Chapter Two
Two
‘In the red or the black?’
The shop assistant had a Jimmy Choo in each hand, and I was torn.
Both pairs were beautiful. Should I go classic black for work, or sparkly red for client drinks?
Which was also… work. I could always buy the black now and come back for the red.
But would I? The clock was ticking, and I couldn’t decide.
‘I’ll take them both,’ I said, and her eyes widened. I was on a Zoom call in twenty-three minutes and didn’t have time to mess around.
She placed the stilettos in their marbled grey boxes, wrapping each one in silver tissue, then skipped off to the cash desk to ring them up.
I ran out the back of Selfridges and across Portman Square, grabbing a sashimi plate from the food hall to eat at my desk. The bronze gargoyle on our office door grimaced as I typed in my passcode and pushed my way in.
‘Back already?’ Pete called from behind reception as I whizzed past.
‘No lunch for the wicked,’ I replied. ‘Well, just some quick sushi.’
‘Sushi Sara – isn’t that a restaurant in Liverpool Street?’ he said with a chuckle.
I checked my watch in the lift and ripped off the plastic lid.
Five minutes to quickly scoff. It was a shame to ruin these tiny works of art.
Each piece had been carefully sliced and shaped, using delicate flavours and different textures to justify the twenty-quid charge.
I squirted a piece of tuna with soy sauce as I sped down the corridor.
‘You’re on this call, Sara!’ Antony shouted from his office.
‘I know. One minute,’ I replied, mouth full of fish.
Antony Taylor was a stickler for the clock.
We were charged out in fifteen-minute slots at eye-wateringly high rates, so every second was important.
But I hadn’t been late for a meeting in six years and today wouldn’t be any different.
I was back at my desk and logged in with one minute to go. Ready, waiting and on time.
I paused for a second to check my reflection.
No kimchi in my teeth. Nate had done a lovely job on my weekly blow-dry, but my ginger roots were starting to twinkle.
Invisible to the untrained eye, I could always spot them sneaking up on my darker bottle-auburn.
The screen dissolved to show Antony next to the leathery face of Danny Jackson, who was sat by his pool in Mauritius looking as smug as ever.
‘Are you there?’ he barked, squinting hard.
‘Yes, Mr Jackson. You’ve got Sara and Antony from CSH.’
‘CSH – just missing an A.’ He snorted with laughter and took a slurp of his cocktail. ‘Can’t beat a pina colada. Or as I like to call it – the taste of freedom.’
‘How are you, Danny?’ Antony asked.
‘Can’t complain – the food is a marked improvement on Wormwood Scrubs. Nah. Let’s get serious for a second. You guys were expensive, but your work was very much appreciated. Thank you for saving my arse. Again.’
‘There was a lot of circumstantial evidence when it came down to it,’ I said. ‘The prosecution didn’t have enough of a case.’
‘That’s because you tore it apart piece by piece,’ he said. ‘Don’t think I don’t know how lucky I was to have you in my corner. If there’s ever anything I can do to show my gratitude – on or off the record—’ he winked. ‘—don’t hesitate to ask.’
‘That’s very kind of you, Mr Jackson, thank you.’ The mind boggled at the kind of favours he could pull.
‘Danny, please. And success breeds success,’ he continued.
‘I’ve got another piece of business for you.
Friend of mine – Micky Moo. He’s had a run-in with the blues, and I’ve recommended you lot for the job.
Kinda member-get-member ain’t it? Do you do a referral scheme?
Stamp my loyalty card?’ He laughed again.
‘Is Mr Moo under arrest?’ I asked, googling on a side window.
‘Sorry, sweetheart. First name Micky, last name Maloney. Another case of false accusation I’m afraid,’ Danny said, shaking his head. ‘There’s a lot of it about.’
My screen filled with red-top headlines. Magpie Maloney caught red-handed. Diamond geezer fails diamond heist. His mugshot showed a chunky man with perfect teeth, in a sharp brown suit.
‘He’s in the clink at Scotland Yard, no less. Can you pay him a visit and put it on my account?’
‘Consider it done. Any background you can share?’ Antony asked.
‘He’s an old man with a diamond fetish and he ran into some trouble down Leather Lane by all accounts. Stood in the wrong place at the wrong time when a loot kicked off in the jewellery quarter and it didn’t end pretty.’
‘Got it,’ I said, my AI Otter transcribing as he spoke.
‘Innocent of course,’ Danny added.
‘Of course,’ Antony said. ‘Thanks for recommending us. We’ll take it from here and be back in touch once we’ve got the measure of the situation.’
‘Sure. Then we can talk real money. Mick’s a mate, so I want your best people on it.’
‘Understood.’
‘And by that, I mean you two.’
*
Whether it was divine intervention or pure luck, this was too good to be true. I gleefully slammed my laptop shut and ran down to Antony’s office.
‘No!’ he said, resolutely. ‘Not a chance. Cheryl will have my bollocks for Christmas baubles if you take on any more cases.’
‘But he specifically requested me! Well… us. And this is exactly the kind of case that will help me make partner. You can’t say no to Danny, surely?’
‘I can say whatever I like to whomever I like – I’m the boss around here, remember?’ Antony said. ‘You’ve already got far too much on your plate and you’re on leave next week.’
‘I’ll cancel it. I’m not going anywhere anyway. Please? Let me take this one. Whoever this Micky guy is, I’ll get him off. I promise.’
Antony leant all the way back in his leather chair and folded his arms. ‘Absolutely not and that’s my final answer.’
‘Who’s getting who off?’ Our HR director appeared in the doorway in a skin-tight minidress, all lithe-limbs and knee-high leather boots. She needed to have a word with herself about dressing appropriately for work.
Antony jumped. ‘Cheryl! Your ears must be burning. I was just reinforcing your, I mean, our party line when it comes to duty of care and making sure staff take time off.’
Staff was a bit rich.
‘Mm-hmm…?’ Cheryl eyed the pair of us, suspiciously.
‘In fact, Sara was just saying how much she’s looking forward to her holiday.’
What a lie.
‘Then the rumours are true,’ Cheryl said, tapping a hot pink nail on the door frame. ‘Where are you off to?’
‘Half-true. I’m not so sure I can go anymore – we’ve had a request in, haven’t we, Antony?’ I flashed him a pleading look. I was desperate to take this case.
‘Of course you can go. We’re a law firm, Sara, not A I wanted to work.
‘Bobby’s got enough on his plate. Honestly, it’s better if I stay and do it – I don’t mind rescheduling my leave.’ The air started to flicker, and my throat felt hot as I clutched Antony’s desk to steady myself, sinking into the chair across from him.
‘Sara?’ He jumped up. ‘Are you OK? Cheryl – grab Pete, will you?’ I scoffed. He couldn’t do anything on his own.
‘I get like this sometimes – it’ll pass,’ I said, dropping my head between my legs and regretting the raw fish. ‘I skipped breakfast this morning, so it’s probably that.’
Pete came rushing in with a glass of water and hovered by my knees.
‘Get her a couple of biscuits as well, will you? She hasn’t eaten.’
This was a disaster. I didn’t want Antony thinking I couldn’t handle any more work. I absolutely could. I was FINE. I sat up and smiled, but my heart was pounding and my head hurt.
‘The lights are on but no one’s home,’ Antony whispered to Cheryl, over my head.
‘I can hear you,’ I said, looking up.
‘Sara? It’s me, Ch-er-yl,’ Cheryl said, looking into my eyes. ‘Are you about to faint, lovey, or do you think it might be a heart attack?’ It was a reasonable enough question, but I couldn’t answer while in the middle of one of the two.
I took several raggedy breaths and put my head back down.
I was raging. I didn’t want Bobby anywhere near my cases.
I’d worked solidly for months, to get as much done as possible before this enforced leave and stop him tapping up my clients.
I didn’t give a shit about Micky Maloney and his dodgy diamond dealings, but it was exactly the big-ticket case the partners needed to see me win.
There’d be plenty of publicity for the firm and Danny had specifically asked for me.
There was no way anyone else was taking it – least of all Bobby.
Pete reappeared with a coffee and a packet of custard creams, luring me out of the brace position with caffeine and sugar. ‘Get a couple of these down you,’ he said.
Antony flicked through the first aid manual and studied me closely. ‘You’ve lost all the colour in your face. Are you experiencing symptoms of heartburn?’
I shook my head and dunked a biscuit in my coffee, swallowing it whole. Followed by another, then another. Custard creams were so small these days.
‘Her digestion seems fine,’ Pete murmured.
‘How do you feel inside?’ Cheryl asked, side-eyeing Antony, in alarm.
‘Woozy,’ I said honestly. ‘I can’t get a full breath.’ Panic crept up my spine.
‘Could you be pregnant?’ Antony tried.
The question caught me unawares and I felt a visceral pain in my gut. I shook my head, sadly.
‘Chest pains?’ Cheryl continued.
I shrugged. ‘Maybe.’ The thudding in my heart was getting louder and my heart was in my chest, wasn’t it?
Behind my boob and take a left. I’d always had a high tolerance for pain though, so I was useless in these situations.
I’d end up accidentally dying in Antony’s office, dismissing appendicitis as indigestion.
‘Right, let’s get you checked out,’ Cheryl said, snapping into action. ‘Pete, call us a cab please. We’ll be downstairs in two minutes.’
I stuffed another custard cream in my mouth and downed my coffee. That’d pep me up. Or would it kill me if I was mid-heart attack? Too late now either way.
‘Mind how you go, Sara,’ Antony said. ‘We’ll expect you a fortnight on Monday if all goes well at the hospital.’
‘What about Micky?’
‘Leave Micky to me. I’ll sort him out.’
‘OK, well, update me later,’ I said, with a weak smile, following Cheryl down the corridor.
‘Your work ethic is admirable, but entirely misplaced. No.’
‘Tomorrow then,’ I called.
‘Still no.’
I wobbled towards the lift and tried to keep it together.
Head up, shoulders back, like Mum always said, but I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs to take a proper breath.
My legs were heavy, and my tongue was too big for my mouth.
I stumbled then stopped to lean against the wall and get my balance, the hot feeling back in my throat.
Then the twinkling took over my eyes and I slid all the way down to the floor.