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“You said Jeremy was a good man.”

Truscote leaned forward and steepled her fingers. “I didn’t say he was without his flaws, Francesca being the greatest of them.”

Alice pointed to the wall in the direction of Jeremy’s office. “He knew all along that I was sleeping with his wife. And when it came out, he offered me more money to keep it going. How depraved is that?”

Truscote cocked her head. “Well, can you blame him?”

“Sorry?”

“A woman like that is fire; capable of burning everything around her if not contained. Did she tell you she wanted to leave Jeremy for you? Did she say she wanted to make a go of things?”

Alice nodded. “How did you know that?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Alice frowned and Truscote sniffed at the inconvenience of having to spell it out. “Francesca once told me the same thing. She promised me everything, but it wasn’t real. You’re just another cycle in a Francesca Dalton shitstorm.”

“Wait, when were you and Fran together?”

Truscote waved a hand in front of her face. “A very long time ago. Our university days. Francesca was seeing both Jeremy and I for a while. It was… challenging.”

“I can relate.”

“As the story goes… in the end, Jeremy won, or should I say,his trust fund won.”

“I guess I should’ve listened to you.”

Truscote looked at her with a sad smile. “Alice, I didn’t invite you here just to say, ‘I told you so.’”

“So, why am I here?”

A small knock came at the door and Stephanie entered with a rattling tray. The two women watched in loaded silence as Stephanie set down the cups with shaky hands. Alice stifled a giggle as the young woman curtseyed before backing out of the room. When the door clicked to a close, Truscote steepled her fingers over the desk again.

“Jeremy and I have sought legal counsel.”

Alice shrugged. “For…?”

“Regarding the termination of your employment.”

“You’re suing me?”

Truscote chuckled. “No, no. Quite the opposite. We wanted to make sure that we do the right thing by you, and by the firm, of course.” Truscote slid a desk drawer open and pulled out a thin manila file. “As such, I’m putting this confidentiality agreement to you. You’ll see that it includes a settlement figure.”

Alice frowned as she struggled to keep pace.

“Basically, if you sign this agreement, you’re giving your word that you won’t take the whole Dalton escapade any further.” She waved her hand again as if dispelling a bad smell. “Think of it as a non-disclosure agreement. The terms are negotiable, of course, but I think you’ll find we’ve been more than generous with the settlement amount we’ve proposed.”

Alice scoffed. “Jeremy couldn’t buy me for his wife, so you’re buying my silence instead?”

Truscote’s thin lips moulded into an uncomfortable-looking grin as she passed the file over the desk. Alice wondered how many times Truscote had done this before as she tentatively lifted the cover of the manila file and glanced at the white paperwork. Her eyes widened when she read the proposed sum.Holy shit.

“Do take the time to read it properly.” Truscote lifted her mug and sipped the hot coffee.

“But… this is more than you used to pay me.”

“As I said, we’ve been generous.”

Alice’s mind spiralled. Should she feel elated at being offered this life-changing amount of money or outraged at the suggestion she could be bought off? Although this felt different to Jeremy’s offer, it still made her feel cheap, and with that thought, she thrust the file back to Truscote.