Lipstick and Lies (11 page)

‘So,’ I folded my legs into the BMW and sank back against the leather, ‘which restaurant are we off to for
this evening’s fun foursome?’

Jamie ignored my sarcasm.
‘No restaurant Cass.
We’re going to Ethan’s apartment in
Greenwich
.
I believe Selina insisted on it.
She’s doing the cooking.’

‘Well she
’d
better not poison me.
I want it on record, right he
re, right now,
that
if I’m ill later
it’s her fault.’

‘Darling, don’t you think
you’re being a bit childish?’

The electric gates slid open
, and J
amie eased
the Beamer out onto the road.

‘Childish?
Childish
!
That woman is a nutter!
You know it.
I know it.’

‘Cassie,
I know this is hard for you–’

‘You have n
o idea how hard it is for me!’

‘Yes
,
I do!
And it’s
just as difficult for me too.’

‘Well you’re very calm about it.
You’ve e
vidently taken the whole situation in your stride.
I’m still struggling to get my head around
everything
.
I don’t know why you can’t tell Ethan straight.
You’d be doing the bloke a favour.
How would he feel if he knew his girlfriend – correction,
fiancée
– had once harassed his business partner?
And not just at work, but home too?
Not
forgetting all her dropped phone calls to me
.
And
at my place of work too.
Talk about freaking me out.’
I was aware that my voice
had risen
.
‘That woman was hell-bent on making out
you were having an affair
.
She set you right up.
I can still see her.
Sitting opposite you in that restaurant.
Looking oh-so-smug.
Telling me, “Sorry you had to find out this way
.
”
’

I could feel my stomach knot
ting
with
bad
memories – me
chucking wine at Selina
,
stuffing a handy bread roll into Jamie’s shirt
, and then
l
egging it before
an
army of waiters turfed me out.

‘Look, we’ve gone over this.
Ethan would be devastated
,
Cassie.
You know that.
Quite apart from anything else, you are forgetting that Ethan is the Senior Partner.
He’s the one who put the dosh into the company.
Ultimately the overall decision is his.
And he wants Selina working for us.
I have told you several times now that Selina has emphasised the past is over and done with.
As far as she’s concerned
,
it’s all w
ater under the bridge.
She’s potty about Ethan.
And she’s ve
ry sorry about what happened.’

‘Wel
l she’s not apologised to me.’

‘I’
m sure she will this evening.’

‘Unlikely.’

‘Why?’

‘Because E
than will be there of course.’

‘Look Cassie, I’ll say it again.
I’m powerless.
We’re going ro
und in circles discussing it.’

‘I know, I know,’ I wailed.
‘
And
I’m sorry.
But I’m
just
not happy about it.
I’m not happy about it at all.’

The BMW
accelerated
down a slip road and onto the duel carriageway to
London
.

‘Cassie, if I could change things, I would.
You know that.
If
Selina
’s
joining the firm means you are going to be utterly
miserable, I’ll tell Ethan I can’t work with him anymore.
Is that wh
at you want?’

‘Now yo
u’re boxing me into a corner.’

Jamie reached across the handbrake.
He caught hold of my fingers.

‘Listen to me.
You’re my wife.
Your well-being and happiness is important to me.
I’m not boxing you into a corner intentionally.
T
here are two options here.
Either I work with Ethan
– and
in this case Selina too
– or
I don’t.
I could go back to the police force.
Be a cop again.’

‘I don’t want to be worrying about you in a job like that.
Apart from anything else, we can’t afford our current ou
tgoings on a policeman’s pay.’

‘Agreed.
We’d have to move.
Downs
ize in order to reduce bills.’

I bit my lip.
And move into what?
Even a four bedroomed property – a luxury
for
many families – would be a squeeze
for us.
The
children
wouldn’t have their own rooms anymore.
And where would Edna sleep?
She often stayed for extended periods of time.
Due to fortuitous financial circumstances, we owned our beautiful home outri
ght.
Lilac Lodge was a six bed
roomed Victorian pile overlooking Lavender Common.
It would be a wrench to leave it.
And then there were the kids’ horses to think of.
They were stabled at Matt and Morag’s equestrian centre.
Keeping horses in pony nuts and
New Zealand
rugs was an expensive business.
And thanks to Katie Price pointing a manicured nail at the equestrian industry, it had become even more expensive.
Just this very Christmas Petra had insisted Honey, her chestnut mare, simply
had
to have a raspberry rug complete with coronet motif.
It would be pink hoof oil and mane extensions nex
t.

‘I know!
Tell Selina to turn
the job down!
Insist on it.
Tell her to concoct some excuse to Ethan.
She owes you.
And me.
End of problem.’

‘Don’t you th
ink she’s already tried that?’

I turned to face Jamie.
‘Has she?’

‘Yes!
She started off telling Ethan that the line of work didn’t interest her.
Then she voiced concern over them both living
and
working together – that it might ruin their relationship.
She’s trotted out every excuse under the sun.
Ethan won’t take no for an answer.
He wants her working for us.
And professionally there’s
no reason why she shouldn’t.’

I
sighed
.
Turned to look out the window.
My face reflected back at me.
Anxious and pinched.

Jamie gave my fingers a reassuring squeeze.
‘Why don’t we take things one step at a time
,
eh?
Let’s see how this evening goes.
You never know, you and Seli
na might end up good friends.’

‘Good fr–?’

The words died on my lips.
Men had no understanding of women’s friendships.
None whatsoever.
People like Nell and Morag were good friends.
Selina could never fall
into
that bracket.
The rest o
f the journey passed in silence, b
oth of us
with
our own thoughts.

Twenty minutes later we shot into the underground car park of a swanky building overlooking the
Thames
.
Jamie reversed into a space next to Ethan’s Mercedes.

‘The lift’s over there.’

Jamie took my hand
as we walked across the car park
.
Our heels echoed.
The noise made me shiver.
This might be a super-dooper address, but the location wasn’t my cup of tea.

‘What floor is Ethan
’s
?’
I asked.

‘
R
ight at the top.
The penthouse.’

The most expensive.
Naturally.
I
w
ondered how much
his
place was worth.
I was pretty sure Selina
was
the sort of woman
who checked out such things
.
Ethan had left the police force long before Jamie.
He’d branched off into another area.
Computers.
And being a nerdy type, he’d devised some sort of software that had halted the illegal shenanigans of a geek group.
The geeks had been running their own software.
Making fake digital money
, and
then converting it into real money.
Ethan had traced an entire network of computers running into thousands – at banks no less.
The Governor of the Bank of England had declared such activity had
had
the potential to destabilise the world economy.
Certainly Ethan’s pockets were now lined with gold.
And the banks had opened their doors to him.
Ethan was – as my mother would have said
if
still alive –
a
catch
.
And
clearly Selina had caught him.

As we stood outside Ethan’s front door, I could feel my heart rate increasing.
I made myself take some deep breaths.
The door opened and Ethan stood there.
Tall, thin
,
and totally bald.
But not
in a
n
I-only-shave-my-head-because-I’m-trendy
kind of
way.
Rather
No-
I
-
really
-
don’t
-have-any-hair
kind of
way.
His intelligent blue eyes regarded
me behind rimless spectacles.

‘Welcome,’
Ethan
smiled.
‘
Do c
ome
in.’ He
shook Jamie’s hand
,
and then mine.
All
frightfully
formal.
‘
Lena
’s in the kitchen putting the finishing touches to something extraordinary.
So I’m told anyway.’

This was a major stab at humour for Ethan.
Jamie and I laughed politely
as Ethan took our
coats.

‘How are you Cass?’

‘I’m good thank you Ethan,’ I said, feeling anything but.
Where was she?
As Ethan hung up our coats, my e
yes darted around the hallway.

‘Come on through.
Let me get you both a drink.’

‘I’ll have a soft drink
,’ said Jamie.
‘
I’m the driver tonight.
However,
I’m sure Cass won’t say no to a G &
T
,
’
my
husband
winked at me.

‘That would be lovely,’ I smiled tightly.
Preferably a quadruple.
I needed something to so
ften the blow of this evening.

We followed our host into a vast ultra modern room.
A cathedral-type ceiling soared above our heads.
The entirety of one wall was glass
.
A
feature balcony wrapp
ed
itself around the penthouse.
The City’s twinkling lights
filled the room.
It was an amazing living area.
I looked around.
The room appeared to combine lounge, dining room and – my eyes
travelled to the far end – a kitchen
.
It looked like something out of N
ASA
.
And there, setting out food on a granite worktop the length of an airport runway, was Selina.
She looked up
, and g
ave
a dazzling smile.