Christmas Kiss (7 page)

‘I’ll pour,’ he said. ‘Thanks for making it. You relax.’ He indicated a chair near his mother. He handed out tea and the sliced cake. His mother gave a sniff.

‘No doylies, I see. Never mind. Do you have napkins somewhere? I thought I provided a set at Christmas.’

‘I’ll get them,’ Alex said, leaving the room with a sympathetic glance at Sarah.

‘Now then, tell me all about yourself. Who are your family? Are they in the County?’

‘They live in Cornwall, if that’s what you mean. My father is a surveyor and my mother used to teach. I have one sister who is married and has three children. I am a fully qualified solicitor and I work with Alex, as he told you.’ She was prattling, she told herself. It was a nervous habit when she felt uncertain. Mrs Weston stared at her, somehow managing to look down her nose at her, making Sarah feel totally inadequate and out of place. Thankfully, Alex came back into the room.

‘Sorry Mummy, but I can’t find the wretched napkins. Mrs Harper has put them away somewhere. I can find you a tissue if it makes eating a piece of cake more acceptable.’ She could barely conceal the slight sarcasm she was feeling.

‘I’ll make do with a cake fork,’ she graciously offered. Alex left the room again in search of a fork and his mother turned on Sarah again. ‘I hope you don’t have any aspirations about my son. He is practically betrothed to a very suitable young lady. The elder daughter of one of my oldest, dearest friends. Her father is a very important company director.’

‘Really,’ Sarah said. ‘I’m surprised he hasn’t mentioned her. He can’t have seen her for some time, as we have been working together on the house for most weekends recently. And we ride every Saturday too.’ She was scoring points, she knew it and probably not endearing herself to this woman. ‘Are you planning to stay for long?’

‘I may. I needed a little break. Living alone can be tedious at times. Especially at this time of year. Since the wretched hunting ban, I haven’t been able to get out and enjoy my usual pursuits.’ Sarah grimaced. She did not want to engage on any debates regarding hunting. She had always hated it, despite her love of riding. She suspected that any mention of her own thoughts on the subject would cause her to be banned from the house. At last Alex came back with some forks. Silently, he handed on to his mother and caught a glance from Sarah. She looked distressed, he realised.

‘I think I should be going,’ Sarah said as she rose from her seat. ‘You must have things to talk about with your mother.’ Mrs Weston gave a triumphant smile. ‘Goodbye, Mrs Weston. Interesting to meet you.’

‘Yes of course. Goodbye.’ The odious woman concentrated on her cake and ignored Sarah’s departure.

‘I’m so sorry. Was she awful to you?’ Alex whispered as he took her out to her car. ‘What about our dinner?’

‘I think you’re saddled with a different dining companion. You’ll have to take her instead.’

‘I’m so angry with her. Turning up like that. What did she say to upset you? I’ll tackle her about it.’

‘Don’t cause any more problems for yourself. I can see she’s adept at inventing problems where none exist. I’m obviously totally unsuitable as a companion for you. Besides, your
almost
engagement to some friend of hers is a huge barrier.’

‘My what?’

‘Apparently, you’re almost engaged to an old friend of the family. Some company director’s daughter?’

‘Oh for heavens sake. She must mean Prudence Fairfax. An awful ex-hunting crony. She has a face a bit like her favourite horse and neighs rather than laughs. She neighs at almost anything anyone says, funny or not. One would need to be a total masochist or deaf to marry her.’

‘Alex, I had no idea you could be quite so nasty,’ Sarah replied, slightly shocked at his vehemence but very gratified.

‘I’m sorry. My mother drives me to it. I’m sorry, my dear Sarah. So sorry about the evening being ruined. I’ll call you later.’ He leaned over and kissed her, full on the lips. She was even more shocked. Gently, he helped her into her car and she drove away, her heart racing. He had just been overcome with the surprise of his mother’s arrival, she told herself. She was still seething somewhat at the snobbish comments she had suffered and what was more, she had been deprived of a delicious dinner and now had to think of something to cook for herself and a lonely evening ahead. How long would his mother be staying? Now the evenings were getting lighter, she was hoping to go and see Major after work at times. If Mrs Weston was there, that would all be spoiled. Still, she tried to console herself, Alex had promised to phone. Perhaps he would persuade his mother to leave quickly.

***

Her plans for Sunday were also in ruins. She hung around the house, hoping that he would ring and suggest something. But the phone remained stubbornly silent. She almost contemplated visiting her parents. It was only just over an hour away but she knew there would be questions asked. Why wasn’t she out riding? What was wrong with her? Had she met someone and it wasn’t working out? Why did so many parents always do that? She knew from her other friends, particularly the unmarried ones, that they suffered in the same way when they went back home. She really loved her parents but there remained this problem. She went for a walk and regretted the empty paddock where Major should have been. Perhaps she should bring him back. Now she could ride again, she could easily ride him back and pick up his various things later. She leaned on the gate and stared into space. A van stopped behind her. It was her old friend Joe.

‘Missing him, are you?’

‘Yes, a bit. Alex has got a visitor this weekend so I’m at a loose end.’

‘I’m just going for a pint at the pub. Why don’t you tag along? Meeting some of the old crowd. We haven’t seen you around for months.’ He opened the door for her.

‘Why not?’ she agreed. ‘That would be great. Can we stop at the cottage so I can collect my bag and some money?’

There were a number of her old friends gathered round the bar. They welcomed her with friendly warmth and she realised she’d missed them. Most of them owned horses and they’d often gone for cross country rides, stopping off at little out of the way pubs for lunch. These were real people, salt of the earth types, she realised. Not like the snooty Mrs Weston. Thank goodness Alex wasn’t like her. It would be a nightmare working with him if he was. She simply didn’t understand how people could be like that. Mind you, if he had an uncle who left him so much money, he must come from a totally different class to her.

‘Penny for them?’ Joe intruded on her thoughts.

‘Not worth even a penny. I was just thinking how nice it is to be with all of you. I’ve got too involved in other things lately. We should organise one of our rides again. Anyone up for it? Next Sunday?’

Several of the group agreed and they arranged to meet the following week. She would have to get Major back to his own paddock before then, without upsetting her boss.

***

When she arrived at work on Monday morning, she noticed Alex’s car was already parked in its usual place. Once she had settled in her office, she buzzed his extension, hoping to speak to him. Julia, his secretary answered.

‘I’m afraid Mr Weston is with a client. Can I give him a message.’

‘It’s all right. I’ll catch up with him later.’ It wasn’t worth interrupting him, especially not on a private matter. She wondered if his mother was still staying with him or whether he’d persuaded her to go back to her own home. She doubted the latter, as he hadn’t called her all day. Hopefully, the woman to whom she had taken such an instant dislike, wouldn’t stay around for too long. If Alex was at work all day, she couldn’t imagine there would be anything to interest Mrs Weston. Poor Mrs Harper, she thought. She may still harbour some sort of ridiculous jealousy for that woman too but at least she seemed pleasant enough. Her emotions were still confused. After Alex had kissed her on Saturday when she left Darnley Manor, she had believed their relationship may be moving forward. But the silence since had left her feeling uncertain of anything. She frowned. She was allowing herself to become much too involved with him. She was relying on him for her entertainment and companionship outside work. So much so that she had let her old friends disappear into the past. But that as all about to change, starting next Sunday when they planned a group ride together. If Alex felt left out, then it was too bad. He could always join them, if he wanted to. Her phone rang, announcing her first appointment of the day. Mr Knowles. His problems were still going on.

‘Come in. Do sit down. I’ve got some news for you. Nothing too exciting but at least we’ve had another contact with your ex-wife.’

‘That’s something. Thanks. So, what does she have to say? Can I see Martha?’

‘She’s willing for you to take her out on Saturday afternoon, providing someone else is with you.’

‘Oh, for goodness sake. Back to that is she? What does she think I’m going to do? Run away with her?’

‘I suppose it’s precisely that. Too many stories in the press about fathers kidnapping their own children.’

‘She’s made sure I can’t do that. I’ve got barely enough money to live on by the time I’ve paid what I’m told she needs. I can’t even afford to take Martha anywhere decent if I do get to see her.’ Sarah could see how upset he was and was at a loss to know what to say. It was a dreadful situation. The woman was using her own child as a blackmail tool. All too frequent these days. It wasn’t as if there had been anything wrong in his relationship with his daughter. Just that the mother has fallen out of love and seemingly, had possibly found a new partner. The court had allowed the mother custody, as often happened and poor Mr Knowles was expected to pay for the upkeep of his child in a very generous way. ‘The trouble was, the level I was expected to pay was set when I had a good job. All the upset caused me to lose it and I now earn less than half of what I did. Even this job’s not certain to last. I’ve applied for a review but the forms got lost in someone’s in-tray I suppose.’

‘It certainly takes time. I’ll certainly see what I can do. It’s a ridiculous situation.’ The man had been badly advised by another firm of solicitors when getting divorced and his ex-wife had managed to come away with a generous settlement and he was left paying for it.’

‘Thanks but don’t spend too much time on it. You explained about your fees and I simply can’t pay.’

‘I’m certain you are now entitled to legal funding. Your change of income certainly put you into that bracket. I’ll put the process into motion. Meanwhile, at least you’re going to see Martha on Saturday. Let’s hope it’s a nice day and then you can spend the afternoon on the beach or something.’ She handed him the notes she had been sent regarding the arrangements for the visit. He glanced at them and rose from his seat.

‘Thanks very much, anyway. I can’t wait to see my little girl again. It’s been weeks. I’m so frightened she’ll forget me. It would break my heart. Especially as my ex has told me it’s because Martha didn’t want to see me.’

‘Don’t take any notice of that. It’s something that is often said just because it’s easier than having to face the truth.’

Sarah showed him out to reception and went back to her office. She ticked off ten minutes on her wretched form, even though it had been almost twenty. With a sigh, she settled down to work on the various files piled on her desk. She worked through her lunch hour, eating a sandwich Poppy had brought for her while she read various papers. She glanced at the time sheet she so hated and tried to spread out her morning’s work to cover the range of clients whose files she had been reading. None of it made much sense and she felt as if she were still at school, filling in exam revision charts. This situation couldn’t continue. It was as if nobody could trust each other to do a proper day’s work. She needed to talk it through with the other members of staff. See what they thought of the idea and then put it to Alex at the monthly meeting at the end of the week. All aspects of life had become much more complicated since his arrival in Cornwall.

Chapter Seven

There had been no contact with Alex outside work. In the office, she had spoken only briefly, when he had called to ask about a client she had been dealing with. He was in no mood to chat and she felt somewhat rebuffed. It seemed a long week and she really began to think that his mother had persuaded him that she was an unsuitable companion for him. It wasn’t as if she had ever indicated that she thought of him in any way other than a companion for riding and dining together. She did admit to herself that she might possibly allow herself to fall in love with him but she was keeping a tight rein on her emotions at all times. After all, any relationship could be as doomed as the one between Mr Knowles and his ex, whatever was thought at the time they married. She saw far too many such relationships in her daily work. Reality had hit Alex and his mother must have convinced him that her lack of the right social standing was causing him to waste his time on her. Meanwhile, the difficult practice meeting was looming the next day and she had still done nothing about moving Major back to his own paddock.

The atmosphere in the board room was distinctly tense the next day. The senior partners were grouped at one end near to Alex, who was chairing the meeting. Sarah and the junior partners were at the other end, ready to put their points to the meeting. It seemed they all shared her views on keeping the time sheets and at least two of them said their targets were out of reach. Before anyone else had a say, Alex spoke.

‘I have heard a number of complaints about the time sheets. Before you say anything, I have to tell you that we shall be keeping them for at least one more month.’ There was a buzz of protest round the table. Even the seniors joined in. ‘I know this may seem like a waste of time ...’ more sounds of
too
right
and similar comments ‘... but it is a valuable exercise and it is making clear exactly how much time is spent on various tasks. This enables us to revise our pricing structure for fees.’

‘Does it take account of how much time we actually spend filling in the damned forms?’ Charles whispered to Sarah. She grimaced.

‘Now, on to the targets.’ More groans. ‘Some of you have failed to reach even halfway to your targets for the first month. I know the targets are related to quarterly figures but one month in, it is below what it should be in many cases.’

The meeting dragged on. Several complaints were voiced but quashed. It seemed that everyone was expected to continue for another month. There was distinct unrest among most of the staff, including the seniors. Alex had a battle on his hands and if he wasn’t very careful,, there would be major unrest which could lead to resignations. Ken had allowed people to work on their own for many months, if not years and nobody liked the idea of the new broom sweeping in with all his changes. At last they were allowed to leave and return to their own offices.

‘I assume we fill in time sheets for this morning as
meeting
, no fees applicable,’ Charles said with a sardonic laugh.

‘Sarah,’ called Alex from his place at the table. ‘Could you spare a moment?’

‘Don’t forget to note it on your sheet,’ Charles whispered to her. ‘Otherwise, you’ll be accused of wasting time.’ She glared at him and turned back to Alex.

‘Do sit here,’ he said indicating the chair next to him. ‘This isn’t easy for me. I’m sorry to say but your targets are the worst of anyone’s. You are way below what you should be. We need to look and see how you can improve things.’

‘I told you Alex. My clients don’t have the sort of money you seem to expect. I don’t stand a chance of reaching your precious target.’

‘Then you have to try to spend less time with them. If they can’t pay, they can’t have an hour of your time. You have to get them in and out quickly and then deal with the problem quickly and efficiently.’

‘And how do you suggest I deal with the situation where I have to phone someone anything up to nine times before I can speak to the right person?’

‘Get your secretary to hang on to the end of the phone and let her put through the call when they have reached the right person.’

‘Oh yes, and which secretary would that be? I share Poppy and Chloe with at least four other people. They simply don’t have time for it. I don’t have my own personal Julia to do all these tasks for me.’ She felt herself going red with anger. He was allowing their personal life to come into work, she was certain. His mother must have persuaded him to stop seeing her and so he was making life difficult at the office.

‘Come on, Sarah. I have to get this practice back on its feet or we’ll have to restructure the whole thing.’

‘Perhaps you’d like me to leave? Resign, as I’m clearly incompetent, in your eyes?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. You’re good at your job and your clients are very enthusiastic about you. I’ve seen some of the letters from them, thanking you for your efforts.’

‘Then you’ll surely realise I can only do the job properly if I have the time to spend on it.’ Alex’s mobile rang.

‘Excuse me. Yes, all right. Wait a moment. I’m sorry, I need to deal with this. We’ll speak later.’

‘Don’t bother. Oh I’ll be over this evening to collect Major. It’s time he was back in his own paddock.’

‘Sarah. Don’t storm off like that. I’ll speak to you later.’ But she had gone. He spoke into his mobile again. ‘Mummy. What’s wrong this time? I am at work and extremely busy.’

Sarah sat at her desk fuming. She felt a mixture of anger, tempered with sadness. She felt her professional integrity was being questioned and her personal life was also taking a severe dip. The past months since Alex had entered her life, there had been so many happy times spent together. She had enjoyed working on the Manor with him. They had spent time browsing round shops and choosing things that she had loved. The entire lounge was based almost entirely on her choices, as if it were being done for her ... or at least that’s what she might have allowed herself to dream about. They had started to make plans for some of the other rooms before Mrs Weston had come on the scene and spoilt everything. She forced herself back to her work and half-heartedly dictated a letter into her machine.

Her phone buzzed.

‘Are you free Sarah? We need to finish our discussion.’ Alex sounded brusque.

‘I’m not sure there is anything more to say.’

‘I can’t leave it like this. I need to go through a few specific things with you.’

‘All right. Five minutes. I have a letter to finish.’ She dreaded another encounter and wanted a few moments to compose herself. The letter had been a fiction as she had already finished it. She was pondering over the dilemma she felt surrounding her. Mixing business and pleasure was the mistake everyone supposed. Though they had mostly kept work and personal life totally separate, she felt certain that his obsession with her targets was as a result of his mother’s influence on him. The woman wanted her out of Alex’s life and the situation was making it difficult for her to work with him. She made up her mind to seek another position but it would not be easy in this part of the world. Maybe she should transfer to another branch or maybe she should leave Cornwall altogether and make a new start. She drew in her breath to compose herself. Dammit, why should she? She loved living here. There was nowhere else she wanted to live. She walked along the corridor to Alex’s office, her head held high.

‘Come in’ Alex called in response to her knock. She saw her last time sheet spread on his desk and felt her heart sink. Horrible thing. ‘I was looking through your various accounts and the clients you’ve seen. I have to say, you are spending much longer per client than I would have expected. And you charging rates don’t always match the time you’re spending with them. It needs tightening up. For instance, this Mr Knowles you’ve been working with. I see you have spent something over two hours with him during the past months but I can’t find a billing for two hours. Just one for one hour.’ Sarah froze, partly in anger, partly in total shock.

‘You’re seriously telling me you have the time to go through each client, for each member of staff and marry together hours and billing?’

‘Of course not. I have an internal audit clerk who does it.’

‘Oh really. And what sort of salary does he or she get?’

‘Enough to justify the appointment.’

‘And you’re doing this for everyone? Not just me?’

‘Eventually, yes. I picked on your account because you were so very far away from your target. I needed to see why.’

‘But I thought I’d explained that my work load does not merit the target you set. It isn’t a matter of pushing pieces of paper around like conveyancing or probate matters. These are real people with massive problems. Traumas, even. I have to spend a bit of extra time with them simply to allow them space and time to speak openly. I have to form a relationship with them before they can truly open up. As for Mr Knowles, I’m trying to sort out the mess another solicitor made of his divorce settlement. Poor man was totally taken to the cleaners by his ex wife’s solicitor and badly advised by his own. He’s now eligible for legal funding so I shall get that sorted immediately.’

‘I sympathise with all of that. But you know, we also have to minimise the number of clients with legal support. They are of course, less profitable. But the fact remains, we can’t afford to carry any member of staff who isn’t performing properly.’

‘I see. So you’d like me to resign? Or perhaps I can transfer to one of the other branches?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. All I need is for you to become more realistic about what you are doing. Please Sarah,’ his voice softened, ‘try to understand the position I’m in.’ She rose from her seat and walked to the door. She did not want to hand in her resignation but was very close to it. How on earth could she have considered even liking this man, let alone thinking of the possibility of anything more? She paused and drew in her breath, desperately trying to control what she said.

‘This isn’t about work, is it? It’s nothing to do with my wretched targets or time sheets or anything else. It’s your precious mother.
Mummy
,
dear
. She doesn’t approve of me and the fact we’ve spent so much time together. She wants you to make a suitable match in the County Set and I’m getting in the way. Don’t worry. I’ll collect Major later and be out of your and her way.’ She stormed out of his office, ignoring his voice calling after her. She collected her brief case and went out to her car. ‘I have to leave early,’ she told the receptionist.

She drove away from Truro, desperate to put distance between herself and Alex. He’d be at his desk for hours longer. She hoped he was putting everyone else through the same interrogation as her but sensed he wouldn’t. She drove to a quiet stretch of beach and parked. Dressed in her business suit and high heels, walking along the sand was impossible. She kicked off her shoes, tugged down her tights and walked barefoot down the wooden steps to the beach. There were a few dogs running wildly along the beach, dashing in and out of the sea while the owners stood chatting. She went to the edge of the sea and allowed the waves to lap over her feet. It was freezing but somehow it was also cleansing. Washing away her anger. She had probably burnt her boats with the man she had to admit, she was beginning to care for.
Was
, she told herself. He was so unreasonable and didn’t even listen to what she was saying. All the good intentions he had suggested when he first arrived had come to nothing. An interview room for starters? Where had that idea gone? She wandered back up the beach to her car and drove home barefoot. The heap of wet sand that collected under the pedals would have to be cleaned out later. She usually hated a dirty car and was obsessive about keeping it tidy but she cared nothing in her present mood. She drove home, wishing she could go for a ride and clear her head. She made tea and sat on the back step to drink it, still barefoot and still wearing a now crumpled business suit.

Sarah cooked herself a piece of chicken with some stir fry vegetables she had in the freezer and sat down to watch the news. An item on horses reminded her that she had suggested she would collect Major that evening. It was too late now. She needed to organise a lift over to Darnley Manor and then to ride him back. It would be dark before she could manage it all. It would have to wait till the morning. Alex and Moonlight could have the pleasure of his company for one more night. Perhaps Joe would be around the next day and would oblige. She knew Alex would once have insisted on being available, but under the present circumstances, she would never ask him for any sort of favour. When her phone rang, she jumped. She rushed over to it, hoping, she realised that it might be Alex with some sort of apology. Not that she expected it, of course. It was her mother.

‘Hallo Darling. How are you?’ she asked.

‘Oh, you know. End of a difficult week.’

‘Is everything all right, Sarah?’ she asked anxiously.

‘Course it is,’ Sarah lied. Any hint of a problem and her mother would rush down. ‘Don’t worry Mum. I’m just tired and it really has been a difficult week.’ She opened up just a little about a new boss who was very demanding.

‘And how’s Major?’

‘He’s fine. I’m meeting up with the old crowd on Sunday and we’re going for a cross country hack. Lunch somewhere. You know.’

‘That’s nice dear. Now, Daddy and I were wondering if you’d be able to come home next weekend? We really need to decide what to do for your birthday. It’s a big one this year and we should celebrate properly. We thought of a party or maybe a dinner for you. What do you think?’