She nodded, her head bowed.
‘You want us to try again?’ He couldn’t believe he was hearing this.
‘Yes.’ Her voice was small.
‘Why? You think I’m boring.’
‘No, I don’t. Honestly, I don’t. I shouldn’t have said it. I didn’t mean it. Please Ash, I’ve made a terrible mistake. I’ve been so lonely without you, and I miss you so much. Please give us another chance.Please.’
Ashton closed his eyes. Not too long ago he would have given everything he had to hear those very words, but now there was Carla… Carla, who had walked out of his life, leaving a gaping hole of loss and loneliness.
‘I saw you, Ash.’ Lacey broke into his anguished thoughts. ‘Outside the station earlier with that woman. You looked so sad. Do you love her? Am I too late?’
Hedidlove her. With a stab to the chest, he finally admitted that he had fallen head over heels in love with Carla.
But Carla was no longer here. Lacey was, and he still cared for her.
Was it enough?
Carla was conscious that she didn’t look her best for this meeting. She was wearing a suit and heels, but there were shadows under her eyes and her face was pale.
Nervously, her heart in her mouth, she entered the building and made for the lifts, hoping no one would see her as she slunk inside. And by ‘no one’, she meant Yale. He wouldn’t be at this meeting, but he would probably be in his office, and she dreaded bumping into him.
It wasn’t like a court of law, where the accuser and the accused would be in the same room. This was a disciplinary hearing, after which HR would make its decision as to her future with the company. She would have the right to appeal, and take it to an independent tribunal, but if this meeting didn’t go in herfavour, she didn’t think she had the will to fight. Just like Anita Campbell, she would meekly accept her fate and walk away.
Her union rep was waiting for her, and they were shown into a small office for a private discussion before she was called. Although she’d met with Charlie online, she hadn’t met him in person, and he looked younger in the flesh. He also looked confident. She wished she felt the same.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
Carla nodded. She felt sick and shaky, and her mouth was dry. She just wanted to get this over with.
The door opened.
‘If you’d like to follow me,’ a woman said. Carla recognised her as Mrs Bissett’s assistant.
Three people sat around a large table, laptops open, pads and pens at the ready. Carla and Charlie took a seat, Carla barely listening to the preliminaries of why the meeting had been called.
Mrs Bissett had just launched into a spiel about the seriousness of the allegation against her, when Charlie interrupted. ‘Can I stop you there?’
Mrs Bissett raised an eyebrow as he pushed a folder across the desk.
‘You might want to take a look at this before you go any further,’ he said. He got to his feet. Carla did the same. ‘You’ll need some time to peruse the contents, so we’ll wait outside.’
To Carla, the wait was torture. However, the outcome of the meeting wasn’t.
Ashton, Anita and Charlie had been right – Yalehadn’thad a leg to stand on.
‘That’s wonderful news!’
Everyone Carla had spoken to – her mother, Vicky, Dulcie, Anita – had all said the same thing when she’d phoned them as soon as she’d got home. They were thrilled she had been reinstated, that the dark cloud hanging over her had been lifted, that her job was safe, and she would be returning to her desk tomorrow.
Or would she?
She hadn’t decided what she was going to do. She knew what shewantedto do, but that wasn’t the same as doing it.
Carla’s hand hovered over the phone. There was one person who she had yet to call.
Ashton.
