If she could just go through with it, if she could actually take the step she’d been dreaming of for more years than she could count…
It had to be done properly, the ties had to be split before he even knew it was coming. That meant she had… she looked at the clock again… Twelve hours. If his surgeries went to plan today, that’s how long she would have until he walked back in the door. A whole lifetime to unravel in half a day. It was the only way. She couldn’t risk him getting wind of it and freezing their money. Of course, it was all in his name. She couldn’t let him tell the kids before she could explain, lest he spin a story that wasn’t true. She had to get all the things she loved out of the house, otherwise he’d never let her have them. She had to get settled somewhere else and make sure she was absolutely confident in her decision. No loose ends. Nothing that could force her to come back.
After thirty years, many of them spent looking at that face and hating the sight of it, listening to his criticisms spat out in a voice that made her teeth grind, feeling her skin crawl under his touch, being controlled and constantly on edge because she never knew if she would be dealing with Jekyll or Hyde, it was time.
Bernadette Manson made a promise to herself that by the end of the day, she would have walked away from her husband forever.
4
Lila
As decisions went, starting the day off with a tough choice between white, silk and virginal, and black, slutty and crotchless, hadn’t been the worst one in the world. The anticipation had turned her on so much she’d almost made a mess of her eyeliner. Almost. Lila wasn’t that kind of rookie.
Cammy was already sitting up in bed when she left her dressing room, so she’d distracted him with a joke about keeping him because he looked so great. There was some truth in that. His light brown hair, usually swept back, was falling over his eyes. His tan was still a honeyed, caramel colour, thanks to a weekend in Marbella last month, and that torso… It was the kind of six-pack that came from great genes and a dedicated gym regime.
Her phone rang and she tapped a button on the steering wheel of her Evoque. One of the perks of the job. When she’d started with Radcal Pharmaceuticals at twenty-two, as a junior rep straight out of university, she’d been given a Mondeo. Oh, the indignity of a standard rep’s car. Since then, she’d worked her way up, courtesy of record-breaking sales and no-nonsense demands, until she got this baby. Red. Black roof. Sexy as hell.
‘Good morning gorgeous, how are you doing?’
Her smile was instant. ‘Morning Mum, I’m great. What are you up to?’
‘I’m just about to leave for the golf club with your father. We’ve booked a double session on the simulator and we’re teeing off at eleven.’
Lila frowned. ‘Hang on –you’regoing to the golf club. To actually play on some computerised machine?’
‘Yes. You know, if you can’t beat them…’
‘Join them on the fake golf course?’ she finished for her, with a sigh.
‘Honestly, you’d almost swear it was real. We’re playing St Andrews today. We did Pebble Beach and Mar-a-Lago earlier in the week.’
Lila was no longer listening.
Bugger. She’d been planning to pop in on Mum later, but since Dad had taken early retirement, he’d been totally monopolising her. It had always been her and her mum, Louise, just the two of them, with Dad coming back maybe a week or so in every month. It was the sacrifice they’d had to make for a dad that supported them by working away, in his big shot consultancy role in the oil industry. Mum always said they shouldn’t complain because it was so much harder for him being parted from them. And besides, he made it up to them. There had always been a couple of incredible holidays every year: the Maldives, California, Hawaii. Mum traded her BMW in for a new model whenever she felt like a change of colour. And when Lila had turned seventeen, her brand-new convertible Mini had been wrapped in a huge ribbon, waiting outside the door.
When Dad was away, she definitely enjoyed the rewards, and she didn’t even care that he didn’t seem to particularly notice her when he was home. Her mum had more than made up for his distance, in all respects, by lavishing Lila with love andaffection. If anything, they were more like sisters or best friends than mother and daughter.
However, a couple of years ago, he’d come back here full-time, and now that he’d taken early retirement, Mum had undergone a personality transplant, embraced an outdoor sport, and was so busy with Dad that there was no time left for Lila.
Lila didn’t understand it. Louise didn’t do golf. She did girlie lunches on Lila’s expense account on a Friday, sometimes a mani-pedi if Lila could finish early. She didn’t do bloody golf with a husband who had suddenly become a full-time presence in their life and who was now monopolising his very willing wife. What was her mum thinking? Traitor.
‘Look, I have to go, another call coming in.’ She hung up before her mum had a chance to reply, determined not to let Louise’s desertion kill her buzz.
She pressed the touchscreen on the dashboard a couple of times, until it took her to her call list. There he was. His name. Right at the top.
Ken Manson. Press.
‘Yes?’
‘Dr Manson, this is your favourite rep, on her way to meet you. I went for black and slutty.’
She knew he’d be trying desperately to keep his tone steady. His wife was probably right there in front of him. Poor cow. The thought actually added to the thrill.
‘Okay, prep O.R. three and tell them I’m on my way in. I’ll be about fifteen minutes.’
‘I might have to start without you if you’re going to be that long. A mistress has needs.’
‘No, no worries at all, you didn’t disturb me, I was just leaving anyway.’
