Chapter 55
FIFTY-FIVE
The last of the receipts were tallied up and Imogen was once again very pleasantly surprised by how much they’d taken.
She sat back in her chair. She was the only one in the restaurant as the lunch staff had finished and the evening staff didn’t start for another hour.
And they were fully booked for that night too.
She gazed around, a feeling of contentment washing over her.
She should have done this ages ago, she thought, then remembered that actually, it hadn’t been possible – still wouldn’t be without private financing.
James had come good, but with his investment she’d noticed a growing sense of propriety about him.
Or was that the fact they were sleeping together?
Maybe the two things were so intertwined, it was hard to distinguish what was what.
She felt a low sense of unease and knew it was something she had to be mindful of.
She’d noticed him getting irate at the opening night and it had annoyed her. He did not own her.
She heard a rap on the window and frowned. The closed sign was clearly up. She turned to see who it was.
Talk of the devil. Imogen morphed her frown into a smile, even though she could really do without a visit from her business partner right now.
She got up and went to let him in. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Do I need a reason to come and see my investment?’
He didn’t but it riled how he was looking at her, as if she was the thing he’d invested in. Or maybe she was reading too much into it. She decided to defuse the situation and went to kiss him.
‘Not at all,’ she said. It was an unexpected surprise, that’s all. A nice one,’ she added. ‘I don’t usually see you on Friday afternoons, there’s too much going on at school just before the weekend.’
She felt James place a hand on her backside and pull her closer. ‘I managed to escape for a bit,’ he said, ‘seeing as we’re neither of us going to get our Saturday run in tomorrow.’
No, thought Imogen, they weren’t. The Christmas fair meant they’d both be at the school in the morning.
She wriggled away from him. ‘Not now,’ she said, of his desire for sex.
He looked disgruntled. Like a child who’d been told no more chocolate biscuits, she thought.
‘Why not?’ he asked.
‘I’m busy.’
‘I’m busy too but I’ve made the effort to come and see you.’
She sighed inside but put on a smile. ‘We’re going to take an awful lot of money tonight but only if I make a large vat of tomato sauce.’
He put his arms around her waist from behind, pushed himself against her and murmured in her ear. ‘We can do it while you’re stirring stuff on the stove.’
‘It might spill on you,’ she said. ‘Hot sauce on your cock. Painful.’
He winced and pulled away, defeated. ‘By the way, Dylan’s got the job.’ His tone was petulant.
Imogen felt her heart inflate, as if she was being lifted off the ground. ‘He did? Oh my God, that’s amazing!’
‘He’ll be getting a call this afternoon.’
James was looking at her expectantly. She dutifully kissed him. ‘Thank you. For all you did.’ Inside she was ecstatic but careful not to show it too much. She remembered James’s face when Dylan had come to opening night at the restaurant.
Her clever, clever husband, she thought. He had just changed the direction of all their futures. She wished she could congratulate him there and then but of course she had to wait for him to be told and then call her – and then she had to remember to react as if it was new news.
‘I had Lara Miller’s mother in my office this morning,’ said James.
Imogen’s euphoria instantly evaporated.
‘Following Lara’s absconding from school. I think it would serve Rosie well if she backed off a bit.’
‘She’s hurt,’ said Imogen. ‘And upset. Lara tried to drown her.’
He smiled, his brow furrowed with mild impatience. ‘Did she? Really?’
‘Yes,’ said Imogen stubbornly.
‘Rosie is fine. Whatever happened back in September has passed. Lara has displayed no violence towards Rosie that we have seen at the school. Look, I have to follow protocol, OK? I know it’s all going to be fine, but maybe you could have a word with Rosie, nip this in the bud before it escalates.
’ He kissed her on the lips, long and sensual.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he said, ‘and I’ll try not to think too much about what we should be doing at ten o’clock on a Saturday morning. ’
She watched as he left, then let out a long, heavy sigh.