The First Mistake(86)

‘Oh my God, I am so up for this,’ says Lottie, beaming from ear to ear.

Alice returns her smile. ‘Okay, let’s get to work.’

The team gather their things and head back to their desks. Only Nathan remains, which Alice isn’t remotely surprised about.

‘Since when are you making executive decisions like that without consulting with me?’

Alice doesn’t look up from her computer screen. ‘Since I remembered that I own this company.’

‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’ he asks, standing in front of her with his hands burrowed deep into his trouser pockets. ‘Are we going to harp on about Tom again? The prodigal son who so thanklessly put his inheritance into setting up AT Designs?’

Alice looks at him with a smile, immune to the barbed snipe. He can say what he likes about Tom now – she doesn’t care. But she will not let it be implied that without him she wouldn’t be where she is today. For the first time, she allows herself to wonder if she might’ve even gone further without the men in her life, both seemingly intent on holding her back.

‘Tom may have put the start-up money in,’ says Alice calmly, ‘but I have worked my arse off to get this company to where it is today. We wouldn’t have the house, the cars – even the expensive shoes you’re standing in – if it wasn’t for me. Nobody has put more into AT Designs than I have. And if that threatens you Nathan, then I suggest you start thinking about what else you might like to do.’

Alice thinks she sees a flash of vitriol darken his features, but his expression quickly changes to one of bemusement, which riles her even more.

‘I’m going to get a sandwich,’ he says.

‘You do that,’ says Alice.

As soon as his back is turned, she lets out the air that she’d held in to bolster herself up. Those swallowed breaths that give you extra confidence and stop your nerves from jangling, at least not loud enough for anyone else to hear.

She watches as he disappears from view, picks up her phone and scrolls through until she finds the number for Liz, her old solicitor. The one who dealt with Tom’s estate, and the one who advised her to get a pre-nup before marrying Nathan.

‘Alice, how are you?’ Liz asks warmly. Her voice immediately takes Alice to those dark days after Tom died. If it had been this time last month, she would’ve allowed herself to be transported back there, to wallow in the mire, but not today.

‘I’m well,’ she says. ‘How are you?’

‘Busy, but when are we not?’ She gives a little laugh. ‘What’s going on with you? It’s been a while. What is it? Six years?’

‘About that, yes.’

‘And how is Sophia and little Olivia?’ Alice feels touched that she remembers the names of her children. ‘Not so little any more, I bet?’

‘Livvy’s nine going on twenty-four, and Sophia is everything you’d expect a fifteen-year-old girl to be,’ says Alice. She can’t for the life of her remember Liz’s children’s names and is instantly disappointed in herself. ‘I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m after some advice, if you don’t mind.’

‘Of course.’

‘You may remember I was getting married to Nathan around the time we last spoke. I was looking for some advice about a pre-nup.’

Alice is sure she can hear the disapproval in Liz’s ‘Mmm.’

‘We’re going through a bit of a rocky patch,’ Alice goes on. ‘It’s just a tentative enquiry at the moment, but I’d like to get an idea on where I’d stand financially, should we separate and divorce.’

Alice can hear Liz rustling some papers on her desk and imagines her sitting on a maroon leather chair in a mahogany-adorned chamber. ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ she says, sympathetically, and it takes all of Alice’s resolve not to cry. Maybe she’s not as tough as she’s pretending to be. ‘Well if I remember correctly, you decided not to go ahead with the pre-nup.’

‘No, that’s right,’ says Alice, and she can almost hear Liz silently saying, Silly girl. ‘It wasn’t something either of us wanted to do,’ she goes on, trying to justify every bad decision she made back then.

‘So, what assets do you have?’ asks Liz. ‘Just a rough idea.’

Alice tots everything up as quickly as she can. ‘Well, I don’t have specific figures, but the house is in my name and is worth about two million. AT Designs is profitable and has cash in the bank, but I’ve just recently taken a loan out for a million pounds to buy some land in Japan. We’re building twenty-eight apartments near to the Olympic site.’

‘Wow, that sounds interesting,’ says Liz, but Alice is sure she can hear disbelief in her voice. ‘And the business is solely in your name?’

‘Yes.’

‘So, can you remind me what Nathan brought to the marital table.’

Alice goes quiet, trying to find something worthwhile to say, but sensing the unfavourable answer, Liz puts her out of her misery.

‘Okay, so despite Nathan turning up with nothing but the shirt on his back, he can still make a claim on your wealth if you separate.’

Alice winces at the lawyer’s brutal choice of words. ‘So that’s not looking too good for me, then?’