Chapter 19
NINETEEN
ARIELLA
The text from Dominic comes through before Caleb’s.
Caleb is staying. He needs to go the police rather than wait to be picked up. I tried.
It turns out someone saw Caleb and Melissa having a heated argument the night before she went missing. The police didn’t have much to go on aside from the information Caleb had told them already at his interview so, much to my relief, they let him go after a few hours. I’m waiting for him at the station reception when he is released.
‘I’ve been in touch with the British High Commission and they are going to help,’ I say, hugging him.
‘I’m not worried. Melissa is fine.’
‘How do you know?’
‘She told me that night. She knew something was going to happen.’
‘But they can’t prove that.’
‘No, and I suspect it won’t be my last visit to the police. They told me not to go far.’
‘I’m so happy you changed your mind and came back.’ I try to hold back the tears of relief.
‘Me too. I would have chosen to live in a world without you if I had got on that plane, and I would never have forgiven myself.’
‘What did Dominic say?’
‘Nothing. I’m sure some part of him is relieved that he didn’t have to aid and abet a fugitive tonight.’
‘When all this is over, we should do something nice for him to say thank you.’
Caleb grunts.
I leave it because I’m just happy that he’s back home with me. That night, I hold him close, because there is no way I’m going to let him go.
News travelled fast that Caleb was being questioned and, when clients started to distance themselves from Ivory Bow, Bree, along with Park and Jin, the new sales guys, kicked into gear, covering Caleb’s clients.
As a company, the official line was that he hadn’t been charged with anything and was merely helping with the investigation. He was pulled from representing Ivory Bow and attending public events and encouraged to work from home until it blew over.
I expected it to have a devastating effect on him, but Caleb simply adjusted by supporting the team from home. He helped with their diaries, client information and targets. He upped his training with Honey to twice a day, and started working on a plan for the gyms with Jasper.
When my request to work from home twice a week was declined by Samir, Lara offered to spend the day at mine on Tuesdays and Thursdays to help break up his week as she waited for the paperwork for her DMVI job to come through.
Caleb was in and out of the police station a lot for those three weeks, but we made up for his stressful days with quiet evenings, early nights, weekend road trips exploring the country and lazy Sundays in whatever hotel we had managed to end up in the night before.
Then, six weeks to the day Melissa was declared missing, an email appears in my inbox. I open it and click on the white play icon.
It is a video of Melissa in a soft, oversized bathrobe, cocktail in hand, looking as fresh as a daisy. I pause immediately and let the relief that this exonerates Caleb wash over me. It’s quickly followed by a wave of nausea.
‘Lydia!’ I whisper urgently and she whips round and, when she sees my screen, her eyes bulge.
‘I’m pinging Bryce now,’ she says.
Bryce is with us in a flash, so I grab my ear buds, share one with Lydia and give the other to Bryce.
‘Closed captions,’ Bryce suggests.
‘Wait,’ Lydia says. ‘Screen record just in case we only get one view. Bryce, record it with your phone too just in case the screen capture is disabled.’
Her fingers fly across my keyboard and then, when we have taken every preservation precaution, I hit play.
‘Hey, everyone! I’m still on my honeymoon and it’s been an absolute blast so far. Gustaf has been looking after me and let’s just say I’m having the time of my life.’ She smiles coyly at someone off camera in a way that makes me think Gustaf might be having the time of his life too. ‘Now that I’m a little more relaxed, I’ve decided to do a three-part storytime. There’ll be business, pleasure and jail time. It starts tomorrow, link below. Put them all in your diaries.’
Melissa takes a sip of her cocktail and then speaks off camera.
‘Oh, before I forget, obviously I’m not dead.’ She holds up a copy of the UK’s Financial Times with today’s date.
‘Okay, that was exhausting. I haven’t lifted anything in weeks!’ She laughs at the camera. ‘See you tomorrow. Expect arrests.’
The video cuts off. Caleb is calling me.
‘Mason, Melissa just sent me a video.’
‘I got it too. I just watched it with Bryce and Lydia.’
‘I haven’t dared to open it.’
‘The general message was that she’s alive and will be spilling secrets for the next three days.’
‘What secrets?’
‘We’re going to have to wait to find out. Are you okay?’
‘Not really. She’s a nutcase. She could say anything.’
‘Do you want me to come home?’
‘No, I’m fine. I’ll see you tonight.’
‘Shall I share it with Samir and start the process of you coming back to work, or leave it until these storytimes are over?’
‘Samir has already called twice since I’ve been on the phone to you. I guess he’s seen it too.’
Dominic’s name pops up on my phone. ‘Dominic is calling.’
‘I’ll see you when you get home then. I love you.’
‘I love you.’
I accept Dominic’s call.
‘Have you seen it?’
‘Yes.’
‘Can I pick you up for lunch? We need to talk.’
I look at my diary. ‘I can meet later, around four?’
‘Sounds good. I’ll be on the bike.’
I know what that means. As I am making a note to change my hair from the bun into two pigtails for the helmet, an alert pops up on my screen.
shusssein:
Ariella, a word when you get a moment?
I go straight to his office. Samir does not believe in a open-door policy, so I have to knock.
‘Come in. I take it you, Lydia and Bryce were huddled around watching the video?’
‘Yes.’ I sit opposite him. The video has left me feeling tired.
‘How would you handle it?’
‘I’d get everyone at Ivory Bow into the meeting room, show them the video, talk through it, very clearly state what this means for Ivory Bow and specifically for Caleb, then reinstate him. I’d also send him a huge apology gift for not quite believing him when he said he had nothing to do with it.’
‘Would I be sending that apology gift to his or yours? Or isn’t that the same thing these days?’
‘Samir.’ I look him dead in the eyes. ‘What can I help you with that is directly related to my employment here?’
‘Your relationship with Caleb is directly related to your employment here.’
‘How so? He’s delivering everything asked of him and more. Whatever you may think of me, the operations team is doing an incredible job. There are no gaps in service, execution ratings have gone up, your time sheets are accurate – and, if they are anything to go by, you really should be offering immense overtime bonuses. In addition to that, the girls still find time to be out, in their own time, promoting this company, regardless of how undervalued their efforts are, by you. So, Samir. What can I help you with that is directly related to my employment here?’
Is that a smile?
‘What do you know about Melissa’s investment in Ivory Bow?’
‘Ivory Bow UK was doing well in Singapore. She saw potential and secured a franchise. She met me when she came to finalise the deal and Caleb was selected for his local success. She entered into investment talks with DMVI, as our largest client in the region, and eventually decided to sell because DMVI made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.’
‘Have you had any contact with her since?’
‘We went to her wedding because she was our chairwoman and steered us up to the point DMVI took over. I haven’t seen her since.’
‘Are you aware of her past relationship with Caleb?’
‘Samir, any questions about the nature of Caleb’s relationship with Melissa should be posed to him, not me. I’m an inaccurate source.’
‘I’d like to hear your opinion.’
‘I refuse to engage in hearsay. Can I help you with anything else?’
‘Is there anything I should know that I don’t already, Ariella?’
‘Yes. Everyone here loves this company and wants it to succeed. What you have the privilege of shaping today was created by everyone out there. It’d be nice if you could show them some respect. If you also can find it in you to extend some thanks, it would mean the world to them.’
‘That’s it?’
‘That’s it.’
Samir studies me for a few seconds before he lets me go.
Surprisingly, he does exactly as I suggested and calls us all into our meeting room, plays the video and explains our position. In a shocking plot twist, he actually thanks the team before he dismisses us to go back to our desks. All everyone can seem to talk about for the rest of the day is the video. With that and so much work to get through, the day speeds past. I’m unaware of the time until I get Dominic’s text at four on the dot.
Ready?
Ready.
We whiz through the streets of Singapore and I realise how much I miss being on the back of Dominic’s bike. I tune out everything in my head and just watch the city whiz by until we stop in front of a tiny nondescript restaurant sandwiched between some Peranakan houses. As soon as we sit down in the empty restaurant, the server produces two menus.
‘Just water please,’ I request.
‘Are you sure? It could be an adventure.’
‘I’m not in the mood to eat. Today’s news has made me a little queasy.’
Dominic orders a coffee and waits until the server leaves us.
‘Aside, obviously, from the agreement that will pretty much destroy us all if she spills, do we have anything else to worry about?’ I ask.
‘Nope. Since her departure, which can be explained away, Ivory Bow is good.’
‘I’m not sure, Dominic.’
‘I am. Kevin and I have been talking to Devin since you fired him.’
‘Devin?’
He nods.
‘What does Devin know?’
‘Everything, but I promise you Ivory Bow is fine. Bryce caught it before it was something. Devin is also prepared to sing like a canary if need be.’
‘Can Ivory Bow in the UK be affected?’
‘No, Harrison’s departure with those accounts helps a bit and Preston, your old CFO, is pretty much in the same position as Devin.’
‘When did all this happen?’ I ask, astounded.
‘It’s kind of still happening – I like to keep my investments clean.’
‘You prepping two people to squeal, should something terrible happen, doesn’t sound very clean, Dominic. Is any of what you’re doing legal?’
‘I never claimed to be a saint, Ariella. I’d relax if I were you. You have sealed documents along with the minutes of a meeting that don’t exactly radiate moral or legal purity.’
He’s right, and the shame makes me avert my gaze.
‘Hey,’ he says, reaching for my hand across the table. ‘That wasn’t an attack. You did something morally and legally grey for people you care about. I’m just doing the same.’
I can’t argue with him on that. ‘Why do you think Melissa is doing this?’ I ask.
‘In a word, Kevin. I think the wedding was a step too far. I don’t know much about the ins and outs of their relationship, but I don’t think that I can recall a time when Kevin has been faithful to Melissa. Even before she started seeing Caleb.’
It hurts to be reminded.
‘Kevin could have put a stop to it but I think he let it happen.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ll tell you this. Kevin and Melissa are intentional people. Very little in their world happens unless they make or let it happen. I suspect they had plans for Caleb before he sat down at our table that night. No one accidentally ends up on a table that powerful, especially not at the Tech Awards. What I can’t tell you is who had those plans – Kevin, or Melissa.’
‘How have you survived this?’
‘I tend to keep my nose out of other people’s lives. I have my own problems to deal with.’
‘Dom, I don’t know if I can take two years of this.’ I well up and he moves to put his arm round me.
‘I know. It will blow over. I promise.’
I nod and move away carefully. His natural scent, that I kind of liked at one point, is a little hard for me to bear today.
‘So what do you think we should do?’
‘Sit tight. Caleb is fine now. Let’s hear what these storytimes are all about, and we’ll handle what comes up. We’re fine. It’s Kevin that’s losing his shit. Nothing is going to happen to you on my watch, Aari.’
I believe him.
‘Do you mind if I share all this with Caleb, Lydia and Bryce?’
‘Sure, but please keep it to just them. Samir has no idea what is going on.’
‘I will.’ I move my chair back to stand.
‘Wait. I have a favour to ask you. In a couple of weeks, I’m entertaining some local and international friends in my home. There will be about sixteen, maximum twenty of us. My caterers are great for local cuisine but are terrible at American classics. I need you to work with the caterers to do what you did during film night.’
‘The caterers don’t mind? I suspect they might have a problem with that.’
‘If they want to keep their contract, they won’t.’
‘Are you asking me as my friend or my boss?’
‘A bit of both? It’s an important dinner, Aari, but it needs to feel homely.’
‘All I’d have to do is cook the movie night menu for twenty?’
‘Yes.’
I’ve never cooked for that many people before, but it’s a challenge and a welcome opportunity that might help to take my mind off things. All I’d have to do is cook at the caterer’s facilities and they will be responsible for taking it to Dominic’s and serving his guests. It will be an education to meet the caterers, have a behind-the-scenes peek at their operations, use their industrial kitchens and learn how they execute the fast-turnaround dishes.
‘Sure.’
‘That’s wonderful. Please send me your bill.’
‘You’re my friend, Dom. I’m not doing this because you’re my boss. There is no bill.’
‘I really want to believe that we are still friends, Aari. You seem so much farther away than you used to be.’
He’s right. I am. I’ve needed to create distance to discourage any ‘more than friendly feelings’ evolving. Right now, he looks so sad, I just feel like I’ve abandoned him after all the times he was there for me. I reach out for his hand and cover it with mine.
‘Maybe we can work on closing the gap?’ I suggest.
‘I’d like that very much.’
When he embraces me this time, he does so carefully and respectfully, putting me at ease.