“No, thank you,” I replied again. I didn’t want her hovering around me for the rest of the flight. She should go and find someone who would be more appreciative of her lack of subtlety.
I’d been sent over to London by the New York office. Apparently, according to our communications manager, I wasn’t allowed to say “head office”. Fucking politics. New Yorkwouldbe head office. This wasn’t a merger, it was a takeover. I would be overseeing the “merger” of the New York law firm, where I was partner, with the London law firm Allen & Smith. Our firms had been in talks for months about a transatlantic merger but when Allen & Smith posted less than stellar profits three months ago, we knew the time was right. They were vulnerable, and we were ready. Without us, Allen & Smith would have probably gone into liquidation. I had been assigned to London for three months to head up integration. I wasn’t sure if integrationwas strictly the correct word. I was here to make sure London was doing what New York told them to do.
When I got the first few days over with, I’d decide what to do about finding Anna. I didn’t need to think about it until then. I needed to work. To focus. I opened up my laptop and started preparing for Monday.
My sister had become mildlyhysterical when I’d announced I was coming to London. As soon as I’d told her, she’d started making plans on the spot. She had me mentally moved into their guest room in Hammersmith, wherever that was, and firmly palmed off with one of the single mothers she knew. Eventually she gave in to me living on my own on the promise that I would have dinner with her and James and baby Izzy at least once a week. Izzy was a woman I could cope with. Jessica, not so much. I don’t know how James put up with her.
She still insisted on meeting me at the airport as if I were a child. I would have preferred to wait to see her when Monday was over but it was one less argument to have with her. Jesus, she was hard work at times. But I couldn’t help but grin when I saw her and James waiting for me with a placard with my childhood nickname, Bond, written on it when I came out of baggage. I was obsessed with James Bond as a kid. The fast cars, the booze, the women. What wasn’t to like?
I scooped Jessica up in a hug as soon as I saw her. “Stop nagging me,” I said.
“I’ve not said a word,” she said, pushing me away.
“Yes but you were about to,” I replied, ruffling her hair.
“Don’t touch my hair.” She slappedmy arm. “I don’t nag. I wouldn’t know how.” I looked at James who rolled his eyes as we shook hands. I chuckled.
“So where’s my favorite girl?” I peered into the stroller to see Izzy fast asleep.
“Don’t wake her. She’s being a terror at the moment,” Jessica said.
“Like mother, like daughter,” I teased.
“Better that she’s like me than you.” Jessica sneered at me.
Why did we revert to being thirteen around each other? I needed not to take the bait. “Come on—I need to prep for tomorrow so I need to get checked in to my hotel.”
“Why won’t you stay with us?” Jessica whined. She did nothing but give me a hard time but she wanted me living with her? She was full of contradictions.
“Because you’re a terror and I’m going to be working a lot. We discussed this. Come on.”
We drove into the city and they dropped me at my hotel. I was going to stay here and see apartments the following week. I was here for three months so I didn’t want to be living in a hotel the whole time. As I checked in at the desk, I scanned the lobby.She could be here. What was she doing? Had she woken up with someone this morning? My gut clenched. I needed to focus. Tomorrow was a big day. It was an important time for the firm. There wasn’t room for distractions or complications.
TWO
Anna
My hangover hit me hard. It was 4 p.m. and I was still lying in the dark on my sofa watchingSweet Home Alabama. The day had been a complete write off. I should have learned by now that I couldn’t drink white wine without a huge hangover. The problem was I couldn’t drink whiskey any more, not since New York.
Despite myself, Alice’s birthday had been fun. Leah was right, my mood had been off since New York. I’d pulled back a bit from things, from life, and I didn’t want to carry on like that. I’d plastered on a smile at Alice’s party and found that by the end of the night the smile had been genuine. Two guys had asked for my number and instead of rolling my eyes and dismissing them, which had been my reaction to anything male since I’d come back from New York I had agreed to take theirs. And who knows, I might use one of them. I missed Ethan but I’d only known him a week, he didn’t want anything more from me than what had happened between us and he was a continent away. Iwanted to find an Ethan in London. Despite my hangover, I felt as if I’d pressed the reset button and by tomorrow everything should have reloaded, ready to start again.
The next morning my new, positive attitude had decided to stick around so I dressed to kill and got into the office early. Except when I arrived, it didn’t seem that early. Passing through reception, there were people taking up seats, mobiles clamped to their ears. I checked my watch. Eight. It was weird, reception never had anyone in at that time.
I wandered over to Julia, the head receptionist, who looked frazzled. “What’s going on?” I whispered.
She shrugged. “Who the hell knows? But I’ve got Americans coming out of my arse.”
I winced “Sounds painful. I’ll let you get on with it.”
As I made my way to my desk I noticed the partners in our department huddled in one of our meeting rooms. Something was up. Maybe we were going into liquidation. Jesus. I was prepared for a new start but I didn’t want to kick things off by losing my job.
Twenty minutes later, a few more associates were milling about and there was unmistakable tension in the air and not the good, sexual kind. I grabbed the phone and dialed Leah.
“Something is going down,” I said in my best spy-like voice.
“Well as long as he’s hot, I’d say open wide.”
“Leah, what the hell is the matter with you? Your mouth’s dirtier than mine these days,” I said, genuinely shocked.
