Chapter Twenty
I’d thought I had no tears left after finding Roisin in Dexter’s bed, but the crumpled-up tissues and the empty box are testament to the fact I shed a few more bucketloads after my run-in with Dexter last night. At least he hasn’t plagued me with texts. Although should I be more upset that I didn’t matter enough to him to even merit an apology? Not that it would have made anything any better. I’m still trying to work out how best to move forward and whether I should cut my losses and go back home, but I don’t want to make any knee-jerk decisions, plus I’ve made friends here.
As I pad across the courtyard and sit down at the empty firepit, the sound of wheels scattering gravel breaks into my thoughts. Please don’t let it be Dexter out on some early morning mission for Carlos. But it’s Javier and Nicolás. Javier has five or six red fish slung over his shoulder.
‘You’re up early,’ Javier says with a smile as he closes the gate behind him. ‘Coffee?’
I could kiss him. ‘Yes, please.’
He lopes off to the kitchen whilst Nicolás sits down beside me.
‘What time did you go fishing?’ I ask.
Nicolás stifles a yawn and reclines slightly on the rattan sofa. ‘About eleven last night.’
‘Last night? You must be exhausted. Surely you didn’t fish all that time.’
He rubs a hand over his face. ‘Not all the time. I was shattered after being away with Dexter the night before.’
I stiffen and my blood runs cold. ‘Dexter?’
‘Yeah, Carlos sent us over to Limón.’
‘Limón?’ I’m aware I keep parroting what he’s saying, but I can’t stop myself.
‘There’s a sloth rescue centre over there that we’re working with, and as chance would have it, they also had a spare radiator for the truck. Carlos bought it off the owner.’
Beads of perspiration form on my neck, and I wipe my sticky palms on my shorts. ‘And you went too?’
He grins. ‘Well, you didn’t want the boy to go all alone, did you? It’s a long journey, so it was a great way for us to catch up and the owner and his wife were very friendly. Although Dexter snores. I’m not sharing a room with him again.’
I hold on to the side of the sofa, feeling as if I may keel over at any second. Limón. Nicolás. Dexter. Radiator. They shared a room.
My eyes flutter closed as my brain tries to process what Nicolás is telling me. If Dexter was in Limón with Nicolás, he couldn’t have been waiting for Roisin. A momentary glimmer of hope shoots through me. Dexter wasn’t with Roisin. It’s all in her head. I bat away the possibility that something still may be going on between them. For the moment I focus on the fact he couldn’t have been about to arrive for a prearranged rendezvous with Roisin, because he was on the other side of the country, with Nicolás, and stayed there overnight.
I groan. What have I done? I accused him of sleeping with Roisin without even waiting around to hear his side of the story. And I bad-mouthed him to Federica, Mariangeles and Ella. Oh God, ground open up and swallow me. Now I have a whole host of different problems to those I had when I woke up this morning.
I sink my head into my hands.
‘You OK?’ asks Nicolás, his voice threaded through with concern.
‘Never better,’ I mumble. He doesn’t need to know the extent of my stupidity.
‘You did what?’ says Becca when I call her later.
‘I know. I’ve screwed up. And I realise you’re probably at work and this isn’t the best time to ask you for relationship advice, Becca, but I really like him, and I think I was so afraid, after the whole Aidan thing, that it would go wrong, that I saw it go wrong when there was actually nothing wrong at all.’
‘Kat, can you use simple sentences, please? I’m not at work, I’m on annual leave, but I’m still in bed and honestly, I’m also a little hungover. I was out for cocktails last night and I overindulged a tad.’
‘You need coffee,’ I say.
‘I do. So, let me get this straight. You found Roisin offering herself up on a plate to Dexter, understandably assumed the worst, told everyone he was a shit and then discovered he may not have known anything about it and wasn’t even at the sanctuary, but five hours’ drive away.’
Shame fills me and I feel colour rise in my cheeks. ‘Yeah,’ I mumble.
‘Sorry?’
‘Yes! That’s about the size of it. Becca, what am I going to do?’
She shrugs. ‘Eat humble pie for a start.’
‘Gee, ta. That was really helpful.’
‘Kat, you are one of the most easy-going people I’ve ever met, but when you blow, you blow. To be fair, finding someone almost stark naked in the bed of the man you’d been stark naked with the night before is a reasonable defence.’
‘Not helping,’ I mutter.
‘I’m sorry, but if you like Dexter as much as you say you do, you have to swallow your pride and go apologise. Hopefully, it’ll be enough.’
‘That’s what I’m worried about– that it won’t be.’
‘Well, you won’t find out if you don’t go and speak to him. You never know, he may see the funny side of it. This time next week, you may both be laughing about it.’
‘Or I might be on a flight home,’ I say under my breath.
Becca tuts. ‘Kat, much as I would love to have you home, I don’t want you back under those circumstances. And I suggest you clarify things with your friends, too, before Dexter gets wind of the fact you’ve told them an inaccurate version of events.’
My heart plummets. Great.
When the workday starts, I steel myself for running into Dexter, but it seems once again he isn’t around. Isn’t he meant to be the deputy manager? He doesn’t do a great deal of managing, just swans around a lot. Right, getting arsey about things isn’t going to win me any brownie points with Dexter, or have him accept my apology. Grovelling will probably work best.
Mariangeles strolls round the side of the main building, carrying a pair of hedge trimmers.
‘Aren’t we in the rainforest?’ I ask.
‘Yeah, but we still need to keep the front entrance clear so people can see our signage.’ She gestures to the main sign, which does indeed have quite a bit of foliage growing under and over it.
‘Point taken.’ I exhale heavily. ‘Listen, Mariangeles, I need to tell you something.’
Her eyebrows shoot up. ‘Again? I’m still reeling from the last revelation.’
I smile. ‘I promise I won’t make a habit of it.’
‘Don’t. I think I’m in Dexter’s bad books as I tore a strip off him this morning.’
What…? Oh no! My face crumples.
‘Hey, you OK? Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring him up. But the more I thought of the way he’d treated you, the angrier I became. I’m not having him treat my hermana like that.’
I’d smile at her calling me her sister, and I love the way she has considered me one of the family from the moment I arrived, but she’s already spoken to Dexter? This just gets worse and worse.
I groan. Well, it’s more of a whimper really.
‘What’s wrong?’
My words shoot out of me. ‘Dexter was in Limón with Nicolás the night I saw Roisin in his room almost naked, trying to pull him with her tawdry seduction routine. He couldn’t have had a prearranged “appointment” with her. I got it wrong.’ Finally, I draw breath, certain I’m turning purple from forgetting to pause.
Mariangeles’ eyes go wide. ‘ Mierda! ’
‘My thoughts exactly. And now I need to go and apologise to Dexter. And tell Ella and Federica that he didn’t do what I thought he did with Roisin.’
Mariangeles is silent for a long moment then she starts to laugh, and keeps laughing, then bends over, putting her hands on her knees, barely able to catch her breath.
‘What’s so bloomin’ funny?’ I ask.
Mariangeles straightens up and wipes tears from her eyes, then rubs her nose and coughs. ‘Can you imagine Roisin lying on Dexter’s bed, ready to play the temptress, and no one turns up?’
My lips curve upwards and I chuckle. ‘I wonder how long she was lying there like that.’
Mariangeles shakes her head. ‘I don’t know. She’s pretty determined and resilient. Couple of hours?’
I snort. ‘She must have been uncomfortable and freezing.’ My hand flies to my mouth. ‘Do you think she now knows Dexter was in Limón?’
Now Mariangeles’ shoulders are shaking. ‘Well, if she doesn’t, she either thinks Dexter did an about-turn and avoided her by not even venturing into his room, after finding her there, or she knows someone else saw her. Oh, Dios mio , how embarrassing!’
I cringe, inwardly and outwardly. Much as I don’t particularly like Roisin, mainly because she has been frosty as hell towards me, I wouldn’t wish that crushing realisation on anyone. Not even someone who has designs on the man I’ve fallen for.
In my peripheral vision I catch sight of the woman herself making her way over to us, and manage to blurt out a, ‘Later, Mariangeles,’ before I hotfoot it inside to avoid having to be in Roisin’s company.
Now to locate Dexter. And then find somewhere private to have a seriously humiliating conversation. I mean, I don’t think I was unreasonable in coming to the conclusions I did: that Dexter and Roisin were bumping bones, but maybe I should have tackled the subject more indirectly or perhaps more delicately. Yes, that might have been better. I’m not usually a hothead, but red mist definitely descended when I saw Roisin lying there. I felt a fool and as if I’d been taken advantage of yet again. And I’d had enough.
Carlos waylays me as I enter the building. ‘Kat, I wanted to talk to you about our trip next week to our partner rescue centre in the south.’
‘Sure.’ Part of me is relieved the conversation with Dexter is delayed a little longer. It isn’t going to be pretty, and although I have no problem with owning up and apologising when I’m in the wrong, this is as distasteful as it gets.
Carlos gestures for me to take a seat. I lower myself onto the armchair in front of his desk– no straight-backed office chairs here– and wait to hear what he has to say.
‘So, we’ll set off about six, as it’ll take us a couple of hours’ drive. We’ll be there for a meeting around nine, then we’ll have a large part of the day to study the way they work with their sloths, before we have another meeting with some other rescue centre representatives who are coming from further afield and then we’ll head back.’ He tidies some papers on his desk but doesn’t break eye contact. ‘Hopefully, it will give you a flavour for just how far-reaching we intend the project to be and the long-term benefits to the lives of the sloths in the country as a whole.’
I reflect on how different my way of life is now, after only ten days of discovering this sanctuary and meeting Dexter, and pray I can fix things with him so it can continue to be so. I’ve always wanted to make a difference. In retrospect, I think that’s one of the reasons I found it so difficult working in sales. The monotony. The routine. The lack of variety. Virtually nothing in my work life ever changed. The world changed around me, but my contribution didn’t change and it was mind-numbingly boring. Now I feel as if what I have to offer has some value, and I don’t want to lose that. I set my jaw and press my fingers into my palms; I need to make things right with Dexter.
‘Right, can you help Ella this morning? She’s doing some data transfer of the sloth adoption information and could use a hand.’
My eyebrows furrow. ‘Sloth adoption?’
Carlos smiles. ‘Yes. Don’t worry. We’re not letting the sloths be taken away. This is where sloth lovers adopt a sloth and pledge some funds to help us support the sloth. They get a certificate with its name, a sloth teddy bear and a few other bits and pieces, and we receive an injection of cash which helps keep these guys in medicine for a while and covers some of the sanctuary’s costs.’
‘Ah, yes, I see.’ Memories of TV ads for adopt-a-panda/jaguar/other endangered animal spring to the forefront of my mind. It’s similar but on a smaller scale. We’re not exactly the WWF here. ‘Of course. Where is Ella?’
‘In Dexter’s office. It’s the first time she has worked on this part of the admin, too, so he’s been bringing her up to speed.’
I’m finding it hard to swallow, so I simply nod, push out of the armchair and head for Dexter’s office. He’s not there. Instead, Ella is, alone, sitting on the floor, surrounded by bundles of files.
When I say, ‘Hey,’ she looks up and bangs her head on the filing cabinet drawer, which is open above her. ‘Ow.’
‘You OK?’
‘Yeah, but I may have a huge bump on it later. So you’re coming to help me?’
When I nod, she lets out a long sigh and then beams.
‘Glad someone is. This is quite the job. There are records going back years here, and they all need checked and moved onto the new system, or archived as lapsed sponsors.’
I smile. ‘It’ll be easier with two. Budge up, but let’s close that drawer first.’
‘Wow!’ Ella says as I fill her in on my mistake over Dexter and Roisin. ‘No wonder he wasn’t his usual cheerful self.’
‘It may not be because of that.’ I’m trying to cling on to a last shred of hope.
Ella gives me a doubtful look. ‘I’d say it had something to do with it. I’ve seen the way he’s been looking at you since you arrived. He’s never looked at anyone else like that before. Not even… Sure, there have been other attractive girls who’ve fancied their chances with him, but he hasn’t responded. Roisin, well, she was persistent, but still he didn’t bite. I thought she’d given up, but it seems she renewed her efforts when you arrived. I can’t believe we all missed it.’
Neither can I. She’s always flirting with him. Maybe the others have become immune to it, or perhaps she was even more blatant before.
‘Right, I need a break, well, a loo break at least.’ I glance at my watch. I’ve been sorting these files with Ella for almost an hour. ‘Back in five.’
As I cross the foyer, I catch a glimpse of Dexter’s back as he slips through the door leading to the accommodation blocks. Bingo. I need to get this over with. But as I reach for the door handle, hushed voices from beyond it filter through to me.
‘What the hell were you thinking?’ Dexter.
A murmured voice. Then its volume rises slightly. ‘You prefer that drippy bitch to me? Well, you’re welcome to her.’
I freeze. Roisin. Oh crap. I want to turn and run, but my legs won’t work, and I need to hear this.
‘And how did you even get into my room?’
She scoffs. ‘C’mon, Dexter, your lock’s been dodgy for ages. You haven’t exactly made a secret of it. You must mention it to Victor every second day, yet he never gets around to it. If that wasn’t an open invitation, then I don’t know what was.’
‘Roisin, it was me trying to get my lock fixed. It was not me asking you to spreadeagle yourself on my bed,’ Dexter rails. ‘Perhaps, in other circumstances, I’d be flattered, but you know Kat and I’ve just started seeing each other. What the hell possessed you? You’re an attractive woman. Why me? Why someone who is already involved with someone else?’
‘Maybe I like the challenge.’
Even now there’s a come-hither tone to her voice. Does she never give up?
‘You’re incorrigible,’ Dexter says, and there’s no humour in his words. ‘Do you have any idea of the damage you’ve done?’
‘I’m sure you’ll sort it out. If she’s who you want. At least I gave whoever did open the door an eyeful. Perhaps I’ll work on them instead. They have the advantage of knowing what’s on offer. Who was it? Alejandro? Javier?’
He hasn’t told her. Oh God. She thinks it was one of the guys because they all share the block. Of course. Why would I or any of the other women be in the men’s block? Except me, going to find Dexter. I ease the door ajar.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t bother with them, anyway. How pathetic, grassing me up to you. If it’d been a proper man, he’d have come in and satisfied me, and let me do the same to him.’
Holy heck. She’s some sort of nymphomaniac she-devil. Or just a tart. It’s not even lunchtime and she’s peddling her wares.
‘Are you sure you can resist this, Dexter?’ she purrs. ‘Are you sure you want to?’ Her hands skim her perfect breasts, down over her hips until they stop at the top of her thighs.
A vein pulses in Dexter’s throat, but whether with lust or anger it’s difficult to tell.
‘Roisin, you’re making a fool of yourself.’ His voice brims with barely concealed anger. ‘I suggest if you don’t want to be up on a disciplinary charge for sexual harassment and breaking into a co-worker’s room, then you stop right now.’
She mutters something unintelligible, but her body language is plain to see. She’s like a python poised to strike. A snatch of her words drifts across to me. ‘…don’t know what you’re missing.’ Then the pitch of her voice changes. ‘Don’t worry, Dexter. You’ve made yourself clear. You won’t get another chance, though.’
Dexter’s body deflates. Relief? Dejection? Did he mean what he said about not being interested?
Roisin heads towards the door and I jerk back, but she stops and spins round to face Dexter again. ‘You never did tell me which of the guys was rewarded by seeing me in all my glory.’
God, she never gives up, does she? She’s so brazen.
Dexter hesitates for a moment then walks towards her. When he draws level, I can see both their faces in profile. I gasp as he says, ‘That’s because none of the guys saw you.’
‘But…? The door opened… someone came in.’
Dexter nods. ‘They did. It just wasn’t one of the guys.’
Roisin’s face contorts into an ugly mask. ‘ She saw me. She opened the door. She was coming to you.’
Dexter remains silent, confirming her assumptions.
Barely a second later, her face transforms back into that of the siren she is. ‘Oh, Dexter, it must be wonderful to be so popular. But I can tell you right now, she can’t offer you the delights I can. Pity you’ll never know now what those are.’
Too late, I react to Roisin moving towards the door. The thud of it as it cracks me on the head makes my skull reverberate before I feel myself slide towards the floor.