Page 35 of Pyg

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TRUSCOTE 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.

“Keep your money. I wasn’t even going to say anything to anyone about the Daltons, anyway.”

Irritation flickered over the older woman’s face. She fixed her cold eyes on Alice, staring at her like a puzzle she couldn’t solve. Alice glared back defiantly until Truscote exhaled the breath she’d apparently been holding.

“Look, Alice, you’ve been wronged quite badly. I probably shouldn’t say this, but if you had the motivation, you could take this further and probably get more. You’d ruin T the one Maggie liked. Three loud knocks sounded on the front door, which she opened to Markus. Impatient prick. He grinned and presented the bouquet to her.

“Thanks, you shouldn’t have,” she said flatly.

“Er, I didn’t, they were out here and…”

Alice rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know.”

“Waste not, want not. If you don’t want them, I’ll give them to Maggie.”

“Yeah, whatever,” she said, locking the door behind her. Cheap prick.

Markus glanced over as Alice slid into the passenger seat. “Need any help with your seatbelt?”

“No, why would I?”

He shrugged. “Because of your arm. Sorry, I was just trying to?—”

“Not every woman needs a man to save her, Markus.”

Markus huffed and shifted the car into reverse. TalkSport radio chattered in the background as they navigated the rush-hour traffic, a blur of traffic lights and taillights, then fading skies yawning over dusky fields as they rolled out of town.

Markus pulled up at the gate, but instead of pressing the button to open it, he cut the ignition. After a minute or two, Alice looked at him.

“Aren’t we going in?”

“In a minute.”

“Oohkay.” Alice widened her eyes and looked down at the bottle of wine she’d wedged between her knees. Markus unclipped his seatbelt and twisted around to her.

“What?” she asked, shaking her head.

“I know you don’t like me very much, Alice. And yes, I understand it’s for good reasons.”

Alice scoffed and traced her finger through the condensation on the bottle.

“Just hear me out, alright? I fucked up a couple of years back. Big time. I nearly lost Maggie over it, and fuck…” He slapped the steering wheel. “We all make mistakes, right?”

Alice speared him with a death stare. “You don’t deserve her.”

“I know I don’t. But I love her.”

“If you loved her, you wouldn’t have fucked your intern and your fucking secretary.”

“Yeah, alright. I messed up, I know. You’re not exactly snow-white, are you?”

Alice narrowed her eyes. “Why are we having this conversation?”

Markus sighed. “I want to put things right with you, too.”

Alice stared out of the passenger window, willing this bullshit to be over.

“As you know, Maggie and I are going through counselling. I’m seeing a therapist, too. I’ll do whatever it takes to fix our marriage because I love your sister and I’m so sorry I hurt her.”

Alice turned and glared at him. “Good, because if you ever hurt her again, I’ll…”

Markus held up his hands. “I won’t. You have my word.”

“Fine. Can we go inside now, please?”

* * *

“Hey, you two were ages. Was the traffic bad?” Maggie greeted Alice with a hug and kiss and took the wine. “Ooh, you’ve bought the good stuff. Are we getting all fancy now that we’re hanging out with a doctor?”

“Oh, do shut up, Margaret.” Alice grinned.

Maggie ignored the swipe and turned to Markus, who held out the flowers to her.

“What’s this in aid of?”

“Can’t a chap bring his wife flowers from time to time?”

Alice scoffed, and Markus shot her a sheepish grin as Maggie took the bouquet. Thick prick.

“They’re beautiful, thank you. Oh, what’s this?” She pulled out the card from between the stems and glanced at it, then with a sharp inhale she thrust the flowers into Markus’s broad chest and stormed off.

He looked at Alice, bewildered. She smirked and followed Maggie into the kitchen, where she was frantically uncorking the wine.

“So, Fran is still on the scene, then?”

“If that’s what you call leaving flowers and cryptic messages on my doorstep, then yes.”

“Are you going to meet her tomorrow?”

“I don’t know. Hadn’t thought about it. Probably not, no.”

Maggie tipped the wine bottle and straw-coloured liquid splashed into the glass. “Maybe you should.”

“Really? I thought that’d be the last thing you’d say.”

“Closure, perhaps?”

Alice shrugged.

“It could help you get that perspective we were talking about.”

“How so?”

“If seeing Fran stirs up all the old feelings, then maybe your crush on the doctor isn’t as serious as you thought?” Maggie offered Alice a glass and clinked it with her own. “Perhaps just try not to sleep with her again?”

“Mags, it’s over. I don’t want Fran. She’s fifty shades of fucking nuts.”

Still clutching the flowers, Markus padded into the kitchen and guffawed. “Shouldn’t it be fifty shades of cray?”

Maggie shot him a filthy look before turning her attention back to Alice.

“Ooh, talking of nuts…” Maggie rifled through one of the kitchen cupboards and pulled out a bag of salted peanuts, which she poured into a bowl.

“How’s your friend, by the way? George, is it?”

“Not so good. His brother died, that’s why he ended up having an episode which landed him in hospital. Now he’s waiting for a psych assessment, which he has to have before they’ll discharge him. Poor guy, I really feel for him.”

Maggie raised her eyebrows. “A psychiatric assessment?”

“Yeah, someone needs to check him over to make sure he’s not a risk to himself.” Alice reached for the nuts. “Anyway, would you mind looking over this, please? It’s why I called you earlier.” She slid the manila file across the marble counter.

Maggie opened the file, sipping her wine as her eyes scanned the pages.

“Markus?” she said without looking up.

“Huh?” He lifted his eyes from his phone.

“Can you look over this, please?”

“Uh, yeah, what is it?”

“An NDA and settlement offer Alice got from T&D. What do you think?”

Markus flicked through the paperwork and whistled. He glanced up at Alice.

“If I were you, I’d accept this. It’s a substantial offer. Unless you have the time and energy to take them to court? I think you’ve got grounds, but it’ll be a lot of hassle.”

Alice blinked at him and looked back to Maggie. “I didn’t ask for any of this. I’m not taking them to court. I mean, I’m in the wrong too. I was literally screwing my boss’s wife.”

“Yeah, but he lured you into it. Surely, that’s got to be a form of sexual harassment?”

Markus nodded. “One hundred per cent.”

Because he’d know all about that.

Maggie scooped a handful of nuts into her mouth. “And he fired you when you refused to sleep with his wife for money. Truscote knows how fucked they’d be if it all got out.”

“I suppose when you put it like that…”

Markus placed a heavy hand on Alice’s shoulder and squeezed. “Take the money, Al.”