‘Sorry I’m late,’ I apologised, rushing in. ‘Traffic was—’
‘Good morning, Phoebe. Long time, no see.’
My eyes nearly fell out of my head and all I could think was –
No.
NO.
NO.
‘Frank?!’
I couldn’t fucking believe it. My old boss. The one who drove me nuts. The one I’d often despised with a passion. The one I’d shagged in almost every part of this office. And his car. And his flat.
And he was here.
He was back.
‘Are you alright, Phoebe?’ Dorothy looked at me with a confused expression, while I did my best not to fucking faint on the spot.
I quickly sat down in my chair. ‘Yes. Sorry, I just rushed to get in. I’m a little lightheaded.’
Why was he here? He’d left for London the year I found out I was pregnant. The year he’d manipulated me into helping him ‘woo’ Vanessa, the woman he left with! He was a mistake that I didn’t ever want to revisit, yet HERE WE FUCKING ARE.
Dorothy passed me some Buck’s Fizz. Oh God, they were celebrating his return. I felt sick. I couldn’t even look at him.
‘So now we’re all here,’ Dorothy continued, ‘I’d like to formally welcome Frank back after six years away. As it’s my last day, I’ll be spending it getting Frank up to speed, but I’m sure you’re all delighted to have him back.’
As everyone clinked glasses, Frank’s gaze met mine and I could tell that he remembered every. single. detail. Oh, just fucking shoot me.
*
I didn’t see much of Frank for the rest of the day and invented a 4 p.m. appointment so I could leave the office earlier that night. Lucy found the whole thing hysterical. Of course she had no idea what went on between us. The only people who knew were Oliver and Pam.
‘I’m surprised at how well he looks,’ Lucy said over lunch. ‘I wonder if he’s still the wanksock he always was. Maybe life with his girlfriend has mellowed him – oh God, what was her name?’
‘No idea,’ I lied. It was Vanessa. I knew everything about her because he was an oversharing asshole. ‘But I can’t imagine him changing for anyone.’
‘Let’s hope he’s lightened up on you a bit,’ she replied, shaking a little sugar sachet for her coffee. ‘Remember how he used to haul you into his office and yell at you? We were all surprised you didn’t report him.’
I did remember. He did that as an excuse to get me alone. It was such an odd time in my life. I was getting over Alex, I was getting under Oliver, and Frank and I, well, we used each other. We left things on relatively good terms; not best mates, by any stretch of the imagination, but we had a certain respect for each other in small, nay,minisculedoses.
I wasn’t sure how Oliver would react to him being back in my life. This all happened before Oliver and I were a thing but I distinctly remember Oliver calling him an uptight knob. I might leave it a couple of days.
Tuesday April 25th
Arriving on time this morning, I slipped into the kitchen to make coffee before Frank spotted me. I knew I couldn’t avoid him forever but I could have a damn good crack at it. Why the fuck are these men reappearing in my life all of a sudden? How is this good for my mental health?
Lucy had beaten me to it; she was already in the kitchen making coffee for everyone, except Kelly who wanted some of the stinky herbal tea she pretended to like.
She admired her engagement ring as we stood and chatted for a minute. ‘I still can’t quite believe we’re doing this,’ she confessed. ‘I always thought you and I would end up together like Bert and Ernie.’
‘Don’t give up on us yet,’ I laughed, pouring more milk into my coffee. ‘There’s still time.’
‘Time for what? For me to fuck it up?’
‘No, for me to have Kyle killed. I know people.’
