We were interrupted by the waiter bringing the prawn starters to the table. I couldn’t take my eyes off Kelly as she began eating her food. My appetite was gone so I just drank the wine. Her skin was young and plump, no crease of lines or tell-tale signs of age. Her breasts were pushed up and sitting pertly on top of the cups of her dress. I watched Hugo’s eyes roving down to her chest as they chatted, deep in conversation.
The woman beside me started talking about a wine-tasting trip she was just home from and I didn’t want to be rude but I was trying to listen to Hugo and Kelly’s conversation. Hugo seemed enthralled and I noticed his phone was face down on the table for once.
‘Theyseem to be getting on well.’ The woman nodded towards Hugo and Kelly as she peered out over the rim of her tortoiseshell reading glasses. ‘Apparently, she’s settling right in.’ She winked at me and stood up from the table. ‘Excuse me, dear, I need to use the bathroom.’
I felt my cheeks burn. What was she saying? Was I imagining it or was she trying to tell me something? A coded message or word of warning, perhaps? Why hadn’t Hugo ever mentioned that they’d taken on a new hire? I waited for him to notice that I was on my own and turn back to include me in their conversation but he didn’t. I refilled my wine glass from the bottle left in the centre of the table.
‘Madam, please, allow me,’ the waiter rushed over, taking the wine bottle out of my hands, keen to be seen to be offering good service.
I drank it back quickly before he moved away and he refilled it once more. Hugo carried on chatting to Kelly, oblivious to me. After a while, I got up to use the bathroom and felt the wine hit me as soon as I stood up. I moved unsteadily on my feet as I made my way across the room. I had hardly touched my food and had drunk too quickly. I tried to walk straight but I felt the eyes of the room on me as I made my way towards the toilets.
When I got there, I looked at myself in the harsh lighting of the bathroom mirrors; my mascara was smudged beneath my eyes and my foundation caked in the creases, making me look old. I felt tears pulse in my eyes. Was Kelly the reason for Hugo’s distance and ambivalence lately? The way he looked at her stung; I remembered when he used to look at me like that. I had once been the sole object of his affection.
The door opened so I quickly dabbed my eyes with some tissue and went back out to the function room.
I sat down at the table and saw Hugo was nowhere to be seen and neither was Kelly. All kinds of thoughts assailed me: had they snuck off together? Were they outside or in a room having a quick shag? I refilled my wine glass, drinking quickly to drown out the horrible images. Should I confront them? Was this the worst-kept secret and everyone here was laughing at me?
I scanned the room but people were hazy and blurry. I was seeing two of everyone. Eventually, I saw Hugo standing up from a table across the room. Relief flooded through me.
‘Where were you?’ I demanded when he came back over to our table.
His face tightened. ‘I was talking to a client.’
‘Where’s Kelly?’
He shrugged. ‘How would I know? Probably talking to someone too.’
I took another gulp of wine. ‘You two seem to be getting on well.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘You couldn’t take your eyes off her.’
‘Oh and you’re one to talk. Please don’t start that here.’
‘Why? Are you afraid your work colleagues might realise you’re not Mr Perfect?’
‘She’s a colleague,’ he hissed through gritted teeth. ‘Nothing is going on between us.’
‘Well, people are talking.’
He tried to take the wine glass from my hand but I swerved out of the way to avoid him and it splashed over the rim of the glass.
‘Do you think you should ease up on that?’
I deliberately took another long sip out of spite. Suddenly, my head started to spin and I was finding it hard to process everything. ‘I want to go home,’ I said.
‘But they haven’t even done the speeches yet.’ His eyes flickered around the room, then back to me. ‘This is an important event. I can’t leave early; I have to be here. You know that.’
‘I know!’ I snapped. ‘Work always comes first,’ I replied sardonically. ‘I know the drill at this stage. Why did you botherbringing me along if you’re going to spend the night talking to everyone else but me?’
He took a deep breath. ‘That’s not fair. It’s a work event; I have to talk to people!’
‘And I’m just supposed to… what? Sit here and look pretty?’ I knew I was talking loudly. I saw heads turn towards us but I couldn’t soften my voice.
‘I think you’ve had enough,’ he hissed, taking the glass out of my hand successfully this time.
I lifted my chin defiantly and reached for the glass once more. ‘How dare you tell me what I can and can’t do.’
