‘Right,’ I say, wearing my stern look, which they can see straight through, ‘whoever forgot to do the post this morning gets to make the coffee today.’
‘That will be Lucy.’ Our senior assistant, Zoe, nods across to Lucy with a grin. ‘She’s a bit distracted. New boyfriend,’ she mouths conspiratorially in my direction.
‘Ah.’ Glancing knowingly in Lucy’s direction, I head over to Zoe’s desk with the files. ‘I remember it well,’ I say, smiling indulgently.
‘Ooh.’ Yasmin makes wide eyes at me from across the room. ‘Come on, give us the goss. That husband of yours is hot.’
‘Most definitely,’ I concur. With his dark, moody good looks, Jason definitely qualifies as hot. I don’t give them the goss, obviously, just enough carefully embroidered detail to assure them all is right in our marriage. Aware that Jason and I have had some problems – I’ve shared on occasion, empathising perhaps when someone has been struggling with a relationship – the girls are pleased for me. We’re not all besties – the age gap and the fact that I’m their superior doesn’t allow it – but we are friends, and I value that. It’s nice to be able to chat about things other than work. Plus, having a good relationship with the women makes my job so much easier.
Back in my office, I manage to reschedule the community services rota, which is miraculous but essential, with a young single mum who has a boy with severe physical disability relying on us for assistance. Well into my lunchtime, I’m actually thinking about having some lunch when my mobile rings. My dad, I realise, noting his number. Strange that he would call now, when he’s seeing Jason in half an hour.
‘Hi, Dad,’ I say, curious.
‘Karla. I imagine you’ll be busy, and I’m in a meeting myself, so I won’t keep you,’ Dad says with his usual officiousness. ‘I was wondering, have you checked his laptop?’
‘Sorry?’ I furrow my brow.
‘I thought I’d mention it. It’s just that, after our conversation on Saturday about the – shall we say –undesirablecontent on Jason’s phone, and then my almost falling over his computer in your hall, it occurred to me that you should check it.’
It wasn’t ‘our’ conversation, I think, peeved already with his interference. It was a private conversation with Mum which he eavesdropped on. I would never have dreamed of confiding in Mum if I’d thought there was the slightest danger of my father overhearing. And hang on a minute. What does he mean, ‘check it’? Does Dad think he damaged the laptop?
But I know what he means. The implication lands like a cold stone in my chest.
Thirteen
JASON
Fenton’s receptionist, Abbie – whom Jason had met once before, and whom he’d gathered didn’t rate her boss highly, unsurprisingly – smiled apologetically when he arrived at Fenton’s premises. ‘He’s in a sales meeting,’ she said, nodding towards the glass-sided conference room.
‘Right.’ Jason sighed, immediately irked, since he’d made sure to be there bang on time, as instructed.
‘He shouldn’t be too long. Why don’t I grab you a coffee, while you wait?’ she suggested, nodding him towards the waiting area.
‘No, I’m good, thanks, Abbie.’ Hiding his agitation, which he would have to do if he was going to get through this, Jason smiled back and took a seat. He had no doubt that Fenton was going to keep him waiting, indicating the shape of things to come.
After several minutes, Fenton acknowledged him with the briefest glance and then carried on pontificating, pointing at his whiteboard, his gestures animated, demonstrating what a great businessman he was.
Jason sighed in despair, and then suppressed an almost overwhelming desire to leave as he watched the man plant his fists on the long conference table, leaning forwards to mouth off at some poor guy sitting at the other end who was clearly under attack and looked as if he would quite like to crawl under the table. He wasn’t sure how he stayed put when, after walking around the table, his hands laced behind his back like a sergeant major, Robert paused behind a young female employee who was now addressing the meeting. It was apparent from where Jason was sitting, directly opposite them, that the man was paying more attention to how she looked than what she was saying.
What he did next was unbelievable – or totally believable, depending on how well you knew the man. Staggered, Jason watched as Fenton leaned over her, placing an arm around her shoulders, ostensibly to peer down at her figures. Yeah, right. It wasn’t her numerical figures he was studying, that was for sure. Did people like him really still get away with that sort of shit?
Disgusted, Jason debated whether to walk away from the whole thing now. His own marketing manager, Rachel, would probably clock the bastard one, and with Jason’s blessing. She wouldn’t want to be within a million miles of someone like Fenton, let alone involved in business with him.
‘Still as charming as ever, isn’t he?’ Abbie commented.
Jason shook his head contemptuously. ‘Delightful,’ he said. ‘Why does she put up with it?’ He had to ask, though he guessed it was because she didn’t have a lot of choice.
Abbie glanced nervously towards the meeting room and then back to him. ‘Because she’ll be “let go” if she complains,’ she supplied. ‘She’s a single mum with two children. She’s looking for alternative employment, but she’ll need a decent reference, so…’
And therein lay the problem. Jason wondered at the workings of a world that allowed men like Robert Fenton to thrive. If anyone deserved to be put out of business, it was a misogynist and bully like him. But then, money talked, didn’t it, as his father-in-law was fond of telling him. And with non-disclosure agreements no doubt signed as part of their contracts, his employees couldn’t say a word. Did he ever consider that his daughter worked in an office environment? Or wonder how Karla would feel at the hands of some chauvinistic, sexist prick like him? Jason laughed scornfully. Even if he did consider it, he probably wouldn’t give a damn, imagining it was part of what women got paid for. Jason’s jaw tightened. If he had any hint that Karla was subjected to anything like this, he doubted he would be able to stop himself fighting that battle for her, whether she wanted him to or not.
‘I can’t believe he’s your father-in-law.’ Abbie’s expression was a mixture of appalled and sympathetic.
‘Me either,’ Jason said, feeling deeply embarrassed. Fenton had been up to his usual tricks when he’d seen him that first time in Abbie’s company. He’d called to collect Karla, who’d been out to a birthday lunch with Fenton. She was in the toilets when he arrived. Fenton was in reception, standing way too close to Abbie, his eyes everywhere but on her screen as he’d supposedly been checking his appointments. Jason had felt like apologising for the man that day.
‘And you’re going to be involved in some kind of business merger with him?’ she asked, her expression surprised.
‘Not a merger exactly, no.’ Kneading his temples, Jason sighed tiredly and wondered how he’d managed to find himself manipulated into a corner by Fenton. He’d tried to convince himself he was doing the right thing. The immediate benefit of Robert’s investment would be that he could inject more cash into the software issue they were struggling with, meaning he could save the contract with his major client, which would undoubtedly secure business with other interested parties. Karla had begged him to do this, though she knew he’d been determined not to. Sacrificing his principles and finally agreeing had certainly improved things on the home front. Despite the fact that things hadn’t worked out in bed last night, he and Karla had been more relaxed with each other this morning. Jason was regretting his decision now though. Coming here had reminded him why he’d wanted nothing to do with the man. But how the hell did he backtrack without telling Karla they would be basically living hand-to-mouth while he filed for bankruptcy?
