‘Good evening, Miss Heath.’
‘Call me Scarlett, please. I’m sorry to drag you out at this time of night, Jackson; I didn’t?—’
‘I work for Mr Ryans any time of day; it’s no trouble.’
I smile with genuine gratitude. The thought of putting any more time than necessary between my bed and me is less than appealing. I sit into the back of the Mercedes and Jackson locks me in. I lean my head back to rest against the leather seat and inhale the lingering scent of Gregory. God, even that makes me want him. My eyes close and his sexy half-smile fills my mind.
‘Scarlett. Scarlett.’ Jackson rocks my shoulders gently, waking me up.
I thank Jackson and make my way to the house, rubbing my dry eyes. Sandy’s still up watching television in the lounge.
‘What’s wrong?’ I ask instinctively, dreading the response.
‘It’s okay, don’t panic. He’s been very unsettled today but the doctor called again and gave him something to help him sleep.’
With a sigh, I slump onto the sofa next to Sandy, who wraps her arm around me. My heart rate returns to manageable as I lean into her shoulder.
‘Are you okay?’ I ask.
‘Absolutely,’ she whispers as she pulls me more tightly into her side. ‘I know you don’t want to talk about it, neither do I, but the doctor left some brochures today. Some of the places look very nice, like posh hotels.’
She leans towards the coffee table to retrieve the brochures and I slip out of her embrace, instantly missing the sweet smell of pastry on her wool cardigan.
‘Can we talk about this tomorrow?’
Sandy nods.
I kiss her on the cheek and wish her goodnight then shuffle along the floor and up the stairs where I collapse onto my bed.
Flushing hot then shivering cold, I toss and turn all night.
8
It’s a thoroughly miserable Friday morning. I fight with my umbrella in the wind and rain. The bottom of my knee-length dress is a darker shade of red than the rest when I eventually arrive into the muggy air of the Tube platform. The damp, grey mac that I thought was waterproof is clinging to my arms.
The signal on my phone drifts in and out as the Tube moves between over and under land but I have reception for long enough to find that my three o’clock meeting at Eclectic Technologies has been moved to ten this morning.
‘Great! That’s just great!’ I say, unintentionally loud, thrusting it into my bag.
With the exception of the woman sitting opposite me, who rolls her eyes and tuts, no one else seems to notice my ill temper. The man sitting in the seat to my left still snores with his mouth wide open. The woman to my right is lost in her novel. The girl standing in the middle of the aisle continues to tap her foot and chew her gum in time to the sound bellowing out of her earmuff-sized headphones.
‘Scarlett!’ Jack yells before I even have a chance to swap my flats for the heels under my desk at the office.
Obligingly, I trudge in his direction.
‘Hi! How was your trip?’
‘How’s the Eclectic deal coming?’ he barks from behind his desk.
‘Fine. I have a meeting with the board this morning so I’m heading straight back out. I have a few questions for them; could we discuss it when I’m back?’
Ignoring my question, he flicks his hand, motioning for me to leave his office.
His sleazy eyes burn into my back as I walk away and he makes a wet sapping noise with his mouth.
It’s not long before Margaret tells me my transport is outside to take me to Eclectic Technologies’ office. I have just enough time for a whistle-stop tour of Outlook and to gather my bundle of documents.
‘My out-of-office reply is directed to you, Margaret. I’ll be in a meeting for a couple of hours at least.’
