Chapter 32
32
GRETA
‘Oh, you are in a pickle,’ says Anjali, describing my predicament perfectly. She takes a sip of her coffee, then frowns and puts it down. With the urgency, I didn’t have time to reheat it. ‘So, what are you going to do?’ she asks.
All I’ve told her is that Ewan and one of my agency dates know each other, and I’ve given a truncated recap of the scene in The Daily Grind. But if I’m owning up to all my lies and secrets, I need to own up to the secret I’ve been keeping from Anjali.
I take a deep breath. ‘Before I ask for the afternoon off so I can sort this out,’ I say. ‘Sorry – I meant to come to that later.’
‘You can have the afternoon off, Greta,’ she says, which I appreciate but am also a little surprised by, unless… Of course ! Anjali is as committed to my relationship with Ewan – such that it is – as I am. ‘But there was something else?’ she prompts.
‘Yes. And thank you – for the time off.’ I’m stalling. ‘Anjali,’ I say with a sigh, ‘I know the real reason you brought Poppy on and gave me that assignment.’
There, I’ve said it.
She sits back, clearly taken off-guard. ‘Did Poppy tell you? She wasn’t supposed to say anything.’
‘No, I worked it out. And then I asked Poppy not to tell you I knew, because I so appreciated the thought behind your scheme— Oh, er…’ Calling it a ‘scheme’ may not be the most flattering characterisation of what Anjali did. ‘Your plan .’
She waves her hand. ‘Don’t worry, it was a scheme of sorts. I told myself it was for a noble cause, wanting you to be happy, but… Greta, I think I owe you an apology.’
‘An apology?’ Well, this is unexpected.
‘Yes. Almost immediately, I started having doubts that I’d done the right thing. I even said something to Poppy the first time she and I met – about it being patronising of me to assume I knew what was best for you.’
‘No, that’s— It wasn’t patronising.’
‘You’re being very forgiving. But in hindsight, I think it was, and I’m sorry. And you were such a good sport, going on all those awful dates…’
‘Well, a few of them were awful, but a couple of the men I met were lovely – including Ewan’s friend – just not for me. And, as Poppy says, there’s merit in kissing some frogs to help narrow down what you want in a relationship. And I hadn’t been near a pond in years before I met Poppy! Sorry, I really flogged that metaphor, didn’t I?’
‘Or “frogged” it,’ she says with a cheeky smile.
‘Oh no,’ I groan.
‘That bad?’
‘Is there such a thing as “mum jokes”?’
‘My children would tell you there is. They don’t think I’m funny at all. But back to you,’ she says, serious again.
My stomach does a flip. It’s all very well masking my true feelings with humour, but the real reason behind this conversation makes me ill.
‘How are you going to sort things out with Ewan?’ she presses when I don’t say anything.
‘First, I need him to respond to my messages. I’ve already sent two and nothing.’
‘Can I see?’
I hesitate, then quickly decide I need all the help I can get – especially as Tiggy’s leading a design workshop all day for her biggest client and is unreachable. I unlock my phone and hand it to Anjali so she can read the two messages I sent on my way back to Nouveau :
I am so sorry. Please let me explain. Can I meet you?
I’ll come to you. Just let me know where. Xxx
‘Well?’ I ask.
Anjali frowns slightly and purses her lips – her thinking face.
‘There you are, Grets!’
At hearing my name, I twist in my chair. Luca. Leaning against the doorframe.
‘Sorry, Luca, not now. We’re in crisis mode here,’ says Anjali. Talking about ‘fudging the truth’ – she’s made it sound like a work crisis.
‘Oh. Anything I can help with?’ he asks, stepping into Anjali’s office.
‘No,’ we say together.
‘But thank you,’ Anjali adds, smiling at him sweetly.
‘Was it urgent?’ I ask. ‘What you wanted me for?’
‘Er, no,’ he replies. ‘Just wanted to show you how that spread turned out – the one you helped me with a couple of weeks back.’
‘I’ll be sure to come and find you, then,’ I say. ‘But it won’t be till tomorrow.’
Luca’s eyebrows jump an inch. He isn’t used to being fobbed off, especially by someone who crushed on him for years. Maybe now he’ll get the message.
‘Right. Er, thanks. I’ll just…’ He gives us a lipless smile, then leaves.
‘That was… intriguing,’ says Anjali. When I turn back to her, she’s eyeing me curiously.
‘Oh, it was just one of his fashion shoots – I helped him with a decision.’
‘I don’t mean Luca. I mean you. You’re actually over him, aren’t you?’
‘Oh, 100 per cent. Ever since he made a play for Tiggy, then got all stroppy when she turned him down.’
Anjali mouth falls open in surprise. ‘I had no idea. I thought you’d just grown tired of him. Anyway, Luca’s a darling, but he’s never deserved you. Too much of a cad.’
‘That’s exactly what Tiggy said,’ I reply. I still can’t believe I wasted so much time on him.
‘Right,’ says Anjali, ‘getting back to you and Ewan. What do we do next?’
‘We?’
‘Look, I got you into this mess in the first place – if it weren’t for my meddling, you’d be loved up with Ewan by now – and all your own doing. So, I’m going to help. Oh!’ she exclaims. ‘We should call Poppy. She’ll know what to do.’
‘I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before.’
‘Tell her we can come to her. I’ll clear my schedule.’
‘You don’t have to?—’
‘Greta, please. Let me help – as my apology.’
‘Okay.’ I leave Anjali’s office and head towards my own, my thoughts returning to Ewan. His face when he discovered I’d gone out with Harrison… My stomach flips again at the memory and by the time I reach my office, I’m in full panic mode.
What if he can’t get past what I’ve done and everything I’ve kept from him? What if meeting with Poppy is moot and he’s already decided to move on?
‘Well, you’ve at least got to try, Greta,’ I tell myself.
Poppy
As soon as they arrive, I lead Anjali and Greta to Paloma’s office where she and George are waiting.
When she called earlier, Greta told me that she and Anjali spoke at length, and now everyone knows everything. So that’s one less thing to worry about.
They also seem to be on good terms, meaning their relationship has withstood the circuitous fibbing this case has required. That doesn’t always happen. Even with Tristan, our relationship was tainted by duplicity. We got past it, him being angry after he discovered an intricate ‘fib’ I’d told, but it wasn’t pretty.
We get situated on the sofas in Paloma’s office, with me seated next to Greta, angled towards her. Almost immediately, her everything’s-all-right fa?ade falls away.
This shift in countenance is understandable. This morning, she was riding the high of a new relationship, then the situation took an unanticipated – and alarming – turn.
‘First things first,’ I say to her gently. ‘Have you heard from Ewan since you called?’
She nods slowly, her brow furrowed. Right, so even though she’s heard from him, it’s not good.
‘I have, but he said he needs some time to think,’ she replies, her voice tight. ‘At least a few days.’
‘And how do you feel about that?’ I ask.
She begins to breathe noisily through her nose as she stares at the coffee table between the sofas. ‘I feel… stupid and guilty and…’
‘Hey.’ I reach across to place my hand on her arm. ‘You’re not stupid.’
Anjali echoes the sentiment with a reassuring pat on Greta’s hand.
‘Then why didn’t I see it sooner?’ she asks, lifting her gaze. ‘I wouldn’t have gone out with Harrison and?—’
‘Greta, hang on,’ I interject before she spirals. ‘You’ve only known Ewan for just over a month now and from what you’ve told me, friendship was foremost on your mind. He didn’t tell you otherwise, so you can’t be blamed for not guessing what was in his head.’
‘Or his heart,’ chimes in George.
‘Exactly,’ I concur.
‘I suppose,’ she mumbles gloomily.
‘And you know, many solid romantic relationships are founded on friendship,’ I say, thinking of Tristan again. We may have started out as client/agent, but that quickly evolved into friendship, then something more.
‘Mine is,’ offers Anjali. ‘I don’t know that I would have fancied Gordon if we hadn’t been friends first. We met through mutual friends and the more time we spent together, the more I appreciated his wit and good humour, his intelligence… And one day, I realised I found him wildly attractive. That’s when I knew I had to be with him.’
‘Apparently, my husband fancied me for over a year before he confessed his feelings,’ adds Paloma. ‘Before that, I just thought of him as my work husband. Sometimes people find it difficult to reveal how they feel. It’s definitely not on you that you were unaware of Ewan’s feelings – even if there were signs.’
‘Were there signs, do you think?’ asks George. ‘In retrospect?’
‘In retrospect, yes,’ Greta replies. ‘But I’m such a novice at all this, I didn’t see them.’ She stops, obviously checking herself.
‘No, that’s entirely true. I did notice him flirting with me a few times, but I told myself it was my imagination, or that it was just part of our budding friendship. I’m realising, only as I say this, that it was more likely because Ewan having feelings for me didn’t fit in with the narrative I’d created in my head – that Harrison was my perfect match.’
This is highly astute of Greta to realise – very self-aware – but she’s winding herself up again.
‘That’s also understandable,’ I tell her. ‘Emotions are complex, and every person brings their own experiences and hopes and fears to a relationship.’
‘So, not knowing right away that I fancied him?’ she asks me.
‘Not guilty,’ I reply.
She expels a sigh. ‘But I did lie to him – about the articles and going on dates. I need to be honest with him about that – if he ever talks to me again.’
‘He will,’ says George assuredly.
‘Most likely ,’ I add, shooting him a look. There is a chance Ewan could walk away from Greta entirely, slim though it may be, and we shouldn’t peddle false hope.
‘Almost definitely,’ he clarifies.
‘Wait,’ says Anjali and we all look to her. ‘What if I explained to Ewan that I gave you the assignment – that you were just following orders?’
Uh, yeah, no , I think. I can tell Anjali wants to take responsibility for her part in this, but I don’t think her suggestion is the way to go. ‘That might be a little…’ I look to Paloma for help.
‘It’s inappropriate, Anji,’ she tells her.
‘Of course. Too “here’s a note from my mummy”,’ Anjali replies.
‘Precisely,’ Paloma replies, and I’m glad we’ve curtailed that potential detour before it gained traction.
‘But what do I do?’ Greta asks Paloma. ‘Do I just… message him again in a few days and hope he’ll talk to me? What if he won’t?’
Greta raising the what-if-Ewan-wants-to-call-it-quits? question again is valid.
‘Well…’ Paloma looks to me.
‘We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it. But, in the meantime, Ewan needs to know exactly what happened and how you feel about him, so he can make an informed decision.’
‘You mean decide whether he wants to be with me,’ she states simply.
‘Yes.’
We’re all quiet for a moment, then Greta lifts her head and sits up straighter. ‘I think I have something.’ She quickly looks at us in turn. ‘I’m a writer, aren’t I? I should write to him.’
‘Oh, I love that,’ says George, and Greta breaks into a smile.
‘A stellar idea,’ says Anjali.
‘And writing to him… I’ll be telling him how I feel, but still giving him space, right?’ Greta asks me.
‘Exactly,’ I reply.
Paloma gets up and goes to her desk, returning with a notepad and pen. Greta takes it and starts scribbling hurriedly while we all watch. I look up and catch Paloma’s eye with a questioning shrug. She mouths, ‘We should go,’ which is a generous offer considering this is her office.
‘Why don’t the rest of us give you some privacy,’ I say, prompting the others to leave.
Greta barely looks up, mumbling her thanks and the rest of us leave the office. Now, we wait…