Page 55 of The Work Husband

But now that I had, it was too late – I’d read Ava’s letter, and I knew that whatever dalliance she and Sam had been engaged in back when Jamie first came up with his plan had now progressed way beyond that point.

Anyway, if the expression on Jasper’s face was anything to go by, my colleague was going to have far more serious things to deal with than the disintegration of my relationship. Poor Jamie, I found myself thinking. If he got told to leave, who would replace him? Would they be someone I got on with so well, someone who had my back the way Jamie did?

And what would Jamie do? If Jasper fired him, he’d struggle to find another job – not that roles in the luxury concierge industry were easy to come by at the best of times.

But I hadn’t reckoned on Jamie’s resilience and fast-talking skills. To my amazement, when at last he emerged from Jasper’s office, he was smiling, all traces of his hangover apparently erased like he’d been enjoying a bracing swim in cold water.

‘Well, that was exhilarating.’ He strutted back to our desks and sat down, picking up a couple of cold chicken nuggets and eating them. ‘Maybe next I’ll try skydiving. Possibly without a parachute.’

I looked at him, bemused. ‘What happened?’

‘Trent’s sacked us. They took their time about it. Wanted to make sure all the wedding arrangements were sorted before they gave us the push. But they’re citing “indiscretion” and bad publicity apparently. We’re getting the blame for the leak of the stag story to Gossip Guru.’

‘Oh my God.’ Although this didn’t exactly come as a surprise to me – because Jamie had had the method and opportunity (although admittedly no motive I could identify) to do it – I was still shaken. ‘What did Jasper say?’

‘Maybe ask what he didn’t say.’ Jamie whistled out a long sigh. ‘That would be quicker.’

‘But he didn’t⁠—’

‘Tell me to clear my desk and fuck off to the far side of fuck? Not this time. I’m on a verbal warning. But as I pointed out, if I decided to take this to a tribunal, he wouldn’t have a leg to stand on because he can’t prove anything.’

‘But the photos…?’

‘I invited him to get some forensic tech geezer to go through my phone and email,’ Jamie said smugly. ‘As soon as I said that, he knew they wouldn’t find diddly squat. And they won’t.’

‘Are you saying you didn’t do it?’

Jamie’s eyes widened, making him look the picture of outraged innocence. ‘Are you saying you think I did?’

Did I? Part of me did, I realised, despite the apparent lack of motive.

‘I’m not… I mean… not exactly…’ I stumbled. ‘But you were there.’

‘Along with Trent, his eleven besties, his security team, their local fixer, fifteen strippers, God knows how many waitresses and hostesses, and a frankly terrifying bouncer. Wouldn’t like to meet him alone on a dark night.’ He shivered theatrically. ‘Could’ve been any one of them. No reason to suspect yours truly.’

‘But who else had phones on them?’

He grinned wolfishly. ‘Not the strippers, that’s for sure. Although come to think of it, given the other things they were putting up there, a phone would’ve been a piece of cake.’

I shivered with revulsion.

‘Jamie, be serious. Your job’s on the line here. How can you joke about this? Either you’ve been falsely accused of something and given an unfair warning, or you did it and got away with it. Either way, it’s a massive deal.’

He leaned back, stretching his arms above his head as if he needed to release tension from his shoulders. I could see sweat patches in the armpits of his shirt, and in that moment, I knew he was hiding something.

‘You don’t have to tell me,’ I went on hastily. ‘Just… be careful, okay?’

‘Georgia. We’ve worked together a long time. What – almost three years?’

‘A bit longer.’

‘And we’re mates, right?’

‘Sure.’

He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his voice lowered. ‘Of course I did it.’

I’d read about people – murderers and people like that – who, having committed the perfect crime and got away with it, found themselves consumed with the urge to confess, to brag about their skill in eluding justice. Now, that was playing out right in front of me.