Chapter 9
‘Hello?’
‘Tania, it’s me.’
‘Bella! How are you doing?’
‘Good, fine. What about you, darling?’
‘Oh, surviving. Are we going to meet this weekend? Please say yes.’
‘Yes, that’s why I’m phoning,’ Bella said. ‘Can I come round? I’ve got a dress panic.’
‘Really?’ Tania sounded surprised. ‘But you never panic about anything, especially clothes. Surely, you have a designer skirt suit that can cover any eventuality?’ she joked.
But Bella had to admit, ‘I’ve got two Christmas parties to go to this week and I can’t get into anything I own without showing off a suspicious bump.’
‘What is suspicious about your tiny little bump? Oh, Bella! Don’t tell me no one knows yet!’ Tania exclaimed.
‘Well, I’m still only four months… and a bit.’
‘You are being such a wimp about this. At some point you will have to ’fess up to your dragon lady boss. You do know that don’t you?’
‘Maybe,’ Bella said reluctantly, but really, she was hardly admitting this to herself, let alone anyone else.
‘So, meanwhile, you’re wanting to borrow a fat frock from your fat friend.’
‘Don’t say that. You know you’re not fat – you have nicer clothes than me and far more party outfits.’
‘Yeah, in a size bigger. Bella, have you at least told your parents about the baby?’
‘Yes,’ here was something she could admit with some relief. ‘I have told them. And it went OK, surprisingly OK.’
‘See,’ Tania couldn’t help adding.
The parent phone calls had happened the evening before. Don’s mother, Maddie, had been absolutely thrilled and had spoken to Bella at length about morning sickness and backache and warned her to take it easy. She’d made a lovely fuss and told her she couldn’t wait to see them both at Christmas.
After that call, Bella had toyed with phoning her own parents for so long that finally Don had picked up his phone and told her he would call them himself.
‘I do spend most of my day making awkward phone calls and persuading people to talk to me,’ he told her as the ring tone began.
She’d fled to the other end of the room and listened to Don’s side of the conversation with a mixture of horror and relief.
‘Hello, Professor Browning,’ he’d begun. ‘This is Don McCarthy, Bella’s husband. How are you?’
Pause while he listened to the reply.
Then came Don’s big revelation. ‘No, no, she’s fine. She’s very well. In fact, she’s expecting a baby and very nervous about telling you both.’
At this point, Bella had buried her face in her hands, overwhelmed with feelings of awkwardness.
‘Well, you know.’ Don had given a charmingly friendly laugh. ‘What with the two of you not having met me yet and so on… I think she’s feeling a little conflicted.’
There had been a long pause then as Don listened and Bella wondered what on earth her father was saying to him.
Followed by Don saying, ‘I hope so. I think it would do us all good to get together. When are you next over here?’
Bella had looked up to see Don giving her the thumbs up and then she’d heard: ‘Great, OK then, we’ll look forward to that. I’ll put Bella on now,’ before the phone was thrust at her.
‘Dad, hello,’ she’d managed.
‘Hello, darling, congratulations,’ her father had said, sounding genuinely pleased. ‘Is it going well?’ he’d asked. ‘How far on are you?’
‘Four and a half months.’
‘Goodness me, well done, Bella,’ he’d exclaimed. ‘Your mother is going to be very pleased for you.’
‘Is she, are you sure?’
‘Yes, darling, she’ll phone you as soon as she gets back in.’
Then after a small hesitation, her father had added, ‘You know, darling, maybe we’ve been too quick to judge your husband.’
‘Don.’
‘Yes… well… he sounds like a good man.’
‘He is, Dad,’ she’d told him and for a moment pictured her father, mother and Don all together round a table chatting, eating, hanging out like a normal family. Maybe that could really happen one day. Maybe they could all relax and get on together.
But her mother’s phone call later in the evening had felt like a dampener on those hopes. Celia had of course gushed that she was delighted, but had immediately listed the reasons why they couldn’t come over until the baby was there: so busy, a lecture tour, building work on the house, looking after the neighbour’s property when he was away, etc., etc.
‘Maybe you and Don could come and visit us?’ she’d asked after what sounded suspiciously like Bella’s father talking to her in the background. ‘What about at Christmas?’ she’d added.
‘Don’s mother is coming here.’ Bella was grateful for the excuse. ‘But we’ll see, Mum. We haven’t got a lot of time off before the baby’s due. But you will come then, won’t you?’ she asked, wondering what on earth that would be like. And would she even want her difficult mother there?
‘Of course,’ her mother had trilled. ‘My goodness… a grandchild, how exciting!’
But to Bella, even this had sounded somehow insincere.
On the night of the Merris Christmas party, work wound up at 4p.m. so that everyone could get ready. The annual party had always been a lavish ball at the Dorchester Hotel for employees, clients and guests. Bella had been taken aback to learn it was going ahead this year, but she supposed the management was making every attempt to quell rumours that the company was in difficulty.
Just before she left the office she rang Don, who assured her he was joining the event as her plus one. She was still soaking in the bath when he arrived home, so he came into the bathroom and perched on the loo seat, where she took a look long at him, noting the tired circles under his eyes. But he was still lovely, she thought.
‘You look gorgeous,’ he told her. Her hair was piled on her head, her shoulders were peeping out of a vat of foam and she pointed a toe, with perfectly painted pink toenail, in his direction. He took her foot and began kneading it.
She sank back into the bath and closed her eyes. Don massaged her foot, then leaned over to stroke up her calf. He knelt by the edge of the bath and let his hand run gently down her thigh into the water.
‘Uh-oh, no,’ her eyes snapped open, ‘no time for that.’
‘There’s always time to enjoy yourself.’ He smiled.
‘Big night ahead and I’m not in the mood.’ She stood up and reached for a towel.
‘Nope, you’re certainly not. We haven’t had sex for ages,’ he muttered.
‘Yes, we have. We had sex last weekend,’ she said as she wrapped herself in the towel and stepped out of the bath.
‘No, we didn’t.’
‘OK, the weekend before that.’ She remembered but felt a little surprised herself.
‘Oh well, that’s all right then,’ he said irritably.
‘I’m sorry, Don. I’ve been very tired, what with work… and being pregnant.’
He was instantly contrite. ‘I’m sorry, lovely girl, come here.’ He held out his arms and she snuggled in for a few moments.
But then she gave him a light kiss on the lips and urged, ‘Come on, let’s get ready to party.’
‘OK… I’ll just take another cold shower,’ he joked.
Tania had lent her a long gold-coloured slip dress, which suited Bella’s dark hair and creamy skin tone, as long as she applied plenty of dark eyeliner and red lipstick. Yes, the dress clung to her every curve and the bump, but it came with a wonderful floor-length gold taffeta coat, which hid everything and that she didn’t intend to take off. Tania was a little taller than Bella, but to make sure the coat didn’t drag on the ground, Bella would wear heels.
She put on a pink underwired bra, tiny black knickers and hold-ups, then piled her hair up and applied full-on glamour make-up and dangly gold earrings.
The dress was on, the coat was on and she was just sliding into her shoes when Don came into the bedroom.
‘Wow.’ He moved in.
‘Don’t touch, don’t kiss or crush.’ She pushed him away playfully. ‘The cab will be here in fifteen minutes. Will you be ready?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
As they got into the taxi, she gave him the once-over. His dinner suit was second-hand and a bit shabby, and he was wearing a not perfectly ironed shirt with a not perfectly tied bow. But that was Don. That was why he always looked so sexy, the aura of having just got out of bed and dying to seduce you clung to him more than to anyone else she’d ever met.
‘I totally love you, Don,’ she told him with absolute conviction.
‘I totally love you too,’ he answered. ‘You look amazing – it’s a cliché but you are glowing.’
‘And growing,’ she added.
‘It’s all gorgeous,’ he assured her, taking her hand.
They arrived at the Dorchester just after 8p.m. to find the lavish party already under way. Champagne glasses were pressed into their hands and one of the senior execs came over to welcome them.
After many meet and greets, she and Don were momentarily alone again.
‘I think I’ll take up a seat at the bar, that’s where my type hang out,’ he told her.
‘The sad old soaks,’ she teased.
‘Ha ha. Now, you go off and network like a good girl. I think that crowd of old farts in the corner are praying you will go over and talk filthy facts and figures to them.’
‘Hello, Bella.’ One of the men in the group Don was indicating stood up and waved her over. It was Mr Merris himself.
‘Bella, I want to introduce you to some of my old cronies,’ he said as she approached. Then he went round the group making introductions.
‘This is Bella Browning, our troubleshooter. She’s not just absolutely ravishing, she’s also damn clever and that is a compliment, coming from a man who’s never put a woman at the top table before.’
Loud chortles from the group. Oh my God, thought Bella, welcome to Jurassic Park.
‘Well, we’re all equals now, Tony.’ She flashed a megawatt smile and deliberately used Merris’s first name – something she’d never heard anyone do before, in fact, his first name was Anthony, maybe no one ever called him Tony. That would shut them up.
‘Yes, yes of course.’ She saw his eyebrows shoot up in surprise at her cheeky informality.
‘Better get used to it,’ she added, ‘the women are coming for your board seats.’
‘So, you’re the type who rushes in, has everyone over the age of forty fired and then calls it a cost-cutting efficiency drive?’ asked one of the other dinosaurs.
OK, so they clearly weren’t going to be happy with a nice little chat about sure-bet investments or property prices. Maybe it was time to soften them all up with a little joke.
‘Something like that,’ she began, ‘except we now prefer to fire everyone over twenty because teenagers are so cheap these days and so good with computers, you’ll find they can do everything you need.’
Startled silence… but then finally laughter. Phew.
So now she moved into her gentle pitch for business, handed out a few cards, then patted Merris on the arm to draw him slightly to one side.
‘When we’re back in the office, I’d really appreciate the chance to have a chat with you before the Christmas break. It’s important,’ she told him.
‘No problem at all,’ he confirmed. ‘Now go off and enjoy yourself.’
So, she did. She swanned round the room chatting with the people she’d got to know at the company and their guests, and charming plenty of potential new clients. She glanced over to the bar where raucous laughter was emanating from the small group which had gathered round Don and she was just about to go over there and join them when Mitch came up and introduced his very pregnant wife, swathed in a green velvet gown.
‘Oh, congratulations, when is your baby due?’ Bella asked when the introductions were over.
‘Early February,’ ‘Mrs Mitch’ told her.
‘Gosh…’ Bella was going to be this big in less than three months’ time… that was, quickly frankly, a terrifying prospect.
‘This is baby number three,’ Mitch’s wife added, ‘and I seem to get bigger every time. Stomach muscles stretched, saggy pelvic floor.’
Whoa, this felt like a bit too much information.
After their chat, Bella went off for a much-needed trip to the loos. She was directed down a shiny corridor papered in gold with little glass cabinets of expensive trinkets set into the walls. Her heels tapped along the marble floor. This was such a plush hotel.
She rounded the corner and walked into Don.
‘Hello,’ they both said at once.
‘How’s my corporate dynamo?’ He sounded relaxed, happy and looked so undeniably sexy in that suit too.
‘I think at least another two jobs are in the bag,’ she told him, a little giddy with her own success.
‘How very sexy. Well, I’ve got about ten stories. Five usable, two libellous and three utterly unprintable.’
‘Have you been talking dirty to the ladies again?’ She leaned in to kiss him.
‘No, but I can if you want me to.’
He bent his head downwards and put his lips over hers. After a long, probing kiss, he moved to her ear and whispered, ‘There are no attendants in there, you know.’
She knew exactly what he was hinting at. ‘Are you serious?’ she asked.
‘Oh yes.’ He kissed her again, scooping her up against him. She could taste champagne on his warm, familiar mouth and she couldn’t deny it, she was very turned on, but maybe even more importantly, she wanted to make up for his ‘no sex’ dig earlier in the evening.
‘Not the Gents,’ she whispered, ‘too many people I know might go in there.’
‘Go see if anyone is in the ladies’,’ he urged.
She opened the pale beech door onto a whole, shiny, peachy, twinkly little world. It was empty.
She beckoned him in and they rushed into one of the cubicles and banged the door shut. They turned to face each other and burst out laughing.
‘I’m getting you back for the bra changing room,’ he said, kneeling down in front of her.
‘Oh boy,’ she replied.
He parted the front of her coat, lifted the filmy gold dress up and let it fall back down over him. Bella shut her eyes and leaned against the wall as she felt him push her tiny knickers to the side and put his mouth against her.
She giggled as he started to lick.
‘I want you inside,’ she whispered after a few delightful moments, partly because she did, partly because she didn’t want to hang around the cubicle too long. She put one foot up on the edge of the toilet so he could slide in easily.
He felt very good… oh so good… I might even come, she thought, even though we’re in a toilet cubicle at my client’s Christmas party… please park that thought… concentrate on this and how so very good it is…
‘Way too much champagne,’ Don said by way of explanation, as he startled a serious-looking woman by striding out of the ladies’ loos straight into her path. He gave his extra-dazzling charm smile and she smiled right back.
On the following Friday evening, Bella was getting dressed up to Christmas party again.
As she worked on her hair and make-up, she wondered why she was feeling anxious. This was office Christmas party night with Susan, Kitty, Chris and Hector. There would be drinks, dinner, the works. They all knew each other so well and they would have fun – even if her fun would be much more restrained than usual. But she still hadn’t told any of them about her pregnancy and this was what was making her anxious. It was time to say something, before everyone began to guess, but she still couldn’t reconcile full-on, ambitious, career-girl Bella with the Bella preparing to welcome a baby into the world – that was the problem.
As she pulled on the gold taffeta coat again, this time with black trousers and high-heeled ankle boots, she admired how surprisingly glamorous and very bump-disguising it was. Yes, she decided, she needed to buy herself a little more time before she broke the news.
Earlier in the day, she had met Mr Merris for a private chat when she didn’t refer to him as Tony, but gave him an insight into her findings about the company so far. She couldn’t tell how he’d taken her report. He’d listened carefully and made notes but she couldn’t work out if he was surprised by what she was telling him or not.
When she’d suggested that the pension holders might win their appeal case and cause serious damage, he had insisted that ‘friends in the right places’ had assured him this wouldn’t happen. It was only when she’d told him that she was going to recommend implementing an emergency action plan well ahead of her full report that he began to look concerned.
‘What were you hoping to achieve by bringing me in to assess the company?’ she’d asked him.
‘Well, I’m happy with the way the business is run, but I’m aware that we’re not growing,’ he’d said.
‘So, you’d be surprised if I told you business is in fact declining and fairly rapidly at that?’
‘Hmm.’ He’d raised his bushy grey eyebrows. ‘I’d need to see figures.’
‘No problem.’ She’d reached into her files and slapped a folder on his desk.
He hadn’t picked it up. She’d glanced round the impressive wood-panelled room and taken in the large formal portraits on the walls. ‘Your father, by any chance?’ she’d asked, pointing at the one above his desk.
‘Yes, and that’s his father beside him. I’m the third generation in charge here,’ he’d said gravely.
‘They look quite fierce,’ had been her reply.
To her relief, he’d smiled and said, ‘Yes, they were rather. Both naval men, liked to run a tight ship.’
‘You do run a tight ship here. Tight, formal, old-fashioned.’
‘Is that a problem?’ He’d raised those quite alarming eyebrows further.
‘It might be hard to change things.’
‘Hmmm,’ was his reply.
‘May I ask you when you’re planning to retire?’ She had held her breath for his reaction.
‘Well, that’s a little bit presumptuous, young lady.’
‘Have you given it any thought?’ she’d ventured carefully.
‘Yes, I have thought about it, but I haven’t decided.’
‘It’s just— and please stop me if I’m going too far, but real changes are needed in the organisation and I just wonder if, well— if you’re going to be—’ good grief, should she really be telling the chief executive, the grandson of the founder to be considering his position? She hesitated.
‘Am I the right man for the job? Is that what you’re asking?’ He laughed. ‘Well, you don’t stand on ceremony, do you, Ms Browning?’
She smiled politely and felt she had said enough. She didn’t need to risk her position by spelling out that it might be time for him to appoint a new chief executive and disappear off to the upper echelons of non-executive directorship.
‘I know what you’re getting at,’ he’d said finally. ‘I will give the matter careful thought.’
He had drawn the meeting to a close by suggesting that she draft him a confidential memo on all the matters she’d raised, so he could mull it over during the Christmas break. So, she’d spent the rest of the day writing this and making it as frank as possible to spur him into action.
Glancing at her watch now, she saw she still had a little time, so she smoothed down the taffeta coat, and popped her mobile into her chic evening bag and headed out of the door.
When to tell Susan she wondered… how to tell Susan?
She was the last to arrive and was greeted with a chorus of hellos by the gang of four, already seated at the table.
Everyone was dressed up, Susan in Christmassy sequins, Kitty in lace, leather and silver, Chris looking handsome and delighted to see her, even Hector was in a smart black suit. She sat down among them and felt instantly relaxed, realising how lovely it was to see them again – her little office family.
‘Bella! Looking lovely as usual.’ This from Chris.
‘Great to see you all and so scrubbed up.’ She smiled at them in turn.
They were at a round table, just slightly too big for everyone to have one group conversation, but that was a good thing. After the enthusiastic hellos, Hector and Kitty went back to their conversation and now she, Chris and Susan were no doubt going to talk shop.
Susan wanted to know how it was going at Merris and Bella took a few minutes to outline the worst of it.
‘You have to make sure you’re delivering the negative alongside options that are much more positive,’ Susan began. ‘A rebrand, a new direction for the company beginning on a smaller scale, maybe even a takeover or merger. If you’re telling them they’re on a ship that’s going down, in the next breath you’ll have to throw them a life raft.’
‘I know,’ said Bella, ‘and I’d really appreciate some input from you. I thought maybe we could meet up over the Christmas break so I could go through it with you and see what ideas you have.’
‘No problem,’ Susan replied. ‘But it will have to be tomorrow, because I’m off on my Christmas cruise the day after.’
‘Perfect,’ Bella said, ‘and a cruise sounds delightful.’
‘Why don’t we meet in the office at 10a.m., go through everything, then have a nice lunch?’ Susan offered.
‘That would be great,’ Bella replied and it began to cross her mind that a nice, relaxed lunch with Susan, just before the start of the holidays might present the perfect opportunity to finally break the baby news.
Chris then chipped in with, ‘Maybe Hector should be asked to have a look over your Merris work. He might come out with some unexpected genius.’
Bella and Susan didn’t say anything, which led Chris to add in a low voice, ‘He is turning out to be quite brilliant. Still a bit disorganised?—’
‘And lacking in basic mathematical skills,’ Bella added also quietly, so Hector couldn’t hear.
‘But brilliant,’ Chris said again. ‘With our help, he could be going straight to the top.’
Bella couldn’t help feeling rattled by this. She was meant to be their up-and-coming star, not barely-out-of-university, entitled Hector. Calm down, she ticked herself off and took a small sip from her glass of champagne. She would have to be very careful about this… the plan was to drink mineral water all night, but take tiny, occasional sips from her champagne glass so that no one was suspicious.
‘Noted,’ was all the reply that Susan made.
Bella decided to turn left and pay some attention to Kitty.
‘How are you doing, Kits? Feels like I haven’t seen you for ages.’
‘So good,’ Kitty said with a happy smile, then added in a whisper, ‘Still crushing so badly on H.’
‘Ah ha,’ Bella said. Well… it was all about Hector tonight.
Soon, platefuls of wonderful food arrived while Hector and Chris tried to outdo each other with client anecdotes. Even Susan seemed quite relaxed. There was a nice buzz, Bella thought; they felt like real colleagues and team-mates with the added swirl of Kitty being smitten with Hector and Chris toning down his feelings for her, but still paying her close attention. It felt nice. Bella felt as if she was among her people and she finally started to relax.
When they were all full of good food, Hector hovered over her wine glass with the bottle of red.
‘Some for you, Bella?’ he asked.
She smiled and leaned into him, couldn’t help noticing how nice he smelled, as she caught the hit of expensive aftershave and laundry.
Close to his ear now, she whispered, ‘Thanks, but I really can’t, now that I’m pregnant.’
Wait…
They looked at each other in amazement: Hector astonished at what she’d said, Bella astonished that the one thing she’d been determined not to say had somehow come out of her mouth.
‘What?!’ Hector gasped, then, before she could stop him, ‘Did you lot know this? Bella’s up the duff,’ he announced loudly.
Could three people have looked more shocked? She took in the expressions one at a time: Kitty looking delighted-shocked, Chris looking stunned-shocked and Susan looking absolutely furious-shocked.
‘Wow! That’s fantastic Bella!’ Kitty spoke first.
‘Good grief! What a complete surprise. Congratulations!’ Chris said, but she read the mixed emotions on his face.
‘Oh my goodness! When is it due?’ was the already too cold and too practical question from Susan.
‘Oh no— ummm— look, I’m so sorry about this. I didn’t mean to say anything until after Christmas. Now, it’s just slipped out.’ She was seriously flustered and glared at Hector, as if this was all his fault.
‘The baby is due late April… ummm.’ She was totally rattled, looking at them all staring at her. ‘Don is very happy,’ she added, then, ‘And… so am I. We’ve had a scan and everything looks good?—’
‘Boy or a girl?’ said Kitty excitedly.
‘Actually… we don’t know that yet.’
‘Oh my God… I’m trying to picture you with a baby, Bella. It’s unbelievable,’ this from Kitty again. Obviously, everyone else was still struggling to know what to say.
‘Congratulations to you both,’ finally Chris spoke again. ‘It’s lovely news. I’m very happy for you. A Bella baby… what a lovely prospect.’ And he did look very pleased, had maybe managed to reign in any other stray feelings.
‘Well, we’ll certainly have plenty to talk about at lunch tomorrow,’ said Susan, but she made it sound ominous and her smile did not reach her eyes.
Somehow the meal carried on without revolving entirely around Bella and her news. As kindly as she could, she brushed off Kitty’s clumsy questions about maternity leave and what she was planning to do afterwards.
By midnight she was exhausted with the effort of it all, so she gratefully clambered into a cab and headed home, wondering how she was going to handle Susan tomorrow.