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Chapter Nineteen

T he planning for the contract bidding presentation was going well. As Philippa had hoped, Sienna had some creative ideas as to how to change things up. She was confident her bid would at least be competitive, if not successful.

She sat at her desk flicking through the slides. It was almost there, but there was something missing.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She’d used the corporate template for consistency, and incorporated Sienna’s ideas, but it still seemed a bit flat. It was, however, Friday afternoon. Her mind really wasn’t on the presentation or the bid, it was on the evening ahead.

Philippa closed her laptop, switched off the office lights and put her coat on. She was done for the week. “Come on, Sienna,” she said, standing in the open plan area, “I think it’s time for a Friday night drink.”

It was pay day, and traditionally, Philippa and the partners would take those who wanted out for a drink, alcoholic or otherwise, to celebrate the end of the week.

Sienna smiled, finished the sentence she was typing and looked up.

“Great. I think Roderick and the guys at the other end of the office are coming, too.”

Philippa resisted an eye roll, but knew she had to get on with her new colleague, even if he was a bit of an idiot.

“Ah,” came Roderick’s familiar voice, almost drowned out by the pinstripes on his suit.

“Time for drinkypoos then? Marvellous. Come on, guys,” he said, his voice booming around the office.

“And of course, girls, too,” he added, seemingly pleased with himself for recalling that he worked with female staff as well.

“Or even, women,” said Philippa dryly.

“Of course,” said Roderick, plastering on a slightly alarmed-looking smile. “First round’s on me.” He paused and looked at Philippa. “If that’s ok?”

Philippa gave a half smile. “But of course, Roderick.” She could see Sienna snickering behind him.

There was movement around the office as those who were joining them gathered their belongings. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. They headed to a bar that looked over the cathedral, with outside seating. There was pink blossom on the trees and the promise of summer in the air.

Roderick was true to his word, buying everyone a drink and then sitting down with a flourish. “How’s the bid coming along, Philippa?” he asked.

“Good, thanks. I think we’ve got a really good chance,” she said, taking a sip from the small white wine she’d ordered. It would help to calm her nerves for later in the evening. She didn’t want to arrive half cut, though.

“Do you need any assistance? I’m very happy to present for you,” he said, spreading his legs in his chair and taking up more space than seemed humanly possible.

“I think we’re good,” said Philippa mildly. “I hold the relationship with Gerry and the company, and Sienna has done an excellent job bringing together the ideas into a narrative.”

“Yes, she’s very promising,” he said. “Vibrant and youthful, just what we need.”

Philippa wondered if he’d have described a male colleague in similar terms, but before she could ask, Sienna came and joined them. “Thanks for the Prosecco, Rod, a great way to end the week.”

“You’re welcome,” said the man, clinking his beer glass with her Champagne flute. “I’m hearing good things about your work on the bid. Well done.”

Sienna smiled. “Thanks. I’ve really enjoyed being able to get involved with it, especially working with Philippa. Such a great experience.” Her eyes shone. “So many paralegals end up only doing the administrative stuff. It’s brilliant to be able to do this sort of thing.”

“Enough shop talk,” said Philippa. “What do we all have planned for the weekend?”

“I’m playing golf tomorrow,” said Roderick, somewhat predictably, “and on Sunday morning I’m checking out the new model Tesla have just brought out. I might take it for a test drive.”

Philippa raised an eyebrow at the name of the controversial business. “And you, Sienna?”

“Me and my friends are spending the weekend in the Peak District. We’re going to do some walking, so I hope the weather stays like this,” she said, gesturing to the blue skies and fluffy clouds.

“It is glorious,” said Philippa. “Sounds like a lovely plan.” Sienna smiled.

“How about you?” asked Roderick, turning to Philippa. “Will you be making the most of the weather with your partner?”

Philippa froze for a moment. She’d forgotten that Roderick knew about Alex, or at least thought he did. It was, after all, Roderick who had told Gerry about her and Alex in the first place.

She stalled by taking a slow sip of her drink. “Yes, Alex and I are going out for drinks with some of her friends this evening.”

A few heads turned nearby. Philippa tended to keep her private life private, but it was no secret that she’d been married to a man and was recently divorced.

That she was now dating a woman – whether real or fake – was news.

She opted to ignore the eyes on her and continued.

“But other than that, I’ll be enjoying my new book and hopefully at some point going for a run. ”

“Sounds nice,” said Sienna. “Where are you going for drinks this evening?”

“The Black Swan in Hurst Street, I think,” said Philippa, trying to sound more casual than she felt about dropping the name of a queer bar into the conversation.

“Ah yes,” said Sienna. “I used to go there all the time with my ex-girlfriend.” She smiled. “You have to try the cosmopolitan in there, it’s unreal.”

Philippa smiled. She’d never really considered that Sienna might be anything other than straight and was pleasantly surprised to find that she wasn’t the only gay in her particular village, as it were.

It also reminded her, were it needed, that you never really knew who a person was until you got to know them.

The conversations with the rest of her colleagues flowed freely.

She made a swift exit after her first drink to get home and changed.

She wanted to be properly prepared for her date, whether real or imagined.

The idea of going to a gay venue pleased her.

She was still new to queer spaces and found them affirming and friendly in a way she’d not experienced elsewhere.

She got a cab home and got straight into the shower.

She let the water wash off work and parenting and all the other facets of the day that she was now done with.

She’d had a text from Paul, telling her that Dottie had had a good day at school and was looking forwards to McDonalds for tea before watching a film.

It was ironic that now they were divorced, he was more involved in Dottie’s life than he’d ever been before.

Philippa supposed that his retirement had played a part in that, but whatever the cause, it allowed Philippa her own space and time, something she’d not really had for years.

Once showered she pulled on her new dark blue jeans and a fitted black shirt that showed off her slim figure.

She dried and styled her hair as per Ted’s instructions and made a mental note to make an appointment for a trim.

Hair this short was unforgiving and needed regular cutting.

She put in some dangly sparkly earrings which matched her pendant necklace, and liberally applied eyeliner and mascara.

The final touch was her trademark red lipstick and a dab of perfume.

She looked in the mirror. She looked good. She felt good. Whatever the evening held, she was ready for it.