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Chapter Thirty-Seven

P hilippa knocked on Roderick’s door and entered his office. She needed a favour, and for once, he was the person who could help.

“Morning, Philippa,” he said, a wary smile on his face. “How are you this morning?”

“Fine, thanks,” she said. “Did you pick up the emails I sent you last night?”

“Mm, yes,” he said. “Why don’t you take a seat?”

Philippa sat on one of the easy chairs by a small coffee table, and Roderick sat in the other. “Ordinarily I would handle a client of this nature myself,” she said.

“Yes,” said Roderick. “I was wondering about that.”

“I have something of a conflict of interest when it comes to this case.” Philippa shuffled in her seat. “Alex Fletcher is my, um, well, she’s my girlfriend.”

Was she? Philippa wasn’t really sure, but for the purposes of getting this done, she needed a way of explaining to Roderick what was happening.

“Ah yes, your partner, I remember meeting her at that networking event a few weeks ago.” He smiled.

Philippa had forgotten about that, and how the whole fake relationship had begun.

And now it was reality. The word ‘partner’ felt weighty, though.

And somehow, the tone Roderick used made her feel a little uncomfortable.

She wasn’t sure it was a word Alex would be keen to use, especially given her previous relationship experience, but she knew now wasn’t the time to obsess over that.

“Yes.” Philippa gave a close-lipped smile. “As you’ll see, her ex-wife is trying to take her child out of the country to live. You don’t need me to tell you the legal problems there, but we do need to act quickly.”

“I can see that,” said Roderick, referring to his notes. “She’s looking to go next week. Sounds a bit chaotic, but it must be incredibly upsetting for your partner.”

“Mmm,” said Philippa, frowning.

“I’ll get a letter drafted for you by lunchtime today and we can send it electronically and by post this afternoon. That way we can ensure it arrives before any further plans are made.” Roderick scribbled a note on his yellow pad.

“I’m hoping we don’t need to resort to a Preventative Steps Order,” said Philippa, knowing just how stressful and costly that might be for Alex.

“Agreed,” said Roderick, “but we have that in our back pocket should we need it.”

“Indeed.” Philippa smoothed down her trousers.

“Because based on what you’ve told me, it’s Alex’s name on the birth certificate along with her ex-partner’s, so she has full parental responsibility. She has rights – and, indeed, so does her daughter,” said Roderick.

“She does,” said Philippa, relieved to have his support. Perhaps he wasn’t so bad after all.

“I am sure we can work this out,” he said.

“We can talk about the best way to arrange payment after it’s all done, if that’s ok,” said Philippa.

“No,” he said, holding up his hand. “This one’s on me.

I think I owe you one. It’s been a steep learning curve working here, and I appreciate some of the pointers you’ve given me.

” He sighed. “This is a very different firm to my last one, but I think for the better. You were right about Sienna. She is a really talented person and has so much to offer us.”

Philippa smiled in surprise. “Well, thank you. That’s very generous of you. I’m aware I can be a bit spiky at times.”

“I think we all can,” said Roderick.

Philippa left his office a few minutes later, revisiting her own prejudices about the man who had annoyed her so much since his arrival. She texted Alex to let her know the wheels were turning, and she received a heart in response.

The rest of the day was filled with the usual round of paperwork and appointments.

Philippa thought about what it might be like to go on a proper, real date with Alex and, beyond that, perhaps even go somewhere nice for a day trip, with their daughters.

She shook herself from her reverie when her laptop pinged to remind her that she had a meeting with Gerry to discuss the details of the new contract.

The stroll down Colmore Row to Gerry’s office took in Pigeon Park and the cathedral. Philippa had been able to leave her jacket behind, and the warmth of the sun felt good on her skin.

“Good morning, Philippa, how are you doing?” asked Gerry, who had come down to the main reception area to meet her. “I’m fed up with my office, let’s go and grab coffee somewhere else.”

“Sounds ideal. I love a Turkish coffee at that Syrian cafe, so maybe there?” Philippa turned her head in the direction of the establishment she meant.

“Perfect,” said Gerry. “How’s Alex?”

“Ah, she’s good, thanks,” said Philippa, with a smile.

“Glad to hear it. And glad to see you so happy with someone.” Gerry plunged his hands into his pockets. “Of course I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Paul. He’s a good guy.”

“He is,” agreed Philippa.

“But I can see that this works much better for you. And may I say, since the divorce, Paul’s golf is now frighteningly good, so he has you to thank for that.”

Philippa laughed. “My work here is done.”

They took a seat in the cafe and Philippa ordered her customary Turkish Coffee complete with ornate cup, saucer and Turkish Delight.

“You’re a braver person than me,” said Gerry, looking uneasy at the thick, strong coffee. “I’ll stick to my usual latte. Anyway, well done again on winning the contract. Your team were so professional and dynamic, and the product you put forward was excellent.”

“Well, thank you, Gerry. I really appreciate that, and I know the team will as well.” Philippa poured herself some coffee from the small pot on the silver tray. “Of course, the hard work starts here, to get all the right plans and people in place to ensure we deliver what we promised.”

“Well, I have no doubt you’re more than equal to the task,” said Gerry.

Philippa smiled as they began to work through the details of the programme. “I’m really keen that no one feels that legal support with issues – especially family issues – is out of reach to them,” said Philippa, thinking about Alex’s situation.

“Agreed,” said Gerry.

“So I suggest we come in and do some work with your team on what we can offer and how it all works.” Philippa scribbled notes down on her pad.

“That sounds like an excellent plan,” said Gerry.

Philippa’s phone began to ring. “So sorry,” she said. “I thought it was on silent.” She picked it up and saw Alex’s name flash up, as well as eight messages from Alex asking her to call. “I’m sorry, Gerry, I need to take this.”

“Please do, I’ll have a look at some of the figures we discussed,” he said, putting on some reading glasses.

Philippa took her phone call outside into the sunshine. “Alex? What’s happened?”

“She’s gone,” said Alex.

“What?” said Philippa, her heart rate rising.

“Seren,” Alex was breathing heavily, as though she had been running. “I went to pick her up from school, but she wasn’t there. The teacher said Jess had been in to pick her up just after lunch to catch a flight.”

“Have you tried calling her?” asked Philippa.

“Yes, but she’s switched off her phone or something. I’ve texted, too, but nothing.” Desperation came through loud and clear in Alex’s voice.

“What the hell is she doing?” said Philippa. “Ok, don’t panic, or at least, try not to. Let me make a couple of calls, but see if you can get yourself to the airport. I’ll meet you there.”

“I’ve just run back to my place to get my car. I’m leaving now. Please tell me this isn’t happening,” begged Alex.

“Look, it’s ok, we can sort this out,” said Philippa, desperately hoping that she could. “I’m leaving town now and I’ll go straight to the airport. See you there.”

She hung up and dashed back into the cafe to give Gerry her apologies. Some things were more important than work, however big the deal.