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“She works in—” Should he say she was career-minded? Keen to have babies? Aaron’s gaze fixed on Archie Bendt’s wedding band as he played with the stem of his wine glass. Definitely she’d have to want kids. But maybe not straight away.
“She works in her mum’s second-hand bookshop.” Perhaps take that up a notch. “They own it together, and the books aren’tsecond-handas such,they focus on rare books, first editions, that sort of thing. Alice graduated with first-class honours in English. She could do anything she set her mind to, but she’s choosing to build up the shop; she’s pretty ambitious.”
Geoff Trojan frowned. “Hopefully nottooambitious. We are totally affirmative of women in the workforce, but since we’re all men together, I’ll be frank. They can’t expect to have it all. Delia was climbing the ladder in a family law firm, but once our first was on the way, we had the ‘talk’. Four children later and she’s a stay-home mum. I’d be lynched if I said this in public, but our kids are well-adjusted. No drugs. No sex. They tell us everything. Once you tie the knot, you’ve got to make the decision on who’s bringing home the bacon. As a team.”
“Enough lecturing, Geoff,” Archie remarked. He’d started drumming his fingers on the checked tablecloth, his gold wedding band gleaming in the ambient light.
Their entrees arrived and conversation halted briefly. Aaron tried to breathe normally as he skimmed his fork over blobs of black caviar drizzled around an artichoke heart and a few coiffed leaves of rocket and mesclun. His appetite was shot. He was usually quick-thinking when he was backed into a corner. But right now, it felt more like he’d dug an enormous hole and was shovelling shit all over himself.
By now the partners were chatting about a corporate corruption case that was going to court, including him in the discussions with encouraging glances, to which Aaron hoped he nodded in all the right places. Meanwhile his head was spinning like a washing machine on a super-fast setting.
He needed to brief Alice. She’d understand. She was used to bailing him out of tight situations. Besides, it was unlikely she’d ever have to meet them. She’d just have to agree to him calling her“sweetie”or“hon”if he took a call from her in the vicinity of the partners. As soon as he was past his probation period, she would ditch him. He’d get the haunted look of a man who’d lost his one true love, valiantly performing to spectacularly high standards despite his heartbreak. Then he’d quietly saunter off to his previous nefarious ways. After all, he’d have the perfect excuse. A guy who’d been dumped didn’t want to re-commit in a hurry, did he?
Aaron dived into the second course—a slab of super-rare steak—with a lot more gusto. For the rest of the meal he made sure he asked intelligent questions, showed off his superb knowledge of legal precedents. Flashed his winning smile.
As the afternoon wore on, he could feel an upward pull of his spine; his shoulders had definitely gained a couple of centimetres.
Finally, the partners stood, chunking up in size from small to medium to large, like the three bears of the legal establishment. Aaron was tall, but even he had to tip his head to look up at Archie Bendt. The man must work out at least five times a week. For hours. How did he find the time? Oh, of course, a loving and devoted wife. Add to that, he probably had a state-of-the-art home gym with panoramic views over the Indian Ocean. Aaron felt a pang of envy. Fit-Bods twenty-four-hour unisex gym looked swish but seemed to smell constantly of rubber, sweaty socks and pheromones. Suddenly his workout regime didn’t hold quite the same appeal.
But hey, wasn’t that why you clawed your way up the corporate ladder?
Because it smelled like roses at the top?
At the door, Archie pumped his hand until Aaron’s metacarpals twinged. “Impressed. Very impressed with you, young man.”
“Time for a serious chat amongst ourselves,” Trojan said with a smirk to his colleagues.
“Expect a call this afternoon,” said Fink.
Archie Bendt gave Aaron a wink. “We’re all looking forward to meetingyourAlice.”
Aaron’s mood, which had been riding high, promptly crashed.
* * *
Alice bagged up the copy ofThe Green and Gold Women’s Institute Cookbookand handed it to Esther Brown.
“There you are, Esther. And I’ve emailed Mum to ask her to look for a first edition ofMrs Beeton’s Household Managementfor you while she’s in the UK.”
Esther came in every Friday evening because she was widowed and lonely and the Book Genie, with its Tiffany lamps and cushion-strewn sofas, was always welcoming.
Esther beamed. “Fancy you remembering that throwaway comment. Thank you, my dear.”
Warmth spread around Alice’s tummy. That’s what she loved about this job. It wasn’t just about the books. Giving out an extra dose of happiness as she handed over a leather-bound copy ofMiddlemarchor a 1970s Penguin edition ofPride and Prejudicewas the icing on the cake. They might be small things, but wasn’t it the little gestures that made the world a nicer place?
Then she glanced up and her heart, which had been so warm and fuzzy, twisted into a pretzel. Standing behind the balding man with Asimov science fiction titles piled up to his chin, was Aaron.
He didn’t at all look his normal suave and—a secret that she’d only ever shared with her best friend, Polly—gorgeous, self. Dirty blond hair that usually flopped casually over his forehead sat at odd angles around his head, and his blue eyes held none of their usual laid-back charm. In all honesty, he looked completely frazzled.
She cast him an enquiring smile, at which Aaron bared his teeth and jabbed a finger at the guy in front as if to tell her to hurry him up. Alice busied herself counting up the pile of books that had landed on her counter, tallying the price on the computer. The man struggled to put the books in a little string bag that wasn’t quite big enough for five fat tomes of Isaac Asimov. All the while she could sense Aaron about to explode behind him.
What on earth was wrong with him?
Suddenly it dawned that he must have hadthe call. Alice nearly dropped the man’s change. Did that deranged face mean he hadn’t got the job?
“Hi,” she said as the man exited.
Aaron’s energy practically vaulted over the desk.
