‘Guilt, maybe.’ I shrug, feigning nonchalance, but already wondering what part Gregory played in this.
‘A man like that? I doubt it. And three women? I hope he rots in jail.’
I see Gregory’s red knuckles in my mind and hear his words, He’s going to get what’s coming to him. Chills strike my neck and shoulders. I’m grateful for the interruption of Margaret’s tiptoeing kitten heels.
‘One latte,’ she smiles, handing me the warm, cardboard cup. ‘Scarlett, I, well, I?—’
‘It’s okay, Margaret, I’m okay. Thank you.’
Her relief is audible.
‘Oh, Mr Wallace called earlier and asked me to let him know when you were next in the office. He said not to rush you, just when you’re in. Would you like me to tell him you’re here today or should I put him off for you?’
Neil Wallace is the head of the corporate division and my ultimate boss. A lanky, wealthy-looking man, well spoken. He made his name in his early thirties on two or three enormous deals and now, only in his forties, he earns seven figures a year. He’s one of those charismatic men who can charm a client until they want to polish his shoes whilst writing the firm a hefty cheque. I glance from my watch to the stack of documents on my desk. The stack marked Eclectic Technologies that I’ve been trying to ignore since I arrived.
‘Tell him I’ll see him whenever he’s ready please, Margaret.’
‘Will do.’ The hem of her blue, tweed skirt twirls as she turns to leave the room.
‘Speaking of the billionaire,’ Amanda croons as she picks the top Eclectic Technologies document from the dreaded pile, ‘how are you guys? Is it super saucy?’
Her mischievous wink is usually impossible to resist, but today, it doesn’t lighten my mood.
‘It fizzled out,’ I say, taking the document back from a theatrically huffed Amanda and returning it to the pile.
‘He’s free now, Scarlett,’ Margaret interjects.
An invitation to Neil Wallace’s office is, I imagine, like an invitation to visit the king: an incredible honour but scary as hell. I would’ve chosen a different dress if I’d known. I’m not sure which other dress but I’m sure I would’ve chosen a different one.
What will I say to him? How should I say hello?
I’ve only spoken to Neil on a handful of occasions, mostly because he’s trawling the globe a lot of the time, trying to tap into the emerging markets. When he is in the office, his door is not ‘always open,’ so to speak, although I have to wonder whether that’s just a phrase used by people taking up a new position to mask the truth. What they’re really thinking is, Hi new team, I’m scared shitless that I’m not actually the right man for the job so I’m going to say something truly cliché that I read in a How to be a Leader book that I downloaded for free from Amazon, in the hope I can get you onside. Perhaps one day, I’ll enter the higher echelons and find out for myself.
How do I even knock on his door? I think before gently tapping three times.
‘Neil, you asked to see me.’
‘Scarlett. Come in, come in.’ He rises from behind his light, oak desk and walks the excessive span of his office towards the door to greet me.
The office is as bright as the weather will allow, with daylight flowing through the floor-to-ceiling glass panes.
‘Sit down, please.’ He indicates for me to take a seat on the opposite side of his desk. ‘Now, before we talk about anything else, how are you? I’m terribly sorry to hear about your father.’
‘Thank you. He was ill for a long time but it’s still a shock.’ I hold my blink longer than intended.
The office door opens and the kitchen staff wheel in a trolley containing a pot of coffee, a pot of tea and four bite-sized cakes.
‘It’s not just a view you get then?’ I ask, changing the subject.
‘Thank you, Ashley, we can pour ourselves,’ Neil says with a pleasant smile.
Taking a cup and placing a piece of lemon drizzle cake on the side of his saucer, he tells me to help myself.
If perceptions could be more wrong. I take a piece of chocolate sponge and a cup of tea.
‘Now, why have I invited you here?’ he says once he’s chewed the last crumbs of his sponge.
He shuffles in his chair so that he’s leaning back slightly and takes the foot of one leg across the knee of his other.
