“Yes, sorry,” said Sophie as Steph got to her feet and opened her office door signalling the end of the meeting.
“For the record, Sophie, the initial package was a good offer for Montague and you did some really good work securing theirinterest, but you were willing to give them a little too much, especially in shares,” said Steph.
“Could I discuss that with you further, please,” begged Sophie.
“I’ll see, maybe after I have seen the file and studied it in more detail.” Steph closed the door behind the other woman and came face to face with the photo of her and Jon. “Why did I just do that?” she asked Jon’s image. “Because you are mine and she needed to know that, except you’re not, are you, not really? But you are more mine than hers even with her daddy knowing your daddy.”
Steph had tidiedthe tea and coffee things out of her office and was putting her files away before Jon arrived when Rosie appeared holding the Montague file and more flowers,
“For you,” she said carrying an arrangement of crimson red roses.
“Thank you,” replied Steph and remembered that she hadn’t opened the card on the yellow roses from earlier.
She took the flowers and the file from Rosie and placed them both down on her desk. Turning, she pulled the card from the yellow roses she had received earlier and opening the envelope laughed.
You should know that I love my
mother very much, so why not
send you yellow roses. I also
thought that they would match
my cowardice in all things ‘wife’.
Jon x
Steph turned backand pulled the card from the red roses and smiled at the message.
After seeing your red blotchy face
this morning these seemed more
fitting darling. Or maybe for the
red mark you left on my face!
I am so sorry for the mess
I have made of things.
See you at 3.30
Jon x
Steph putthe red roses on the opposite corner of her desk to the photo and picked up the wilting flowers she’d received from Chris over a week before and took them out to Rosie. “Could you do something with these please?”
Rosie nodded but didn’t question the reasons behind Steph’s request.
“I am expecting Mr Brooker at half three but I have a call to make first.”
“Oh there’s a message for you from Lucy Brooker, can you return her call?” Rosie handed Steph a piece of paper.
She returned to her desk and decided that she needed to call Chris as he too had left her a few messages and she now knew that they had never beenjustfriends and never could be. He would always want more than she ever would and Jon would never allow that friendship to flourish, and if she was honest, she didn’t want it to. Her call went straight to voicemail so she left a message.
“Hi Chris, it’s Steph. I am really sorry, I’ve been out of town, thinking, and I have decided meeting up would be a really bad idea. You and I had some fun a long time ago. Sorry. I, erm, I’m sure I’ll see you around, well, I probably won’t, bye,” she said and hung up before cursing herself for such a rambling message. “You stupid cow!”
“I hope that’s not me you mean.”
