The Cinderella Reflex (34 page)

They came to a stop and the doors slid open silently, leading them directly into the suite. Tess blinked at the opulence of the surroundings. The sitting room was furnished with an enormous yellow sofa, stuffed with matching cushions. There was an expensive, red leather writing desk slotted into an alcove. A small dining table was dressed with an enormous bouquet of flowers arranged in a cut-glass vase and a bottle of champagne was chilling in a silver bucket.

Jack threw his jacket across the back of the sofa and reached for the champagne. Tess walked over to the window and stared at the storybook scene outside – a patchwork of green fields and an actual babbling brook flowing alongside the walls of the hotel, the water glistening hypnotically as it skimmed over the smooth pebbles of the riverbed.

“Cheers!” Jack came up behind her and handed her a glass of champagne.

“Cheers!” She was about to ask what they were celebrating, but she stopped herself –there’d be time enough to hear about his wedding plans later, after she had enjoyed this last, fantasy evening with him.

“So where did you go that awful day after the launch party?” he asked. “I tried to find you but there appeared to be an omertà about it at Atlantic 1 FM.”

“That’s because nobody there knew. Not even Andrea. I met Chris. Then I switched off my mobile. And then I went to London, to visit my sister. I needed to get away from everything and everyone.”

“I’m not surprised. It all went a bit pear-shaped,” he said ruefully. “Look, I want to apologise for my behaviour. I’m afraid I overreacted on several fronts.”

Tess shrugged. “It’s in the past.”

“But I blamed you for that debacle with Ollie – without even checking if I had read the situation correctly. And I blurted out that Chris had a fiancée – it was cruel. But I honestly thought you knew already.”

“I was grateful you told me. Nobody likes to be treated like a fool.”

Jack’s face darkened. “I know what you mean. One of the reasons I was so angry with you was because you told me you didn’t know whom Richard was having the affair with. And all the while it was common knowledge.”

Tess bit her lip. “Jack, I was never one hundred per cent sure about Helene and Richard. And I wasn’t going to help ruin a marriage on the strength of some office gossip.”

He stood beside her, staring out at the countryside, twirling the stem of his glass around. “There was a silver lining I suppose, because when Louisa found out that Helene was pregnant, she finally threw Richard out. She’s broken-hearted now but with Tricky Dickey out of the picture, I’m hoping she’ll have a chance to recover.”

Tess raised her glass again. “To new futures, so. For everyone. I have a new job in London.” She swallowed. “And you, I believe, are about to become engaged. Congratulations!” There. She had said it, and it had sounded friendly and mature, just as she had wanted it to.

“How do you know about that?” He looked at her curiously.

“Helene Harper told me.” She raised her eyebrows. “I met her earlier at the Travel Cafe. Did you know she’s waitressing there now?”

He grinned. “I heard. And part of me is not surprised. For a bunch of journalists, you lot can sure get your facts wrong.”

“Oh? Well, maybe she had some of the details wrong. But she sounded pretty sure of her facts, actually. She said Paulina herself told her about it. Said she was over the moon.”

He looked away. “God, this is embarrassing. Look, this is for your ears only. Paulina seemed to think that ... well ... that we were heading towards marriage. I honestly don’t know why, but obviously I must have done something to make her believe that. We had a thing in the past but it was – is – over. When I rang her to come on board for the relaunch of Atlantic she seemed to think it was for more than just business – that it was my way of getting back with her.” He shrugged. “Clearly I must have been giving out the wrong signals.”

Tell me about, Tess thought. At least she wasn’t the only one who had misinterpreted Jack McCabe’s charm.

“When we finally sorted out the relaunch, we went out to celebrate and that’s when ... well, Paulina proposed.” Jack sighed. “It all got pretty messy after that. I’m just hoping we can be friends again one day. I’d prefer if when people find out about this, they hear it was Paulina who turned me down. It’s difficult enough for her as it is. I’m only telling you the truth because I want you to know something.” He turned to face her. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Tess. And if you and Chris have split up for good, which I assume you are because – and forgive me if you haven’t heard this yet – he announced the date of his wedding the other day, do you think there might be a chance for us to get to know each other better?”

Tess reached out to steady herself on the windowsill. She felt giddy with relief and disbelief and excitement. Jack wanted to get to know her better! She hadn’t been mistaken about the signals after all then.

“There’s this job in London,” she said half-heartedly. “Sub-editing at a top glossy. And the chance of writing too. But I’m not sure if I want to take it.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“I thought I might go back to college – to art college.” She must sound like a complete flake again. “Or do both, you know? The magazine is only a temporary gig.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“It’s not that simple,” Tess began.

“Actually, it is,” Jack said firmly. “Do whatever makes your heart sing. I’m just glad you’re not thinking of going to work in New Zealand, which is where all the ex-Atlantic 1 FM staff appear to be heading. London is only an hour away. So can I get back to my original question? If you’re really over Chris, I suggest we leave all the boring career stuff for another time and make the most of this lovely hotel.”

“I thought you said you got a suite because you had work to do,” Tess reminded him with a smile.

“I have a five-hour flight ahead of me. Plenty of working time there if you want to do something else tonight?”

Something else was
exactly
what Tess wanted. And she was done with putting obstacles in her own way. Whatever she decided to do in the future, right now, in front of her, was a delicious chance of happy ever after. Or, at the very least, a wonderful night of unbridled lust with Jack McCabe. Who wouldn’t want it? She closed the distance between them and from there it was only a short step to the bedroom. Tess gave up thinking about anything but being in the here and now, feeling Jack’s skin on hers, the taste of his mouth, the way he spun magic into the night with his whispered endearments.

When she awoke it was morning. She shifted against the pillows, disorientated by the strange surroundings. She glanced at the clock on the bedside locker and remembered. Jack would be halfway to New York by now, but they’d made arrangements already to meet up again in London. Delicious fragments of the night before came back to her and she nestled back under the duvet, remembering it all.

She was startled out of her lustful memories by the unmistakeable voice of Chris Conroy filling the room.

“
And now it’s time for your very own Agony Aunt of the Airwaves on Atlantic 1 FM. On this morning’s programme we’re relaunching a slot that was very popular with listeners earlier on in the year. So here to answer all the problems of you lovelorn listeners we have our own Psychic Granny. Rosa is ready and waiting to solve all your dilemmas. Good morning, Rosa.
”

Tess jerked up into a sitting position, adrenaline flooding her system. The hotel radio must have come on automatically and it was catapulting her back into the past. She could feel her heart racing as she listened to Chris and Rosa chatting. She thought about all the hoops that she’d forced herself to jump through as she tried to fit in at the radio station.

How she had become so fixated on playing catch-up with her peers that she had almost lost sight of the great adventure she had been on – travelling the world, seeing unforgettable places, making lifelong friends along the way.
That’s
who Cinema Tess is, she realised. Not the person Chris had tried to convince her to become – someone who would change herself over and over again to suit external circumstances.

But then, if she hadn’t met up with Chris again she might never have learned that lesson. To listen to her own inner voice, the voice that would always tell what the next best thing for her was. And if she hadn’t worked at Atlantic 1 FM she wouldn’t have met Jack, who was now scheduled to have a starring role in her next big Adventure. She swung her legs out of bed, a big grin on her face, eager to begin the next phase of her life.

Showtime
, she thought excitedly.

THE END