Chapter 43
CHAPTER 43
‘ G uesstimate this!’ Coco beamed as she stood in the doorway of the studio the next morning. ‘Opinion has it Graeme and Mara rendezvoused yesterday.’
‘Really?’ I took a bite of banana bread and a swig of my skinny cappuccino, trying not to think about my encounter with Graeme earlier when I’d given him his coffee. ‘So nice to be waited on, Katie. While you’re here, I have a couple of other jobs I know you’ll be interested in performing.’ Instead of tipping the plunger of boiling coffee over his head, I backed out of his office without saying a word.
‘He’s here today.’
‘Not surprised. I earwigged Fern on the phone to him yesterday afternoon. She was not happy. There was lots of Well, we’ll see about that and You’re not the only photographer around who can do this job , that sort of thing. So, I estimate Mara’s smashed Graeme and he’s trying to woo her back for the sake of his occupation. Whether or not it’s succeeded… Anyway, let me know if you gather more intelligence.’
‘Will do. ’
Coco strolled towards the open-plan office where the computer heads worked.
I answered my ringing phone. ‘What did the restaurant say?’ My mother’s tone was anxious. ‘You haven’t phoned yet, have you?’ I glanced at my watch. It had just gone ten thirty.
‘No, but I was about to.’
After ending the call with Mum, I dialled the restaurant, hoping for a miracle. And what do you know? It didn’t happen. I called Mum straight back. She picked up her phone in less than half a ring.
‘Completely booked until early February,’ I told her.
‘No!’ Mum’s voice quavered.
‘There are other venues on the beach, but really, Mum?—’
‘I know, Christmas Eve.’
Despondent, she hung up. Moved by how unhappy she sounded, I resolved to secure a venue and make sure Mum had the second wedding with Dad she wanted.
I checked my Instagram feed. As expected, Robyn’s bunny post was garnering thousands of likes. Two hundred and seventy-six thousand so far.
Picture perfect, Robyn was wide-eyed and smiling, her hair and skin extra shiny. She was draped in the no-wrap baby wrap, with a hand on Bugs, wide red eyes, nonchalantly reclining beside her, chewing on a carrot. Can’t wait for my bubba to be snuggled in this gorgeous 100% certified bamboo organic cotton wrap – a cuddly second skin for both of us. #nowrapbabywrap #baby #cruelfreepregnancy #dreampregnancy #babyove #bunnies #adoptdontshop #vegan #crueltyfree #cutenessoverload
Eldest sister wields her magic!
I was exhausted, surprised by how tired my legs felt – and I hadn’t even been walking this morning. My whole body felt like it was about to shut down. I put my head on the desk and closed my eyes .
‘Dreaming of me again, huh?’ Graeme leaned across the desk until his face was barely five centimetres from mine. ‘Go on. Tell me you were. Please.’
I jerked my head away and stood. ‘Get a grip.’
‘Well, if you’re going to behave like a bad-tempered child, K…’
‘Me? Who do you think you’re speaking to?’
He pushed his glasses up onto his head and stared down at me. ‘Last time I checked, darling, I was your boss. It wasn’t so long ago you were happy I was making you squirm – with delight, I might add.’
‘You should be reported.’
‘Be my guest, honey. But remember our little secret? It doesn’t have to be a secret, not if you don’t want it to be.’
‘I’m glad you’re both here,’ Fern said, walking into the studio. ‘Has Graeme told you, Kate? We’ve solved our Mara issue. She’s coming back.’
‘That’s great but?—’
‘It is, isn’t it? We can all be one big happy team again – and make this month’s deadline. Speaking of which, Graeme, I’m going to use one of Katie’s photos from the Bush Magic shoot for the cover of next week’s special Yuletide print edition.’
Graeme shot me a filthy look. ‘Hang on. What?—’
‘You heard,’ Fern replied. ‘I may even use one of her beach snaps for our February front cover, to coincide with Mara’s MasterChef debut. Great publicity for you, Kate. It’ll be hard deciding which photo, though. They’re all brilliant. Must dash.’ She headed for the door.
‘If you think for one minute,’ Graeme hissed, ‘Kate’s getting front cover credits, let me tell you something, that will happen over my dead body!’ He followed Fern out the door, shouting, ‘Wait up.’
The fame was nice while it lasted. Although she was goading him, I couldn’t see Fern stepping out on a limb for me if it meant upsetting Graeme – not with all the upheaval this place had seen since I’d been here.
‘How about that drink?’ Arnaud suggested as I was contemplating leaving the office for the day.
Truth be told, I wanted to go home. I glanced at my watch. It was only four thirty. ‘I guess so,’ I replied, suddenly feeling bright. ‘A quick one.’
‘ Très bien! I am very lucky to be having drinks with the woman who has upset Graeme, non ?’
‘How?’ I asked, suddenly feeling very guilty.
‘Everyone knows Fern’s using your photo for next month’s front cover. That’s never ’appened before. It’s always been Graeme’s baby. Meet you at the bar in ten.’ He smiled and held up ten fingers.
I dashed to the bathroom to spruce myself up. Some lipstick here, a shake of the head and hairspray there. A spray of perfume. A dab of powder.
A few minutes later, Arnaud and I were sitting at a booth two tables away from where Graeme and I had kissed barely a week ago. He was knocking back a Heineken. I was sipping an Adelaide Hills Chardonnay.
‘How is everything?’ Arnaud asked. ‘The wedding…’
‘The wedding…’ I said vaguely, clutching my wine as though someone might try to steal it from me. ‘I’m sorry I chewed your ear off last week. I overreacted. Mum and Dad will be okay. It’s not for me to interfere.’
‘From where I’m sitting, Kate, you have it all – you’re beautiful, you have two gorgeous children… ’
I shut my eyes and listened as Arnaud talked. I imagined him reaching over, taking my wrist, placing his hand over mine… but that’s not really what I desired. I wished I was with my husband and?—
‘I thought I might find you here, Arnie.’ I looked up to see a woman – and judging by the greeting, Arnaud’s significant other.
Arnaud quickly stood. ‘Ze love of my life.’
‘Darling,’ the woman’s voice purred. ‘Who’s this?’
‘Kate… Kate Cavendish.’ My hands were clammy, and I could feel perspiration forming on my top lip.
‘Where are my manners?’ Arnaud drawled. ‘Kate, this is Sophie, my girlfriend. Sophie, Kate is a colleague at Image Ink.’
‘Charmed.’ Sophie’s smile was ice.
‘Lovely to meet you.’ I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare – or a very bad B-grade movie.
Sophie sat down opposite me while Arnaud went to the bar.
‘Arnaud is a great coach. That’s how we met, through my son, Angus, his soccer team.’ I was babbling but couldn’t stop. ‘Angus is learning a lot from him. Then when I started at the magazine a few weeks back, Arnaud was one of the first people I bumped into.’
‘Goodness. He gets around.’
‘Yeah, the boys love him.’
‘Arnaud is a great person, full stop. Great with kids, adults – women especially.’ Sophie looked me straight in the eye. ‘I bet he lays on his accent a bit thick at the office though, right?’
‘No!’
‘I’m sure he does. Arnie’s been living in Australia for years, but he tends to overdo the French bit, especially when he’s trying to be cute.’ She snorted. ‘Cute! He’s a thirty-four-year-old man. ’
We watched in silence as Arnaud walked back to the table with a tray of drinks.
‘How are you finding life at Image Ink , Kate?’ Sophie asked, once Arnaud was seated.
‘Okay,’ I croaked. ‘I’m only there until Christmas.’
‘Why’s that?’ Sophie questioned.
‘Because of Graeme?’ Arnaud turned to Sophie. ‘Graeme is Kate’s boss.’
‘Poor thing. I’ve only met him the once. Remember, darling?’ Sophie was rubbing Arnaud’s thigh with her slender hand. ‘At last year’s Christmas in July party? He was pawing anyone with a vagina. Such unattractive behaviour. Men who think they’re God’s gift, they never seem to learn.’
‘Graeme’s not too bad,’ I lied, growing more uncomfortable by the second.
Arnaud sipped his beer. ‘Really?’
‘Okay, he is bad. He’s one of the most appalling men I’ve ever met. I don’t know how the staff put up with him. At least my time there is finite.’
I checked my watch. I’d been in Sophie’s company for an excruciating seventeen minutes – I figured I had needed to stay at least that long so as not to appear rude… or uneasy. I stood. I couldn’t bear it any longer. Arnaud and Sophie were nuzzling and talking excitedly about their plans – plans for the weekend, plans for their holidays, how they’d spend the next fifty years of their lives together.
‘If you’ll excuse me, I really do need to get home to my family. They’re expecting me.’
The object of my affection, make that my wasted affection, for the last however many weeks, was a happily attached man. A man who’d no sooner run off with me to a deserted island than fly backwards on a broomstick to the South Pole.
I studied my reflection in the rear-view mirror of my car. Tragic. I took a tissue and wiped the lipstick away. Too much colour. I flattened my hair. Too much hairspray. I sat in my car for ten minutes with my head resting against the steering wheel, thinking… thinking about nothing.
Nothing apart from my own stupidity.