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I broke away to find Lydia’s eyes like saucers, staring up at me as if she’d seen a ghost. Frank stood up from his chair, gawping through the window at us, and I found that I was smiling. I was smiling my fucking head off.
I paced through to the meeting room.
“Is this Lydia’s letter of resignation?” I asked, stealing the paperwork from under Frank’s nose.
“Um, yeah, James, it sure is.”
“Not anymore.” I tore the thing into tiny pieces, dumping it straight in the wastepaper basket.
On my way back to my office. I made sure my voice was loud and clear, carrying the full length of the room.
“Yes, I’m in love with Lydia Marsh,yes, it’s the real fucking deal,yes, we have a wonderful fucking sex life, thank you very much, andno, she isn’t going to Brighton. Any more questions?”
Nobody made a sound, including Frank who’d appeared in the meeting room doorway.
“Good,” I said. “Carry on.” I turned back as I reached the stairs, my eyes firmly on Lydia. “Coffee please,” I yelled. “If you’re making one. We’ve got a whole fucking week’s worth of work to catch up on, best get a move on.”
She didn’t disappoint me.
***
Chapter Eighteen
Lydia
I packed up the last of my things. They barely filled more than my original suitcase, nothing like packing light.
“I hate this,” Bex said. “I’ll miss your perky ass in the morning, Missy. So fucking much.”
“You’ll have a new perky ass to keep you amused soon, Rebecca,” I said. “When’s she arriving?”
“Next week,” she smiled. “I guess we might be the real deal too.”
“You’ve done well. Cara’s a lovely girl.”
“She is, but I’ll still miss my Cat’s eyes. I’ll miss you so fucking much.”
“I won’t be a stranger,” I smiled. “You know it.”
“Better not be, or I’ll kick both your asses, you can’t escape me now, either of you. We’re friends for keeps.”
I hugged her tight, no longer afraid of the lump in my throat. “Friends for keeps. Forever, Bex, I mean it. You’ve done so much for me.”
She wiped her eyes, and I smiled to myself. I never thought I’d see her cry.
“Shit, I forgot,” she said. “Your leaving present!”
“You got me a present?” I gushed. “So sweet, but honestly, I think James has everything already, you shouldn’t have.”
“He hasn’t got one of these,” she smiled. “Well, not for the wall anyway.”
She handed me my gift, and I didn’t even need to unwrap it. My eyes focused beyond her, to the blank space on the wall. I ripped open the wrapping to confirm my suspicion. “I can’t take this,” I gasped. “I really can’t, it’s yours.”
“No,” she smiled, lifting up the chimera until it sparkled in the light. “This thing is undoubtedly, undeniably, categorically yours, Lydia Marsh, and it has been since the moment you clapped eyes on him.”
I took it off her and wiped away a tear. “I guess it is,” I laughed. “I guess it really is.”
***
