The Other Woman(5)

‘Call me when he calls,’ Seb shouted out after me. He was still cackling as I walked away.

‘I’ll call you if he calls,’ I shouted back, as I reached the gates to the square.

I was in the middle of an appointment later that afternoon, when my mobile rang. My client, a Chinese businessman who, with the help of a translator, was looking for staff for his expanding company, signalled to me to take it. I smiled politely and shook my head, but the ‘No Caller ID’ displayed across the screen had piqued my interest. When it rang three more times, he looked at me imploringly, almost begging me to answer it.

‘Excuse me,’ I said, before backing out of the room. It had better be important.

‘Emily Havistock,’ I stated, as I swiped my iPhone.

‘Havistock?’ a voice repeated.

‘Yes, can I help you?’

‘No wonder they didn’t put your surname on your badge.’ He laughed.

A redness crept up my neck, its fingers flickering at my cheeks. ‘I’m afraid I’m in a meeting at the moment. May I call you back?’

‘I don’t remember you sounding this posh either. Or is this your phone voice?’

I remained silent, but smiled.

‘Okay, call me back,’ he said. ‘It’s Adam, by the way. Adam Banks.’

How many men did he think I gave my number to?

‘I’ll text you,’ he said. ‘Just in case my number doesn’t come up.’

‘Thank you, I’ll revert to you shortly,’ I said, terminating the call, but not before I heard him chuckle.

I couldn’t concentrate for the rest of the appointment, and found myself trying to wrap it up prematurely. But then, I didn’t want to appear over-keen by calling him back too quickly, so when the translator said my client would like to show me around the new office space, a few floors above, I gratefully accepted.

Over dinner, a week later, I had to explain to Adam why it had taken me three hours to call him back.

‘You honestly expect me to believe that?’ he asked incredulously.

‘I swear to you. I’m not one for holding out just to appear cool. Making you sweat for an hour, perhaps. But three? That’s just rude.’ I laughed.

His eyes wrinkled up as he tried to suppress a smile. ‘And you were seriously stuck in a lift for all that time?’

‘Yes, for three really long hours, with a man who hardly spoke English, and two super-smart phones, neither of which were smart enough to be able to ring for help, it seems.’

He choked on his Sauvignon Blanc and spluttered, ‘That’s Chinese technology for you.’

By the time I introduced Adam to Seb, a month later, we’d seen each other eighteen times.

‘Are you serious?’ Seb had moaned, when I’d told him for the third consecutive night that I couldn’t see him. ‘When do you think you might be able to fit me in?’

‘Ah, don’t go getting all jealous,’ I’d teased. ‘Maybe tomorrow night?’

‘If he doesn’t ask to see you again then, I suppose?’

‘I promise, tomorrow night is yours and yours alone.’ Though, even as I was saying it, I felt a tad resentful.

‘Okay, what do you want to do?’ he asked, sulkily. ‘That film’s out – of the book that we both loved.’

‘The Fault in Our Stars?’ I said, without thinking. ‘Adam and I are going to see that tonight.’

‘Oh.’ I could feel his disappointment, and I instantly wanted to slap myself.

‘But that’s okay,’ I said cheerily. ‘I’ll go again tomorrow night. The book was amazing, so the film will be too, right? We’ve got to see it together.’

‘If you’re sure . . .’ Seb said, his voice lifting. ‘Try not to enjoy it too much with your boyfriend.’

Chance would have been a fine thing. I was too conscious of Adam fidgeting in his seat, looking at his phone. ‘Well, that was a happy little tale,’ he said, as we came out of the cinema a couple of hours later.

‘It’s all right for you,’ I said, sniffing and surreptitiously wiping my nose on a tissue. ‘I’ve got to go through it all again tomorrow.’

He stopped in the street and turned to look at me. ‘Why?’ he asked.

‘Because I’ve promised Seb I’ll go and see it with him.’

Adam raised his eyebrows questioningly.

‘We both loved the book and always vowed that when they made the film, we’d see it together.’

‘But you’ve seen it now,’ he said. ‘Job done.’

‘I know, but it’s something we both wanted to do.’

‘I need to meet this Seb who’s taking you away from me,’ he said, pulling me in towards him and breathing in my hair.

‘If he was straight, you’d have a problem on your hands,’ I said, laughing. ‘But you’ve got nothing to worry about.’

‘All the same. Let’s get together one night next week, so that we can all discuss the merits and flaws of the silly film we’ve just seen.’

I playfully punched him on the arm, and he kissed me on the head. It felt like we’d been together forever, yet the excitement of just being around him fizzed through me, setting every nerve alight. I didn’t ever want that feeling to go away.