The Best Man

by Dianne Blacklock

  ‘You’re kidding,’ Madeleine groaned.

  ‘Do you have any idea what that’s about?’

  ‘I had to go back to the flat last night –’

  ‘So I take it things didn’t go well with Henry?’

  ‘As well as could be expected,’ Madeleine said, quoting Liv’s line back at her. Now wasn’t the time to get into it. ‘Anyway, when I got there, I walked in on Aiden and Nat.’

  ‘Oh fuck.’

  ‘That about describes it.’

  ‘Did you actually catch them in the act?’ Liv asked.

  ‘Not quite. Aiden must have literally leapt out of bed when he heard my key in the door; he was still pulling on his pants when I walked in. He tried to keep me out of the bedroom, but . . . Anyway, there she was. Sitting up in my bed like she had all the right in the world to be there.’

  Liv breathed out. ‘What did you say to her?’

  ‘Not much. I did tell her that she better show up to work today.’

  ‘Did she give you any excuse?’

  ‘Just that she hadn’t had a chance to call you.’

  ‘Too busy screwing the best man.’

  ‘He’s not the best man any more.’

  ‘That’s beside the point,’ said Liv. ‘She’s been trying to pull some line that her mother was sick, and I wasn’t having it. At least now I know for sure it was a lie. But I don’t know why she’s so keen to have you in the room when she knows that you know what you know, you know?’

  ‘Who knows? But we’ll soon find out. I’m at Mum’s but I’ve got my car. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

  ‘Okay.’

  Madeleine hung up, and then glanced through her messages. Bloody Aiden had sent a couple overnight. She deleted them without even looking at them; she wasn’t interested in anything he had to say. Her heart lurched as she almost scrolled past one from Henry. It had been sent last night as well, late.

  Please just let me know you’re ok.

  Madeleine felt a pang. She didn’t want Henry to think that she’d ignored him, on top of everything. She quickly typed a reply. Sorry, phone was off o’nite. I’m ok. At Mum’s.

  He’d been worried about her – he must still love her, like Genevieve had said.

  Well, of course he still loved her. You couldn’t just drop out of love overnight. She had no doubt she would love Henry for the rest of her life, even if she never laid eyes on him again.

  Amblin Press

  When Madeleine arrived at work, she walked straight across to Liv’s office, tapped on the door and then opened it. She didn’t want to risk bumping into Natalie first. Liv was on the phone, and waved her in. Madeleine took a seat while Liv finished her call.

  She hung up the phone a moment later with a curious glance at Madeleine. ‘I’ve never seen you in that colour. Is that a new top?’

  ‘New for me. It’s Mum’s. I didn’t have a change of clothes with me, so I had to borrow something.’

  Whereas Genevieve was tall like their dad, Madeleine had inherited her mother’s short, petite build. So even though Margaret had developed a middle-aged spread, as it was not so politely termed, she had a couple of blouses that Madeleine had thought would look okay with her jeans. That morning she’d chosen a peasant-style top, which was somewhere between being a little groovy for her mum and a little daggy for her. It was a paisley print in shades of pink – not a colour she usually wore – but it would do. Fortunately, given that she’d run out of the house in her bedsocks, they had the same size feet too, so Madeleine had also borrowed a pair of nondescript flats that would do as well. It wasn’t her proudest sartorial moment, but it was certainly no worse than yesterday.

  Liv gave her a sympathetic look. ‘You had a bit of a night of it, didn’t you? So how did Henry take it?’

  Tears crept into Madeleine’s eyes, and she blinked furiously. ‘He was angry, very angry. And hurt, and betrayed.’ She swallowed. ‘His exact words were “I can’t look at you, I can’t be around you,”’ she said, her voice breaking.

  ‘Oh Mad.’

  She brushed a tear away from the corner of her eye. ‘Well, can’t say I didn’t expect it. Or deserve it.’

  Liv passed her a box of tissues. ‘Give yourself a minute before I call Natalie in.’

  Madeleine sighed. ‘I could really do without this.’

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘It’s not your fault.’

  ‘So, how are you going to work things out with Henry?’

  Madeleine cleared her throat. ‘Liv, if I talk about Henry, I’m just going to keep crying and I’ll never be ready to face Natalie.’

  ‘Okay, got it.’

  ‘Tell me how Dylan’s going,’ said Madeleine.

  ‘Well, he’s home –’

  ‘Already?’

  ‘Yep. Kids, they bounce back.’

  ‘So who’s at home with him?’

  ‘My mother, full of righteous indignation,’ said Liv. ‘Though we did share a moment of rare honesty this morning,’ she added. ‘Don’t know if it’ll have any effect in the long term. Guess I’ll have to wait and see.’

  ‘You should go home when we’re done with Natalie.’

  ‘Can’t,’ Liv said. ‘I have to clean up the rest of Natalie’s mess.’

  ‘Of course, Anne Reynolds.’ Madeleine nodded. ‘How are you going to handle her?’

  ‘We’re going to disarm her with the truth.’

  ‘How’s that?’

  ‘Jane took the whole thing in her stride when I went to see her yesterday. She said we have nothing to hide, that this is an opportunity for a good discussion about the state of the industry, the whims of the public, and the fact that traditional publishers still give their authors more support and protection than they can get out on the great big world wide web.’

  ‘Wow, that’s great. And it’s true.’

  ‘I know,’ Liv agreed. ‘She’s a smart cookie, that Jane. There’s a reason she sits in that office. Oh, and another thing, it’s going to give us a chance to talk up all the books involved, using your brilliant press releases. Jane took copies home last night to study up.’

  ‘She’s going to sit in on the interview as well?’

  ‘We’re both taking Anne out to lunch today.’

  Madeleine smiled. ‘I’d wish you luck, but somehow I think you’re going to have it all over her.’

  Liv returned the smile. ‘Okay, are you ready for this?’

  Madeleine nodded.

  Liv picked up the phone and pressed a button. ‘Hey, Stace, would you tell Natalie to come into my office, please?’

  Stacey’s voice came through the speaker on the phone. ‘Sure thing.’

  Madeleine swapped to the chair furthest from the door, turning it sideways against the wall. She blotted her face with a tissue, composing herself. The door opened and Natalie strolled in, looking very sure of herself. Madeleine had the urge again to slap her.

  ‘Close the door, please,’ Liv said. ‘And take a seat.’

  Natalie did as she was told, and slumped into the chair.

  ‘Natalie,’ Liv began, ‘Madeleine’s here now, so please explain yourself. Failing to turn up for work without informing anyone is a serious matter, and I am well within my rights to put you on probation if you don’t provide a reasonable excuse.’

  ‘I told you I had a family emergency,’ Natalie said airily.

  Liv glanced at Madeleine. ‘And I told you I didn’t believe you. And now I have a witness.’

  Madeleine could feel herself cringing inside.

  ‘We know you were with Aiden, so stop lying,’ said Liv.

  Natalie sneered at Madeleine. ‘I knew this would happen,’ she said smugly.

  ‘Just cut the crap, Natalie,’ Liv continued. ‘You were seen with Aiden, there was no family emergency.’

  Strangely, Natalie didn’t look at all perturbed. ‘Yes, I was with Aiden. But here’s the thing: when Madeleine discovered us together, she said that I would lose my job because of i
t. And frankly, ladies,’ she turned her head to glance at them both, ‘I don’t think she’s allowed to say that.’

  ‘That’s not what I said,’ Madeleine insisted.

  ‘My recollection is that that was exactly what you said.’ Natalie’s tone was so smarmy; she was enjoying this. ‘And don’t forget, I have a witness too.’

  Madeleine was gobsmacked. She was actually going to drag Aiden into this? And worse, he was going to back her up?

  ‘From where I’m sitting, this is starting to look really bad,’ Natalie went on. ‘Here’s the way it went down. Madeleine discovered me sleeping with her best man, and she was understandably outraged. After all, only a few nights before, she had come onto him pretty strong.’

  Madeleine drew in a sharp breath.

  ‘But sadly for her, he rejected her outright,’ said Natalie. ‘After all, the groom is his best friend. You can imagine how awkward it was for him, to put it mildly. But she wouldn’t give up, she came looking for him, desperately hoping to talk him around, and was devastated to find him with a coworker. So she threatened that coworker with dismissal, and then tattled to her best friend – the one with the power to do just that.’

  Madeleine really wanted to smack her now. No, she wanted to strangle her.

  Liv spoke up before she could do either. ‘Natalie, those allegations have yet to be proven. The thing that is inexcusable, however, and certainly grounds for a warning, is the verifiable fact that you sent emails to two of our authors before informing members of the media who were involved, resulting in an embarrassing and potentially disastrous situation for the company, not to mention considerable distress to one of the authors. The director has been informed, and has agreed that this constitutes the basis of your warning. You’re now officially on probation. A letter to this effect has gone on record and will be forwarded to you forthwith.’

  Natalie just sat there; she clearly had no comeback to that.

  ‘You can close the door on your way out,’ Liv added.

  Natalie stood with an audible huff and left the room, closing the door behind her.

  Liv turned to Madeleine. ‘What on earth did you say to her when you found her with Aiden?’

  Madeleine’s head was spinning. ‘I, um . . . oh God, I can’t remember exactly.’

  ‘Well, you have to remember, exactly,’ said Liv. ‘Look, I understand how you must have felt, but if you threatened her like that, we’re screwed. We can’t touch her.’

  Madeleine rubbed her eyes as she trawled through her brain. ‘I barely spoke to her,’ she said finally, opening her eyes. ‘But then, just before I left, I went back and asked her if she’d answered any of your calls. She said she hadn’t had a chance.’ Madeleine looked directly at Liv. ‘Then I said she better call you, or come in today, or else . . .’

  ‘Or else what?’

  ‘I didn’t think she’d have a job for much longer.’

  ‘And there it is,’ Liv sighed.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ said Madeleine. ‘But I wasn’t threatening her on the basis that she slept with Aiden, only because she hadn’t contacted you.’

  ‘I get that,’ said Liv. ‘I just don’t know that a tribunal would.’

  ‘You think she’d take it that far?’

  ‘Who knows. The way she acted in here today I wouldn’t put it past her. The little . . . ugh, there are so many words I want to call her, but I don’t like to call female coworkers any of them.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Madeleine said again.

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ said Liv. ‘You obviously had no idea what you were up against. She’s certainly never seemed that clever around here before.’

  Madeleine was frowning. ‘She said that Aiden rejected me – that must be what he told her. Why would he be talking to her about it anyway?’

  ‘She could have made it up.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Madeleine said. ‘I’m getting the impression that Aiden will say whatever he has to to save his own arse.’

  ‘And you think now he’s prepared to lie to save Natalie’s?’ Liv said. ‘Why would he get himself involved?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I’ve had enough of this.’ Madeleine picked up her handbag and took out her phone. ‘I’m going to give him a call, and a piece of my mind.’ She looked over at Liv. ‘Oh, do you mind if I do it in here? There might be shouting involved.’

  ‘No, but I might leave you to it,’ Liv said, getting up.

  ‘Are you sure? I don’t want to force you out of your own office.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ Liv said. ‘I’ll go down and get us a coffee, okay?’

  Madeleine gave her a grateful smile. ‘Thank you.’

  Liv closed the door as Madeleine tapped the screen to call Aiden. He picked up almost immediately. ‘Maddie, I’m so glad you called. You got my messages?’

  ‘Yes, but I didn’t read them.’

  There was a pause. ‘Oh . . . Well, I was hoping we could meet.’

  ‘That’s not going to happen, Aiden.’

  ‘But I want to see you one more time before I go.’

  ‘You’re leaving then?’

  ‘I will be, just as soon as I’ve seen you.’

  ‘I’m not going to see you, Aiden,’ Madeleine said squarely. ‘Don’t you understand? I don’t want to have anything to do with you.’

  Another pause. ‘Then why are you calling me?’ he said eventually, his tone becoming terse.

  ‘Because I want to know why you told Natalie that I threw myself at you.’

  ‘What?’ He sounded shocked. ‘I didn’t say that. Honestly, Maddie, I wouldn’t say that.’

  ‘I’m afraid honesty means something different to you than it does to me, Aiden.’

  ‘Maddie, I don’t know how to make you believe me, but I swear I didn’t say that to Natalie.’

  ‘You must have told her something.’

  He breathed out. ‘I had too much to drink, I ended up telling her that we had a . . . a moment, because I was feeling so bad about everything. I never said you threw yourself at me.’

  Madeleine didn’t know whether she entirely believed him, but she could believe that Natalie might make more out of whatever he’d said. It didn’t matter anyway. Except for one thing. ‘Well, she expects you to be her witness that I threatened her job.’

  ‘That’s never going to happen.’

  ‘She seems to think it is.’

  ‘On my word, it’s not.’

  ‘You really should stop using expressions like that, Aiden. Your word doesn’t actually mean a whole lot.’

  ‘I never lied to you, Maddie.’

  ‘Oh really? What about the whole Gillian story?’

  ‘Why are you bringing up Gillian?’

  ‘Because Henry told me what really happened,’ said Madeleine.

  ‘I think he and I might have a different take on that.’

  ‘Stop it,’ she said. ‘I believe Henry, and that’s all there is to it. You lied back then, and you’re still lying about it now. Do you even know what the truth is?’

  Madeleine heard a loud sigh. ‘Maybe I don’t,’ he said finally.

  She thought about something Henry had said. ‘You know, Aiden, for someone who has so much going for him, you don’t seem very happy.’

  ‘Why should I be?’ he said, his tone bitter. ‘What have I got compared to Henry? And look at the way he treated you. He doesn’t deserve someone like you, he doesn’t appreciate you.’

  ‘So you thought you’d take me away from him? Or at least ruin it for both of us.’

  ‘It’s not like I planned it, Maddie. It just happened.’

  What was the point of going over it? ‘I don’t know why we’re even talking about this. I have to go.’

  ‘Maddie, wait,’ said Aiden. ‘Henry will get over it, you know.’

  ‘I’m not so sure.’

  ‘He’d be a damned fool to let you go.’

  ‘I have to hang up now,’ she said.

  ‘Goodbye, Madelei
ne Pepper. It was nice knowing you.’

  She wished she could say the same about him.

  2.30 pm

  Liv and Jane stood on the kerb after the taxi had pulled away, taking Anne Reynolds with it.

  ‘So, how do you think that went?’ Liv asked.

  ‘Who knows? It’s out of our hands now,’ said Jane. ‘You can’t have any control over what a journalist does with what you tell them, more’s the pity.’ They started to walk up the street in the direction of their office building.

  ‘Well, anyway, I’m sorry about everything, Jane,’ Liv said.

  ‘You don’t have to apologise, you’re not responsible.’

  ‘Where my staff are concerned, the buck stops with me.’

  ‘And you’re my staff, so that would mean the buck ultimately stops with me,’ said Jane. ‘I might be responsible for cleaning up the messes, but I’m certainly not responsible for every stupid mistake that gets made. God, I could never live with that.’

  ‘I suppose you’re right.’

  ‘Oh, I know I’m right. I’m the boss. And as the boss, I’m advising you to give yourself an early mark. You haven’t taken any time off in lieu for your last tour yet, have you?’

  No, she hadn’t. Where had that time gone?

  ‘And your son’s in the hospital, right?’ Jane asked.

  ‘Not any more, he was discharged yesterday. My mother’s at home with him today.’

  ‘You should go home and be with him,’ said Jane. ‘Take a couple of days, they’re owed to you. But don’t spend the whole time being a nursemaid. Have a break. Are you seeing anyone at the moment?’

  Liv suddenly realised that for the first time ever, she could say yes. ‘Actually, I am.’

  Jane looked at her. ‘Someone’s very pleased with herself.’

  Liv suspected she was sporting a particularly goofy grin right now. ‘I guess I am.’

  ‘So, I take it things are going well? Good for you.’

  Truth was things weren’t really going at all. She needed to do something about that.

  When they made it back to the building, Liv went directly down to the basement carpark, at Jane’s insistence. If she went back up to the office, she’d only get caught up for another hour or more on nothing of any consequence. Jane said she’d let Madeleine know she’d left the for the day. Liv felt a little mean abandoning poor Mad, but she would make a point of calling her later to see how she was doing.