Second Time Around (31 page)

They went shopping together and bought Katie a lovely suit, perfect for interviews. Katie was on a high, thinking of all of the opportunities ahead. Her excitement was contagious and Jess felt
stronger about the prospect of meeting Louis on Friday. Well, perhaps not stronger exactly, but more confident. At least Katie would be there to support her.

Jess had switched off her phone, telling her family that it was in for repair and giving them Katie’s number if they needed to contact her; and the relief she felt from not jumping every
time a text came through was immense. She also, after a moment’s hesitation, sent Cal Katie’s number too. Just in case.

When Friday evening arrived, Jess dressed down in jeans, a faded blue shirt and flat boots. She examined her reflection in the mirror and was confident that she didn’t
look remotely sexy. Tying her hair back in a high ponytail, she went in search of Katie.

She found her friend in the bathroom, putting on her makeup. Katie eyed her. ‘You look as if you’re going to the supermarket instead of a party.’

‘Good. That’s the look I was going for.’

‘Are you nervous?’ Katie asked, her eyes full of sympathy.

‘Terrified,’ Jess admitted.

‘I won’t leave your side, I promise.’

When they arrived at the pub, the party was in full swing. Jess immediately spotted Louis, holding court. He was too engrossed to have spotted her yet and she had time to
check out the room. She looked around for a familiar face and spotted Eve and Maria, a couple of journalists she’d met a few times. They were on the far side of the room to Louis and Jess
decided that would be a safe place to hide out.

‘This way.’ She tugged Katie towards them and, after making the introductions, went to the bar to buy a round of drinks. Surreptitiously, she looked around. There weren’t many
people she knew and she felt out of her comfort zone. Jess had never had problems mixing before but Louis’s presence in the room after all that had transpired between them had turned her into
a nervous wallflower. But she had to look confident and above it all so, pasting on a wide smile, she carried the drinks back to the three women, nodding and saying hello as she went.

‘Where is he?’ Katie murmured, when the other two women were chatting.

‘Over there, by the pillar, dark suit, red tie,’ Jess said, nodding in Louis’s direction.

Katie looked over Jess’s shoulder, wrinkling up her nose in disgust. ‘What did you see in
him
?’

‘Does it matter?’ Jess said, irritated and turned to compliment Eve on a piece she’d written during the week. It was about the current homeless crisis, something they all had
an opinion on, and they were soon engaged in a lively debate. Jess watched Katie argue a point with Maria and marvelled, as always, at how comfortable her friend was in any situation. Enjoying the
chat, Jess began to relax. Soon she would circulate and to hell with Louis. It was important to keep in touch with colleagues and make new contacts in the industry.

‘Ladies, why are you depriving us of your lovely company?’

Jess froze at the voice next to her ear. Louis slipped one arm around her and the other around Eve. Her colleague immediately stepped out of his embrace with a roll of her eyes and Jess turned
away to pick up her drink, moving out of his reach.

Maria eyeballed him. ‘Hi, Louis. We were just talking about the increasing prevalence of harassment in the workplace. I was saying to Jess that she should write a piece on it.’

Looking slightly uneasy, Louis shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘Sounds like a plan. Know anyone that you could interview?’ He looked straight at Jess.

Completely thrown by the question, she was at a loss for words.

‘I know someone,’ Katie said, moving closer. In her heels, she towered over Louis and he looked up at her with narrowed eyes.

‘And you are?’ he asked, with a cool smile.

‘Katie Coburn. I’m a friend of Jess’s.’ She didn’t offer her hand.

‘Nice to meet you.’ His eyes went from her to Jess. ‘I’ll look forward to reading the article. Paul!’ Louis waved to a man across the room. ‘Excuse
me.’

‘What an asshole,’ Katie murmured.

‘A total scumbag,’ Maria assured her. ‘Don’t look so worried, Jess. You don’t have to write anything. I just thought that he could do with a shot across the bow.
The man’s been mauling you since you started writing for the
Gazette
and you’re not the first.’

Jess stared at her. Had everyone noticed? Her cheeks flushed with humiliation.

‘Why doesn’t anyone report him?’ Katie asked as Jess stood, speechless.

‘He’s harmless, really. Once you make it quite clear that you’re not willing to play along, he backs off.’ Maria looked Jess straight in the eye. ‘It’s his
wife I feel sorry for.’

Mortified, Jess excused herself and pushed her way through the throng to the loos. Shaking, she locked herself into a cubicle, flipped down the seat and sat down. It was clear that not only did
Maria and Eve know what Louis was up to, they knew that she hadn’t resisted. She stifled tears of shame as she heard someone come into the room.

‘Jess?’

She sighed in relief at Katie’s voice. ‘In here.’

‘Open up.’

She reached up and lifted the latch and her friend came in, locking the door behind her.

‘You okay?’ Katie leaned against the door and looked down at Jess.

‘No.’

‘Cheer up, this is good news.’

Jess looked up at her. ‘Didn’t you hear them?’

‘Didn’t you?’ Katie retorted. ‘He’s pathetic and, as soon as you show some balls, he’ll back off. It’s obvious from talking to Eve and Maria that
he’s just a perverted bully.’

‘But what about what he did to me?’ Jess protested.

Katie sighed. ‘Sorry, Jess, but you let him into your life. You let him use you and, because you were so eager to please, he obviously thought he could get away with anything. Now you need
to tell him that he can’t.’

‘I’ve been such a fool, Katie.’

‘No.’ Katie sighed. ‘He took advantage of you after your mum’s accident when you were vulnerable.’

‘You’re right. I was so upset about Mum and he was kind and really seemed to care. When I wasn’t at the hospital, I ran to Louis and took the comfort he gave me.’

‘You had me to run to.’ Katie looked hurt.

‘I did, and you were great.’ Jess stood up. ‘But sometimes there’s nothing quite like having a man’s arms around you.’

‘I know. So, what now?’

What now? The time for dithering was over. She’d seen the challenge in Maria’s eyes and knew what she had to do. ‘If I can get through the rest of this evening without dying of
embarrassment and shame, I will try and find a moment to talk to Louis.’

‘Not somewhere isolated,’ her friend warned.

‘No.’ Jess had no intention of going anywhere alone with Louis.

‘And you need to be tough,’ Katie pressed.

Jess gave a grim laugh. ‘Don’t worry. This time I won’t leave him in any doubt that I’m serious. And, if he still won’t listen, I’ll report him to the
Gazette
’s board.’

Katie grinned. ‘Good girl. Come on, let’s get back out there. Hold your head up high, have a stiff drink.’

‘Lead the way,’ Jess said and, taking a deep breath, went out to rejoin the party.

The rest of the evening wasn’t as bad as she’d expected. Louis kept his distance, probably because Katie never left her side, and there were no further incidents.
Jess had had a little too much to drink but that was down to nerves. She was about to suggest to Katie that they head home when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

‘Do you come here often?’

Jess swung round and laughed as Cal grinned down at her, hazel eyes twinkling. ‘Cal!’ Thanks to the wine and a couple of shots of tequila, she threw her arms around him. ‘How
great to see you.’

He looked slightly startled but linked his hands loosely around her waist. ‘And you.’

‘Aren’t you going to introduce me?’ Katie asked, looking on, amused.

‘This is my best friend, Katie Coburn. Katie, this is Cal McLoughlin.’

She shook his hand, smiling. ‘Great to finally meet you, Cal.’

‘Likewise.’ Cal grinned and glanced back at Jess. ‘Can I get you two a drink, or am I interrupting something?’

‘Just a boring work do that Jess dragged me along to for protection,’ Katie assured him. ‘A glass of wine would be lovely.’

‘It hasn’t been boring,’ Jess protested.

‘Not once you stay on the right side of the room,’ Katie agreed, her eyes going to where Louis was standing.

Jess looked at Cal and saw his eyes narrow as he followed Katie’s gaze. His eyes came back to search hers.

‘Is everything okay?’

She smiled and nodded. ‘All under control.’

‘Good. I’ll get the drinks.’

‘He is seriously hot,’ Katie said, watching him walk away. ‘Want me to leave you two alone?’

Jess was sorely tempted but decided against it. ‘No, I’ve had far too much to drink to be trusted and so have you. I think we should stick together.’

Katie put an arm round her shoulders. ‘You’re right, hon. We don’t need men to have fun, do we? Still’ – her eyes glimmered mischievously as she watched Cal coming
towards them – ‘I imagine you could have lots of fun with this guy.’

‘Hands off,’ Jess warned, giggling. ‘You can have Louis.’

‘I’d rather chew my own leg off,’ Katie assured her. ‘Must use the loo, ’scuse me!’

Cal handed Jess her wine and set Katie’s on the ledge beside them. ‘Your friend seems like fun.’

‘She is. So, what brings you here? Are you with a group?’

‘I was with a couple of mates. We were just leaving when I spotted you, so I came over to say hello.’

Jess beamed at him, happily. ‘I’m glad you did.’

An hour later, Cal put the two of them into a taxi.

‘He’s lovely,’ Katie sighed, waving to him before leaning her head on Jess’s shoulder.

‘He is,’ Jess agreed, aware of her silly, dreamy, drunken smile. Next thing she knew, the driver was asking for directions. They arrived at Katie’s little flat in Milltown and
Jess nudged her. ‘Come on, sleepy head, we’re home.’

Jess helped Katie to bed and then walked unsteadily into the kitchen and drank a large glass of tap water before carrying another into the sitting room. She flopped on to the
sofa-bed, smiling. It had turned out to be a much nicer evening than she’d expected. There hadn’t been an opportunity to speak to Louis, which was a pity, given how fired up she’d
been, but bumping into Cal had been a bonus. He’d obviously been happy to see her tonight and, when he’d kissed her goodnight, he’d held her close, his lips lingering on hers.
Suddenly she had a yearning to hear his voice. Grinning, she pulled her overnight bag out from under the sofa-bed, took out her phone and switched it on. There were a number of texts, which she
decided to ignore for now, but, when she was looking for Cal’s number, another text came through. Smiling, she figured it had to be him, forgetting she’d told him that she was leaving
her phone off. Her smile faded when she saw it was from Louis. Mindful of her wish to talk to him, she read the text.

Saturday? What did that mean? Still, it didn’t seem angry or threatening but why did he want to see her? Despite her earlier bravado, Jess didn’t relish the idea of taking Louis on,
but, after the conversation with Maria and Eve, she knew she had to. It had dawned on Jess that Cal was keeping his distance until Louis was out of the picture. So, if she wanted to date him, she
needed to bite the bullet. And there was one thing Jess was sure of: she definitely wanted to see Cal again. She didn’t bother responding to Louis’s text and decided against calling
Cal. Once ready for bed, she drank all her water. Tomorrow was a big day and she needed a clear head. Turning off the light, Jess settled down on the lumpy bed, determined that tomorrow night she
would be back in her own bed, safe and sound.

The next morning, Jess wrote a note to Katie and set it on the bedside locker along with a glass of water and two painkillers. Then, taking her carryall, she crept out of the
flat.

On the bus she read Louis’s messages. They started out mild and got progressively more menacing. She decided to forward copies of them to Katie’s phone, just in case she needed proof
at a future date. Gazing out of the window, she hoped that Louis would be reasonable and not force her hand. She’d decided to meet him at her local coffee shop. It was quiet but small, and
she’d feel safe there.

Jess waited until she got to her flat to send him a text. After a moment’s hesitation, she was about to send Cal a text, too, to let him know her plan and then remembered him saying he was
working this morning. She decided to leave it and call him later to fill him in.

Seconds later, Louis replied, saying that he’d see her there in an hour. She stared at the text, suddenly nervous, and took a few deep, settling breaths. She paced the flat and left
fifteen minutes early but, as she went to leave the house, Jess gasped to find Louis on the doorstep.

‘What the hell are you doing here?’ Jess said, hearing the tremor in her voice and hoping he didn’t. Louis was looking smug, almost triumphant. She wondered whether she should
scream or shout, but Louis was already gripping her arm and marching her towards the stairs. She thought about the last time this had happened and felt sick and helpless. ‘Stop it,
you’re hurting me,’ she said, but it came out as a whisper. Where was the strong woman who was going to stand up to him?

Louis took her keys and opened the door to the flat, pushing her inside. Jess felt herself falling and put her hands out to save herself, but her elbow collided painfully with the wall. She lay
on the floor, winded, staring up at him, and suddenly her fear turned to anger. Fine, she might end up raped, dead or both, but she’d had enough. ‘What the fuck do you think
you’re doing?’

‘I saw you with your boyfriend and I thought you needed reminding of what it’s like to be with a real man,’ he said, his hands fumbling with his belt.