‘So, do you deny having sexual relations with a company colleague in this office?’ Zara continues with the sort of verbal eloquence that makes me want to cheer loudly with pom poms. ‘Because at least two other people who work here can corroborate this story and have agreed that this said relationship has led to incidents of preferential treatment at the detriment of others’ professional standing, such as MissRaymond’s.’
I can hardly breathe.She really went there, didn’t she?She does it so calmly, so sanely. My mouth is dry from the drama; my shoulders are hunched into my neck.
Julian’s mouth slowly opens, letting out tiny gasps of fury, the colour draining from his face. ‘Which other colleagues?’ he says, his voice raspy and stern.
‘I’m not at liberty to say. They would like to remain anonymous to protect their employment status.’
I knew Zara was smart in many ways, but oh my, she is absolutely killing it right now. I bite my lip, trying to hide my glee at her presence, her confidence, and most of all hersolidarity in helping someone she hardly knows. I want to hug her but I fear that might give the game away.
‘State your demands,’ Julian whispers.
‘MissRaymond mutually agrees to the dismissal but she should not have to work any notice. She will very gladly go to her desk now and clear out her belongings. There will be zero recrimination from this, and you, Mr Jaffa, will provide her with a glowing reference for her next place of employment.’
He glares at me and I return the look.You sad, sad little man. ‘Plus, I want a decent severance package. Eight weeks,’ I say, trying to match Zara’s confidence.
‘That’s double what you deserve,’ he tells me.
‘Factor in the one-month notice I should have been given then, I think that’s fair,’ I say, my jaw clenched tightly from having to be so serious.
‘It’s tantamount to blackmail,’ he says.
‘No, if I wanted to blackmail you, I’d go to your wife and tell her you’ve been putting your big hairy cock in another woman.’Now my mouth is dry, very dry.
Zara bites her lip, coughing to contain her laughter, glancing over to me with a look I think I’ve seen before. I think it’s pride. Julian’s nostrils flare. It’s the bravest thing I’ve ever said to anyone, ever in my life. I’m glad I’m sitting down because I feel like my voice is disconnected from the rest of my body.
‘Six weeks,’ he mumbles.
‘Deal. And a fucking glowing reference?’ I say.
He nods.
JESS
‘Sometimes Amber smiles at me but sometimes I think it’s wind, I can’t quite tell,’ Dean says as he entertains our girls at this restaurant table on a quiet but rainy Tuesday afternoon.
‘I think that’s a smile. When it’s wind she looks more like a toad, her head disappears into her body,’ I say, imitating her. The girls enjoy this and they both giggle simultaneously. Dean rushes to grab his camera to capture this moment while a posh lady in tweed on the table next to me looks at me strangely.
‘I don’t think this is the establishment for toad face,’ Dean whispers, glancing over to the disapproving woman in tweed.
‘Well, she can swivel,’ I say in a childlike manner. The girls giggle even louder. It’s not like me to be so brazen in the face of what other people think but maybe something in me has changed.I know why. I know exactly when it all happened too. Dean reaches down and squeezes my thigh and I lean into him. I’ll always love that he never shuns his end of the parenting, that he embraces his role fully and adores all his girls endlessly.
‘Hi, welcome to Lorenzo’s – any drinks for you today? Good grief, they are the cutest little dumplings. Are they twins?’ our waitress asks as she appears at our table. I look at her, wondering if she might remember me. I don’t know how much to say without looking weird.
‘Yep, Amber and Ellie,’ Dean says.
The waitress grabs their hands and shakes them in turn. ‘A pleasure, welcome.’
‘And I’m Jess,’ I say.
The waitress narrows her eyes at me, wondering why I might be introducing myself until it clicks. ‘Jess…Starrs?’
‘Phoebe?’
She shrieks, which doesn’t impress the lady in the tweed. Phoebe’s eyes light up. ‘Oh my God, you came in here and I told you to go and see my brother in Ibiza and you went. You did! NORAH!’
Dean and I look at each other, smirking as a woman pops her head out of the kitchen.
‘Jesus, what’s wrong? Is that couple back in the toilets again?’ she asks, striding up to the table.I know you too, I think. I recognise you from that picture. She looks at me and then at the twins. ‘Phoebe, have you got me out here to look at these babies? They are very cute, madam. I apologise if our wait staff have got a bit overexcited,’ she says to me.
