Helen
She answered the call. ‘Hi.’
‘Hi. Are you ok?’
‘Sort of.’
‘I’ve missed you.’
‘I’ve missed you too.’ Don’t get into that yet! You need to know what happened. ‘Callum sent me an article from Global Finance Updates today. It was about the takeover of your old company.’
Nigel was quiet at the other end of the line.
‘I think I should listen to your side of the story,’ she added.
‘Thank you.’
‘Well?’
‘I really shouldn’t be telling you anything.’
‘Because of the NDA?’
‘Yeah.’
‘You’ve known me long enough to know I can keep a secret. Tell me the truth. If we’re going to have a future together, I need to know what actually happened. I told you what Angus did to me. I can’t be with someone dishonest, especially when it comes to money.’
‘I promise you that I’m not dishonest. I know I wasn’t truthful about the appointment, but you caught me unawares. I didn’t know what else to say.’
‘And the actual investigation? Are you the whistleblower?’
She heard him take a deep breath.
‘Yeah. Yes, I am.’
Thank God. He wasn’t a fraudster. But it wasn’t as simple as that.
‘Were you really prepared to abandon our relationship for some bloody NDA?’
‘You didn’t leave me much choice. I tried contacting you several times, but you didn’t answer.’
‘I’m talking to you now.’
‘Look, I want us to pick up where we left off, but I’m sensing you’re not on the same page yet.’
‘I need to understand what happened better, not just about the takeover but your lie as well.’
‘What else do you need me to do?’
‘I don’t know, Nige. I honestly don’t know. I shouldn’t have answered the phone.’
‘Don’t say that. I’m so glad you did. I need you, Hel.’
He sounded deflated. It would be so easy to give in, but she couldn’t just brush it all under the carpet. She was struggling to get past how easily he’d lied to her about the appointment. ‘When are you back home?’
‘I land at Heathrow on Tuesday, so Tuesday evening.’
‘We’ll talk some more then.’
Helen ended the call before he could respond.
‘Ican’t tell you what to do,’ Carrie said on the other end of the phone.
Helen groaned. ‘But if I relent, it feels like I’m letting him off lightly for lying to me.’
‘I’m sensing you want me to give you permission to forgive him.’
‘Would you think I was a fool if I did?’
Carrie sighed. ‘You love him. He loves you. You’ve missed twenty-five years of being together. Why miss any more time over one small lie that he made while under extreme pressure and trying to honour his legally binding promise to someone else not to say a word about the situation?’
‘I’m still not sure. That red flag is still fluttering.’
‘You need to work out whether this is about Nigel now, or about Angus.’