Page 16 of The Retreat

Imogen clung to Talia’s hand like it was the only solid thing in the room.

The moment their feet touched the ground floor, she felt the weight of a dozen curious stares settle on them.

She knew how she must look. A little stiff, a little too careful. Not very Alex.

Talia leaned into her, just a little. A subtle nudge against her side. ‘Just breathe,’ Talia murmured under her breath.

Easy for her to say.

Imogen followed Talia’s lead, angling their path toward the fireplace, where a small cluster of people had already noticed them. Their expressions were open, smiling, expectant. One statuesque woman was practically buzzing with excitement.

Oh god. That’s her boss!

Imogen summoned a smile. It felt foreign on her face, too wide, too much. She tucked herself half a step closer to Talia as they closed the distance.

Celeste got there first, cutting across the last few feet with a speed that suggested she’d been waiting for this.

‘Talia!’ she cried, throwing her arms wide.

Talia let go of Imogen’s hand to be pulled into a quick, crushing hug while a handsome grey-haired man hovered at her elbow.

Celeste turned her attention to Imogen, her gaze sharp and assessing. Not unfriendly, but definitely the kind of look that was sizing her up in real-time.

‘And Alex!’ she said brightly.

Alex. Right. That’s me.

‘I’m Celeste. This is my husband, Mitchell.’

The grey-haired man gave a sheepish wave. Imogen waved back.

‘Lovely to see you again,’ Celeste said.

Imogen reached out automatically, her heart hammering against her ribs. Celeste’s handshake was firm, enthusiastic enough to jolt up Imogen’s arm.

‘Hi,’ she said, wincing internally at how small her voice sounded. She cleared her throat. ‘It’s lovely to meet you. Again.’

Talia bumped her shoulder lightly with her own, a gesture she somehow understood to mean good job, and some of the cold terror loosened. She knew it was probably bullshit. Talia just wanted her to relax into this. Still, the gesture was appreciated.

Celeste beamed. ‘Honestly, it’s about time she brought you along to one of these things.’

Imogen pasted on a smile and tilted her head the way she imagined a relaxed, confident girlfriend would.

‘She’s always trying,’ Imogen said. ‘But a doctor’s hours…’

Imogen risked a sidelong glance and caught the faintest quirk of a smile on Talia’s mouth.

‘Come, come,’ Celeste said. ‘Everyone’s dying to meet you.’

As they moved deeper into the crowd, the introductions started flying fast and loose.

‘That’s Daniel Parsons,’ Talia murmured under her breath as they approached a broad-shouldered man in a navy gilet. ‘He’s a senior associate, like me.’

Daniel spotted them and beamed. ‘Talia, mate! And finally, the elusive Alex!’ His handshake was vigorous, the kind that made Imogen’s wrist ache. ‘Was starting to think you’d made her up.’

‘I live to disappoint,’ Talia said coolly.

‘You’re a tough nut to crack, eh?’ Daniel said to Imogen, elbowing her lightly. ‘But she got you to us in the end.’

‘That’s Lara,’ Talia went on, just in time for a woman with a razor-sharp bob to glide over. ‘His wife. She’s also a lawyer at another firm.’ And then she leaned in to whisper. ‘She hates him, but she’s pretty good at pretending she doesn’t.’

Lara landed among them and extended a hand. ‘Alex, what a pleasure to meet you. I love your braid.’

Imogen smiled and mumbled something polite.

Then a booming laugh erupted beside them. ‘Talia!’ cried a man already wearing his name badge like a medal. ‘You beat me here! I bloody knew you would, early bird!’

‘Marcus Talbot,’ Talia whispered quickly. ‘Loud, but harmless.’

‘And the elusive Alex!’ Marcus said, seizing Imogen’s hand with both of his. ‘Welcome aboard!’

A woman who looked to be a wife/girlfriend stood behind him with the distant air of someone hoping a fire might break out so she could escape. Imogen was right there with her.

Before Imogen could say anything to Marcus, a woman with big teeth was zipping toward them.

‘Rebecca Knowles,’ Talia whispered. ‘HR. Runs everything. Don’t make eye contact unless you want to help stack chairs.’

‘Hi-hi-hi!’ Rebecca chirped. ‘Talia, hello! And the infamous Alex! You’ll need the schedule. I’ve laminated it, obviously!’ She beamed, pressing a copy into Talia’s hand, then spun off, presumably to greet someone else with a terrifying level of enthusiasm.

Talia nodded across the room to two older women. The pair were already arguing good-naturedly about who would break their ankle first.

‘Claire and June. Legal secretaries. They’ve been at Monroe since god knows. They know where the bodies are buried. Unfireable.’

‘Jesus,’ Imogen whispered. ‘Is there anyone here who isn’t terrifying?’

‘Peter Chen doesn’t give me any trouble,’ she said, nodding at a guy ignoring everyone and staring at his phone. ‘He’s IT support and gives zero shits. Shocked they got him to come, actually.’

‘Who do we have here?’ said a husky voice coming in from the left. Imogen turned to see a woman with killer perfume and perfect eyebrows approaching.

‘Jade Robinson,’ Talia spoke quietly and quickly as the woman got closer. ‘Another junior. Flirts with everyone. New partner at every event. Not sure she’s gotten the memo about the culture at Monroe, but I’m not going to be the one to tell her…’ Talia’s volume jumped to normal level as the woman reached them. ‘Jade, hello,’

‘You didn’t tell me your girlfriend was this cute,’ Jade said, eyes fixed on Imogen.

Imogen wasn’t sure if she was supposed to like the compliment or not, so she looked to Talia to see how to handle it.

Talia ignored it. ‘You bring… anyone?’

‘Ray was going to come, but then he pissed me off, so I’ve given him his walking papers.’ She turned to Imogen. ‘So, if you get bored, Alex, I’m in room six.’

Imogen stared, stunned.

‘She’s joking,’ Talia muttered. ‘I think.’

Jade winked and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Imogen blinking after her.

‘What the hell have you brought me into?’ she hissed.

Talia gave her a wry look. ‘The lion’s den. Smile like you mean it.’

She shook hands as names and titles piled on, laughed when she was supposed to, and nodded along to half-heard anecdotes. All while trying to eat quinoa.

Through it all, Talia stayed close. An elbow brushing hers. A look, here and there, when Imogen stumbled over a question or hesitated too long. She didn’t know if it was, You’re doing OK or Do better. But she hoped it was the former. Because, so far, she felt she had made an acceptable Alex Gray.

As she sipped a coffee among a mixed group of people that included Celeste, the talk drifted towards business—lots of talk of IP and proprietary rights—and Imogen felt safe to glaze over for a while.

But then Celeste’s voice cut through the chatter: ‘So, Imogen! How did you two meet?’

She felt Talia stiffen, just slightly, at her side. Everyone was looking at her. Waiting.

Imogen’s mind went blank.