Page 7 of Merry & Bright

Chapter Three

“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” Rob said. He went to her, opening his arms and she stumbled into his embrace, still sobbing. I watched, amazed. Rob seemed so at ease offering comfort to Marley. He wrapped his big, solid arms round her without hesitation and she leaned into him, trusting his strength.

I glanced at Brian who sat frozen at his desk. Carefully, as though trying to avoid making the slightest sound, he removed his headphones and set them down before tentatively pushing his chair back and standing up. He tiptoed closer, coming to stand beside me, the two of us hovering silently, uselessly, as Rob comforted Marley.

It occurred to me that I hadn’t even known Marley had a brother. We didn’t really talk about stuff like that.

I heard the security door swishing open again and looked round to see Holly walking in, my long-awaited latte in her hand. She wouldn’t normally bring me my coffee—she knew perfectly well she wasn’t supposed to leave reception unattended. She’d plainly popped through to find out what all the drama was about.

I glared at her as I took the coffee from her but she didn’t seem to notice. She was looking at Brian and whispering, “Is she all right?”

“Hadn’t you better get back to reception?” I bit out in a low, tight voice.

“Her brother died,” Brian murmured. “Last night apparently.”

Holly looked shocked. “Oh, that’s awful,” she whispered back. “And at Christmas too.”

She fell into silence beside us, and for a moment we all just stood there, watching as Rob dealt with Marley.

It felt uncomfortably voyeuristic.

“Perhaps we should get back to work,” I said in a low voice, When they both sent me a horrified look, I flushed. “Well, we’re not helping her by just standing here staring,” I hissed, annoyed by their reaction, but I didn’t move.

Thankfully, Marley’s sobs seemed to be diminishing now. Once she was hiccoughing her way back to normality, she extricated herself from Rob’s arms, sending him a tremulous smile.

“Thanks,” she croaked. “And sorry. I didn’t mean to cry all over you. I just thought I’d come in and”—she stopped, swallowing—“I suppose I had some idea about making sure everything was okay at work before I head home to Leicester.” That seemed to make her feel like crying again—her face crumpled, but she angrily dashed the tears away, adding in a vicious tone. “What a pathetic workaholic.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Rob said. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. But the office is the last place you should be right now.”

“Rob’s right,” Holly interjected. “And you shouldn’t be alone. Do you have a friend you could call?” She paused.” If not, I could come with you and sit with you for a while?” She sent a worried look in my direction then, as though she thought I might forbid it.

Offended, I smiled tightly and said, “That sounds like a good idea, Holly.”

Marley shook her head though. “Andy’s going to take me back to Leicester.”

“Andy?” I parroted, the surprise in my voice obvious. “Your ex?”

I didn’t know for certain what had caused their split last year, but Marley’s job was part of it. I’d heard her arguing with him on the phone regularly, usually when she’d just cancelled their plans at the last minute so she could work late.

“Yeah,” she whispered and her expression betrayed her bewilderment. “He’s been amazing. When I called him last night, he just...dropped everything. He was supposed to be going to Devon for this massive family Christmas but instead he’s taking me back to Mum’s and staying for the funeral.”

“So what are you doing here?” Holly asked gently.

Marley sighed. “I don’t know. I suppose I thought I’d check in before leaving town.” She gave a harsh laugh. “I didn’t think I’d start crying.”

There was a brief silence.