Why was he soangryabout it?
‘Control freak,’ Sophie had muttered. ‘I said that right from the start, didn’t I?’ She’d wrapped Tilly in her arms. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered in her ear. ‘You deserve so much better. I might just tell him that when he comes back.’
‘Maybe he won’t come back.’
Tilly could feel her heart breaking. It was an actual, physical pain that made her want to draw her knees up and wrap her arms around them so tightly it might prevent it from shattering completely.
‘He’s only got an hour to get to the airport,’ Luc said. ‘He won’t have time to grab anything more than his laptop and a change of clothes.’
‘So he’ll have to come back.’ Sophie gave Tilly another hug. ‘Something’s gone wrong,’ she said. ‘This is about his work, notyou.’
‘Telling me how stupid my idea was and that I would go bankrupt was about me.’
‘That’s his job,’ Sophie reminded her. ‘He’s an expert in seeing what can go wrong. It could be that he was trying to protect you.’
‘He did have a point,’ Luc said gently. ‘You’ve got a brand that’s working beautifully. Why would you risk that?’
Tilly couldn’t answer that. Whyhadshe been so determined to make such a dramatic change? Had it been because she wanted to show Angus that she could be less clichéd about romance? That she’d recognised that the icing wasn’t the glue that could hold a relationship together all on its own? That she was willing to take a risk and be with someone who wasn’t, at heart, as romantic as she was?
‘He didn’t have to be that vehement.’ Sophie was shaking her head. ‘He’s quite passionate, isn’t he?’
‘I wouldn’t say that.’ Tilly sighed. Passion and romance went hand in hand, didn’t they? ‘But he can be angry. He was angry when I first met him.’ Her huff of laughter was resigned. ‘Angry Angus, I called him.’
‘You don’t get that angry if you’re not passionate about something,’ Luc said. ‘I’m with Soph. I got the impression he was trying to stop you taking too big a risk. He got a bit carried away but…’ He shrugged, sharing a lingering glance with Sophie. ‘We men are only human,’ he said. ‘We get things wrong sometimes.’
‘Give it time,’ Sophie added. ‘See what happens when this blows over. That will tell you all you need to know.’ She glanced at the staircase leading to the upper floors of the house. ‘I’m going to take a peek at our wee Maddie and then get into the kitchen. My croque-monsieur are most definitely called for. They are the best comfort food ever invented and one of the things I love most about France.’
* * *
There was no time – or head space, for that matter – to think about anything other than what Angus was heading towards.
A double disaster for Novaryn Pharmaceuticals. The patient who’d been admitted to ICU was now critically ill in a coma after suffering repeated seizures, and the fact that he’d been enrolled in a trial of an experimental drug intended to modify brain functions had been leaked to the media.
It was a big ask to get ahead of the adverse publicity that could ruin the company. Novaryn executives were gathering in London. By the time Angus arrived at the hotel, the chief medical officer, the head of corporate communications, who would control media messaging and press releases, and the company’s head lawyer were in town. The hospital’s clinical director and director of communications arrived as soon as a dedicated boardroom had been made available and the meetings went on until well into the night.
There was no waiting for newspapers to hit the streets in the morning these days. The first headlines were hitting the Internet within hours.
Patient Critical after taking part in Experimental Drug Study
Family demands answers as beloved father in coma…
The hospital and Novaryn made sure their responses were aligned.
‘A patient enrolled in a trial is being treated for a serious neurological condition.’
‘At this stage, no causal relationship to the drug trial has been established. It’s possible that all these symptoms can be the result of a viral illness.’
The next day was treading water. Hourly updates on the condition of the patient, endless meetings and reporters wanting answers to questions. All trial participants were being called in to be given a thorough check. Early symptoms, even though theywere nonspecific, like fatigue and headache – were found in several volunteers, who were admitted for observation.
‘We are proceeding with an abundance of caution. The trial medication has been stopped. We are monitoring all participants closely.’
‘Patient safety remains our priority.’
But, late that day, the situation escalated alarmingly with the death of the man in ICU. Angus found himself alone briefly, pacing the boardroom as he waited to chair the meeting that would decide what the media response would be and examine the potential repercussions to the news.
The stress was enormous already and it was only going to get worse.
Angus looked out of the boardroom window onto a dark London park that was getting drenched with rain. He could see how heavy the downpour was in the halo of light from the streetlamps and he had a sudden, deep yearning for the soft evening light and warmth of the South of France.
