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‘Sorry, Claire, when did you say you wanted this?’
‘You couldn’t do it before our meeting tonight?’
Cat looked up at her drolly. ‘That’s not giving me much time!’
‘I know.’ Claire pulled a face. ‘I’m sorry. I’ve had things on my mind.’
‘Well, I suppose it’s understandable. You haven’t been well,’ Cat conceded. ‘Don’t worry; leave it with me.’
‘Thanks.’ Her colleague smiled. ‘Actually, Cat, you’re looking a bit peaky yourself. Are you OK?’
‘Yes, fine—although I think I’m coming down with a mild version of what you had last week.’
Claire blushed. ‘I don’t think there is a mild version of what I had last week.’ She lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Unless there is such a thing as being a little bit pregnant.’
Cat looked up at her in surprise. ‘You’re not … are you?’
Claire nodded and put her finger to her lips. ‘Don’t say anything to anyone yet. I don’t want it to be common knowledge around the office because it’s early days.’
‘Gosh! Congratulations. Claire.’
‘Thanks. I have to admit it was a bit of a shock. I must have conceived on honeymoon. Like you, I thought I’d just got a bug. I was so tired and I kept being sick. Anyway, I bought one of those tests from the chemist and it’s positive. Martin is so excited.’
‘I’m really pleased for you,’ Cat said sincerely.
Claire smiled. ‘So is there something you want to tell me?’
‘Sorry?’ It took a moment for Cat to realize what she meant. ‘Oh! No, I’ve just got a bug.’ But even as she said the words, her eyes were flying towards the calendar on her desk. And she felt her heart start to thump against her chest with sudden and unequivocal panic as she realized that the joke might not be too far from the mark—her period was late.
It was still raining when Cat finished work. She stood in the Goldstein foyer and watched the water bouncing off the pavements. It was only a fifteen-minute walk to the underground station but she was going to get soaked. She debated going back to the reception desk to ring for a taxi, but on a Friday evening with the weather like this she could be waiting a long time. Plus she wanted to stop at the pharmacy down the road, which would involve leaving the driver with the meter running.
Pulling up the collar on her raincoat, Cat took a deep breath and hurried outside. It was dark and cold and the rain lashed against her skin with stinging force. Within a few moments her hair was plastered to her head.
She crossed over at the lights and hadn’t gone very far when she realized that there was a vehicle drawing level with her. Glancing around, she saw it was Nicholas’s limousine. An electric window wound down.
‘Mr Zentenas has sent me to give you a lift, Ms McKenzie. Would that be acceptable to you?’
The situation and the chauffeur’s polite offer seemed somehow bizarre in the middle of the ordinary street. She wanted to say no, it wasn’t acceptable, that she had already told Nicholas she was unavailable, but the driver was so courteous that she refrained. ‘That’s very kind of you, but I won’t if you don’t mind. I have shopping I need to do now.’
‘I can take you shopping. Mr Zentenas said I was to take you anywhere you wanted to go.’
‘Before dropping me back at his hotel?’
‘That was the general idea.’ The driver shrugged. ‘But I’m at your disposal, Ms McKenzie, and, if I may say so, you are getting very wet out there. Why don’t you climb in and make yourself comfortable?’
She hesitated for just a second before nodding. ‘OK, thank you.’ What the heck? she thought as she opened the door and slid into the deep comfortable warmth of the heated leather seats. The driver was here now so she may as well take the lift.
Nicholas was sitting at his desk in the hotel suite. He had a mountain of correspondence still to get through, but Cat would be here soon and he wanted to check in with his private investigator before she arrived, so he put everything to one side and lifted the phone.
‘Keith, it’s Nicholas Zentenas.’ He didn’t waste time on preliminary small talk. ‘Is there anything I need to know?’
‘No, Mr Zentenas. Nothing. I’ve followed Ms McKenzie, as you asked. I’ve watched who comes and goes at the office and the flat and I’ve nothing to report.’
‘So she hasn’t met up with her father or her brother?’
‘Her father is still in Germany on business. He is due back tomorrow. Her brother seems to be keeping a low profile.’
‘What about that man from the photograph?’
