Page 48 of Behind Frenemy Lines
Charles
Repairs to the flat inevitably took longer than estimated. Ended up living out of my windowless hotel room for three weeks.
It was all right. Being in the flat would have been depressing anyway, with Loretta away. Office was quiet, too, now I was on my own again.
I worked and went to the gym. Great thing about work, there’s always something to keep you occupied. Though even there I found myself scraping the barrel after a while, writing case notes for the department blog and doing the cybersecurity training I’d ignored for the past two years.
Client billable work had gone quiet all at once.
The Jamaludin case was dead in the water, for us at least—the documents Kriya’s contact had sent had tipped the balance with the risk management committee, even with the prospect of losing the work on Blackmount’s two hundred million acquisition deal.
Farah had been the one to email Shaw the news that the firm wouldn’t be advising further on the suit against Helen Daley.
I’d been told to decline any calls and reroute any emails from Shaw upwards, but he hadn’t been in touch, not even to respond to Farah’s email.
Presumably he was exploring other options.
At least the repairs to the flat were done in time for Loretta and Hayley’s return from honeymoon. I was back in occupation two days before their arrival. Loretta texted me from Heathrow in the early morning:
At baggage reclaim. Won’t see you before you leave for work, but come home for dinner, OK? Hayley’s cooking.
Bunked off early, at seven p.m. It was like coming home to a new flat. Loretta and Hayley’s suitcases were in the hall. There was a pile of exquisitely packaged Japanese biscuits and cakes on the kitchen counter. (Loretta: “Those are for you. We got the local speciality in every city we went to.”)
The dining table was laid, with wine glasses and napkins and a vase of flowers at the centre. Didn’t even know we had a vase.
Dinner was veggie moussaka with garlic bread and salad on the side, and a bottle of red wine, with tiramisu for dessert. Change from the Sainsbury’s meal deals I’d been subsisting on for the past few weeks. Lifted my head when I was finished and said, in quiet awe:
“Loretta, you are going to get so fat.”
Loretta, smugly: “I know.”
Hayley: “The tiramisu was from M&S. I can’t take any credit for that.”
Loretta: “We’re giving you the credit, babe, whether you like it or not.”
They kissed. I looked away. Entirely correct of them to be visibly in love, but I wasn’t in the mood to be the light bulb to a blissful romance just then.
Conversation focused on Japan: pictures from their trip and so on. It was only after dinner, once Loretta had collected our plates and dumped them in the sink, that she said:
“What have you been up to, while we were away?”
CG: “Mostly trying to sort the flat. Someone’s coming to look at the stain on your bedroom wall on Friday. I’m planning to work from home—”
Loretta: “I meant with Kriya!”
Hayley looking polite, as befit an in-law who was going to have to live with me for an indefinite number of weeks. But she was definitely listening.
Knew what Loretta had really been asking about, of course.
CG: “Kriya’s left the firm.”
Loretta’s eyes widened. “Oh my God! She got pushed out by that partner who was harassing her?”
CG: “Essentially. But I don’t think she was happy even before the issues with him began. It sounds like it’s been the right move for her. She messaged yesterday from the airport, she’s flown off for a job interview in Hong Kong.”
Was pleased by how that came out: neutral, professional. Sounded like I wished her well in her future endeavours. Well, I do.
Loretta sat up. “She messaged you? You’ve got her number?”
CG: “She wanted me to send her food recommendations, since she was going to Hong Kong.”
Loretta: “Oh, so she gave you her number? And she texted you? Let me see.”
CG: “What? No.”
Scuffle ensued. Loretta cheated: licked my arm. I dropped the phone trying to get away from her.
CG: “That’s disgusting! What’s wrong with you?”
Hayley, admiring, to Loretta: “You really will stop at nothing.”
Loretta: “At least I didn’t bite you. Charles, you should lock your phone, anyone could pick it up and go through your shit.”
She scrolled through my messages while I was sputtering.
Loretta: “She asked you out! Babe, she asked him out!”
CG: “She didn’t ask me out.” Assailed by doubt. “Did she?”
Loretta: “What’s this bit about having a coffee, if it’s not meant to be a date?” She handed my phone to Hayley. “And he turned her down! Charles, what’s your problem? I thought you liked her.”
CG: “She just wanted to keep in touch, as colleagues. She wasn’t asking for a date.” Was she?
Maybe I should have asked. I’d assumed Kriya wanted information—the details of Arthur’s departure from the firm, and whether we’d decided to take Shaw’s case on, or not. Could understand her curiosity, but I hadn’t wanted to prolong the exchange of messages unnecessarily.
I’d spent enough time pining for Kriya. Experience had shown proximity and regular contact didn’t help. I’d thought I’d see what distance could do.
Hadn’t done much so far, it was true. But it had only been three weeks.
Loretta rolled her eyes. “Poor Kriya. Reacting with a thumbs up emoji was more than you deserved.”
Hayley: “I can see why Charles thinks it’s ambiguous, to be fair. It could be a networking thing, especially if she’s job-hunting now. It depends on the context.”
Perhaps Hayley would be a salutary influence in our flat. There were times I had felt Loretta could do with some moderation.
Hayley: “What actually happened when you stayed over at Kriya’s? Did you guys, you know.” She gestured. “Mess around?”
Loretta: “Of course they messed around. Wait, didn’t you?”
CG, stiffly: “It doesn’t matter. She isn’t interested in anything more. She’s going off for this job now anyway.”
Loretta and Hayley exchanged an extremely married look.
Loretta: “Charles, seriously.” Tapped phone screen. “This is solid evidence she’s interested. She wants to see you again. If it was about networking so she could get another job, why wouldn’t she network with all the former colleagues she hasn’t slept with?”
Hayley: “That’s true. It’s not like she doesn’t know what straight men are like. She has to expect you’ll be thinking, ‘She wants to hook up again.’”
They were both so serenely certain it shook me. Recovered my phone from Hayley so I could review the messages.
There still didn’t seem much in them to encourage hope. Loretta and Hayley hadn’t been there when Kriya had said, It’s complicated. She could have messaged me before she left the country, if she’d wanted to meet up.
But she’d said other things, too. You’re so lovely.
Heart lifted at the memory of the look in her eyes.
Maybe Loretta and Hayley were right. It was hardly an area in which I had much expertise. I was very willing to concede the point.
Loretta: “It’s awkward that she’s going to Hong Kong.
But you know, LDRs are a thing.” Looked at Hayley, who took her hand and squeezed it.
“I don’t know, Charles. I know you think I’m being this hopeless matchmaking auntie, but you really seem to vibe with Kriya.
That never happens. It’s worth fighting for, isn’t it?
At least tell her how you feel. Maybe you’d be giving her a reason to stay. ”
Stared at their joined hands, resting on the dining table. Light gleamed off the opal in Hayley’s engagement ring.
CG: “I wouldn’t want to persuade her to stay, if she’s keen on this role.
It sounds a good fit for her. She knows the business well.
She’s on good terms with the internal stakeholders.
The work is likely to be less technical, more about providing strategic guidance to the business.
That wouldn’t suit me, but it would play to Kriya’s strengths.
Not that she lacks technical skills, but her soft skills are particularly strong.
The hours should be better and the pay will be comparable, at least to start out with.
It might not rise at the same rate, but I doubt she would have wanted to make partner anyway. ”
Hayley: “You sound like a legal recruiter.”
Loretta: “I told you, he’s obsessed with Kriya.
Every time he talks about her, he does this super detailed analysis.
He’s like a one-man Kriya Rajasekar subreddit.
” To me: “I can’t believe you’re just going to let her go.
Are you really happy working all the time and going to the gym and not having anybody to smooch when you come home? ” She smooched Hayley, who laughed.
Loretta turned back to me. “There’s more to life than your job, you know, Charles.”
That was true for them. There wasn’t much more to my life than my job.
And there wouldn’t be, so long as I failed to do anything to change it.
CG: “I know.”
Loretta: “So what are you going to do about it?”
Put down my phone. I’d come to a decision. Seemed to me I didn’t have much to lose, except face.
How much face did I have left with Kriya, anyway? She’d seen me in my Duke of Badminton cosplay.
CG: “I’m going to take a holiday.”