Page 46 of The Christmas Letter

‘Yes,’ she said, her voice a little shorter than usual. But really, did he have to sound so incredulous? Who did he think she was, a stalker? Though, to be fair, maybe she was sort of acting like a stalker.

The receptionist didn’t push anymore, picking up his phone. ‘Jack, my man! You’re here – thought you might be in Scotland.’

Holly frowned – he hadn’t told her he was going to Scotland. And why the hell would he? It was proof of how little they knew each other – she’d been attracted to him, yes, but it had all just been surface level.

‘Oh, tomorrow, yeah, I remember. I’ve got a Hellie here, says she’s got a meeting with you?’

Holly made a face at the wrong name. Though, actually, maybe that was a good thing – it meant Jack couldn’t refuse to see her. She’d deliberately shown up rather than called him so he couldn’t ignore her, and she was prepared to sit in reception until he came out of his office to leave for the day, if necessary.

‘A jewellery company,’ the receptionist was saying. ‘Oh. Huh.’ He put his hand over the receiver. ‘Are you sure it’s Jack you’re after?’

‘Yes,’ Holly said firmly. ‘It’s definitely him. It’s really important; I have to see him.’ She wasn’t sure what could qualify as this urgent in Management Consultant land, but surely there was something.

‘Ah, she says it’s really important,’ the receptionist repeated, a little hesitantly. ‘Ok, ok. Sure.’ He put the phone down, flashed her another smile. ‘He said to take you up.’

Holly nearly said, ‘Really?’, but stopped herself and managed to nod, trying to put on an air of self-importance. She followed him, dragging her case behind her. The receptionist glanced at it as they got in the lift.

‘I like your suitcase,’ he said.

‘Thanks. I like your tie.’

He smiled. ‘My brother designs ties.’

Ah, that explained it.

They got out of the lift on the sixth floor and Holly followed him through a lot of busy-looking people on adjoining desks, many of them with headphones in, all typing frantically or frowning at their computer screens, a few of them laughing into phones while clicking their mouses with a slightly panicked air. Holly had never really considered going down this route. Not Management Consultancy, per se, but this kind of corporate office environment. Right now, she was exceptionally glad of that.

Holly saw Jack before he saw her. In his very own office – one of only a handful as far as she could tell – staring at his computer screen, the city skyline sprawling behind him through the glass window in a way that looked vaguely futuristic. She couldn’t help it, that nervous little lurch in her stomach, even as she tried to breathe through it.

The receptionist knocked at his door, and Jack looked up, frowning. He didn’t even glance at the receptionist – his gaze settled on her immediately. And though she thought she saw something flash across his face, his face went smooth, everything hidden behind that damn neutral expression. She wished she could control her expressions like that. Even as she tried not to let them show, she was pretty sure her nerves were plastered across her face right now.

The receptionist pushed open the door. Jack’s gaze flickered towards him. ‘What’s going on?’ he said, standing up behind his desk. His very neat, organised desk.

‘This is Hellie,’ said the receptionist.

Jack’s jaw tightened. ‘It’s not Hellie, it’s Holly, Mike. And I said I’d come down to see her.’

The receptionist tugged at one of his ear lobes. ‘Oh, I thought you said—’

‘Never mind,’ Jack said briskly. ‘Come in, Hellie, take a seat.’ He gestured towards the chair opposite him, his voice perfectly formal. This was what she’d imagined when she’d first thought of tracking Emma’s grandson down. Maybe, if that’s how it had played out, she wouldn’t have screwed it up so badly.

Mike hovered for a moment. Then, when Jack said nothing more to him, he backed out of the office silently, closing the glass door behind him.

‘Posing as a client, now, are we?’ Jack said, sitting down slowly.

Holly caught herself biting her lip, stopped it. ‘Seemed like the best option. I thought you might hang up on me, if I called.’

‘I wouldn’t have hung up,’ Jack said mildly. ‘I just wouldn’t have answered.’ Even though she’d vowed to think only of Emma, it still stung. ‘That’s what you were doing when you came here on Friday, wasn’t it?’ he asked. ‘Trying to track me down?’

She decided not to answer that, because it would inevitably lead to questions about why, exactly, she hadn’t told him what she was doing here right away, and though it had all seemed to make sense at the time, it now seemed very poorly thought out. Sort of as poorly thought out as this entire weekend had been.

Instead, she took a breath. ‘Look, Jack, I think I went about things the wrong way.’

His eyebrows twitched upwards. ‘You think?’

‘Would you just let me finish?’

‘Do you know what, Holly? I don’t think I will.’