Did I? Did I trust Tommy?
The answer that immediately came to mind wasyes. He’d never given me any reason not to.
‘Of course,’ I replied in a half-whisper. ‘Only…’ I added – buying time for my mind to catch up. I searched my memories of Julian in similar situations. Had there ever been clues that he was involved in something he shouldn’t have been? ‘Are you sure it’s not… I don’t know, just normal business stuff?’ I asked, clinging to hope. ‘I’ve been on heated calls before and that was simply me standing my ground, refusing to be taken advantage of. Perhaps Julian was drawing a line in the sand.’
‘It’s more than that. Once I suspected that something was untoward, I’ve kept a sharp eye on things.’
‘And?’
He paused, his lips disappearing between his teeth. ‘There have been other instances – Julian leaving staff briefings to take urgent phone calls – that’s happened several times now. And a few days ago, the helicopter arrived in the dead of night then left again a few minutes later. The next morning, Julian missed a meeting with me, Elsa, and Niki and no one saw him for hours. We think he was on that helicopter.’
‘But there could be a reasonable explanation for that,’ I said, ignoring the sick feeling in my stomach. ‘Maybe you’re misinterpreting things.’
‘Well, it’s not just me, Ally. And I have tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but then two nights ago, he had the entire staff sign non-disclosure agreements.’
I frowned. ‘Two nights ago? But you’ve been working here forweeks. That’s…’
‘Odd, right? And when I asked him about it afterwards, he was annoyed. He brushed me off with “standard procedure”, which, of course, it isn’t.’
So that explained the tension between them in the bar, but I was still clinging to the idea that there might be some logical explanation for all this.
‘Look, I debated saying anything at all,’ Tommy continued. ‘I mean, you’re only here for a few more days.’
‘Two. It’s supposed to betwomore days.’
‘Exactly.’ He rolled his glass between his hands, then took a sip.
‘So why bother telling me at all then? Why not let me sail off into the sunset blindly unaware?’ But before he could answer, it hit me. ‘Oh god, you think something’s about to implode, don’t you? Is itAetheria?’ I asked, leaning in, my eyes fixed on his.
‘I’m not completely sure, but if you endorse the resort and it all goes pear-shaped, then it could have an?—’
‘—adverse impact on Divorced Diva,’ I said, talking over him.
‘Yes.’
We were both quiet for a moment.
Tommy wouldn’t exaggerate his concerns – I believed that – but therewasthe possibility he was wrong. Even he’d said he wasn’t positive. But if hewasright, then perhaps I should consider cancelling the partnership. Or at least postponing until I knew more.
This sort of thing had only happened once before, with a new fragrance line. Just after it launched, one of the founders was charged with using the fragrance company as a front for fraud. We pulled the Divorced Diva endorsement straight away, but the damage was done, and we lost a substantial number of followers – and several partners severed ties with us. I’d hate for that to happen again.
But what about Julian? If he was in trouble, I couldn’t just abandon him. And there was Tommy and the other staff to consider…
‘What areyougoing to do?’ I asked.
‘I’m going to keep an eye on things, and if it comes to it, I’ll leave.’
‘You mean you and Elsa, right?’
‘Sorry? Oh, yes – Elsa too.’
‘You know, when you said you had something important to tell me, I thought it was about her.’
He looked away, not replying.
‘So, how long have you two been a couple?’ I asked.
It wasn’t courage asking the hardest question of all – it was masochism. Like stabbing myself in the thigh with a sharp pencil just to see if it hurt. It did.
