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‘You left it open on the kitchen counter …’
‘So you saw that, know the pressure I’m under, and your advice is to slow down? Oh, please – do inform our landlord that I won’t be able to make rent this month because you advised me to take it easy.’
‘That’s not fair.’
‘You know what’s not fair? The fact that I have to wait months until I can take that exam again and make partner. Months I don’t have.’
‘Talk to Lisa. There must be a way for you to regain some balance. Or maybe Aaron can help?’
‘Not all of us pin our hopes and dreams on landing a sugar daddy,’ Olivia snapped.
‘Fine. See if I care.’ Tricia turned and walked out of the bathroom, but not before Olivia saw the hurt in her eyes.
Olivia ran cold water over her wrists, waiting for tears to come. Waiting for some emotion to hit. She and Trish had never fought like that before.
But she felt nothing.
Feeling something would mean acknowledging how precarious the Jenga blocks of her life had become. Her career, on top of her qualification, on top of her relationship, on top of his work, on top of her friendships, on top of her mum – all of it threatening to come tumbling down if she stared too hard at the gaps appearing in the foundation: her health, both mental and physical.
Burnout.
Obviously Tricia had seen the signs long before she’d been willing to admit it to herself.
Their relationship hadn’t recovered from that fight. Even when Olivia had finally got signed off from Pendle, she rarely heard from Tricia – except for those occasional links to burnout-recovery articles. She’d moved out of their shared apartment into Aaron’s place and Tricia had blocked her on social media.
That had felt like the end.
Now Olivia wished she’d tried to reconcile. Maybe it wasn’t too late? Tricia spent eight hours a day in front of her computer, and many more on her phone. She at least could be relied upon to reply quickly. She felt a flash ofguilt at using her friend to test whether her emails were getting through. But it wasn’t only that.
Hey Trish – I know it’s been a long time. Too long, and I’m really sorry about that. I want you to know that I’m feeling much more myself again, and I owe a lot of that to you.
I’d suggest meeting up for a coffee, but you’ll never guess where I am. On a boat to Antarctica! It’s pretty remarkable. There’s a cute guide here that you’d be interested in. When we get back to proper Wi-Fi, I’ll send you a photo. Tell me how you’ve been! I miss you.
OJCx
Email sent, she tried to search her emails for her last communication with Aaron about the Pioneer deal. But the screen froze, the connection faltering.
Olivia took that as a sign. She logged off, stood up from the desk and stretched. She glanced up at a clock ticking above the door. It was still early, only nine a.m. She’d give it until three p.m. to hear back from Aaron. The countdown was on.
Annalise was still typing away on her computer, and Olivia walked around to look at the shelves behind her. Annalise slammed her laptop screen shut. ‘Do you mind?’
Olivia blinked, taken aback. ‘I was just looking at the books. But is your connection still working? Mine failed.’
‘It is.’
‘OK. I’m going to try again.’
She edged back around to her computer, logging in and opening her email one more time.
To her surprise, a new message did appear in her inbox. The timestamp showed it had been sent about fifteen minutes before.
It was from Aaron.
Her heart pounded as she opened it.
Dear Olivia,
I’m so sorry I missed the departure time. I’ve been scrambling to arrange a helicopter to come and join the ship, which is why I haven’t been in touch before, but I haven’t been able to get a flight.