The Girl I Used to Be(26)

I hesitated. “I’m supposed to be going in, pet.” His lip wobbled and he clung tighter. I looked down at him and thought, What is the point in working for myself if I can’t take time off when my child is ill?

“I’ll stay home today,” I whispered. “I’ll stay home until you feel better.”



* * *



*

AN HOUR LATER Rory was lying on the sofa, covered in his quilt, with Buffy, his fluffy rabbit, by his side. He was dozing while his favorite cartoon was on television.

“Shall I call the office and tell them you won’t be in?” asked Joe.

“I’ll give Lucy a call and see if she can come in today.” I groaned. “She’s changed her number and I forgot to put it into my phone. I’ll have to go into the office to phone her. I won’t be long.”

“I’ll go in for you, honey,” he said. “You stay here with Rory and I’ll pick up the number.” He picked up the keys to his car and the office. “Where is it? On your desk?”

I froze. Lucy’s new number was on a slip of paper in my desk drawer and in there, too, was the photo and the receipt. No way was Joe going into that drawer. Luckily it was locked, so none of the staff would be able to get in, either.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I need to have a word with them about a couple of things. I’ll run in and be back in half an hour.”



* * *



*

    RACHEL WAS WAITING outside for me. She was holding a cup of coffee from the café up the road and looked at her watch as I approached the door to the office.

“Sorry I’m late,” I said as soon as I reached her. “Rory’s not well. I need to phone Lucy to ask her if she’ll stand in for me for a day or two.”

“Oh, the poor boy. But why didn’t you call Lucy from home?”

“She wrote her new number down and I forgot to put it into my phone.” I opened the office door and went straight over to my desk to log on to my computer. Rachel stood next to me and I sat there, frustrated, wanting to open the desk drawer but not wanting her to see the photo that was inside it. My mind whirred as I thought of what to do with it. I couldn’t risk taking it home, but I didn’t want to leave it at work, either. Each of us had our own desks, but Lucy would be using mine that day and there was no reason why I would keep the drawer locked. “Is everything okay?” I asked Rachel. “Do you need something?”

She reached over for my computer mouse and clicked on the online diary we all shared. It contained nothing personal; we always checked each other’s diaries if we were going to be out. “I just wanted to see whether you had any appointments today,” she said. “I don’t have any until later this afternoon, so I can share yours with Lucy.”

“Thanks.”

I was so glad it was Rachel in that day instead of Sophie. She had a calm manner that made everything seem okay. I knew she and Lucy could be relied on to do a great job together. Brian would take care of the rentals; he knew exactly what he was doing, and now I felt safe leaving Lucy and Rachel to deal with the sales.

“Do you know how long you’ll be off?” she asked. She scrolled through my diary. “There’s an appointment with the accountant that you might want to postpone if you’re not going to be in. Lucy’s okay to do any valuations, isn’t she?”

“I’ll be off until he’s better. Probably a couple of days.” My dream of having time off work was coming true, at the expense of poor Rory’s tonsils. “I’ll sort out the accountant; I can call her from home. Lucy can do any valuations and you can split the other appointments between you. Let me know if you get stuck; I’ll have my laptop with me and I can deal with any problems. I’ll probably just be on the sofa all day.”

“Lucky you,” she said, and then added hastily, “but poor Rory, of course. Have you got Lucy’s new number? I can call her for you.”

“It’s okay; I’ll do it, thanks,” I said. “I’ve got it here somewhere.” I unlocked my desk drawer and took out the slip of paper that had her number written on it. Surreptitiously I took out the photo and the receipt and slid them into an envelope. I jumped as I realized Rachel had come back over to my desk and I slipped the envelope under a file. “That’s just something I need to sort out later.”

“Is it for the post?” She held out her hand. “I’ll send it for you.”

I waved her away impatiently. “No, it’s okay. It’s private.” And then, because I didn’t want her to wonder what it was, I said, “It’s just something I need for the accountant.”

I called Lucy; she’d just dropped Maisie off at school and was only five minutes away. She agreed to come in and said she’d ask her mum to do the school run that afternoon.

I put the envelope into the zip compartment of my handbag, then thought of Joe finding it. Panic rose inside me. I couldn’t let him see either the photo or the receipt. I pulled the envelope out of my bag and took it over to the shredder, pushing it in so hard its engine roared.

When I turned to go back to my desk, Rachel’s eyebrows were raised, but she said nothing. The door opened and Lucy came in.

“Is Rory okay?” She sounded so concerned that immediately my eyes prickled. “You go home and stay with him now.” She put her bag into the drawer in my desk—I was able to leave it open now that I’d destroyed the evidence—and said, “I’ve just been into the newsagent’s. Michael there said you wanted to look at his CCTV footage.”