‘The lights are on but no one’s home,’ Antony whispered to Cheryl, over my head.
‘I can hear you,’ I said, looking up.
‘Sara? It’s me, Ch-er-yl,’ Cheryl said, looking into my eyes. ‘Are you about to faint, lovey, or do you think it might be a heart attack?’ It was a reasonable enough question, but I couldn’t answer while in the middle of one of the two.
I took several raggedy breaths and put my head back down. I was raging. I didn’t want Bobbyanywhere nearmy cases. I’d worked solidly for months, to get as much done as possible before this enforced leave and stop him tapping up my clients. I didn’t give a shit about Micky Maloney and his dodgy diamond dealings, but it was exactly the big-ticket case the partners needed to see me win. There’d be plenty of publicity for the firm and Danny had specificallyasked for me. There was no way anyone else was taking it – least of all Bobby.
Pete reappeared with a coffee and a packet of custard creams, luring me out of the brace position with caffeine and sugar. ‘Get a couple of these down you,’ he said.
Antony flicked through the first aid manual and studied me closely. ‘You’ve lost all the colour in your face. Are you experiencing symptoms of heartburn?’
I shook my head and dunked a biscuit in my coffee, swallowing it whole. Followed by another, then another. Custard creams were so small these days.
‘Her digestion seems fine,’ Pete murmured.
‘How do you feel inside?’ Cheryl asked, side-eyeing Antony, in alarm.
‘Woozy,’ I said honestly. ‘I can’t get a full breath.’ Panic crept up my spine.
‘Could you be pregnant?’ Antony tried.
The question caught me unawares and I felt a visceral pain in my gut. I shook my head, sadly.
‘Chest pains?’ Cheryl continued.
I shrugged. ‘Maybe.’ The thudding in my heart was getting louder and my heartwasin my chest, wasn’t it? Behind my boob and take a left. I’d always had a high tolerance for pain though, so I was useless in these situations. I’d end up accidentally dying in Antony’s office, dismissing appendicitis as indigestion.
‘Right, let’s get you checked out,’ Cheryl said, snapping into action. ‘Pete, call us a cab please. We’ll be downstairs in two minutes.’
I stuffed another custard cream in my mouth and downed my coffee. That’d pep me up. Or would it kill me if I was mid-heart attack? Too late now either way.
‘Mind how you go, Sara,’ Antony said. ‘We’ll expect you a fortnight on Monday if all goes well at the hospital.’
‘What about Micky?’
‘Leave Micky to me. I’ll sort him out.’
‘OK, well, update me later,’ I said, with a weak smile, following Cheryl down the corridor.
‘Your work ethic is admirable, but entirely misplaced. No.’
‘Tomorrow then,’ I called.
‘Still no.’
I wobbled towards the lift and tried to keep it together. Head up, shoulders back, like Mum always said, but I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs to take a proper breath. My legs were heavy, and my tongue was too big for my mouth. I stumbled then stopped to lean against the wall and get my balance, the hot feeling back in my throat. Then the twinkling took over my eyes and I slid all the way down to the floor.
