Chapter 14
They started work a bit later the next day. Partly because it was Sunday, partly because both Leo and Caleb had drunk a little too much at the pub. Leo hadn’t drunk enough to do anything wildly out of character but enough to feel it in the morning.
Vidya had made a few amused comments, but mostly, she was quiet. They’d sat in different corners in the meeting room, silently working. Between them they had drunk a huge amount of coffee.
This time Leo volunteered to go and get sandwiches for lunch. He needed the walk to stretch his legs. On his way back to the hotel, he’d had to protect the bag of food from the gulls, which made him think of Vidya. Of course, everything made him think of Vidya these days.
The sun had come out and, when you were in the sunshine, it was pleasantly warm. Along the road Leo noticed there were buds on the plants in the gardens he passed. The sap was rising and there was a feeling of hope starting to grow. Overnight, the earth had decided it was springtime.
It was a shame they were stuck working in this beautiful place.
It was a really nice day to take a break, if they had the chance.
Could they? The deadline was tight, but maybe they could slack off for a few hours.
All three of them had been working hard since Tuesday, and it was Sunday now.
The long hours of focus were starting to take a toll.
Maybe a rest was just the thing they all needed.
When Leo got back to the meeting room, he found Caleb sitting next to Vidya, sharing her computer screen.
She was pointing something out to him and he was leaning across, concentrating.
The stab of jealousy Leo felt was entirely unfounded.
He shut the door behind him with a quiet click and told himself to pull it together.
Caleb had said he wasn’t interested in Vidya, so the poor woman was heading towards disappointment.
If anything, Leo should feel sad for her.
Or feel nothing at all, because it wasn’t any of his damn business.
If only his heart would listen to his head.
Leo put the bag of sandwiches and crisps down on the table with a thump. They both looked up.
‘Oh, lunch,’ said Caleb. He glanced at Vidya. ‘Have we covered everything here?’
She frowned briefly and said, ‘I think so. I’ll pull out a report and send it to you so that you can show me how you cross-referenced it.’
Caleb wheeled his chair back to where he normally sat. Anyone else would look ungainly, but somehow he made it look laid back and fun. Since it was the weekend, Caleb was dressed casually and wore jeans. So did Vidya. Leo wasn’t sure he approved.
‘Vidya was showing me what she got the AI to do. It’s quite impressive actually,’ Caleb said.
Leo nodded. ‘I know.’ He had to agree that it was impressive. He still had some reservations about trusting the outputs completely, but Vidya was being careful. The results did seem to be accurate, so he was slowly coming round to trusting it.
‘I was reading about the possible use of AI in contract drafting.’ Leo unpacked the bag, sorting the sandwiches with the relevant can of drink.
‘It’d be fine for standard ones, I should think.’ Vidya sounded distracted. Her fingers were still flying over the keyboard – she must be compiling whatever it was Caleb had asked her to find.
Leo stood and studied her for a moment. She looked tired. She had bags under her eyes and her mouth was pulled down at the corners. It couldn’t just be that she had been working nonstop. She’d said she’d gone to bed early last night. There must be something else.
Vidya hit a key on her laptop with a flourish. ‘There,’ she said. ‘It’s done and on its way to you, Caleb.’
‘Thanks, Vid.’
Oh. They’d progressed to nicknames now, had they? Leo took a deep breath and let it out. It was none of his business. How his colleagues chose to speak to each other was between them, so long as no one was offended. ‘Shall we break for lunch?’
‘Yes. Exactly what I was thinking,’ said Caleb.
Vidya checked her phone and frowned. The brief flash of vibrance seemed to disappear, and she looked like she was going to cry.
‘Shall we go sit outside? The sun is out.’ When she didn’t reply, he said, ‘Vidya?’ He picked up her sandwich and showed it to her.
‘Oh. Right. Yes. Sure.’
***
The sun wasn’t strong – it was still too early in the year.
It was pleasant but they still needed coats.
There were more people than usual out on the terrace.
Leo spotted an empty table with an umbrella and made a beeline for it.
He expected Vidya to take a seat in the sun, but she chose the seat with the most shade.
Caleb sat fully in the sunlight and tipped his head back. ‘Aaah. This is nice.’
Leo had to admit it was nice out there. He tilted his head from side to side to get rid of the stiffness that had set in.
Leo distributed the lunches. They ate in silence for a while. Sneaking a glance at Vidya, he could see that she was still preoccupied. He guessed that her discussion with her sister had definitely affected her.
What could he do to help? Vidya hadn’t asked for help or support, so it would be weird to offer it.
Leo sighed and looked out at the pale sunlight.
It was the nicest day they’d had so far.
They had already done one and a half days of overtime this weekend, perhaps it would do them all good to get out a bit.
Caleb sat up. ‘How come,’ he said, squinting at Vidya, ‘you’re sitting in the shade?’
Leo had wondered that too but hadn’t felt comfortable asking. He knew that Sarah sat in the shade too. When he’d asked her, she’d said it was because only mad dogs and Englishmen went out in the noon-day sun, and laughed.
Vidya chewed her mouthful and swallowed.
‘Because I have a lot more melanin than you do and if I spend any time at all in the sun, I get even browner.’ She put her sandwich down.
‘Here. Let me show you.’ She pushed up her sleeve.
Leo tried not to stare. Her arm was brown and plump.
There was a clear demarcation where her sleeve ended.
The exposed part of her arm was clearly browner.
‘That’s mostly just from yesterday’s walk up the hill, and it wasn’t even that hot yesterday,’ she said.
‘You should see my legs in the summer. I’m stripey depending on the length of trousers I wear. ’
Leo couldn’t stop the mental image. She probably had delightful legs. Maybe knees with cute little dimples at the back. No. No. He looked up at the sky in an effort not to think about his colleague’s legs.
A gull flapped down. Leo threw out a hand to cover Vidya’s sandwich.
She did the same. His hand landed on top of hers, instinctively curling over to grip it.
He felt the thrill of contact race up his arm.
Her eyes met his. For a second, he had an awful feeling that she could see what he was thinking.
He snatched his hand away and flapped it in the direction of the bird. ‘Dammit, Charlie, get your own lunch.’
He was rewarded with a small smile from Vidya. That was better.
Once they’d finished lunch, no one seemed keen to move. Vidya was still preoccupied. Caleb announced he was going to the loo and disappeared, leaving Leo alone with her.
He leaned forward. ‘Are you sure everything is okay? You seem … sad.’
‘I do?’ Suddenly, she looked even sadder. ‘I had an argument with my sister, that’s all. It’s … I’ll get over it.’
Oh yes, that would do it. He knew all about sisters and arguments. ‘Older sister or younger?’
‘Younger,’ she said, morosely.
‘I have one of those. My little sister is the most pig-headed, impulsive and annoying creature.’ He thought of Cordelia fondly.
Surprise flashed across Vidya’s face. ‘Mine too,’ she said. Her eyes lost focus again as she sank back into her thoughts. ‘I’m trying to help her and she—’ Her expression lowered again. ‘She’s not …’
‘Not grateful?’ Leo said. He understood that all too well. ‘Did she ask you for help?’
Vidya’s frown deepened. ‘Yes. I mean … she needed it and … no, she definitely did ask me to help. She did.’
‘Well, that’s just rude of her not to appreciate it then,’ said Leo.
Vidya sniffed. ‘Sometimes I wonder why I even bother doing stuff for her.’ She was staring at her hands, but he could bet she wasn’t actually seeing them.
‘But,’ he said, cautiously, ‘maybe she will, later. You know, when she’s had time to think about it.’
Vidya looked at him through narrowed eyes. She didn’t say anything, but she nodded, ever so slightly.
And Leo knew exactly what he needed to do.
Caleb returned. ‘Back to it?’ he said.
‘Actually,’ said Leo. ‘This is the first nice day we’ve had since we got here. And it’s Sunday. I think we should leave the files for a bit and go explore.’
Caleb put his hands on his hips. ‘Who are you and what have you done with Leo?’
‘I mean it,’ Leo said. ‘I’m just as fed up with those documents as you are. We’ve already worked overtime. Vidya’s excellent intervention with AI has bought us a bit of time. Let’s just take a half-day off.’
He turned to Vidya, conscious that she hadn’t asked him for help. ‘You don’t have to come with us, obviously, but you’re welcome to join.’
She looked from him to Caleb and back again. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I’m in.’
Caleb rubbed his hands together. ‘Great. We’ll meet downstairs in … twenty minutes. It’ll give you time to change, Leo.’
Leo looked down. ‘Why do I need to change?’ He was wearing suit trousers, a shirt and a pullover. Since it was the weekend, he’d been going for smart casual. Caleb and Vidya were both in jeans.
‘You look like a lawyer.’
‘I am a lawyer.’ Leo got up anyway and followed Caleb out. A quick glance over his shoulder showed Vidya shaking her head as she watched them leave. At least she wasn’t looking quite so down as she had been.
***
Vidya didn’t bother changing, she was already in jeans, but she swapped her cardigan for the thicker fleece she’d worn on the way down.
When she looked in the mirror, she could see evidence of her sleepless night in the deep shadows under her eyes.
Her face looked as worn out as she felt.
Great. She wasn’t exactly in the mood for sightseeing, but she was in even less of a mood for work.
Spending some time outside with Leo had its attractions.
Besides, it was a good opportunity to find out more about Caleb.
Did she want to, though? She was only doing it for Udeni, who was being a bit of a cowbag right now. Maybe she should stop and just chill.
Yes, Vidya decided as she locked her door, today she would simply enjoy whatever sights the town had to offer.
When she got downstairs, she saw that Leo had swapped the suit trousers for chinos. He still managed to look formal, like he was play-acting at relaxing. It was quite sweet really.
‘What is there to see around here?’ Caleb stood by the stand which held all manner of leaflets.
Vidya joined him. He passed her the leaflets as he read them.
‘Ornamental gardens,’ Vidya said. ‘The seafront, which we’ve seen already, the beach. That’s pretty much it for here.’ She looked up and saw that, for once, the concierge was at the desk. ‘We could ask an expert.’
‘Let me.’ Caleb thrust the rest of the leaflets into her hands and went over to the reception desk, leaving her standing with Leo.
‘Are you sure about this?’ she said. ‘We could just push through and do more work.’
‘We’re all losing focus now,’ said Leo. ‘It’s best that we have a proper break. Get some air and all that sort of thing. Then we can come back refreshed tomorrow.’
He was standing a respectful distance away from her. He looked faintly concerned. Wonderful. Now the guy she liked was looking at her with pity. Thanks, Udeni.
Caleb came back. ‘If we head to the next town over, which has some nice shops in the old part of town, there’s a funfair. She said it’s open on Sunday until four.’
‘Let’s see …’ Leo frowned at his phone, thoughtfully. ‘Ah, yes. Funfair, old shops, tea and cake … arcade.’
‘Ooh, arcade!’ said Caleb. ‘I haven’t been to one of those in years.’ His eyes lit up. In some ways, he reminded her a lot of Udeni. Was that a good thing? Or not?
Leo raised his eyes and met Vidya’s gaze. ‘Is there anything you’d particularly like to do?’
She had to stick with them whatever they did.
Even without Udeni’s needs, Vidya genuinely did want to know more about this baby’s father.
Besides, she liked their company. When they weren’t at work, Caleb and Leo were easy people to be around.
She couldn’t believe she had once thought that Leo was uptight and annoying.
He was tense, sure, but he was also easy to like.
Leo was still waiting for an answer, his expression serious.
His gaze was fixed on her face, brow creased slightly as though he was worried about her.
He was handsome in a serious and intense kind of way.
She wanted to know more about him too. She said, ‘Let’s explore the next town. I haven’t been to a funfair in ages.’
‘Well, that’s settled then.’ Caleb clapped his palms and rubbed them together. ‘This is going to be fun.’
Leo nodded. ‘It’ll definitely do us all good to put some distance between us and the files.’ He dug a set of car keys out of his jacket pocket. ‘Come on then.’