Doing the Right Thing (11 page)

“Say something,” Lisa wailed.

“It looks so different.” Addie managed to speak.

“Good or bad different?”

“It’s great, Lisa, thanks.” She looked like an enormous pixie, spiky hair sticking up all over her head.

“To show your gratitude you can make me a cup of tea and give me a check for your share of the gas bill.”

Will had a lot on his mind. He had check lists of what he needed to accomplish by the end of the week at Magelan’s and at Enerchex, the other company. He also needed to ring his mother and he had to ring Vee. She’d called him twenty-seven times, left twenty-seven messages and fifteen texts. He’d responded with one text “I’ll ring soon”

rather than the “fuck off” he felt like tapping in. He wasn’t just trying to avoid her, he was running away from her. Will hoped he’d run far enough.

It was still dark when he arrived at Magelan’s. He hated these gloomy winter mornings. Will looked for a parking space, pulled in, then changed his mind and reversed at speed in an arc round a small blue car and into the spot on the other side.

There was a slight bump and Will swore. Grabbing his briefcase from the footwell, he got out and glanced at the rear of his car. Will didn’t see anything and assumed he’d hit the curb.

Addie opened her eyes to find herself flat on her back in a nest of damp shrubbery.

Her head pounded and heart raced. After a brief struggle to sit up, she gave in and lay back in the bushes. What happened? She’d arrived early because she wanted to look for a job online while the office was empty. She’d walked into the yard and seen Will’s car coming, then crouched down, hoping he didn’t spot her.

It took several minutes for her brain to sort things out. He’d hit her with his car.

Addie tried moving her limbs, relieved they now seemed to be working. She pulled herself out of the undergrowth, stood on wobbling legs and clung to a branch. Her coat was covered in leaves and twigs. The contents of her bag lay strewn around and when she bent to pick them up, she zoomed head first into blackness and fell to her knees taking shaky breaths.

She left her grubby sandwiches for the local fox. There was an ominous crack in her mobile phone, but it was out of credit and hadn’t worked in a reliable way since David borrowed it. She hoped it was broken, one less way for her mother to drive her mad.

More concerning was the blood on her ankle and the holes in her hold ups. When her eyes moved to her watch, Addie realized that far from being early, she was now late.

She stumbled across the car park, brushing the debris from her coat as she went. As she went through the door, Julie pulled a puzzled face.
She doesn’t like my hair,
Addie thought, her heart sinking. The receptionist pointed to her cheek as she talked on the phone.

Addie took a detour via the visitors’ toilets and stopped short when she saw her reflection. There were several smudges of mud on her face and a trickle of blood running past her ear. She grabbed a handful of paper towels and cleaned herself up. She took off her hold ups and threw them away. There was a deep scratch on her lower thigh. Blood stained her skirt and ran in a red streak to her ankle. Addie wiped it away.

She ran a brush through her hair and yelped when she caught a raised lump. She daren’t spend any longer in there. She couldn’t cope with the wrath of Carne or the fake-sympathy of whiney-voiced Beth.

Addie limped into the office to find Will had gathered the staff together. He stopped talking and everyone turned to look at her. At her hair.

“Nice of you to join us,” Will said.

Addie slunk to her seat. She didn’t hear another word. She felt sick, but she couldn’t move. Blood was still trickling down her leg. She fumbled in her pocket for a tissue and wiped it away. Addie lowered her head to the desk. She had no idea how long passed before Genghis yelled in her ear, “You don’t come to work to sleep. What’s the matter with you? You’re late and you can’t keep your eyes open. Keep your personal life from interfering with your job or you won’t have a job. I’m giving you an official warning.”

“Fine,” Addie muttered, unable to raise her head from the pile of files, but thinking if she could muster enough energy for one final act, she’d strangle Genghis. Her phone rang and she reached out to pull it to her ear without lifting her head.

“My office, now,” Will said.

It took a superhuman effort to get up. Addie felt drunk, but without the nice fuzzy feeling that went with it.

She knocked once and almost fell when Will flung open his door.

“Take a seat and try not to break it.”

His voice was brittle and cold. He didn’t even like her, let alone love her. He never would. Why would she think cutting her hair would make a difference? She didn’t want to have a crush on him. She was too sensible to waste her time and energy on someone who’d never like her. She tuned back in.

“And just because you’re working a month’s notice doesn’t mean I have to accept irresponsible behavior.”

“Sorry I was late. I—”

“I’m not interested in excuses. Get here on time, but that’s not the reason I wanted to speak to you.”

His voice grew louder. Addie wondered what she’d done.

“What right did you have to change the press release? It was given to you to check for grammar and inaccuracies. I thought I could trust you. You’re obviously bright, but for some lunatic reason you take it into your head to add irrelevant details.”

“I—”

“Fortunately, only one publication received the amended version.”

“I—”

“Are you trying to make some point here, Addie? I told you that you have to work your notice. Stunts like this are only going to result in a bad reference. Is that what you want?”

Daisy had done it, Addie realized, but he wasn’t going to listen. He was stamping round the room like an angry bull with a herd of cows just out of reach.

“That’s not the only thing. Who told you to send out the invoices?”

Oh God, more?
“I’d—”

“Didn’t it occur to you, if this company is no longer trading as Booth’s, it was possible we might want to let people know?”

“But—”

“There’s a letter to be sent to every customer, every supplier, and it goes with every piece of correspondence that leaves this office. The only thing I wanted to come out of here yesterday was the press release. The correct press release.”

Addie hadn’t sent out the invoices. She’d printed them, put them in envelopes and left them unsealed. She had no idea how they’d ended up being sent. Addie couldn’t think straight. She didn’t want to be shouted at. She needed to lie down. She got to her feet and walked out.

“Where do you think you’re going? I’m still talking to you.”

So what?

Genghis caught hold of Addie’s arm as she passed. “Graham has a pile of work to do. If it’s not too much trouble, do you think you could give him a hand?”

“What else do you want from me? You going to boil my bones and make stock?”

“What did you say? What on earth is the matter with you?”

Addie could feel Will watching, his eyes searing holes in the back of her head. He should offer his services to the army. Addie trekked the hundred miles to her chair, taking a zigzag route between walls and partitions, crevasses and ice ridges. Will thought she was stupid and she was, but not for the reason he’d said. She didn’t care what Genghis thought.

An envelope lay on top of her files. She ripped it open. A written warning. Addie embellished it several times with her date received stamp and pinned it up on the board behind her computer. She reached for her keyboard to log on, but her fingers froze when she couldn’t remember her password.

After several minutes, Addie gave up and opened the top file. When she heard most of the office getting up to go to lunch, she looked down in dismay. She’d done nothing all morning.

“I like your hair,” Ed said, scooting across on Graham’s swivel chair. “Really cute.”

Addie wanted to cry. He was the first person who’d said anything. She tried to say thank you and instead a tear fell from her eye. She turned her head.

“Addie, are you okay?”

“Fine.” She grabbed another file.

“You don’t look fine.” Ed took hold of the arms of her chair and pulled it away from the desk so that she faced him. Well, she would have been if her gaze hadn’t been fixed to her knees.

“What’s wrong?”

Ed’s finger swept another tear from her face and a surge of heat flashed through her. What the hell was the matter with her?

“I was in an accident.”

“When?”

“On the way to work.”

She heard a sharp intake of breath.

“That’s why you were late? What happened?”

“I was knocked down by a car.”

“Christ, why didn’t you say something? Did you go to hospital? Do the police know?”

“No.”

“I’ll call them now. Where was this?” He took out his mobile.

Addie reached out and laid her hand on his for a brief moment. “No.”

“Why not?”

She looked up. “It happened in the car park.”

“Whose car? Please say it wasn’t mine.”

“A silver Lexus.”

Ed jumped to his feet.”Will knocked you down?”

“He didn’t see me. He reversed into me. I was bending over, er…picking something up.”

“Don’t make excuses for him.”

Ed bounced like a rubber ball. “God, he could have killed you. Where are you hurt?” He sat down again, lifted her face by the chin and looked at her. “My God, your head. You’re concussed.”

“I cut my leg.”

He reached toward her knee and then drew his fingers back.

“I’m okay,” Addie said. “Forget about it. Don’t say anything. It doesn’t matter now.

It’s not important.”

Ed looked at her. “That’s the saddest load of sentences I’ve ever heard.”

“I mean it,” Addie said. “It wasn’t his fault. It was gloomy and I was in a dark coat.”

“How hard did you hit your head?”

Addie’s fingers moved to the lump and winced.

“I think I might have been knocked out for a while.”

“God, Addie, you should see a doctor.”

“I’m fine.”

“Well, let me buy you lunch.”

Addie shook her head. “I have to work through to make up the time. Not hungry anyway.”

“You will be later. Can I take you out for something to eat?” he asked.

“What, today?”

“No, next March. Of course today—tonight. Say yes.” He turned on a lighthouse smile.

“No.”

The smile went out.

“Really?”

Addie squirmed. “You don’t have to be nice to me, Ed.”

“Why shouldn’t I be?”

“I’m not used to it. It makes me uncomfortable.”

* * * * *

Addie’s day went from terrible to diabolical. Genghis had been easier to stand while contained in her office. Now she’d moved in with the herd, staying in permanent circulation, there was no escape. No one dare play Sudoku on their computer, in case she appeared at their shoulder. Though Addie knew they would have got away with it, because Genghis only had eyes for her.

Word spread that Addie had received a warning for being late, had issued an outrageous press release and posted invoices without authorization. Addie wondered why they didn’t put her down for insider trading and false accounting while they were at it. Daisy stayed away and since Addie knew she’d probably been desperate to tell her about her date with Ed, she guessed Miss Chain felt guilty. But not guilty enough to admit what she’d done.

Joe handed Addie a packet of peanut M&M’s before he showed her a copy of the press information sheet that had sent Will into meltdown. Addie could see why. His management consultancy team were described as “The All Man Mansells” and

“Londoners with the faces and bodies of Gods, whose firm and sexy hands are skilled in manipulating and molding to bring out the best in people”. Daisy had done a bit of manipulating of her own. Addie tipped the whole packet of M&M’s into her mouth and crunched the lot.

The invoices were another matter altogether. Daisy wouldn’t have deliberately set out to get her into trouble, so maybe Genghis had. When Bob Booth appointed Addie, he told Genghis she shouldn’t waste Addie’s ability. But Genghis didn’t have a degree and had no intention of promoting her. She ensured Addie got the worst jobs, boring stuff, and Bob forgot his plans.

At four o’clock, Addie received another command to go to Will’s office.

“I’ve just had a phone call from a Mrs. Wilberforce.”

Doreen Wilberforce was a professional complainer who had her local councilor and the police on speed-dial. With Booth’s, she angled for free trips. It was a game.

Sometimes Genghis gave in, sometimes she didn’t. Addie thought it was pure spite that made Genghis pass the call to Will, because everyone in the office knew what Doreen was like.

“She claims you refused to stop the coach so she could relieve herself,” Will said.

Addie sighed. “There’s a toilet on board.”

“She was too unsteady to use it.”

Probably due to the two halves of lager she’d drunk in the pub before they’d set off.

“We were on the motorway,” Addie said.

“Ever heard of rest stops?”

She never turned down a request to stop, but Doreen’s demand that they pull up on the hard shoulder of the motorway so she could wee behind a bush, happened to be illegal. Addie started to explain and then gave in. What was the point? He didn’t want to listen.

She turned her mind to tomorrow, a trip with the senior section of Meanwood Amateur Dramatic Society, the MADS. The following two days she was teaching, so she wouldn’t have to see Will again until Monday. She should have been relieved, but disappointment surged through her. Why did she still like him so much, when all he did was shout at her? Every time she looked at him, she remembered the kiss. Addie swallowed hard. He was still talking and she had no idea what he’d said.

Will couldn’t believe Addie Winter. She sat there not listening to a damn word.

She’d tuned him out. He wondered if she was ill. There was an unhealthy tinge to her face and some odd marks. They looked like scratches. He bristled at the thought of someone hurting her. Maybe it was her hair that had made her look different. It had gone from smooth to spiky. The color was pretty, like a pile of autumn leaves. He liked it.