Looks Unimportant...Sense of Humour Essential

by Evie Evans

  This could be a long day. She was looking for the perfect dress, one that would make people forget there wasn’t someone standing next to her but she’d settle for something that didn’t make her look like a Barbie doll. She wandered round for another hour dodging assistants before spotting something with potential. She allowed the assistant to get her size and lead her to a changing room. It was perfect. Or as near perfect as she was going to get anytime soon. It would need a little adjustment to incorporate her bosom but the assistant assured her they could provide that service.

  “We have lots of fabulous accessories that will go with this dress as well,” the assistant told her excitedly, dragging her round showing her various items. “This throw, oh, what about this necklace and bracelet? This fascinator for your hair would look good too?” Lucy drew the line at that one. “This bag picks out the colour of the dress perfectly.”

  “Of course you don’t stock the accessory I really need,” she couldn’t resist pointing out. “A date”. The assistant responded with laughter that quickly turned to pity. Lucy wished she’d kept her mouth shut.

  Leaving the shop a few hundred pounds lighter (lucky these weddings didn’t happen often), Lucy was glad to be able to tick that one off her list. It still left a large omission though - no date (lucky these weddings didn’t happen often). She was officially giving up on Simon, it had been more than a week now. She couldn’t help dwelling on him though, they’d only had one date but he’d been emailing her for a while before then. What had gone wrong? The not knowing was the worst part. Was it something she’d done or had something happened?

  *

  It was still playing on her mind when she went back to work on Monday. She was just thinking she could google him, imagining she’d find he’d been in a terrible accident, when she was interrupted by the phone ringing.

  “How’s my little Perry Mason then?” her father’s voice came down the line.

  Damn she’d promised to phone him the night before and forgotten. “Hi Dad, sorry I forget to ring last night. How’re things?”

  “Not bad, choc chip. Your Uncle Frank crashed his car again. Don’t worry, he’s okay. It was more of a prang really. Silly old bugger. Probably singing along to the radio again. I keep telling him not to tune it in to Kerrang FM. He’s far too old to be listening to that headbanger stuff. Well he did bang his head this time I suppose,” he joked.

  “Ha, ha.” She often thought listening to his tales from home was better than a soap opera. For a small town there always seemed to be something going on. Occasionally she wondered if he made some of it up.

  “What have you been up to? Nabbed any big criminals?”

  “That’s the police Dad, I’m a lawyer. Lawyers only capture bad guys in t.v. programmes.”

  “Oh, well I expect you’ve been up to some exciting stuff there in the big smoke.”

  Lucy thought about that for a moment. She didn’t think envying someone else’s love life counted as exciting stuff. True, she had almost been on a date with a millionaire, until he’d decided it was a mistake. That wasn’t really a story she wanted to share with her dad. “Not much,” she told him in the end.

  “How’s the big case going?” He’d been almost as excited about it as her when she’d told him.

  “Good, ticking along. Looks like we might be able to settle it soon.”

  “But then you won’t get your day in court.” He sounded disappointed.

  “It’s better for the client that way.”

  “I was looking forward to seeing you in action. Your Uncle Frank reckons the court’s open to the public so we could come and watch you.”

  Lucy nearly dropped her coffee cup. She thought the world of her dad, and his brother Frank had been like a second parent to her after her mum died all those years ago, but under no circumstances could she cope with them cheering her on from the back of the courtroom. She made a mental note not to reveal the date if it ever got to court. “That’s so sweet. I don’t know if I could concentrate if I knew you were there though.”

  “Well we’ll see. I ran into Aunty Suzi today.”

  “Oh?” Lucy knew the next bit was going to be about the wedding. She braced herself.

  “Yeah, she was going on about who you’re bringing, you know how nosy she is. I said I didn’t know, you’re too busy for a boyfriend with your high-flying career.”

  “Thanks Dad.”

  “I don’t see what it matters if you come on your own. Frank and I are going on our own and nobody’s going on about that.”

  She smiled. Her dad was so sweet sometimes. “I haven’t decided what I’m doing yet.” For that read I’m still trying to talk someone into coming with me, she thought. “Remember to get your suit cleaned though, remind Uncle Frank too. I’ll be conducting an inspection when I come home the weekend before the wedding.”

  “Well just you remember Uncle Frank and I will be happy to escort you.”

  “And I’m sure you’ll be the handsomest men there, thank you.”

  She’d be happy going to the wedding with them but she knew how it would look to Aunty Suzi and her family, like she was a dateless failure. Again. Could she help it if she was always in between boyfriends when big family dos came up? Okay, so she’d only ever had four boyfriends and the longest had lasted three months but she was trying. What was wrong with being single anyway? Having a boyfriend wasn’t the be-all and end-all. Unfortunately Aunty Suzi didn’t see it that way. It had become something of a running joke to her and that side of the family – single girl coming through, watch out. Just this once she wanted to prove them wrong.

  Problem was, she hadn’t got a date and the chances were getting slimmer and slimmer as time wore on. She began thinking about whether she could invent a really bad illness. Something contagious that would mean she couldn’t go – chicken pox? Measles? Could she get away with it? She didn’t want to go to the stupid wedding anyway, it was only because she was obliged to go, because it was family. Damn families, they were enough to drive a person potty.

  *

  When Katy Tower’s signed statement arrived a couple of days later Katherine allowed her to draft the letter to Mr Lincoln’s solicitor with their evidence that Mr Brooke had not been with his wife on the dates specified.

  “Hopefully that’ll be the end of the matter,” she told Lucy as she approved the wording and signed it.

  “Hopefully,” Lucy agreed. Having a big client hadn’t been as great as she thought. Instead of hitting the big time, it had merely shown her how small her world was and thrown her into the company of a man who knew about her internet dating and had stood her up. Sort of.

  “Good job on the letter,” Katherine told her as she handed it back for Lucy to copy before sending off. “You summed up the key points nicely. If that doesn’t get them I don’t know what will.”

  “Thanks.” Working with Katherine had been something positive to come out of it. Supportive and helpful, she’d been a good role model for Lucy and she liked to think they were becoming friends.

  Lucy had noticed a buzz seemed to be going round the office again that morning. Through the glass panel in Katherine’s office she could see a small gaggle of secretaries had formed by the coffee machine and were whispering excitedly.

  “What’s going on now? Have we lost another big case?” she asked Katherine.

  Katherine put her pen down and smiled at her. “No. Competition between law firms has reached a new high, the partners are resorting to greater and greater measures to keep clients. Wining and dining has been taken to a new height.”

  Lucy thought Katherine was sounding quite mysterious. “Like what?”

  “Senior partners have shelled out for a box at the opera. A select few of the most profitable clients will be invited. I’ve heard legal secretaries are actually volunteering to serve canapes.”

  “That good is it?”

  “Don’t know, never been.”

  “Can’t say it appeals to me that much. I
don’t even get to the theatre very often.”

  “Oh, we saw a great play the other week–” Katherine started but was interrupted by Mr Knowles sticking his head round her door.

  “Oh I’m glad I caught you,” he told them. “We’ve just heard Mr Brooke has accepted our invitation to the opera so you’ll be expected to attend naturally.”

  Lucy and Katherine looked at each other. Which one of them was he talking to? Lucy dropped a silent prayer for it not to be her. Spend an evening entertaining a playboy client, presumably having to dress up to the nines (in a dress she wouldn’t have by the way), watching some warblers? No thank you.

  “That’s okay is it, Katherine? As his lawyer you’ll need to be there,” Mr Knowles continued.

  Lucy breathed easy.

  “Oh, of course,” Katherine replied, stumbling on the words and not looking too thrilled. “I’d be honoured,” she lied.

  “Good we’ll sort out the details later.”

  Katherine turned to her after Mr Knowles had left. “Being a partner sometimes sucks.” Lucy nodded sympathetically. “But don’t tell anyone I said that,” Katherine quickly added.

  As Lucy walked back to her own office she decided she wasn’t going to argue. Her life seemed to really suck at the moment too. The weeks of failed dating attempts were taking their toll. Yes she had a date with ‘legaleagle’ lined up but she didn’t have high hopes for him. She’d felt quite optimistic at the start of the dating process but it had been systematically chipped away over the last few weeks. Now she was feeling a left on the shelf reject, something her family would love to see at the wedding.

  The morning ritual of checking for new messages was becoming more and more demoralising as the amount of interest in her online dropped. She’d just found there were no messages again that morning as she looked through the morning papers. She tore through the pages of the newspaper she was holding roughly, so fast she almost missed an article about Mr Brooke on the business pages. A photo of him at the opening of a new bar so he was obviously back from his trip. She couldn’t see Torey Lincoln’s name anywhere so that was alright.

  Reception buzzed through. A Mr Brooke was here and would like to see her.

  Oh hell, what was he doing here? Checking up on her progress? She rushed to smooth her hair and check her makeup, wishing she’d put on the green blouse this morning. Did she have time to find her lipstick? Stopping she gave herself a mental slap. What was she doing running around for this guy? Pulling herself together she sat back calmly behind her desk.

  Deciding it would be better if she looked busy she grabbed a report from the pile in her in-tray and was trying to look studious when he knocked on her door. At the last moment she remembered the paper open at his photo and quickly folded it away.

  9 Personal visit

  Of course it was Janice that showed him in.

  “Your husband’s here,” she announced loudly as she opened Lucy’s office door.

  “Janice, I’m not married,” Lucy pointed out leaping up, her face turning pink. Mr Brooke behind her looked bemused.

  “Sorry, your fiancée. Don’t want to jump the gun do we?”

  “I do apologise,” Lucy told him as Janice left, shutting the door behind her. “She’s obviously mixing me up with my colleague who got engaged last week.”

  “Obviously.”

  “I hope you had a successful time in Geneva?” Lucy asked trying not to look like she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. Her office, not the biggest anyway, suddenly felt a lot smaller with Mr Brooke in it. His presence seemed to fill the whole space, touching everything.

  “Thank you,” he said as he sat down. “Do you always read upside down?”

  “What?” Now she saw she was holding the report upside down. “Some of the footnotes go round the page,” she explained quickly, thinking on her feet. She hid it under a pile of paperwork.

  “What can I do for you Mr Brooke?” He was looking a bit casual today in an open neck shirt which just revealed a tantalising peak of dark hair and tanned chest. She looked away from it.

  “I was in the area and just wanted to check where we are with this case. I’d like to nip it in the bud as soon as possible and avoid any more adverse publicity. It’s not good for my business.”

  “Of course. I’ll just give Katherine a buzz.”

  He held up his hand. “Tell me where we are first. If there’s no news there’s no point dragging her in as well. I wanted to check how it went with…the girls.”

  Lucy rolled her eyes. “When you say it like that it sounds like a harem.”

  “Now you’re talking. I see where I’ve been going wrong all these years, I need to set up a harem. I might even find a place for you in it,” he joked.

  “After speaking to your ‘girls’ I don’t think I’m qualified. Besides I’m far too argumentative,” she reminded him.

  “I forgot. So you’ve spoken to them?” he asked.

  “Yes, they all confirmed you were with them on the dates in question.”

  “And are they ready to swear to that?”

  He was wearing that aftershave again, she’d noticed it in his office before. Something spicy, musky, and very sexy. She caught her breath. Concentrate. “The PR ladies weren’t keen. They were a bit worried about being caught up in the media. I’m sure you’d be able to persuade them though. By the way, a couple of them wanted to be remembered to you, although how you’d forget them I can’t imagine.”

  “Well, when you’re as busy as I am…”

  “Naturally. Anyway, everything is on track. I got sworn statements from the London based ones and one sent over from Katy Towers. The evidence has gone to his lawyer. The witness statements may make him change his claim.”

  “That’s good. It all seems to be in capable hands.”

  Was that a compliment? Lucy was surprised and annoyed to feel a little pleased by this. “The Daily Herald have retracted,” she continued, “and I’m monitoring the papers on a daily basis to ensure no more stories appear.” Even to her ears it sounded quite impressive. “We’re waiting to hear the other side’s next move. It could be a day, a week, a month. There’s no saying with these things.”

  “I see.” He seemed to ponder the implications of this for a few moments.

  Lucy glanced at her phone. She should really let Katherine know he was here but would Mr Brooke think she couldn’t cope on her own?

  “So how’s the love life?” he asked out of the blue.

  “Pardon?” Lucy did a quick check that she hadn’t got the dating website displayed on her monitor.

  “Been on any more blind dates lately?”

  He wasn’t going to go on about that again was he? “Oh no. I’ve decided to give all that a miss. It wasn’t for me,” she lied.

  “I was surprised, a pretty girl like you going to such measures to meet men.”

  He thought she was pretty. She felt herself colouring slightly and flustered, found herself saying, “I don’t exactly beat men off with a stick”. She stopped, mortified. What did she go and say that for? “I meet surprisingly few eligible men through work unless you count cons and other lawyers,” she explained more calmly.

  “Perhaps some men don’t like the career woman aspect?” he continued, ruining it.

  “You’d prefer woman staying at home cooking your dinner?” she laughed, slightly affronted.

  “No, not me. I just think some of those city boys are a bit like that.”

  “Thanks for the warning.”

  “Well, if you ever need a date, you know where to find me. I’m sure I could fit you into my schedule,” he teased.

  Lucy’s eyes flew to her calendar where her cousin’s wedding date was highlighted. She could just picture her family’s faces if she turned up with someone well off and handsome like him. That would make a few jaws drop. They probably wouldn’t believe someone like him would be with her unless she paid him or bribed him.

  “Was there something?” he asked
noting her hesitation.

  He’s a client embroiled in someone’s divorce and a major womaniser, she told herself. “No. Just stunned by the generous offer.”

  “Anytime.” There was that confident smile again. He was someone who never struggled to get a date.

  “Did you receive a letter from my brother?” Mr Brooke asked. “I asked him to write you an apology.”

  “He emailed me. Please tell him thanks. There was no need for it, really. I’d forgotten all about it,” she lied. She’d probably have nightmares about that date for, oh, the rest of her life.

  “Email? I should’ve known he wouldn’t put pen to paper. I hope it was suitably grovelling and apologetic?”

  She pondered her answer for a moment. “Uh, enough, yes.” She decided not to share with him what it had actually said.

  They sat in silence for a couple of seconds. “Well if there’s no more news on the case I guess I’d better go.” He got up to leave. “Perhaps you could give me a ring in a few days, to give me an update?”

  “Sure.”

  The office seemed strangely quiet when he’d left. She knew she needed to update her colleague. “Hi Katherine, it’s Lucy. Just letting you know Leander Brooke just dropped by to check how things were going. He didn’t stay long or I would have called you in. I hope this is okay.”

  “He visited you?”

  “Yes, I hope you don’t mind, I didn’t think I could insist on you being present. I just confirmed where we are at the moment with the case. He only stayed for a few minutes.”

  “No that’s fine. I’m just a bit surprised. Like I said before, the Leander Brooke’s of this world don’t visit us, we get summoned to them.” There was a pause. “If there was something between the two of you, you’d tell me right? We don’t want to blow this case because of personal involvement.”

  “Definitely not. He said he was just in the area.”

  Katherine didn’t respond.

  *

  The days were really flying by now, Lucy suspected because it was getting near to her family wedding and she still didn’t have a date. There was also more work to do now the partners were assigning her more clients. A dwindling interest in her dating profile meant she no longer spent all day on the dating website enabling her to actually get some work done. Lucky as today there was another new client to greet, an elderly gent who’d told her on the phone he had a problem with his neighbours.