‘We’ve been thinking,’ Megan said as we all sat in her kitchen on a grey and soggy afternoon. ‘You need to get in touch with that teacher guy – you’ve been really mopey, and I think it’s because you miss him.’
I hadn’t told them about the cottage yet. I wanted the solicitors to make some progress first, just in case the vendors changed their minds. ‘Megan, I have a lot on, I’ve left my husband, and I’m pregnant – of course I’ve been mopey,’ I said.
‘Especially mopey,’ Kate kindly corrected.
I rolled my eyes. ‘I just need to focus on moving forward. Besides that, I’m pregnant and in no position to start dating anyone. Especially someone who quite rightly hates my guts. I think it’s fair to leave Andrew alone so he can meet someone else. He deserves to be happy.’ I felt a huge desire to speak to him again, but I knew it wasn’t right.
Megan cocked her head, seemingly unconvinced, and Kate said, helpfully, ‘You’ll definitely need to work on your pelvic floor as soon as the baby comes if you do go anywhere near another man.’
I glared at her and then sighed. ‘Look, if you want the brutal and honest truth, I’m mopey because James sent me a note asking, no telling, me to come home. Practically ordering me, like my dad would’ve done when I was fifteen and in breach of my curfew.’
‘I hope you told him to suck his finger and stick it in a plug socket!’ Kate said.
I shot her a sideways glance. ‘Not quite. However, I did call him to give him a piece of my mind, and guess who answered?’
Kate and Megan stared at me blankly.
‘Samantha!’ I said. ‘She was in our, James’s, house.’ I shook my head, still unable to believe the audacity.
Megan let out a shriek of horror. ‘What did he have to say for himself?’
‘Basically, what did I expect, I’d left him alone, he has needs, blah, blah, blah.’
Kate’s nostrils flared. ‘What an arse.’
‘I bet you’d do anything for a drink right now,’ Megan said.
‘I could murder a hot chocolate.’ I looked at Megan with my best doe eyes.
She sighed but went rummaging in the cupboards and while she gathered the hot chocolate powder, the milk, and a pan, Kate produced a piece of paper with some scrawled notes on.
‘So, it’s time, isn’t it?’ She smoothed out the paper, enabling me to see what it was.
‘The list,’ I said.
‘The list,’ she repeated.
‘I’m not sure about this. Megan?’ I shouted, and she turned around from the stove. ‘How did you feel after getting revenge on Mike?’
She put the spoon to her chin. ‘It felt good to pay him back a little. Just seeing his face when his pride and joy was no longer brag-worthy gave me a little drop of satisfaction. But I when he came around shouting the odds and threatening solicitors and things, I was petrified.’
‘Ahh, but he didn’t have a leg to stand on,’ Kate butted in.
‘I know that now; from what I’ve heard on the grapevine, he did actually speak to a solicitor who told him straight that I could do what I liked with my car! Okay, so yes, it felt good and I’m glad I hit back at that bastard.’ She poured the milk into the pan and lit the stove.
I was so cross with James; finding out that he was the complete opposite of what I’d thought he was had been too much to bear. I’d given him half my life and he’d just devastated and humiliated me by way of thanks. He’d left me and our child alone. The fact he’d given the baby no regard infuriated me the most, and his blasé attitude was the final straw.
‘Okay, Kate, but I don’t want revenge – it’s not who I am. I want to teach him a lesson!’
Kate rested her head in her hands. ‘That’s my girl. What do you have in mind?’
‘Well, James is stupidly materialistic,’ I started.
Megan raised an accusatory brow at me. ‘Yes, okay, we all are a little.’
I looked pointedly at Kate.
‘But I’m still delightful,’ she replied, smirking.
‘Anyway, his image is everything – he put work before me, wanted the house, the car, the suits, and the slut. So what better way to seek revenge than to strip all that away from him?’
Megan furrowed her brow, confused. ‘Weren’t we just planning a car unicorn or something?’
‘Megan, James could just buy a new car. This is the problem; he has everything and values nothing. To really hurt him and teach him a lesson, we need to rip out his lifeline: his money. But we need to bide our time.’
Megan placed a steaming mug of hot chocolate in front of me and I thanked her.
‘I’m intrigued,’ Kate admitted. ‘But don’t forget you’ve got a divorce to go through and believe me, you need it to be amicable at least.’
‘I know. I’m just thinking James should be knocked down a peg or two. Perhaps he shouldn’t take all the nice things he has for granted.’
Megan still looked confused. ‘I’m not sure I follow.’
‘She said, rip out his lifeline. We’re going to get him fired,’ Kate said.
‘That’s right.’ Kate was always on my wavelength when it mattered. ‘We mess with his career, his image, and leave him with nothing.’
‘But, if James were to lose everything, your financial support would be lost too and you’re pregnant,’ Megan said.
‘I know and I’ve already thought about it. I can manage with what I have and I can always go back to work. The last thing I want is James’s money that he made rolling around naked with Samantha. My life might not be quite as lavish and I may no longer be able to afford Lauren’s high-society balls but who cares? I’ll have my baby, my health, and hopefully still a great arse.’
‘I don’t know about the arse, Charlotte; it’s already losing its perk but not having to go to any of Lauren’s balls is a great trade-off and you can always get a butt lift.’
‘Don’t listen to her,’ Megan jumped in, taking Kate and me by surprise with her assertiveness. ‘We’ll have that arse whipped into shape in six months flat.’
‘It had better be three,’ I said.
‘So how do we get him fired?’ Kate asked.
‘He’s an equity partner so he can’t be fired as such, but he can be voted out or asked to leave. I was thinking that the first thing we do is capture some evidence of what he gets up to on company property in company time. If we share that with the Haiden brothers I imagine that would be enough for them to ask James to leave. I just don’t know how to go about it yet.’
‘Okay, well, you can leave that to me.’
I shot her a concerned look.
‘Don’t worry. I’ll be discreet – it’s best you don’t know anything in case James confronts you about it.’
Kate left to meet Carl for dinner somewhere and Sam called in after work. I skulked off to the spare room. It felt strange having people around me all the time. I was so used to my own company or James’s quiet presence that I still found myself needing alone time at Megan’s. It wouldn’t be long before the baby came, and time to myself time would definitely be a thing of the past.
Alone with my thoughts, they soon meandered to the place where they always seemed to go lately: to Andrew. My mind whirled back to our chats, his messages, and the fact my stomach flipped every time I saw his picture. It had been over a week since I sent him the message apologising and he must have seen it by now. I drew a breath before switching on my laptop and logging into the website. My heart tingled with anticipation as the little circular timer spun around and around in response to Megan’s inadequate Wi-Fi, which I hadn’t upgraded to fibre for her because I was on a meddling detox.
0 New Messages
I hit refresh repeatedly as if it would magically produce a reply. Then I thought about sending something else and went into my messages to double-check whether my last message sent. It had – it was just sat there unanswered. Andrew’s beautiful face was missing from the grey box in the top left-hand corner where it should have been. I clicked the blank profile picture icon to go to his page.
User not found.
That was strange. I searched for him by name.
0 Matches.
Then my fingers started to feel clammy and my chest tight. I was starting to panic.
He’d disappeared.
***
The house purchase started to progress and solicitors were working their magic in trying to finalise the sale as quickly as possible. I’d made arrangements with my cleaner to start boxing up my belongings at home and put everything in one of the spare bedrooms. I’d collect them on moving day. I’d deleted all things Me & You, including Andrew’s phone number – I’d promised Andrew that’s what I was going to do and I hadn’t felt able to forget about him whilst it was lingering on the back burner. He’d made his feelings quite clear through his silence. James hadn’t been in touch, which I was relieved about, and I’d had a relatively nausea-free morning. Things were looking up.
‘Do you remember that George Clooney lookalike who works at James’s office?’ Kate said breathlessly the following evening as she bounded through the door.
‘Vaguely,’ I said, unsure as to where this was going.
‘Well, it transpires that he’s a terrible flirt and a sucker for an Italiano.’ She grinned, flicking her hair back.
‘What, like a pizza?’ Sam asked, puzzled. He was sat twiddling something that looked like some part from a lawnmower. Even though he’d found himself an apartment, he still spent an awful lot of time at Megan’s house.
Ignoring him, Kate continued, ‘I acted so disappointed to find James was out to lunch when I turned up for my “appointment” that he let me sit and wait in James’s office because he felt sorry for me. I managed to turn on the little camera thingy connected to his PC that he uses for Skype and stream it to an app on my phone. I can’t believe that philandering husband of yours still uses his mother’s name for his work password too. Anyway, silly me, I realised I had the wrong day for my appointment after all, so I thanked George C and left. By the close of business, the goings-on in that room started to represent an X-rated movie.’ She placed a hand on mine. ‘I’m sorry, Charlotte . . . and Sam.’ She reached down into her bag and pulled out an envelope, which she slid across the table.
‘You don’t have to look at them, but we have everything we need.’
I glanced at the innocent-looking manila envelope. My imagination was enough; I didn’t need the mental images scorching into my brain. ‘I think I have a good enough idea,’ I said grimly.
‘I don’t need to see what they get up to either,’ Sam added.
‘So we just need to decide what to do next,’ Kate said. ‘You could probably use this evidence to get a quick divorce and come out fairly well financially. You’d probably get custody too based on how he wasn’t ever home and has all these extra-curricular activities going on – not that I’m a solicitor or anything.’
‘I don’t want that. I don’t want my baby to become a bargaining chip, and I’m not out to milk James for all he’s worth. I have some money and that will be enough. If there’s one thing I’ve learned through all of this it’s that the money is irrelevant – the nice things are all very well, but it’s the people around us that matter. James never saw that. Cutting his financial umbilical cord is enough to teach him a life lesson. Anything else will be no more than a minor inconvenience.
‘As long as you’re sure,’ Kate said. It was understandable her wanting to make sure. She did well out of her divorce, and I knew I could too if I’d wanted. The truth was, I didn’t want.
‘There was something else.’ Kate paused, ensuring the refocus of the group. ‘Whilst I was fiddling with wires and things I had to rummage around on the floor to make sure the camera was plugged into the PC box properly – I know, me crawling around on the floor, I’m such an amazing friend blah blah blah.’
She flipped her head from side to side but I wished she’d get to the point.
‘Anyway, underneath that heavy mahogany desk there was a teeny gap between that and the floor and I spotted a little corner of something peeping out. Worried I’d knocked something over I pulled it out. It was a file.’ She bent down to rummage in her Mulberry tote and pulled out a file, which she laid on the desk. ‘I don’t think it had fallen under there accidentally because it was pretty well wedged in. But look, the folder is marked “for shredding” so why would you hide that? Anyway, I sensed it might be something important and pulled it out for a look and interestingly the documents inside seem to link to . . . guess?’ Her wide eyes darted between the three of us eagerly.
‘We don’t know,’ said Megan.
‘Get to the point,’ I said.
‘Bracken Peel. They’re a huge company and it seemed odd there was a file on their accounts and things under James’s desk. Wasn’t there something in the news about it? Wasn’t one of the directors arrested or something?’ she asked.
I cleared my throat. ‘Yes, he’s been accused of embezzlement. It’s the huge case James and Samantha were working on.’
‘Embezzlement, as in squirrelling away money into secret places?’ Kate said, pushing the folder towards me.
I scanned the documents, most of which were bank statements from offshore accounts and invoices set up in businesses registered in Grand Cayman. There was one link joining the dots. The businesses were in the name of Phil Brady, the director accused of embezzling money, and the invoices were all to Bracken Peel for various services. The bank statements showed mostly deposits, regular deposits, for large amounts. Twenty thousand pounds here, fifty there, and there were copy invoices for matching amounts. It had been going on for years.
‘What is it?’ Sam asked.
‘It looks like it could be evidence proving embezzlement, unless Phil Brady has multiple legitimate businesses set up abroad. But they’d have been investigated, and why would James hide this? It’s either innocent or it’s not but either way, it shouldn’t be stuffed under a solid mahogany desk, it should be part of the case.’ I looked to Kate for answers I knew she didn’t have.
‘Could he have been paid off?’ Sam asked, stretching over the table to see the documents.
I shrugged. ‘Not that I’d noticed but I didn’t have anything to do with James’s finances.’ I tapped my finger on the table, trying to think of a reason James would get involved in something like that. Then something hit me. ‘Ages ago, when he was feeling guilty about leaving me by myself so much, or at least pretending to feel guilty, he mentioned how the case would be worth it in the end. At the time, I thought he was talking about how it would put the law firm on the map, but maybe you’re right, Sam. Or maybe his motivation was both.’
‘My guess is, the money was coming from the Bracken Peel account and this account belongs to the director.’ I pushed the folder to Sam who eyed it carefully.
‘Yes, it does look suspicious – large sums of money moving into an offshore account, but would he really hide this file to protect a guy they knew was guilty? Sam said.
‘I don’t know.’ I shrugged. I didn’t know anything any more.
‘Give me that.’ Kate took the folder back and began flipping back and forth between pages. ‘There is only one reason I can think of. Here.’ She took out a few of the pages and spread them across the dining table. ‘Look, there isn’t just money coming in, there’s a payment of ten thousand here, and again here, and again there and more payments of twenty-thousand pounds all to the same account. One hundred grand to lose a few bits of paper sounds like a motive to me.’
‘That isn’t solid evidence; we’d have to join the dots if we were going to prove this,’ Megan said.
‘So where does this leave Samantha?’ Sam asked.
‘Well all the payments going out are to the one account. Either she’s in on it and has been promised a cut of the money or she knows nothing about it.’ Kate shrugged. ‘We need to see who this account belongs to.’
Things were moving too quickly. ‘Hold on a minute, the plan was to get some evidence of James having it off in the office – this could send them to prison.’ I didn’t want that.
Kate shook her head. ‘The photographs will come in handy for your divorce, but Haiden and Haiden could just shrug it off. If we can prove that James accepted bribes, it will definitely pack a bigger punch. Listen, the case is going to trial soon. Haiden and Haiden have time to turn this over, present it as “new evidence” and get a ticking off. The director will have to change his plea to guilty and they will have to adjust the defence accordingly. If they want to take action against James it will bring the whole firm into disrepute. My guess is they’ll ask him to resign.’
‘It’s a risk,’ I said, but it made sense. The case had already made the national news. Did they want a ‘minor blip’ on their hands or a major ‘cover-up’ scandal? ‘You’re right. Sam, what do you think?’
‘Do it.’
‘Okay, so now we need proof,’ Kate said.
‘We need to prove that bank account is linked to James.’
Kate shook her head. ‘Okay but this all needs to be anonymous; if it comes back to you or Sam, the divorces could get messier. You’ll need to search James’s office and computer at your house – can you get in without him knowing?’
I nodded. ‘I think so.’
‘What if Haiden and Haiden bury the evidence themselves?’ Sam said. He had a point but I knew them.
‘They’re as straight as arrows. They’ll be devastated to find out James has done this and they’ll want to put it right.’
‘So we have a plan?’ Megan smiled. We all looked at one another and nodded.
‘Yes,’ we agreed in harmony.
‘Great, I’ll open some wine and I’ll make you a hot chocolate.’ She directed the last comment at me.
‘So, Charlotte, have you thought any more about your primary teacher?’ Megan asked, bringing the drinks over.
I let out a deep breath. ‘As a matter of fact, I have. I checked my messages to see if he’d been in touch.’ I sipped my hot chocolate. Megan was becoming a dab hand at making them, and I wasn’t complaining. ‘He’s gone. I think I’ve put him off online dating, maybe even dating as a whole, but either way, he’s gone.’ Leaving a heaviness in my chest.
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Megan said sympathetically. ‘You’ll meet someone.’
I knew she meant well but I wasn’t looking. I was going to be a mummy and that was enough. Andrew was just different – to James, at least. He wasn’t polished to fine perfection; he was rough around the edges. He didn’t wear an expensive suit or have his hair cut fortnightly (or at all by the looks of it), and most importantly, he didn’t take life too seriously. He seemed sensitive and generous, probably through working with children, and I just felt as though we’d not had a chance to get to know one another. It was my fault, though, and if I hadn’t have meddled in the first place I wouldn’t have met him and I wouldn’t have an aching hole in the pit of my stomach. I smiled to acknowledge Megan’s comment.
‘But you’re not interested in anyone else are you?’ she asked. Evidently, my smile presented itself in a less-than-convincing way. I shook my head.
‘Well fight for him. Find this guy!’ she said. ‘You must know where he works, or what about his number? There must be something.’
‘Well, he works in a school so I can’t go stalking around there, and besides that, I don’t know which one. He goes to the same gym as Samantha – I saw him there when Sam and I went to check up on her – but I’d look crazy turning up there and I did have his number but I deleted it. Using it would have been yet another betrayal. He’d made his feelings quite clear.’
‘I could go to the gym,’ Megan suggested.
‘Thanks, but no – I’m not that pushy, interfering woman any more.’
Megan looked over at Kate for assistance. ‘Don’t look at me, I’m on revenge duty – you can do matchmaking.’ She held up her hands, emphasising her protest.
‘Thanks, but let’s leave matchmaking for now. I need to focus on being a parent and besides that, who’d want to date a pregnant whale like me?’ Kate wrinkled her nose in a less-than-encouraging gesture of agreement.
I decided I might as well tell them all about my plans to buy a house. ‘How about we focus on something a bit more positive?’
The three of them looked at me, intrigued.
‘I’m in the process of buying a house.’ I grinned. ‘It’s a small but pretty cottage in Wilmslow that looks perfect. The solicitors have everything in hand and hopefully, I’ll be moving in six weeks from now. Pretty soon I’ll have a house and a baby and no designer stuff. A completely new life.’ I plastered a smile on my face. ‘Who needs men anyway?’ Putting Andrew behind me had to be part of my new plan.
‘That’s fantastic news!’ Megan said, coming over to hug me. ‘And you’re right, you’ll have everything you need – you don’t need a man to be happy.’
Sam smirked. ‘Does it have a garden? Because there’s a man right here that you might need.’
I smiled. ‘Sorry, Sam, there’s not much of a garden but I might need a hand potting some floral plants around the yard.’
‘Hmm, I suppose you’ll want special rates and everything now.’
‘I think I might – Kate’s about to wring me out.’ I laughed. ‘Shall I show you the brochure?’
There was a chorus of yeses so I went upstairs to dig it out. ‘Ta-dah!’ I said, plonking it in the centre of the dining table.
‘Ahh, it’s lovely,’ Megan cooed. ‘I can just see it come Christmas time, with a wreath on the door and fairy lights in the windows. It’s so cosy. I love it!’
‘It’s lovely, Charlotte, a perfect place for you and the baby,’ Sam said.
‘It’s the size of a really shit wine fridge!’ Kate observed.
I smiled. ‘Your wine fridge, perhaps! I know it’s small.’ I glared at Kate. ‘But it’s all I need. All we need.’
***
Andrew had mentioned that he sometimes went to Didsbury Park after school to get some fresh air, and since I’d not been suffering from morning sickness quite as much, I thought walking might do me some good. I convinced myself I was going for the fresh air and not for a chance meeting and put on some gym wear of Megan’s since mine was still at home: long black leggings, a multi-coloured gym vest, and a black hoodie. I stuffed my phone in my pocket before shouting to Megan that I was going out. Nobody replied; I assumed she’d gone to Sam’s. It was safe to say, things were progressing, despite my advice.
The park was quiet so I put my headphones in and started walking at a brisk pace. I might as well keep my legs toned if nothing else. I kept my eyes peeled as I walked around the green and followed the path but saw no sign of him. I looped back around, but still no sign. I continued doing laps and even sat on a bench, watching some teenagers play a game of football. At one point, a dark-haired man approached and my heart leapt in my chest. But it wasn’t him. It was stupid of me to think I’d see him, and if I had, he’d have either ignored me or given me another piece of his mind anyway.
As I got up to leave, my phone buzzed with a message.
Can you come over? I have a new development. K x
I got in my car and drove straight to Kate’s house, pulling up between her Range Rover and Carl’s Bentley once she’d opened the gates for me.
‘Come in,’ she said, appearing in the doorway. ‘Carl’s watching the football in the lounge so we’ll go into the snug.’ I followed her across her dark oak hallway. Silver wallpaper with flecks of glitter lined the walls, and a huge chandelier hung above the sweeping staircase.
‘I’ll get something fiz – I mean soft. I’ve got some cucumber-infused water.’ She went towards the kitchen and returned with a metal jug of water and some glasses.
‘Okay,’ she said, pouring us each a glass. ‘God, this would be so much easier to say if there was alcohol involved.’ She took a breath.
‘It’s not like you to mince your words, Kate – spit it out.’
‘The app on my phone lets me know when movement is detected, so every time James comes in and out of his office, I get a notification and I can view the camera footage. There have been a few client visits, a few Slutty Samantha visits, and then this interesting encounter.’ She passed me the phone.
It was a girl I recognised from his office. A much younger woman. I think she worked on the reception or did admin or something like that. In the picture on the phone, she was sitting on his lap, kissing him. My stomach churned and I passed the phone wordlessly back to Kate.
‘He’s unbelievable,’ she said, putting the phone on the table so she could put an arm around me.
‘God, I feel such a fool,’ I said. ‘These indiscretions could have been going on for years. Since day one – who knows?’
‘I’m sorry, hon,’ Kate said, rubbing my back, but it provided little comfort. ‘To cheer you up, I had a little fun. I thought you might want a little gift for that ex-mother-in-law-to-be of yours.’
‘Oh?’ A gift for Frances was about as desirable as a dose of piles.
‘Okay, it’s a work in progress, and it’s been years since I did marketing at university – it actually feels great putting that degree to some use. Anyway, I made this.’ She produced a brochure of Emsworth, Haiden & Haiden Law, except it differed slightly.
I scanned the top line.
Let Emsworth, Haiden & Haiden Law help you.
Let us handle your case with care. Next to that line was a picture of James holding Samantha in his arms. She was sat on his lap in his office and the corporate logo was providing modest coverage.
We’ll examine your case thoroughly. Next to that was a picture of James with his tongue down the office woman’s throat.
We can recommend highly professional barristers to cater for your needs. A picture of one of the two with her blouse open sitting on James’s lap complemented the caption perfectly.
The leaflet actually looked quite professional. Kate had managed to get the logo right and everything.
‘My marketing is fantastic, isn’t it? Turns out I still have those desktop-publishing skills.’ I got the impression that there was more to this from Kate’s point of view than simply seeking justice.
‘I don’t know what to say.’ I really didn’t. It was so professional-looking, and her days of drinking champers and lunching were clearly a real waste of her talents. It was, however, difficult to look at, from my point of view at least.
‘I’ll take your shock as a compliment,’ she said, beaming.
‘And you should! But what were you planning on doing with it?’
‘My initial plan was to send it to the Haiden brothers but since we have something a little more substantial for them, I thought you might want to send it to Frances, so she can see how hard her glorious son really works.’
‘Whoa, Kate. Stop!’ I goggled. ‘You’re clearly very talented but I can’t possibly do that!’
Her expression fell. ‘Why not?’
I let out a small laugh. ‘Because, it isn’t very becoming of me is it? She already thinks I’m lacking in social decorum. Good effort though.’
When I pulled up outside Megan’s house, my blood ran cold. Frances’s Lexus was parked boldly outside. I’d recognise that brassy gold saloon anywhere. I thought about driving away, but a small part of me was intrigued to see what she wanted. Perhaps James had told her the truth and she was coming to apologise on his behalf. Unlikely.
‘Frances?’ I said, knocking on the window to alert her.
‘Ahh, Charlotte,’ she mouthed and opened the door. She struggled out of the car looking frailer than I’d noticed before. Maybe it was because I no longer cared what she thought and the by-product of that was that she didn’t intimidate me any more.
‘We need to sort out this separation business. James told me you’d left him.’ I was sure the weasel-like mummy’s boy had. ‘Why would you do something like that, Charlotte? Is it the hormones?’ She cast a disapproving glance over my sportswear as though my informal attire reinforced her point.
Rage began to bubble up inside my stomach, and when it reached my chest, it created a tension that could only be rivalled on the North and South Korean border. It took a few steady breaths to stop it erupting out of my mouth. ‘I take it James has been economical with his information?’ I said, clenching my jaw. ‘Perhaps he’s the one you should be talking to.’
‘I don’t follow. If you’ve got an explanation then just spit it out, Charlotte!’
‘I can’t . . . hormones!’ I shrugged and walked into Megan’s house without looking back.
She yelled after me, something about embarrassing the Emsworth family, but I forced myself to carry on.
Once inside, I sunk against the door and keyed a quick message to Kate.
Put Frances back on your mailing list! C x