Chapter 17 #2
I started to leave, but he put his hand out to stop me.
‘Tommy, I swear to god, if you grab me by the wrist again, I’ll employ every self-defence skill in my arsenal. And your testicles will not be happy.’
He dropped his hand. ‘Can I come and see you later?’ he asked.
‘You can come. I’m not certain I’ll let you in.’
And with that, I strode off, head high and so supremely pissed off that my entire body was trembling. I was a one-woman earthquake, and I pitied anyone who crossed my path.
* * *
Once I filled her in, it took Claude less than fifteen minutes to get the meeting scheduled. I didn’t care that it was after hours – Project Un-fuck Us All couldn’t wait until tomorrow.
At precisely 8 p.m. I logged onto my laptop and started the meeting.
Ruby was in her pyjamas, sitting cross-legged on her sofa eating noodles.
Maya was at HQ – had she been working late or come back in?
Claude was in her home office, still in her work clothes, and her ginger cat Jim was walking back and forth in front of the camera, tail swishing.
Ordinarily, I’d have cooed hello – I adore my fur nephew – but this wasn’t the time.
Niki, seeming chastened, appeared to be taking the call from her quarters. After fucking up so spectacularly, I was surprised she’d had the guts to show up. And a little impressed.
‘Okay,’ I said, ‘so Maya and Ruby, Claude filled you in?’
They both nodded.
‘Do you have any questions before we start?’
Twin head shakes.
‘How about you, Niki? Any questions?’
‘Not a question… I just… I wanted to apologise. I really had no idea that things would escalate the way they did.’
‘You’re a PR specialist, Niki, with what – eight or nine years of experience?’ I guessed, basing my assumption on her age.
Her affirming nod was so slight, I almost missed it.
‘So, you should have known. Hell, Jim here could have figured it out and he’s a cat!’
At the sound of his name, Jim looked right into the camera. I stifled a laugh – I wasn’t done with Niki yet. To her credit, she was still looking at the screen, but it was impossible to miss the nervous lick of her lips.
‘So, this is wh—’
‘I’ll remove the post,’ she said hurriedly, interrupting me.
‘No, you won’t,’ I said, softening my tone.
She blinked at me, clearly shocked.
‘And this is why. While your execution was misguided – at best – you had the right intention. And when I checked just now, Aetheria’s account has gained a lot of followers.’
‘Three thousand in two hours,’ she supplied.
‘Divorced Diva has gained fifteen thousand,’ said Maya.
‘Oh?’ A spark of hope ignited in Niki’s eyes – no doubt hope that we would escape this fuck-up relatively unscathed.
‘And lost forty thousand,’ Maya added.
‘Oh, shit.’ Niki again, the light of hope instantly extinguished.
‘Exactly,’ I replied. ‘Which is why we’re meeting. But we’re not going to take down the photo. It’s already out there and there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. Instead, we’re going to lean into it. Claude,’ I said, handing over to my sister.
‘Niki, you and Maya are going to find a way to spin this to Divorced Diva’s benefit. And Maya’s taking the lead.’
‘Okay,’ said Niki, accepting her fate. ‘Just… why do you want me involved?’
‘Because it’s your mess,’ Claude and I replied in unison. We smiled, also in unison. The lessons we learned from our mum popped up at the strangest times.
‘I understand,’ said Niki.
Ruby unmuted herself. ‘Need anything from me?’ she asked.
‘Probably not,’ said Maya, ‘but maybe keep your phone on just in case, yeah?’
‘Course.’ She muted herself again and went back to her noodles.
‘Right, so obviously you’ll keep us informed,’ said Claude. ‘Niki, Maya will call you shortly. You can all drop off now.’
‘Okay.’ She, Maya, and Ruby dropped off the video call, leaving me and Claude.
‘Phoo,’ she sighed. ‘Not what I expected to be doing on a Monday evening. But Maya will sort it. I have every faith in her.’
‘Me too,’ I said, meaning it. But before I let Claude go, there was one more item on the ‘fuckupery’ list to address.
‘Claude, I lied to you before.’
The number elevens between her brows deepened. ‘About what?’
‘About the bloke in the photos.’
‘Julian, you mean?’ she asked, confused.
‘No, the blurry bloke. On the boat.’
‘Oh.’ And then her eyes doubled in size. ‘Oh my god. It was Tommy!’
‘Yes.’
‘But why didn’t you tell me?’ she asked gently.
And even though I’d had my reasons – good reasons, or so I’d thought at the time – Claude’s gentle tone triggered a pang of guilt. I should have trusted her with the truth from the start.
‘I’m sorry I lied but it was all so sudden and unexpected and just really, really weird.’
‘I understand – I mean, I didn’t tell you about running into Gregory until you pressed me – but are you all right?’
I wasn’t – not entirely – but confessing to Claude had unburdened me. I felt at least a stone lighter.
‘I’m all right – or I will be.’
‘Okay, good – but I’m here if you need me.’
‘Thanks, Claude.’
‘Now, what on earth is Tommy doing on Aetheria?’ Ah, there she was – my forthright sister. ‘What sort of engineering project involves sailboats?’
It was an excellent question, but I couldn’t tell Claude about the Secret Squirrel business.
‘I’m not sure. But if I find out, you’ll be the first to know.’
‘Sounds intriguing. You’re not in any danger, are you?’ she asked with a laugh.
‘Nooo – course not,’ I replied, matching her laugh with my own.
We ended the call and the smile fell from my face. ‘At least, I bloody well hope not,’ I muttered.
I glanced at the time. I’d missed the rest of the sunset, but there were still the lights of Naxos across the way to enjoy. Then my stomach rumbled, as if it had just remembered that I hadn’t eaten yet.
‘Yes, yes, I hear you.’
I went to the minibar to assemble a plate of nibbles and pour a glass of wine. I took both out to the porch and had just sat down when a whisper came from the darkness.
‘Ally.’
I startled, sloshing my wine down my hoodie.
‘Jesus, Tommy!’
He appeared on the porch, wearing all black and an annoying smirk.
‘Is now a good time?’ he asked.
‘As good as any,’ I said with a resigned sigh. I bit into a fat olive and stared at him expectedly. ‘Well?’ I said with my mouth full. ‘What do you have to say for yourself?’