Her expression clouded, and he wished he hadn’t asked. ‘Forever, if I have my way,’ she said with a sigh.
‘It is beautiful up here,’ he agreed, but he had a feeling the scenery wasn’t the sole reason for her reluctance to leave. ‘I wouldn’t want to go back to Birmingham after seeing this. Not that there’s anything wrong with the city,’ he added hastily, ‘and I’m sure it’s got some lovely parks and open spaces, but…’ He trailed off, not wanting to dig his hole any deeper.
She sighed. ‘It’s complicated.’
Ah, he thought, his spirits sinking. That sounded like man trouble.
Placing her camera on the straw, she gazed at the rafters. ‘I’ve got a thing going on at work, a not very nice thing, and I’m on extended leave. I suppose you could say I’m hiding out here and trying to forget about it. I’ll have to go home at some point, of course, and I can’t impose on Dulcie for much longer, but at the moment I’m happy to be her goat walker and general dogsbody. She’s trying to get me to take it easy, but I’m not really cut out for relaxing. So, in answer to your question, I honestly don’t know how long I’ll be here. A few more days, a week. Who knows?’
Ashton was pleased she would be here for a while longer, yet rather deflated she had to go at all, as he’d found himself enjoying her company. She was funny and smart, and her eagerness to learn was a refreshing change to the complete disinterest Lacey had shown for his hobby. He appreciated that couples didn’t often like the same things, and he hadn’t expected her to pick up a camera and start snapping away. But her indifference had stung, especially since he’d always shown an interest in whatever she was doing.
He should have realised they weren’t compatible, but he’d been in love, and love, as the saying goes, is blind.
Ashton felt a pang when he thought of his ex, and sadness swept over him. If only Lacey could have been a little more like Carla, maybe they would have still been together.
Was there a name for when you think of something and then that very thing happens, Carla wondered, as the loud beep of an incoming message made her jump. She checked the screen and saw Vicky’s name flash up, followed by the message,I’ve got news!!! Call me!!!
Carla gasped. Surely she couldn’t have had the baby already? If so, the little mite was about four weeks early.
‘Do you mind if I make a quick call?’ she said to Ashton, realising this was the second time today she’d been contacted whilst out shooting photos with him. At least he’d gotten a nice lunch as a result of the first one. The only thing he would get out of this call would be boredom.
‘Go ahead.’
He made to rise from his bale, but she waved him back down. ‘It’s my friend, Vicky. She’s pregnant and says she’s got news, so if you don’t mind loads of squealing, you’re welcome to stay put. I’ll only be a minute, just to get the bare bones, then I’ll ring her later and have a proper chat.’
Vicky sounded breathless when she answered the phone.
Carla begged, ‘Please don’t tell me you’re in labour.’
‘What?God, no. Is that what you thought? My bump is still here.’
‘What’s the news, then?’
‘You remember me telling you that I was going on a training course – though why they wanted to send me on it when I’ll be on maternity leave for the next six months, I don’t know. Anyway,’ she took a breath. ‘I met someone on the course who works in the Leeds office, where Yale transferred from. Guess what she told me?’
‘I’ve no idea.’
‘She asked whether I knew him, and when I told her that he’s my line manager, she wanted to know whether he was up to his old tricks yet. When I asked her what he meant, she said,‘sleeping with his staff.’ She didn’t mean withmeobviously, because I’m pregnant and the size of a small family hatchback, but with other women in the office.Apparently,’ Vicky stressed the word, ‘he had an affair with a girl in his department when he was there. Her name was Anita Campbell, and she was more into him than he was into her. She ended up resigning from her job. The woman I spoke to wasn’t a hundred per cent sure what happened, but from what she could gather, he’d made life really difficult for Anita, wanting to transfer her to another department. So she left.’
Carla was silent as she absorbed the news.
Vicky said, ‘Can’t you see? He’s got a track record.’
‘But does he though? It’s not a crime to have a relationship with someone you work with, even if the company frowns on it.’
‘The woman reckons it was tantamount to constructive dismissal and that he was trying to distance himself from Anita because he was worried his girlfriend would find out.’
That sounded more promising. ‘But it’s still my word against his, and don’t forget, his fiancée was a witness.’
‘She only saw and heard what Yale wanted her to see and hear, and you could argue that as he’s done this before, maybe his word shouldn’t be taken at face value.’
‘I dunno…’
‘Do you want to keep your job?’ Vicky demanded.
‘Yes.’
‘Well, then. But even if you didn’t, you’ll want a good reference.’
