* * * *
Jane was cold. Her mouth was dry and her chest felt hollow. She dropped the
magazine she'd been clutching on the table. It fell open to the photo of Marsh kissing her. In
the moment before that photo was taken, she had been happy. She had been convinced that
she had finally found love. Now all that was gone. With a groan, she lowered her head to her
desk, palms covering her eyes.
Keith's words echoed in her head. Could Marsh have told the reporters where they
would be? Was he really seeing her and Dominique at the same time? Could she have been so
wrong about him? She didn't want to believe anything Keith had told her, but why would he
lie?
When she had originally asked Marsh out, he had pushed the date into the following
week. And he had checked his phone several times during dinner.
There was clearly a female presence in his flat. The tasteful decorations. The Cosmo
magazines. The expensive perfume in the bathroom. He had said they belonged to his sister,
but what sort of student could afford designer perfume? Even if she could, why would she
leave it behind when she went to Uni?
What if Dominique stayed with him occasionally? Perhaps she kept some things at
his place for when she was in London. That could explain why he was always checking his
phone.
She Googled Dominique De Vale and patent. One link took her to a personnel page
of a well-known pharmaceutical company. She found a photo of a woman with dark hair and
perfect make up. Feeling sick, Jane shut down the browser.
Odd incidences that she'd thought nothing of suddenly leapt into her mind. That day
when Marsh had cancelled on her with that ridiculous excuse about his sister coming to visit;
What if Dominique had called? She remembered how he'd been texting someone when she'd
returned to the table in the restaurant. The possibility he might have been texting Dominique
while he was dining with her hit her like a physical blow.
The more she thought about it, the more she saw things that might support Keith's
accusations. Marsh must have told the reporters where they were going for dinner. Who else
would have known?
She remembered how he had been trying to phone someone from Polly's flat last
night. He had been quite keen to leave. Maybe he had to talk to the reporter.
She had fallen for him, so quickly and so completely, but everything she'd believed
was a lie. First Ashby, now Marsh. How could she have been so foolish?
She heard a door open, and then Marsh's voice, slightly muffled, from the next
office.
How dare he! How
dare
he waltz in and act as though nothing had
happened? He had made her fall in love with him and then betrayed her. And for what? Petty
revenge on his ex--whom he was probably still in love with?
Well, he wasn't going to get away with it. She's been used by a man before, she was
not going to let it happen again.
She stood up so fast that her chair shot out behind her and smacked into the wall. She
pushed past a surprised Ruth, who was just entering the office, and marched straight into
Marsh's office.
He looked up and smiled, making his dimple flash.
She slammed the door so hard the partition rattled.
Marsh's smile disappeared. "What's up?"
"What's up?" Jane shoved the magazine in his face. "This is what's up."
She waited impatiently while he scanned the article. "Well? What do you have to say
for yourself?"
"It's the photo from last night. That was quick."
Jane snatched the magazine back. "You knew how much I wanted to stay out of the
magazines. You
knew
. And still you did this!"
"Jane--"
"Well, I hope you enjoy it. I hope they like you so much that they hound you until
you can't go anywhere without being followed."
He opened his mouth, but she cut him off with a raised hand. "I'm not interested in
your slimy excuses. I can't believe I was stupid enough to trust you in the first place. I would
have gone on being a fool if Keith hadn't said..." Her eyes filled with burning tears. "To think
I liked you. I genuinely liked you and you... You betrayed me."
Marsh reached out.
Jane stepped back. "Don't touch me." Her vision was blurring. "I wish I'd never met
you." She spun on her heel and marched out.
Ruth was just booting up her computer. "Jane?"
"I'm going home." Jane located her coat through a haze of tears. "I'm not well."
Chapter 23
From: James Edwards
To: Louise Edwards
How am I supposed to know
what's going on with Stevie! I've been at work, remember. If you're so worried,
why don't you phone the flat and ask her yourself?
I've got a couple of
deadlines coming up, so I really do have work to do.
Wait a minute... was
that Jane?
##
From: James Edwards
To :Valerie Fenwick
Val, did I just see Jane
storm past? She looked like she was crying.
What's going on?
Jim
##
From: Valerie Fenwick
To: James Edwards
I wish I knew. Marsh just
got in. Jane went in, slammed the door, and shouted at him. Accused him of
betraying her and said that she wished she'd never met him, and then stormed
out, leaving Marsh standing there like a lemon.
I knew there was
something going on between them. Sounds like a lover's tiff to me.
Hang
on. Where's Marsh going?
##
From: Valerie Fenwick
To: Indra Somasundara
Oh my, what an
exciting morning we're having today!
First, Jane runs off crying. Then,
about 2 minutes later, Marsh comes past looking like he's about to break
something and marches into Keith's office without even knocking.
He
shuts the door, so Sally and I hang around outside, looking through the glass
panel. Anyway, Marsh stands over Keith and accuses him of something, we
can't tell what. Then Keith looks at him and laughs.
There's some
discussion. Marsh is clearly angry, because his shoulders are all bunched up
and his fists keep curling and uncurling. Keith is sneering at him and not even
getting up from his chair. Then Keith says something and, honest to god, I
thought Marsh was going to thump him in the face. He even drew his arm back
and everything. I think Keith thought so too. I mean, Keith's not a small man,
but he looked terrified. He actually cowered. But Marsh didn't hit him. He just
leaned in really close and said something, jabbing Keith in the chest with a
finger. Whatever it was, I think Keith nearly wet himself.
I didn't see any
more because Marsh came out and I really didn't want to be caught lurking
outside the door.
Bet you wished you still worked in this
office!
Val
##
From: Indra Somasundara
To: Valerie Fenwick
Ooh, it does sound
exciting over there.
So, do you think it's Jane that Keith and Eric having
been plotting over? Eric made me cancel the booking, so I take it that Keith
lost the bet.
Indra
##
From: Valerie Fenwick
To: Indra Somasundara
I can't believe that
Keith! What a toe rag.
No wonder Marsh was angry. I hope this doesn't
affect his chances of becoming a partner. At least he didn't hit Keith. That
would have been very bad.
But all that doesn't explain why Jane shouted at
Marsh. Any ideas?
Val
##
From: Marshall Winfield
To: Susan Jameson
I'm sorry Susan, but it
looks like I'll have to take the whole day off. I will make sure the report gets to
you by the end of today.
Marsh
##
From: Sally Thomas
To: Valerie Fenwick
; Indra Somasundara
Have you seen the
latest Cause Celeb? Page 4. Marshall and Jane. KISSING!
I think that
might be the answer to your question Val.
Sally
PS: They do make a
lovely couple though, don't they?
##
From: Susan Jameson
To: Marshall Winfield
; Jane Porter
; Valerie Fenwick
What the hell is going
on?
May I remind you that I'm meeting our client tomorrow, for which I
need your report, Marshall.
##
From: James Edwards
To: Marshall Winfield
Are you okay?
##
From: Marshall Winfield
To: James Edwards
I'm all right. From what I
can gather, f*****g Keith has put the knife in. He told Jane that I told the
reporter where we'd be. I knew he was up to something. I wouldn't be surprised
if he did it himself.
I'm on my way to Jane's, to see if I can make her see
that I would never do that to her. I knew how much she wanted to just
disappear. I would never sabotage that.
To be honest, I'm offended that she
believed Keith so readily in the first place.
* * * *
Jane sat on the underground train, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. All around her
mid-morning travellers ignored each other. No one seemed to notice that she was crying, or if
they did, they looked away. Jane was grateful. A kind word would have opened the floodgates
all over again.
She felt bruised and defeated. When she made the move to London she had felt as
though she was bravely spreading her wings and striking off by herself. Sure, she'd had to
move in with Polly, but that was a short term thing until she found somewhere for herself.
And then when she met Marsh, she'd thought she was moving away from her disastrous
relationship with Ashby.
Perhaps she'd just moved from dependence on one man to depending on another.
How else could she explain how desolate she felt?
She had trusted Marsh. He had seemed so kind and reliable, the polar opposite of
Ashby. It had never occurred to her he might hurt her in almost exactly the same way.
Her vision blurred as fresh tears gathered. She brushed them away.
By the time she got home, Jane had stopped crying. She dialled Polly's number, but
went straight to answerphone. "It's Jane," she said, her voice shaking. "I've found out who told
the magazine. It was Marsh. I'm at home. Call me when you can."
She felt totally drained. The lack of sleep didn't help. Hoping to clear her head, she
made herself a strong coffee. After a couple of sips, she decided she needed something
stronger and was looking through Polly's alcohol cupboard when someone knocked.
Jane jumped, knocking over a bottle of Amaretto. Should she pretend she wasn't
in?
"Jane?" Even through the door she recognised Marsh's voice.
She stood still, hoping he would think there was no one in and go away.
"Jane, I know you're in there," he said after a minute. "I heard you moving
around."
Still she said nothing.
"Please, Jane. I didn't do any of those things Keith said. I swear."
Feeling as though she no longer had the strength to stand, Jane tiptoed across to the
living room and lowered herself onto the sofa.
"I'm not going away. I'm going to wait right here until you talk to me. You can't hide
in there forever." There was a sliding noise as if he had sat down against the door.
After a few minutes she heard the soft clicking of keys. Was he working? Jane shook
her head, not sure what annoyed her more--the fact that he was sitting outside waiting for her
to open the door, or that he was working whilst doing so.
* * * *
Polly phoned during her lunch hour. Jane grabbed the ringing phone and dashed into
her bedroom.
"What happened?" Polly sounded slightly muffled, as though she were speaking
through a mouthful of sandwich.
Tears prickled her eyes again, but didn't fall as Jane told her what had happened. She
had calmed down now, so only anger remained, burning in her stomach like acid.
Polly listened without interrupting. "Hmm. And Marsh denies it all?"
"Well he would, wouldn't he? He's still going out with Dominique and seeing me on
the side."
"Whoa! Is he?" said Polly. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, Keith told me. It makes sense Pol. He's forever checking his phone and he
won't commit to anything without checking his diary."
"Maybe he's just diary obsessive?"
"What? Even outside of work? He claims he doesn't have a social life, so what's to
check?"
"Hmm." Polly fell silent. "I'm so sorry, Jane," she said, eventually. "He seemed so
nice."
"I know." Jane lay down on her bed and looked at the little rectangle of ceiling. "I
can't believe I fell for a two-timing rat again. I really must have 'idiot' printed on my
forehead."
"You don't!" said Polly. "Besides, I liked him too. I encouraged you to go out with
him. I'm as much to blame as you."
Jane gave a derisive laugh. "I'm a big girl. I didn't have to listen to you. It's all my
own stupid fault. Clearly, I've learnt nothing from my experience with Ashby."
"Oh Jane, don't say that. Listen, I won't be done here for a few hours, but I'll come
straight home afterwards and we'll talk. Okay?"
Jane wondered whether she should mention the fact that Marsh was outside the flat.
She decided not to. After all, by the time Polly got home, he would have got bored and
left.
Chapter 24
From: Stevie
Winfield
To: Marshall
Winfield
I've just had a
call from Lou. She said that you threatened to hit that Keith bloke and then
walked out. What's happened? Are you okay?
And if you're not here and
you're not at work, where are you?
Stevie x
##
From: Marshall Winfield
To: Stevie
Winfield
I'm sitting in the
corridor outside Jane's apartment. She won't let me in, but I can hear her
moving around inside.
What happened--I told you about the photographer
last night. Well, that f****** Keith has persuaded Jane that I told the
magazine where she was. At least, that's what I gather from my encounter with
Jane.
She shouted at me and then stormed out of the office before I could
ask her what the hell she was talking about. At first I couldn't figure out why
she would think that I'd gone to a magazine, then I realised that Keith must
have been working on this for a while.
First he complains about me to the
discipline committee, then he dumps a weak case on me at the last minute, now
this. Well, I lost it a bit.
He didn't deny any of it. But he knows I can't
prove anything. He seemed to find the whole thing funny. He then said
something about Jane which I'm too polite to repeat. I barely stopped myself
from smashing his face in.
Now I'm sitting in a dimly lit corridor, waiting
for her to open the door so that I can explain. Thank goodness the netbook has
backlighting. My report is hard enough to read without having to squint at
it.
M
##
From: Stevie
Winfield
To: Marshall
Winfield
Oh Marsh!
How awful. I never did like Keith. What a total f****r!
Net book? Report?
Hang on, are you working???
Stevie
##
From: Marshall Winfield
To: Stevie
Winfield
Of course I'm
working. I've got to keep my billing hours up. And I have a deadline to meet. I
don't know why I'm bothering though. I've probably buggered up my chances
of promotion for good now. Apart from the whole making a scene in the office
thing, I nearly hit a colleague. I'm sure the partners will take a very dim view
of that sort of thing.
Great. I've ballsed up my career and my love life in
one morning. Fabulous.
##
From: Terence Wattley
To: Susan Jameson
Susan, what the hell is
going on with your staff? Keith has just made an official complaint against
Marshall. Apparently, he threatened to hit him but, as far as I can gather, didn't
actually hit him--Keith was a little evasive on this point.
I can't ignore this,
obviously.
Terry
##
From: Susan Jameson
To: Terence Wattley
I doubt Marshall would
have attacked Keith for no reason. Heaven knows, I've been tempted to hit
Keith myself a few times. Let me find out what's going on before you launch
an official investigation. I'll talk to their respective secretaries and see if they
can shed some light onto the situation.
Susan
##
From: Terence Wattley
To: All_Partners
On
behalf of the Discipline sub committee: Threatening behaviour
In the
matter of the complaint against Mr. Marshall Winfield made by Mr. Keith
Durridge with regard to threatening behaviour.
It is recommended that Mr.
Winfield and Mr. Durridge both be suspended from work, pending an inquiry
into the matter. The inquiry will be handled by Ms. Susan Jameson and Dr.
Alison Sallet.
The delivery of outstanding work from either gentleman will
be negotiated within the relevant groups.
Terry Wattley
##
From: Terence Wattley
To: All Staff
Mr. Marshall Winfield and
Mr. Keith Durridge
Both of the aforementioned will be suspended pending
investigation of certain allegations. The doorcode has been changed.
The
investigation will be carried out by Susan Jameson and Alison
Sallet.
Terry Wattley on behalf of the partners
##
From: James Edwards
To: Marshall Winfield
Fwd: Mr. Marshall
Winfield and Mr. Keith Durridge
Have you seen this?
##
From: Marshall Winfield
To: James Edwards
Yeah. I've just seen it.
Bang goes my promotion then.
Never mind. I'm past caring, to be honest.
If I can just talk to Jane and sort all of this out, I'll be happy.
Although if I
knew I'd get into this much trouble, I would have actually punched Keith. My
life would still be ruined, but at least I would have had the satisfaction that he
would need new teeth.
Marshall
##
From: James Edwards
To: Marshall Winfield
Stevie says that you're
sitting outside Jane's apartment? Is this true?
Man, you must have it
bad.
I'll do what I can for you at this end.
Jim
##
From: Marshall Winfield
To: James Edwards
What can I say? I love
her. I realise that now more than ever.
I still can't believe she'd take Keith's
word over mine.
M
##
From: Jane Porter
To:
[email protected]
My job is in jeopardy, my relationship with
Marsh is a mess. My life is totally destroyed. I hope you're
happy.
Jane
##
From: [email protected]
To: Mike Taylor
Dude. Had an email from Jane. She's
really upset. I didn't realise your plan would mess with her personal life so
much.
Any chance we could call this off?
Ashby
##
From: Mike Taylor
To:
[email protected]
I explained the strategy to you and you agreed
with it at the time. Too late to call it off now.
Besides, it's working. Have
you seen the message boards? Everyone is talking about you. And your album
will be out next week. The timing is perfect, even though I say so
myself!
Now, you let me worry about the publicity and you guys
concentrate on what you do best! Make music.
##
From: [email protected]
To: Mike Taylor
Call off the hounds or we go public
about it all being a gimmick.
Pete, Josh, Lee and Ashby
PS: We mean
it.