Anybody But Him (3 page)

Nicola stood at Lainey's reception desk having completed a guided tour of the Birchmoor office building with Corinne, an elegant brunette.

‘Well, I've been introduced to all the key people.'

‘That's good,' Lainey said without looking up.

‘My office is convenient. It's right there.' She pointed at the door, visible from reception.

‘Yes.'

‘And this afternoon I'm going to wear a pink elephant suit and jump off the roof.'

After a moment's silence Lainey lifted her gaze and frowned at her. ‘You're going to do what?'

‘Nothing. I was just checking whether you were listening.'

Lainey blinked. ‘Sorry. I'm a bit distracted.'

‘What's wrong?'

‘Nothing.' Lainey held up a forefinger to silence Nicola for a moment while she spoke with something approaching her normal cheerfulness into her headset, and switched a call to the correct department. At the end of the call, she visibly sagged.

Alarmed, Nicola said, ‘What do you normally do for lunch?'

‘If it's a nice day, I buy something from the takeaway place around the corner and take it to the park across the road from there.'

‘Great. Let's do that today, shall we? What time can you go?'

‘I get off at twelve. One of the typists takes over for an hour.'

‘I'll meet you here.'

Lainey nodded.

Male voices made both of them turn their heads. Two men entered reception, one of them gorgeous with twinkly eyes and short blondish hair in a messy style that looked like it had taken ages to achieve. He shook hands with the nondescript man alongside him, parted from him at the front door of the building, and turned back inside.

‘Hey, Lainey.' He did a double-take when he spotted Nicola and altered his course to head for her. ‘Are you new? I don't think I've seen you around here before. I'm Hayden Miller.'

His smile more than made up for his try-hard hair. She shook the hand he offered. ‘Nicola Doyle. I started today.'

‘Nicola's taken over from Harry,' Lainey said in the flattest tone possible.

‘Oh, really?' His smile growing even broader, Hayden squeezed her hand a little before letting it go. ‘I'm sure I'll find plenty of reasons to come and see our new chief accountant.'

‘Temporary,' she said. ‘I'm only a temporary replacement.' And she couldn't deny that she was flattered by his blatant interest. ‘What's your role here, Hayden?'

‘Project manager.'

‘I see. Well, it was nice to meet you. I'll see you around.'

‘Oh, yes, you will.' He smiled again as he turned to leave.

‘Yowie,' Nicola said when he was definitely out of earshot. Leaning closer to Lainey she
whispered, ‘I could fancy him.'

Lainey shrugged. ‘Don't waste your time. He's a flirt, but I don't think he's ever asked anyone out from here. Apparently, he has expensive tastes. His girlfriends are usually rich, and often married as well, so I've heard.'

Hmm. Well, she wouldn't get her hopes up. Still, it was a boost for a girl's ego to have a hot-looking man flirt with her, and her ego had taken quite a battering in recent times.

‘I'd better go and familiarise myself with the computer software,' she said. ‘It's not the accounting package I'm used to. See you at lunchtime.'

When she reached her office Nicola opened the door between it and the adjoining one where her assistant accountant worked. ‘Do you mind if we leave this open?

Travis looked at her in surprise. ‘Harry always kept it shut.'

‘Did he? Well, if it's all the same to you, I won't. This way I can shout out if I need you.'

‘Need me?'

‘To talk. About work,' she added. He was neat, tidy, and from the brief conversation she'd had with him earlier, methodical. All good traits for an accountant, but she hoped he had some personality too or it could get pretty boring around here.

‘Actually, now that I think of it, I'd like to go through last month's financial reports. Can you come in now?'

‘Sure.'

After Cliff back in Sydney, Travis was a pleasure to work with, and when he confessed that he didn't feel he had the experience to apply for the chief accountant's position, she resolved to mentor him and prepare him for the opportunity that her departure would offer.

He tapped his pen against the pile of papers in his hand. ‘Can I ask why you became an accountant? You don't look like the typical bean counter.'

‘Oh, believe me, I used to look like a real nerd. Actually, I have dyslexia.'

Travis's eyes widened. ‘I'd have classed accounting as a nightmare career option then.'

‘Ah, you might think so, but there are different types of dyslexia, and in my case I had – well, still have – below average reading and writing skills, but they discovered that I was in the top one per cent for numerical skills, as well as spatial relations, deciphering codes, finding patterns, and so on. Basically any non-verbal or written skill.'

‘Wow. So that's how you came to be one of the youngest ever financial controllers of an Australian blue-chip company.'

She tilted her head to look at him. ‘How did you know about that?'

‘Corinne told me. She was very impressed that you'd agreed to join Birchmoors.'

‘Temporarily.'

‘Sure, but it's still a coup for us, and—'

The door opened before he could continue, and Lainey poked her head around it. ‘Nicola, you said you wanted to go to lunch at twelve. It's five past. So …?'

‘Oh, I'm sorry.' She grabbed her handbag and as she rose Travis scrabbled around on the floor collecting papers he must have dropped when she wasn't looking. ‘Sorry to rush off like this, Travis. I'll be back in an hour.'

‘No problem,' he said without looking up.

 

At the takeaway shop around the corner, Nicola asked for a toasted sandwich.

The pink-haired girl behind the counter shook her head. ‘Sorry, our sandwich toaster isn't working.'

‘Oh.' She'd been looking forward to a toasted sandwich ever since she'd left the office. ‘Is your hotdog maker working?'

‘Yes.' With an enthusiastic nod, the girl said, ‘Yes, that's working just fine.'

‘Great. I'll have a hotdog, please.'

‘Sorry. We've sold out of hotdog buns. And sausages.'

Nicola turned to Lainey with a
see-this-is-why-I-left-this-town
expression, only to find Lainey staring into space and oblivious to the conversation.

When Nicola nudged her Lainey said, ‘Oh, I'll have a ham salad sandwich, please.'

Getting really concerned now, Nicola said to the girl, ‘Make it two. I'll have the same.'

They carried their sandwiches and bottles of water across the road, their stilettos sinking into the damp grass.

‘What about this one?' Nicola said, pointing at a bench under an old camphor laurel tree.

Lainey shrugged.

Once they'd settled on the bench, Nicola bit into her sandwich and watched as Lainey pulled a piece of lettuce from hers, looked at it as if she didn't know what it was, then tossed it aside.

‘Okay, that's it,' she said firmly. ‘Tell me what's wrong, and don't even try to pretend it's nothing.'

Lainey sighed. ‘Daniel's moved out.'

‘Out of where?'

‘Home.'

Nicola froze mid-bite. She slowly lowered the sandwich to her lap. ‘Are you serious?'

‘Do I look like I'm joking?'

No, she didn't. It wasn't just her expression either. Now that they were out in the sunlight Nicola could see that Lainey had plastered her make-up on, especially beneath her eyes, but she hadn't managed to conceal the shadows that were still visible there. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot too.

Nicola shook her head saying, ‘I can't believe this, and I can't believe you didn't tell me without me having to drag it out of you.'

‘I didn't want to burden you with it. You've only just moved back to Redgum Valley, and with your parents and everything, I didn't think you needed this.'

‘Burden me?' Nicola dropped her half-eaten sandwich back into the paper bag and placed it on the bench beside her. Lainey had been her only friend at high school. When she'd been teased by the cool kids, Lainey had stuck by her. And even though her life had changed beyond recognition since school, she still considered Lainey her best friend. ‘I want you to tell me stuff like this. What happened?'

‘His first love is back in Redgum Valley and he thinks he's got a chance with her. Apparently she's going to set herself up as a hairdresser here.'

‘In Maureen's old salon?'

Lainey shrugged. ‘I don't know.'

‘Oh, my.' Nicola shook her head. ‘Lainey … I'm so sorry.'

‘I'm hoping she'll tell him to get lost.'

‘Yes, that's right. Let him end up alone. That's what he deserves.'

Sniffing, Lainey said, ‘No, I meant that I hope she knocks him back and he comes home where he belongs.'

‘You … you'd take him back?'

‘Of course I would. I love him. He's Rosie's father. Why wouldn't I take him back?'

‘Gawd, I wouldn't.'

Lainey squinted at her. ‘Have you ever come close to getting married?'

‘Me? No.' She unscrewed the cap from her water bottle and took a swig. ‘Well, I
thought
I was close recently, but it didn't work out.'

‘Why not?'

‘Jeez. I don't really want to talk about it. I'm too embarrassed.'

‘Embarrassed? See? It works both ways. I want you to feel able to tell me stuff as well.'

‘I haven't told anyone about him.'

‘None of your friends in Sydney?'

Nicola shook her head. ‘Definitely not them. I feel like such an idiot. I'm stupid. Gullible.'

‘You? You're the smartest person I know. You had the dyslexia problem, but you were still cleverer than most of the kids at school. I never understood why you were friends with me. I was so dumb.'

Nicola shook her head. ‘Don't say you were dumb, because you weren't. You aren't. And you're the
nicest
person I know. You always were. I don't know how I would have got through school without you as a friend.'

‘Well, that aside … why do you feel stupid now?'

Nicola shrugged. ‘Greg proposed, and I was …'

She couldn't really explain how it had felt to finally find someone who believed in marriage after the years of dating commitment-phobes. ‘Anyway, Greg proposed. He was working on a major project that meant he had to keep travelling to London. He said that the project was coming to an end and when it did he'd be able to settle down. No more travelling between Sydney and London.'

‘And you loved him?'

‘Yes, I thought I did. Because of that, I believed everything he said.'

‘But it wasn't true?'

She shook her head. ‘One morning he was in the shower and his phone rang. He'd left it in his jacket pocket. Normally, I wouldn't have considered answering it, but he'd said he was expecting an important call about the project and didn't want to miss it.'

‘I don't like where this is going.'

‘You've guessed, haven't you?'

‘It was another woman on the phone?'

‘Yes.'

‘His wife?'

‘Fiancée. His
London
fiancée. It was true that he was going to settle down once the project was finished, only he was going to settle over there. His
London
fiancée was the one he was planning to marry. I can't believe I didn't realise. I mean, I thought it was odd that he had never been to many of the Sydney restaurants that we ate at together, but I put it down to him having different tastes in food.'

‘But really it was because he didn't live there at all?'

‘Exactly. I should have asked about the project, but I didn't, and all I knew was that it was in the software industry.' She sighed. ‘I knew he was English, of course. His accent was one of the things that I first found attractive about him, but I thought he'd moved over here years ago, and he never said anything to make me believe otherwise.'

‘Oh, Nicki, I'm so sorry.'

‘It's been years since anybody called me Nicki.' An image of Blair Morrissey's face flashed into her head, but she wiped it away. He didn't count. ‘So, there you have it. That's what happened with Greg, and why I felt like such an idiot.' She'd become so used to being teased at school about anything she said and everything she did, she'd learned that it was safer not to open up, not to expose herself to ridicule. Shrugging, she said, ‘But you're right, I should have remembered that you've always been on my side.'

Unlike some people she'd met since she'd returned to Redgum Valley. One in particular.

After a hectic week of learning the new job, calling in on her parents, and worrying about Lainey's state of mind, Nicola finally persuaded Lainey to go to the pub for a meal on Friday night while Rosie was at her grandmother's. She didn't like the idea of her friend sitting alone, surrounded by photographs and memories, and sinking even further into a pit of self-blame. Nicola wasn't naïve enough to think that one night out with her would fix things, but at least it would be a change of scenery, and it might give Lainey a chance to think about something other than Daniel for a few hours.

She collected Lainey in Una's car –running again now courtesy of Una's friendly mechanic – hoping her friend might be persuaded to have a few drinks. Not that alcohol was the answer either, but Lainey was so tense, so … brittle. Nicola couldn't help thinking that a relaxing drink wouldn't hurt.

‘I won't be very good company,' Lainey said as they made their way to the bar to order their meals.

‘I'm not asking you to stand up and sing or anything, just sit with me and have a nice meal, plus a drink or two. I'm celebrating the end of my first week in the job, thanks to you.'

‘Oh.' Lainey made a dismissive gesture. ‘I'm just glad I could help.'

They carried their drinks over to a table in the corner of the room. Nicola scanned the pub, with its long bench seat against one wall and square tables in front of it, and small
round tables surrounded by bentwood chairs on the other side of the room. The furnishings were the same, just a little faded. ‘Well, The Pelican hasn't changed at all, has it?'

‘Pubs don't change, do they? It's people that change.'

Nicola sent her a sidelong glance as they took their seats. ‘Has Daniel been in contact?'

Lainey shook her head.

‘Have you tried to contact him?'

‘No.' She took a sip of her wine and stared into the glass. ‘I've started to dial his number, several times, but stopped. I want him to come home, but I don't want to sound like I'm begging.'

‘Good.' Nicola nodded. ‘That's good. Maintain your dignity.'

‘He has a low enough opinion of me as it is.'

Nicola clenched a fist beneath the table. ‘I don't understand that. There's nothing about you to cause anyone to have a low opinion of you. He has no idea how lucky he is. Or was. Are you sure you want him back?'

‘Yes, I'm sure. But he has to decide of his own accord that it's what he wants. I've done a lot of thinking this week. I still want him, and I'd take him back in a heartbeat, but only if he wants to be there. I'm not going to live with him for the rest of my life knowing that he'd rather be somewhere else, with
someone
else.'

Nicola nodded. ‘Good for you.'

She
wouldn't take him back at all, even if he begged, but at least Lainey had rediscovered some self-respect, and she did have a daughter to consider.

Fran, one half of the couple that had run The Pelican for as long as Nicola remembered, arrived with their meals and took her time unloading her tray, studying Nicola as she did so.

‘Little Nicola Doyle. It's you, isn't it?'

Nicola nodded. ‘Not so little now. Hello, Fran. How are you? You look well.'

‘I'm great, thanks. Rushed off my feet as usual, but I suppose it keeps me young. Back for good, are you?'

‘Only for a few months.' Nicola unwrapped her cutlery from its paper napkin package.

‘Well, it's good to see you.'

Nicola smiled and as Fran walked away, the door opened. Blair Morrissey walked through it.

Oh great.

He wasn't alone, though, and his companion was stunning. That was the only word for her. She should have realised that he wouldn't be living in that big house all on his own. Nicola stared as Blair rested his hand in the small of the woman's back and guided her towards a table on the other side of the room. At least he hadn't seen her, she thought, and then sucked in a breath when he turned his head and winked at her just before sitting down. Damn. Not only had he seen her, but he'd caught her staring at him.

‘Who are you watching?'

Nicola jerked. ‘Nobody.'

Lainey twisted in her seat to look over her shoulder.

‘No, don't look.'

‘So there is someone. Who is it?'

‘Nobody important. Just Blair Morrissey.'

‘Oh, him.' Lainey lifted a forkful of cottage pie then put it down again. ‘You had a thing for him at school, didn't you?'

‘No, I did not.'

‘Come on, Nic. I was there, remember?'

She sighed. ‘Okay, I admit I might have had a
tiny crush
for a
very short
time, but it was nothing.'

Lainey shook her head and speared a carrot with her fork. ‘That's not how I remember it. You used to drag me all over town just so you could catch a glimpse of him … on the football oval … at the hardware store where he worked on the weekend.'

‘All right, all right.' She grimaced, rubbing a hand over her face. ‘It's true.'

‘So why are you denying it?'

‘Because he found out that I liked him, didn't he? And from then on he made my life a misery. He never missed an opportunity to take the mickey. Surely you haven't forgotten that part? He made me hate him.'

‘Oh, that's right. Sorry.' Lainey squinted in thought. ‘Hate, though? That's a bit strong.'

‘It might be, but it's true. There's no excuse for the way he treated me, is there?'

Lainey studied her face. ‘It still upsets you, doesn't it?'

‘No.' Nicola shifted uncomfortably. ‘I have moved on from high school, you know. I haven't given Blair Morrissey a thought for years. I can't understand what I ever saw in him in the first place,' she said, forking up some of her lasagne. ‘How's your cottage pie?'

‘Good.'

‘How do you know? You haven't tasted it yet.'

Lainey rolled her eyes and picked up her fork again. ‘You really don't need to worry about me, you know.'

Nicola shrugged. ‘Maybe not, but I'm going to anyway.'