“Excuse me.” Tess stepped into the conversation. “Couldn’t help but overhear, since, you know, you’re shouting. I thought I better say that it was me.”
Pippa spun to look at her colleague. “What was you?”
“I told Lucy that she might be made redundant,” Tess said.
Kim felt her mouth drop open in shock, but quickly slammed it shut again.
“What? You…” Pippa was as flummoxed as Kim.
“I overheard it and I warned Lucy. I know she’s been struggling with money and her family have disowned her. I didn’t want her to suddenly be made redundant and have no backup plan.”
Tess folded her arms and sat on the corner of Kim’s desk. “I remember when I was her age, my parents were supportive. Well, they didn’t throw me out. They didn’t do cartwheels either. But I had them, and I still have them. I can’t imagine being her age and having no one. Can you?” She looked pointedly at Pippa.
Pippa looked from Kim to Tess and back again.
“Her personal situation is of no matter to me. The distribution of confidential information in this office is completely out of control,” Pippa raged.
“It is,” Tess agreed. “I’ll tell Helen what I did the moment she comes back.”
“Well, there’s no need to do anything rash,” Pippa said. “Just be more careful with confidential information in the future. I won’t say anything, this time,” she warned. “But be careful. Loose lips sink ships.”
“If you think that’s best, Pip. Absolutely. I’ll keep quiet if I hear anything else in the future,” Tess promised.
Pippa let out a sigh that sounded almost like a growl and hurried away.
Kim sagged against her desk. “Thanks,” she whispered to Tess.
“It’s okay, she’d happily throw you under a bus, but she needs me,” Tess said. “Just be careful in the future.”
Kim hated that Pippa had such a high opinion of herself but such disgusting double standards. Tess was absolutely right, she’d think nothing of having most of the staff fired. But Pippa needed Tess, she was one of the few people who could work with Pippa without crying, quitting, or threatening to sue.
“I will. Trust me, I feel terrible about warning her and gossiping,” Kim confessed. She still felt sick to her stomach whenever she thought about how much Helen placed her trust in her, and how she had broken that trust when she had the chance.
“I would have done the same if I’d been in your position. You can’t keep that kind of information from your girlfriend,” Tess said. “Just, you know, don’t do it again.”
Kim nodded quickly. “I won’t. It’s eating me alive!”
Tess regarding her seriously. “Well, don’t tell Helen, either. She has too much on her plate right now, and she needs you, Kim. I think you’re the only reason she has remained in one piece these last few months. She relies on you.”
“I know.” Kim sat back down. “That’s what makes it so much harder. One minute, I think I can’t live with the guilt anymore. But then I know that it will be worse for Helen if I tell her. I’d absolve my guilt but leave her with no one to trust.”
She leaned forward and put her head in her hands. “I didn’t mean to do it. It was an accident. Well, I mean… I did it. Obviously. No one held a gun to my head. But it was a split-second decision. I didn’t go looking for it.”
Tess placed her hand on Kim’s shoulder. “I know, honey. No one would think of you as malicious. We’ve all been in a situation where we know we’ll upset someone, but we have to do it, or we’ll upset someone else.”
Kim tilted her head and looked up at Tess. “I feel like a really bad person. And my heart nearly stopped when Pippa said that. What if Helen does find out?”
“Then she finds out.”
Kim shuddered. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“Deal with what happens when it happens,” Tess told her. She patted Kim on the shoulder again before standing up. “No point in worrying about things you can’t change.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Fiona didn’t want the tea that sat in front of her. But she didn’t like coffee, and ordering hot chocolate just seemed childish. So, she ordered tea. That she didn’t want.
The reason she’d panic-ordered tea sat opposite her, hands wrapped around a mug containing an overly complicated coffee order.
They’d silently walked out of the building and to the nearest coffee shop. They’d queued without saying a word. The first time either spoke was to offer to pay for the other’s drink. Fiona had won that short argument. She’d stared at the boy behind the till and told him that she’d be paying. He’d quickly taken Fiona’s card payment.
They’d found a small table in the corner and sat down. They couldn’t be silent any longer. Whatever they were going to say was soon to come out.
Fiona didn’t know why Nicola had come to the office, why she wanted to talk. She curled her hands up in her lap and stared at the wall, awaiting the series of misunderstandings they were no doubt about to have. She’d already resigned herself to Nicola leaving Honey. Helen’s insistence that she fix it was foolish. Fiona couldn’t fix it. Surely, Helen had noticed that Fiona just couldn’t communicate with Nicola? Helen was more astute than she let on.
“So,” Nicola said, “you apologise for being… now, what was it?” She grinned, looking up to the ceiling as if trying to recall the exact wording.
Fiona rolled her eyes. “A rude and inconsiderate arse.”
“That was it.” Nicola took a sip of her drink.
“You have an electronic copy of it, did you really need to drag me down here to get me to repeat it?” Fiona asked. She was annoyed that Nicola seemed to be mocking her. Okay, her email wasn’t the best thought-out in the world. But it was from the heart.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be flippant,” Nicola said sincerely. “I dragged you down here to say that you’re not an idiot. Or rude. Or inconsiderate. Or an arse.”
Fiona wasn’t sure she had heard correctly. She gripped her hands even tighter in her lap.
“I feel like it,” she confessed. “I don’t know why I reacted the way I did. I could make up some excuse about the heat, but I really just don’t know what came over me.”
Nicola inclined her head in agreement. “It did seem very unlike you.”
“It was.” She reached forward and took a sip of tea. She grimaced, it really wasn’t what she wanted. “So… Helen told me that you’ve left Honey?”
Nicola shrugged. “I did, but now I’m not sure. I was angry and… well. What else did Helen say?”
“Helen ordered me to get you back,” Fiona admitted.
Nicola chuckled. “Sounds like her. And how do you plan to do that?” She leaned back and folded her arms, looking at Fiona with interest. Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
“Well, I’ve given it some thought. I don’t think you’d be open to outright bribery.” She reached for a cardboard sales message on the table and toyed with it. “If I talk about how talented you are, I don’t think you’d believe me, following… you know.”
“After you said that my work was shocking? Or was it abysmal?” Nicola supplied.
“I believe I said both, actually.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right.” Nicola took another sip of her drink.
Fiona noted that she was still smiling. She didn’t quite know what that meant, but she was grateful for it. Hopefully, Nicola was just going to tease her for a bit and then agree to come back. Could she be that lucky?
“So, I’m not sure I have anything to offer you, other than my apologies,” Fiona continued.
“For being a rude, inconsiderate arse?” Nicola asked.
Fiona’s lips curled into a smile. “Yes, for that. Will we be repeating it much more?”
“Probably, it’s got a nice ring to it,” Nicola said. “I might be convinced to come back, if you agree to something.”
Fiona dropped the marketing messaging and discreetly dried her
sweaty palms on her skirt. She felt like she was on a knife’s edge, waiting to say the wrong thing. It had been the longest period of time she had spoken to Nicola without a terrible miscalculation. Surely it had to go wrong soon. Especially with Nicola being in a playful mood, clearly enjoying Fiona’s nerves.
“That depends on what it is,” Fiona said. She couldn’t imagine what Nicola might possibly want from her. Maybe something terribly demeaning?
“Nothing too terrible. On Friday nights, I volunteer at a children’s activity centre. I help kids learn about art and photography. If you come with me this Friday night, I’ll come back to Honey.” Nicola leaned back on her chair and pinned Fiona with a cocky smile.
Fiona’s eyes widened in horror. “Me? What can I possibly do to help? I’m, I’m useless with children. How old are these children? A-and I don’t know anything. I’m… Why?”
Nicola held her hands up. “Whoa, whoa. It’s okay. Chill, chill. You’re not going to be in charge of the kids, there’s plenty of adult supervision. I just want you to come along, it’s something that’s important to me. And, what with you being a rude and inconsiderate arse—”
“You’re not going to let that go, are you?”
“—I think it might be something you’d get some benefit out of. Volunteering. Helping the community. Learning about art. What do you say? You can carry my bag.”
Fiona couldn’t help but smile. “Carry your bag? How generous.”
“I know. There’s over three thousand pounds’ worth of equipment in my bag.”
Suddenly, Fiona didn’t feel qualified to even carry the bag.
Nicola leaned forward. “We’ll be there for two hours tops. Children have to be in bed early, did you know? No partying until midnight.”
“No, really?” Fiona played along. “So, they won’t be clubbing with us later?”
“Maybe Annie, she’s a troublemaker,” Nicola said. “I’d like to see you clubbing, by the way.”
Fiona felt her cheeks heat. She coughed and lowered her head, keen to avoid Nicola’s gaze.
“I don’t go clubbing, as I’m sure you know.”
“Shame. Anyway, will you do it? Will you broaden your horizons and give me a hand, all in one go?”
“Why?”
Nicola laughed. “Wow, you don’t hold back, do you?”
Fiona winced. She probably could have phrased it better. She sipped at her tea again. It was going cold and bitter. She fished the teabag out and placed it on the saucer. It was too late now; the liquid was almost black.
“I was terrible to you, why do you want to spend more time with me?” Fiona clarified. “Unless these children are little demons and it’s a form of punishment?”
Nicola’s grin was so wide that anyone watching them would have been under the misconception that they were having immense fun. Fiona wondered if Nicola was. She certainly seemed to be enjoying herself. Did she like making Fiona squirm?
“It’s not punishment,” Nicola tried to reassure her, though the grin wasn’t helping. “I just want to get to know you outside of Honey. Nothing nefarious. I just… I know most people at Honey pretty well. Even Pippa. But you’re a bit of a mystery. I like to know who I’m working with. And I honestly think you’ll enjoy it. There’s nothing scary about it. You can sit in the corner of the room if you like. I won’t make you interact with anyone. Just… come along.”
Fiona really couldn’t fathom why Nicola wanted her to go. Whatever the reason was, it wouldn’t become clear until she went.
Which she knew she had to do.
“I don’t really have much choice, do I?” Fiona asked.
“Not really,” Nicola admitted.
Chapter Thirty-Two
It was very nearly the end of Darcy’s lunch hour, and she hadn’t caught sight of Helen and Celia. Nor had she eaten anything.
She’d missed the two women leaving the office when she was stuck on a call. In her distraction, she’d not noticed that it had been a call for Fiona which had bounced to her. It took ten minutes to get the journalist off the phone. He kept asking questions and requesting a quote from her. By the time she had finally gotten rid of him, she’d all but run from the office. She’d looked up and down the bustling street, but there had been no sign of them.
Taking Rose’s advice, she headed first for Berkeley Square. The hot day meant that everyone was dining outside, which made her task a lot easier. She’d quickly checked out the main spots in Berkeley Square and surrounding areas before heading down to Green Park. She knew that Helen liked to dine at the May Fair and the Ritz. Luckily, the grand hotels were used to strangers traversing their halls, and no one looked twice as Darcy entered the lobbies, looked into the restaurants, and then left again.
As time ticked by, she became more manic. She felt like a mother searching for her lost child. She knew it wasn’t healthy, but she couldn’t stop herself. She didn’t know what it was about Celia that made a madwoman out of her.
Darcy prided herself on always being pragmatic, balanced, and sensible. But when Celia came into the picture, she operated on some deranged autopilot that saw her acting in a way she didn’t recognise.
She looked at her watch; it had been fifty minutes and she hadn’t seen either woman anywhere. It was time to get back to the office, and time to grab a bite to eat. She was near the Langham and knew she’d have to hurry to get back to the office in time. Something that didn’t appeal in the continued heat.
Regent Street was crammed with people, even as far north as she was. If she tried to fight her way through the crowd she would definitely be late. Darcy wasn’t usually picky about things like that, but she didn’t want to push her luck on an already tense day.
She ducked down a side street and picked up the pace. The Langham had been a last-ditch effort that she now wished she hadn’t bothered with. It was outside of her usual roaming area, and she hadn’t quite realised how long it would take to get there.
She rushed past upmarket restaurants, offices, delivery hubs, banks, and gyms. She mentally kicked herself for not having bought lunch at the start of her journey. Now she couldn’t find anywhere to pick up a grab-and-go meal.
Never do this again, she told herself. But she knew the chance of getting a glimpse of Celia in the future would no doubt have her repeating today’s mistake.
She was a few streets away from the office when she found a sandwich shop. It wasn’t the type of place she’d often go in, but she knew the branded stores by the office would have long queues of tourists.
Going to the gallery the previous evening meant she had eaten out. If she’d stayed home, she would have cooked a nice meal and portioned some of it to take to work the next day. As if she needed another reason to beat herself up about the whole gallery debacle.
Why did you pick today to not bring a homemade lunch? she asked herself as she looked at the most lacklustre display of limp sandwiches she had ever seen. Her stomach grumbled at the prospect of eating a curly cheese sandwich.
She picked up a chicken tikka sandwich, it looked the most appealing. She grabbed a bottle of water and cursed herself for not bringing her water bottle and hydration tracker with her. The day really was going to hell.
“Sorry, I’ve run out of bags,” the shop assistant told her. He didn’t seem sorry at all.
“That’s fine.” She paid for the sandwich and water and hurried out of the shop.
She’d have to eat at her desk. It wasn’t ideal but luckily people at Honey weren’t that strict about things. Rose would no doubt make a comment about the smell, but Darcy would remind her about her Friday curry habit in the winter months.
The traffic lights were red, and so she ran across the main road, seeing the Honey building in the distance. She’d be a couple of minutes late but that was all. She held the sandwich under her arm and screwed the cap off the water bottle. It was too hot to carry on rushing around without a drink. She took a few hefty swigs of water and then let out a sigh.
; She put the cap back on and looked up to see Helen and Celia standing right outside the office. Her eyes widened. There was no way around them. They were in front of the revolving door, deep in conversation about something.
She couldn’t imagine what she must look like. Exhausted, sweaty, manic. Now was the worst possible time to bump into Celia. She wondered if she could hide for a few moments?
Before she had a chance to decide what to do, Helen noticed her. She smiled and nodded her head in greeting. “Hello, Darcy. Late lunch?”
“H-hi,” she stammered. She looked down at her half-crushed sandwich. “Yeah.”
“Yeah?” Is that all I have? Why do I have to bump into Celia now, when I have a disgusting, shop-bought sandwich on white bread? Why not last night when I was prepared and looked flawless?
Celia was looking at her with a polite smile. She was actually looking at her. For the first time Celia Fox’s full attention was on Darcy. And Darcy had no idea what to do.
“Did you listen to the podcast?” Helen enquired.
Darcy nodded.
Helen rolled her eyes. “Seems that everyone but me has heard it. What did you make of it?”
Darcy blinked. She couldn’t believe her bad luck. She had spent the last hour looking for these very two women, just so she could see them from afar. She certainly didn’t want to talk to them. Definitely not now, when she no doubt looked a mess from running around in the heat for the past hour. And now, Helen wanted to talk to her. To ask her opinion on something very important. Something that she ordinarily would be able to do with no problem at all, but something that seemed so impossible now that Celia’s eyes were upon her.
“The host… seemed to have an agenda,” Darcy said. “Chloe said that a lot of what she said was edited out.”
“Who is the host?” Helen asked.
“Someone called Donna Hayward,” Celia supplied.
“She went to university with Chloe, but I don’t think they were that close,” Darcy said.
Helen nodded. “I see. Well, I’ll let you get on with your lunch, thank you.”
Climbing the Ladder Page 13