Page 77 of Never Gonna Happen

‘Hi,’ said Louisa, glancing briefly in Emily’s direction before turning back to whatever she was doing. It was the same trick Adam had pulled in Mauritius, giving a clear message of You’re not worthy of my attention, I’m far too busy and important. The arrogance made Emily even more furious, and it took everything she had not to slap the laptop off the table.

Instead she folded her arms and raised her eyebrows in Jamie’s direction, hoping her expression went some way to communicating her growing list of grievances. ‘I just came to ask if you need anything.’

‘No, I’m fine, thanks,’ he replied, looking at her helplessly. He knew he’d messed up, but on top of jetlag and Adam and the parade of people yelling at her on the phone this morning, this was more than Emily’s fragile emotional state could handle. It was clear Louisa wasn’t going to leave them alone, so she needed to get out before she started to cry.

‘Well, you know where I am,’ she said quietly, then turned and left.

Louisa caught up with her a minute later, doing a theatrical jog down the path in skinny jeans and heeled ankle boots, the sleeves of her jumper pulled down over her fists. Emily heard her approaching and waited for her; even though she felt too numb to muster much curiosity about what Louisa wanted, it seemed rude to blank her entirely.

‘Sorry to hold you up,’ said Louisa, clutching her hand to her chest like she was out of breath. ‘I just wanted to say thank you for looking after Jamie. He’s in really good shape considering what he’s been through.’

‘Oh,’ said Emily. ‘You’re welcome.’ Actually you’re not welcome at all, bugger off.

‘I know you’re super-busy with Charles,’ added Louisa, resting a perfectly manicured hand on Emily’s arm, ‘so don’t feel like you need to play nurse to Jamie as well. I’ll take care of him.’ The accent was cut-glass perfection, and she was heartbreakingly pretty up close. If Louisa was a Michelin-starred meal, Emily would be one of her mum’s lumpy school dinners.

She wondered if it was possible that Louisa didn’t know that she and Jamie were a couple. If so, this might be perceived as a genuinely kind gesture towards an overworked staff member. But if she DID know, Louisa had just declared a battle for Jamie’s attention, and made her intentions quite clear. Which was it?

‘What’s the plan for his recovery?’ asked Emily, tucking her hands into her armpits against the cold.

‘A trip to the hospital tomorrow morning for some X-rays, see if he can swap the cast for a boot. Thank you so much for organising that.’

Emily nodded. She’d spent ages on the phone from Mauritius last week, getting Jamie’s X-rays emailed from the island clinic to a private hospital in Norwich so there were no issues with his ongoing care. The orthopaedic surgeons in both hospitals had spoken to each other, and Emily had confirmed the follow-up appointment before they’d left the island. It was fascinating to discover what could be achieved when money was no object.

‘If that’s all fine,’ continued Louisa, ‘we’ll start in the pool and get his leg muscles working again. All being well, he’ll be able to do some weight-bearing exercises in a few weeks.’

‘It sounds like a lot of work,’ said Emily, trying not to imagine Louisa in a tiny swimsuit, touching bits of Jamie’s body. Then she remembered that Louisa had seen and touched the same bits of Jamie’s body as she had. She put her hands in her pockets so she didn’t poke out one of her huge green eyes.

‘He’s lucky I was available,’ said Louisa with the same twittering laugh Emily had heard earlier, ‘but obviously I’d have found a way to be here, one way or another.’

‘Obviously.’

Louisa looked away, her confidence waning. ‘Well, I’d better get back. Just wanted to say thank you, and let you know I’ll take it from here. You’ve done so much.’

She gave Emily a dazzling smile, then turned and jogged back along the path. Emily scowled, trying not to hate Louisa for her pert bum and skinny thighs when there were so many other, better things to hate her for.

Questions rattled around in her head as she walked back to the house to find solace in a mug of tea and one of Sam’s lunches. How long was Louisa going to stay? Why hadn’t Jamie warned her? And most importantly, how on earth was she going to manage to not be a jealous, snarky bitch about it?

By the end of the day Emily had turned the situation over in her mind a thousand times. She made a decision and caught Mr Hunter after they’d finished work and she was collecting documents for filing from his desk. He liked to start the day with a clear space, so this was always her final job of the day.

‘I wonder if I could take a day off tomorrow,’ she asked. ‘I’d really like to go home and see my family for the weekend. I know it’s short notice.’

‘Of course,’ said Mr Hunter, putting on his jacket. ‘You’ve worked so hard over the past few weeks. Take Monday too, spend some time at home. There’s nothing that can’t wait until Tuesday.’

‘Thank you,’ said Emily, already feeling the heaviness lifting from her shoulders. There was nothing she could do about Jamie; he needed to decide for himself how he was going to handle Louisa. But she could look after her own emotional well-being, and for that she needed to go back to the comfort and safety of her family home.

When she wandered downstairs to find some dinner, Anna was on the kitchen phone. She heard her say ‘Louisa’ and stopped outside the door to listen.

‘Jamie’s dinner is ready if you want to pop over and collect it,’ said Anna. ‘I’ve prepared some for you too, I thought you and he might like to eat together.’

What a fucking cow, thought Emily, clenching her fists. She counted in her head for two minutes, then nipped into the kitchen and grabbed the tray from the table. Anna was in the pantry and didn’t see her, so she hurried back up the stairs to the entrance hall and out through the front door.

She took the route through the walled garden, betting that Louisa was currently walking along the road to the delivery yard. Sure enough, she arrived at the pool house to find Jamie sitting at the kitchen table alone.

‘I’ve brought you dinner,’ she said cheerily.

Jamie looked up in surprise. ‘Oh, I thought Louisa was getting it.’

Emily gritted her teeth as she dumped the tray on the table. ‘Well, you’ll just have to make do with me instead.’