding. There was so much to do.

  But Bella was in New York. Annis was pretty sure that if she talked to Bella face to face she could get her to change her mind. Maybe even get her to be a bridesmaid. She had not told Lynda yet that Bella had turned her down. Maybe this trip was a golden opportunity.

  ‘Yes,’ she said with sudden decisiveness. ‘When?’

  ‘This evening.’

  Annis gulped.

  ‘I’ve had Ellen book you a ticket,’ he said misunderstanding her reaction. ‘All you need is a passport and a toothbrush.’

  ‘And a briefcase if I’m to be any good as camouflage,’ said Annis tartly. She was recovering. ‘All right. But I’d better get moving.’

  She went out to his secretary.

  ‘Ellen, have you really got an air ticket for me?’

  His PA grinned. ‘And a car booked to take you back to London now and then on to Gatwick airport. And some dollar notes. And your hotel reservation in case you miss the flight. Thinks ahead, does Gil.’

  She fished out a package from under her desk.

  ‘High-handed,’ said Annis, ruffled.

  ‘I know,’ said Ellen, sighing. ‘Wasted on a computer, isn’t he? Tall, dark and handsome and all he thinks about is Watifdotcom. Never even made it to the Christmas party.’

  ‘Shame,’ said Annis absently. She looked at her watch. ‘Get that car round and I’ll be going. I’ve got people to talk to if I’m going to be on the plane to New York tonight.’

  But she was.

  And the next morning, in spite of jet lag and Gil’s impassive disapproval, her first call was at the uptown offices of Elegance Magazine.

  ‘Annie?’ said Bella incredulously on the house phone when the receptionist called up to the office. ‘Annie? It’s truly you? You’re here?’

  ‘In person. But I’ve got a meeting in a couple of hours. Could we have lunch?’

  ‘Sure. I’ll just grab my coat. Be down in five minutes.’

  It was nearer ten. In that time Bella had the chance to recover from her first surprised delight. She kissed Annis warmly enough but her manner was wary.

  Still, she took her by the arm and sped her along the slushy pavements to her favourite Italian restaurant.

  ‘Why didn’t you say you were coming when we spoke?’ said Bella when they were seated.

  ‘Didn’t know. I’m working for one of these do-it-now types. He sprang it on me.’

  ‘Doesn’t sound like you to let a man spring something on you.’

  ‘You don’t know Gil. He takes single-mindedness to a new plane.’

  ‘Hope it’s just single-mindedness about work,’ said Bella, trying to tease and, to her own ears, not quite managing it.

  Annis didn’t hear anything wrong though. She smiled. ‘Like I said, you don’t know Gil. If he has any feelings, which I doubt, he archived them a long time ago.’

  ‘Sounds a pain.’

  ‘No,’ said Annis. ‘No, he’s not a pain. He’s demanding and stimulating and huge fun to work for. He’s just single-minded, like I said.’

  ‘Single-minded about what?’

  ‘His work. Computers,’ said Annis, conscious of client confidentiality.

  ‘Oh.’ Computers bored Bella to tears. ‘What we call a dweeb, over here.’

  Annis gave a private smile, remembering Ellen. ‘His staff don’t think so.’

  But Bella was not interested in Annis’s client. After they’d ordered, she passed her sister under a quick, critical inspection and was pleased.

  ‘You’re looking good, Brain Box.’

  ‘Kosta’s influence,’ said Annis ruefully. ‘He’s cleared out my wardrobe.’

  ‘And he’s obviously taking care of you,’ said Bella approvingly.

  The pain almost went away when she remembered how happy Kosta Vitale made this dear, difficult sister of hers.

  ‘Yes. He certainly takes care of me.’

  When Annis smiled, all the love she felt, all the love she received shone out of her, thought Bella.

  ‘Good.’

  ‘Bella—’ But the waiter arrived with their food and whatever Annis was going to say evaporated under a hail of condiments and bottled water and wine.

  When he had gone, she said, ‘How are you, though? You look very smart. Beautiful as ever.’ The ‘but’ she did not say hung in the air.

  Bella knew what she meant.

  Only yesterday Bella had gone to the hair salon. Her blonde hair was sculpted into a shining helmet that hugged her elegant head, then feathered out over her shoulders. To the natural gold, Raul had added just a hint of streaking to give it depth and lightness, as he’d assured her. Her legs were still perfect and her figure enough to bring out any red-blooded man in a sweat of lust. But Bella knew, and Annis would see, that she was thinner than she had been. A lot thinner. Her shoulders looked as fragile as bird’s bones under the elegant little top. And the moment she stopped talking her face, reflected in the tall mirror behind Annis, was drawn.

  ‘I’m adjusting,’ she said carefully. ‘It can be a bit stressful.’

  ‘I can see that,’ said Annis, equally careful. ‘What’s your boss like?’

  Bella’s face suddenly creased into its irresistible gamine grin. ‘Impressed. For the first time in her life, apparently.’

  Annis grinned back. ‘Oh? You must have been writing like an angel.’

  ‘Nothing to do with me. It’s all down to you.’

  ‘Explain,’ said Annis, entertained.

  ‘Well Caruso never wanted this exchange thing. She doesn’t like trainees or foreigners and foreigners begin in New Jersey. But she just loves high-achievers. You and Dad have done it for me.’

  ‘Me?’ echoed Annis, genuinely taken aback.

  ‘The consultancy got a name check in the Wall Street Journal. Caruso saw it and asked me if that was my sister. So I said yes and basked in your reflected glory.’ Bella chuckled at Annis’s expression. ‘We don’t only read about fashion and film stars, you know. Caruso has a regular feature, millionaire of the month. Carry on the way you’re going, and I’ll get you a slot.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Annis.

  Bella laughed aloud.

  ‘No, I haven’t got the influence yet. But I’m getting there. Caruso has given me a piece to write about what it’s like starting out in New York. It’s called New In Town. It’s in the April edition. I’ll send you a copy.’

  ‘I’ll buy it.’

  ‘No need to go that far. I know you never read anything but the financial press.’

  ‘I told you, Kosta’s educating me.’

  Bella flinched. She could not help it. The name came out of nowhere and she was not ready
for it.

  Fortunately Annis was concentrating on her fettucini and did not notice.

  ‘I shall expect fan mail, then,’ said Bella after a minimal pause. Her amusement did not even sound forced, she congratulated herself.

  ‘Count on it.’ Annis stirred her pasta absently. ‘Bella, look, I don’t want to interfere with your job, of course I don’t, but my wedding—’

  Bella braced herself. But Annis was talking more to herself than she was to Bella.

  ‘I don’t know what’s happening. You know that we wanted it to be really small, just immediate family and a couple of friends. But I keep bumping into people who tell me they’re coming, though I haven’t asked them and neither has Kosta. And we’re getting wedding presents from people I haven’t seen for twenty years.’ Her voice rose. ‘Lynda says everything’s fine, she’s got it all under control, but she doesn’t listen to me. I don’t know what to do.’ She looked up then, her face pinched. ‘When I said I need you, I wasn’t joking.’

  Bella stared at her, horrified.

  Suddenly she was swamped by memory. Annis was not the cool-suited businesswoman who’d impressed Rita Caruso any more. She was the Annis who had climbed up to get Bella out of the apple tree when she’d been stuck; the Annis who was scared of heights and clumsy with it, but who had still told Bella to stop crying and not look down; the Annis who had got her back on the ground and then had been violently and noisily sick. Anxious and determined and scared but still the Annis who did not give up just because she didn’t think she could do it.

  How could Bella let her down?

  Yet how could she not? Surely the best thing for Annis was for Bella to stay away from the man they were both in love with. Annis was going to marry him, after all. Only Bella could not say that she was in love with him, not ever, not out loud. Annis must never know.

  ‘Oh, Annie.’ She groaned.

  ‘I mean, if you can’t come over until the wedding, that’s fine. I can moan to you down the phone. Or email, like you said. Just as long as I know you’re part of it. That you’ll be there on the day.’

  Bella felt as if she were being torn apart.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said wretchedly. ‘It’s so damn complicated…’

  ‘Can we at least talk about it?’ said Annis.

  ‘We are talking.’

  ‘I mean properly. Without you looking at your watch every minute. This evening. What are you doing after work?’

  Bella pulled a face. ‘Taking some honoured visitors on the town. I’m supposed to be the best in the department on the guided tour of the Big Apple.’

  ‘Oh.’ Annis was disappointed but not defeated. She fished in her shoulder bag and brought out a typed sheet. ‘Let’s see.’

  She scanned it.

  ‘What is that?’ said Bella, recoiling.

  ‘My timetable. My client’s idea. When I told him I was coming to see you, he gave me the day’s itinerary, so I could catch up with him if I got delayed anywhere.’

  Bella was revolted. ‘The dweeb,’ she said. ‘Could he also be a control freak by any chance?’

  Her sister smiled. ‘He thinks ahead.’ She went back to the list. ‘Dinner, venture capitalists, blah blah blah. No, that won’t do. Hey, what about this? Hombre y Mujer Club, ten-thirty.’

  ‘If you try and talk at Hombre y Mujer you’ll get burst eardrums,’ said Bella.

  ‘We don’t have to talk there. Just meet. Then I could come back to your place and we could thrash this thing through.’

  That gives me ten hours to find an excuse she’ll believe, thought Bella. Just great.

  She said, ‘Fine. I’ll see you there. Now tell me all the gossip.’

  And, recognising that she had won a battle, if not the war, Annis allowed herself to be diverted.

  Bella kept the conversation light and away from weddings for the rest of lunch but she knew that the evening was going to be heavy. Everyone noticed how silent she was all afternoon. She still teased the post boy, and was merciless with Sally coming back from a fashion shoot with orange sequins on her cheekbones. But her heart wasn’t in it.

  ‘You in love, English?’ asked Sally, handing her a revised production schedule.

  Bella pulled a face. ‘All the time.’

  But Sally had a suspicion she wasn’t joking.

  ‘Doesn’t he like you taking the Japanese on the town tonight? They can get possessive these love-of-your-life types.’

  Bella just shook her head and laughed. But Sally noticed in the mirror that as soon as she turned away Bella’s laughter died. The only thing that cheered her up, perversely, was a message from her sister that she was feeling too ill to join her at the club, after all. Bella was concerned, of course she was, but Sally saw she was relieved too.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she said, calling Annis back at her hotel.

  ‘Something I ate, I expect. Plus jet lag. I’ll be better tomorrow. Can we meet tomorrow night?’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Bella, resigned. ‘Sure.’

  But she went to the club anyway. The Japanese had been enthusiastic when offered a Latin beat and Hombre y Mujer was one of the classier venues. It was new, with some great music and a terrific sprung floor. The décor wasn’t bad either and the food—if you wanted food—was as hot and spicy as the Cuban beat. A lot of professional dancers went there as well as a lot of Latin Americans. The well-heeled Manhattan crowd had not really found it yet. As a result, said Paco the proprietor, the dancing was as good as you got outside Rio or Havana.

  And tonight, thought Bella, she could really dance out her demons. She needed to. She had not felt as desperate as this since the night she never, ever, thought about. The night that had left her with a secret that burned into her soul. A secret she was never going to be able to share. Because Annis was the person she shared her secrets with. Annis was her best friend. And this secret would ensure that friendship ended for ever.

  That was why she locked it away. Never looked at it. Went on with her life, just a little damaged, just a little wary. And very, very alone. But alone was all right, Bella told herself. She could handle alone.

  So she fluffed out her hair, shook out her shoulders, and sashayed out onto the dance floor.

  The hell with tomorrow. Tonight the demons were going back in the box.

  CHAPTER TWO

  WHEN Gil walked into the club, it was already buzzing. He shouldered his way past the queue and nodded to the bouncer on the door.

  ‘Good evening.’ His clipped English accent was very pronounced. ‘Paco is expecting me.’

  ‘Oh, yeah. Professor,’ said the bouncer, trying the word out as if it was the first time he had said it in his life. ‘He said to go on up. First landing, door marked Private.’

  He held the heavy door open for him. Gil ran up the stairs.

  Paco was in his office, sitting at an impressive desk, for all the world like a captain of industry. But when Gil rapped on the door and pushed it open, Paco leaped to his feet and rushed forward like the enthusiastic freshman he had once been.

  ‘Gil! Great to see you!’ Paco embraced him, then held him at arm’s length. ‘What’s with the suit? You look serious.’

  ‘And you look like a pirate,’ said Gil, taking in the tight black head scarf and a single earring. He was taken aback.

  Paco grinned. ‘Image. Just like they used to tell us in college. Marketing is everything.’

  They went way back, he and Gil. They had met in the days when they’d waited tables and had driven delivery trucks to pay their way through college. Paco had graduated from waiter via barman to nightclub owner and, these days, music entrepreneur.

  Gil prowled round the room, inspecting huge signed photographs and a couple of framed disks.

  ‘You’ve certainly made your MBA pay for itself.’

  ‘You, too, from what I hear.’

  Gil swung round neatly. ‘What do you hear?’ He rapped the words out.

  Paco looked surprised at the tone. ‘Only w
hat was in the old alumni newsletter. Your company develops cutting-edge research software. That’s what it said.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Oh, I see. We’re talking industrial espionage. That’s what you’re doing in New York, isn’t it?’

  Gil flung himself down in a chair. ‘Am I that transparent? I must have made it so damned easy—’ He broke off. His jaw was as tight as a vice.

  Paco looked alarmed. ‘Hey, I’m just making social conversation here. What’s wrong?’

  Gil looked at him for a frowning moment. Then, quite suddenly, he shrugged.

  ‘My famed judgement of people,’ he said in a hard voice. ‘It’s struck again.’

  ‘Ah,’ said Paco after the slightest pause.

  ‘Yes,’ said Gil, answering his unspoken comment. ‘I suppose you thought Rosemary Valieri had taught me all there was to know about duplicitous women? You were wrong.’ He sounded savage.

  ‘Oh, it’s a woman, is it? The English chick you were supposed to bring tonight?’

  ‘No.’ Gil dismissed Annis with a shake of the head. ‘My marketing director. The first non-specialist I brought in. She’s been with us since the start. I thought she was a friend.’

  Paco looked at him with a good deal of sympathy. ‘Happens to all of us.’

  ‘We all thought she was a friend. She’s betrayed the whole team.’

  ‘Can you sort it?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Gil with cold fury. ‘I only have to divert my attention from important stuff. Work my butt off getting additional funding. Spend hours with corporate lawyers. Lie.’

  Paco was amused. ‘That’s what makes business a fun world.’

  ‘I trusted her.’

  ‘Big mistake.’ Paco gave him a beer. ‘But we all do it. Don’t beat yourself up.’

  ‘She’s got some big investors moving in to take over the company. I only found out who today. And how they’re going to do it.’

  ‘Bad. But you’re sure you can handle it?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Gil. He showed his teeth. ‘Oh, yes.’

  Paco was briefly sorry for the unknown marketing director. ‘If anyone can, you can. You were always the most focused guy in the class. Wish you luck, buddy.’ He took a swig of his own beer. ‘Now, what do you want to do? Stick around or go back to the hotel to wheel and deal?’