Chapter Thirty Three
I t was Josh that told her. He just phoned her up out of the blue on the Saturday before she was supposed to start work again and told her everything.
“You have to be kidding,” Liz said when Bea told her.
“I wish I was. How did you get this job in the first place?”
Liz shrugged. “I applied online like I do for most jobs. There was no sign of anything fishy, I swear to you, otherwise I wouldn’t have applied.”
Bea blew out a breath, trying not to think of all the things that had depended on her finally having a steady job.
“My offer of a loan is still out there,” Liz said.
Bea shook her head. “Nope, I got this. But thank you.”
Liz pointed with her crutch and Bea grabbed the coffeepot and poured some more in Liz’s cup. “You’re going to have moving expenses and all sorts,” Liz said. “Are you really sure? There’s nothing wrong with accepting help.”
“I know that. And if you weren’t lethal with those crutches, you’d be carrying boxes for me,” said Bea. “But I’ve got this. If I need help, I’ll definitely let you know.”
Walking home from Liz’s house, Bea tried to come up with a new plan. This wasn’t the end of the world, she told herself. It was a small hiccup, that was all. And she supposed it explained the phone call she’d got from Alli, not that she’d answered it.
Alli must have found out before she did and wanted to tell her. Which was kind, she supposed. But then, Alli must have been pretty happy. She’d gotten what she wanted. With the program being investigated, she’d have a good argument for getting her job back.
Bea was happy for her. Not the happiest, because she had a feeling that Alli’s job wasn’t doing her any favors, but happy because she knew it was important to her. She hoped that one day Alli would find out that real happiness came from something other than a job. Like people, good people.
She thought about Luke agreeing so readily to her raise. He must have known already that things were going wrong. That was why he was shredding papers, why he’d seemed so jumpy about other people being around. She’d had a bad feeling about him from the start.
The real problem was everyone else. Josh and Lex would be out of a job, too. She didn’t know what to think about the others, about Izzy and sweet Julia, big Marcus and quiet Leslie. It would be easy to blame them, she supposed. They had all been lying.
But then, Bea was more charitable than that. They’d been paid by Luke to fill out the numbers. They must have needed the money, or why do it? Why shut themselves away from their families for two weeks?
It must have been hard on them too, she decided. The whole thing was just a good example of how one bad person could ruin things for everyone. Still, she supposed, as she walked up to her front door, at least no one had been hurt in the process. That she could be glad about.
And glad that she wasn’t even more involved with the place. She’d worked there for two weeks, not enough time to be asked to do anything untoward. Things could have been a lot worse, she thought as she climbed the stairs to her flat.
THERE WERE PLENTY of freelancing sites that advertised for yoga teachers. And a fair few job sites as well, she found as she sat in front of her computer. What had stopped her applying for all these jobs before, she wondered.
Lack of confidence, probably. That and lack of motivation. Things were different now, though. She was applying for everything that she could find, not even looking at the qualifications required. She’d deal with those if they became a problem later.
She was, however, getting more than slightly annoyed by the online application process. Jobs that required an attached CV and then proceeded to ask questions that could be answered by reading said CV should be illegal, she decided.
She was filling out yet another series of questions when Robbie and Marilyn came home, giggling at something as they came into the hall.
“Afternoon, Bea,” Robbie said, poking his head around the kitchen door. “Just going to catch the football. You alright?”
“Fine,” she said, not looking up from her computer. “Have you got time to watch football? I’d have thought you’d be spending your time looking for a new flat.”
“Yeah, well, er, we looked at a couple already today, and one more lined up for tomorrow afternoon. I think we might have found what we’re looking for today, but keeping the options open, you know how it is.”
“Good,” she said.
Marilyn bustled into the kitchen. “Afternoon, Bea. I’m going to get started cooking dinner. Robbie told you about the flat?”
Bea looked at the kitchen table, strewn with her papers, then back at the application she was filling in. Her computer showed six more tabs open with jobs she wanted to apply for. Marilyn was sure to make noise and mess making dinner.
“Actually,” Bea said. “I’m busy in here at the moment. Would you mind waiting an hour or so until I’m finished?”
Marilyn grinned. “Yeah, no problem. I’ll go and take a shower and do my nails while I’m waiting.” She left the kitchen and Bea noticed that Robbie was staring at her .
“What?”
“Nothing,” Robbie said. He sniffed. “Nothing only… are you alright?”
“Fine.”
“You sure?” His blue eyes looked concerned. “You seem… different, kind of.”
“Different how?” asked Bea, going back to her application.
“Just… different. Like more… bossy maybe?”
She looked up now. “Is that a problem?”
He shook his head. “No.” Then he grinned. “Actually, it’s pretty attractive.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Don’t go getting any ideas.”
“I’m not.” He pulled out a chair and sat down. “I’m really not. I’m just glad to see that you’re starting to grow up a bit, starting to look after yourself. It’s nice.”
“And not really any of your business.”
He looked hurt. “I know things haven’t been easy, Bea. But we’ve known each other a long time. I could have handled our break up better, but we both know it had been a long time coming. We weren’t working together anymore. That doesn’t mean that I don’t care for you.”
She softened. He was right. “I know. I do know that.”
“So, seeing anyone?”
“Not your business,” she snapped.
“Alright, alright. I was just wondering. Since you seemed all confident and stuff, I thought there might be someone in the picture.” He scratched his nose. “Just so you know, I wouldn’t mind or anything if you wanted to bring him over. I know you don’t need my permission, but don’t hide him away ‘cos of me.”
Bea bit her lip. “Actually, there was someone. But we, um, we broke up. It was just a fling, really, I suppose.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Robbie said staunchly. “Having a bit of fun. Not everything has to be serious.”
She sighed. “I know. Except for a little while there, I did think it was serious.”
“Want me to chase him down and punch him? ”
“No. Apart from anything else, he was a she. And she doesn’t deserve that. It was all a bit complicated. And it was my decision in the end.”
“A she? Alright,” Robbie said. “Well, she doesn’t know what she’s missing.” He got up but paused.
“What?” Bea asked, ready to get back to work.
“Nothing, just…” He took a deep breath. “Just, if she’s the reason that you’re different now, well, that seems like a good thing. And maybe, maybe things aren’t as complicated as you think they are. If you like her enough to think it was serious, maybe you should give her a call.”
Bea shook her head. “No, thanks for the advice, Rob, but I don’t think so. She needed to make some changes in her life, and I’m not sure she could see it. I don’t want to force anyone to change. That’s not my place.”
He gave her a sad smile. “That’s the first time you’ve called me Rob,” he said. “Not Robbie. Just Rob.”
“Well, we all change, don’t we?” she said. She hadn’t even noticed that she’d done it. “You’re more of a Rob now than a Robbie, I can see that.”
He nodded. “That I am. And it happens like that, doesn’t it? Changes just sort of happen whether you want them to or not. They creep up on you. Maybe the same will happen to whoever she is. Maybe she’ll change and then you can have each other the way you’d like.”
Bea smiled at him. He was trying to make her feel better. “Maybe,” she said. But she doubted it. Alli had specifically said that she didn’t want to change, that she didn’t think she had a problem and that she was in control.
“I’ll be off to watch the footie then,” Rob said.
“Enjoy,” said Bea, bending back down to her computer and starting to write again.
SHE’D ALMOST FINISHED her applications when the banging on the door came. “Can you get that, Rob?” she called through to the living room.
She heard noises in the background, the door opening, the sound of voices. Then Rob was sticking his head around the door.
“Um, Bea?”
“Mmm?” She didn’t move her eyes from the screen.
“It’s the police,” he said carefully.
She did look up now. “Yeah? What do they want?” she asked.
He swallowed and looked pale. “To arrest you.”