Knowing Me Knowing You (38 page)

‘
Oh, OK, I take it they’re not from Joel,
’
Lynn
stated.

‘
No, they’re not from Joel, they’re from Matthew and I don’t want to look at them a second longer,
’
Kate stated, switching on her computer.

‘
Well, that’s funny,
’
Lynn
remarked as she began to gather up the flowers.

‘
Funny?
’

‘
Yes, because Joel’s in the Lady Dragon’s office
.
He’s been in there
for the last ten minutes and I just presumed he’d brought in the flowers, seeing as he was here,
’
Lynn informed.

‘
What?
’
Kate exclaimed.

‘
Joel’s in Miranda’s office,
’
Lynn
repeated.

‘
Are you sure?
’

‘
Dur
!
Of course I’m sure, he said
“
Hello Lynn
”
and then he went into her office and closed the door.
’

‘
Well what’s he doing?
’

‘
I don’t know, the door’s closed.
Why don’t you go in?
’

‘
No, I can’t.
I mean, I don’t know what they’re doing in there.
’

‘
He looked hot though
.
H
e’s got jean
s on and a t-shirt, a white one.
S
he’ll like
that,
she had a thing about one of the workmen that did the room alterations. Wore a white t-shirt every day he did, covered in sweat by midday but somehow it just made him look even hotter,
’
Lynn
informed.

‘
I’ve got to go in there; I can’t sit here and
...
’
Kate began, standing up from her chair.

The door to Miranda’s office opened and Joel walked into the Probate department. He smiled at Kate and came over to her desk.

‘
Hi,
’
he greeted.

‘
Hello,
’
Kate responded.

‘
I’ll just do this filing then,
’
Lynn remarked
,
leaving rapidly.

‘
I’ve being trying to ring you, you didn’t answer,
’
Kate stated.

‘
No, that’s because my mobile’s in the romance lodge. They’re sending it by courier; I should have it this afternoon. I d
id try and call you about nine
last night but it was constantly engaged,
’
Joel spoke.

‘
I was trying to call you, every ten minutes or so,
’
Kate admitted with a blush.

‘
How did it go with Matthew? I saw the flowers.
’

‘
He left, just after you.
’

‘
Did you manage to sort anything out?
’

‘
He said he wanted to give our marriage another chance, he said he wanted to be a proper dad to
Bethan
. He apologised for everything he’d done.
’

‘
I see. Well, that’s good.
’

‘
He didn’t mean it. He saw us
on TV; he knows about the prize -
he saw pound signs.
’

‘
Are you sure he wasn’t being sincere?
’

‘
I didn’t care either way,
’
Kate replied.

‘
I don’t want to complicate things for you,
’
Joel told her.

‘
You haven’t. I want to see you; I want to carry on seeing you, like we were
-
just to see
-
what happens,
’
Kate spoke quietly.

‘
I’m glad,
’
Joel replied.

‘
So do you want to tell me why you were here seeing Miranda?
’

‘
I went to see her to ensure our survival in the competition. She won’t be telling anyone I was an escort,
’
Joel replied with a wink.

‘
What did you say to her?
’

‘
I can’t possibly say but if you want to do that solicitor’s exam the way is clear, and she’ll support you every step,
’
Joel informed her.

‘
I don’t understand,
’
Kate said.

‘
I’d better go or I’ll be late for sixteen stone Geoffrey. See you,
’
Joel replied and he leant forward and kissed her cheek.

Kate felt her face redden but she caught hold of his hand and gave it a squeeze before he could leave her.

‘
See you,
’
Kate spoke, enjoying touching him again.

‘
Bye,
’
Joel replied with a smile.

No sooner had he left then Miranda’s office door opened and she emerged. Kate braced herself for another pile of work coming her way but Miranda looked uneasy
. H
er eyes looked watery and her trademark swagger of superiority was fundamentally diminished. She flicked her
hair back and then rushed like a scared rabbit towards the ladies toilets.

‘
Oh my God!
’
Kate exclaimed out loud at her desk the following morning.

For the first time in a long time she had caught the postman before she left for Hermione’s. She had taken the letters to work and as Miranda was out of the office for the morning she took the chance to open them before she looked at her files. A large brown envelope had a familiar look to it and she ripped that open first.

‘
What’s the matter?
’
Lynn asked, hurrying over to Kate’s desk,
as she
recognis
ed
the panic in her voice.

‘
The
Knowing Me Knowing You
contest just got even more bizarre. You won’t believe what they want us to do now,
’
Kate remarked, holding the letter out to
Lynn
.

Lynn
took the letter and began to read it. Her eyes started to bulge after reading a few sentences.

‘
I told you it was bizarre,
’
Kate said, letting
Lynn
continue reading.

‘
Create a wedding dress to wear for a wedding fashion catwalk, decorating a wedding cake in two minutes and writing your own personal vows to act out in the final
“
Showdown of Sincerity
”
. Oh my good God,
’
Lynn
commented.

‘
How can I do any of that? It also says the men have to create an outfit for themselves as well. What does
“
create
”
mean? Could that involve buying?
’
Kate wanted to know.

‘
I think they want you to make it.
’

‘
I know that but I could say I used to be a seamstress or something and just get a not too elaborate little number from BHS.
’

‘
Think they might notice.
’

‘
Great, so now I have to turn into a Blue Peter presenter and whip up a wedding frock and a morning suit in less than two weeks.
’

‘
Don’t you have your old dress you could alter and spruce up?
’
Lynn
suggested.

‘
Oh, I couldn’t wear that,
’
Kate said immediately.

‘
Might save a bit of time.
’

‘
No,
’
Kate said firmly.

‘
Well if I was you I wouldn’t have Joel in a morning suit, I would have him in swimming trunks
-
very short swimming trunks. In fact why not forget about clothes altogether,
’
Lynn
told her.

‘
Lynn
!
’

‘
Sorry but
dur
! Covering it up is a complete waste.
’

‘
Sorry to interrupt ladies but Kate, could I have a word?
’

Neither of them had noticed Colin Sykes entering the room.

‘
Yes, of course,
’
Kate agreed.

‘
I’ll go and get started on that dictation,
’
Lynn replied, backing away from the desk and putting the
Knowing Me Knowing You
letter down.

‘
Thanks
Lynn
.
’

Colin waited until
Lynn
had disappeared before speaking.

‘
I just wanted to see if you had made any decision about the Legal Practice Course,
’
he began.

‘
Well, no, not yet.
I haven’t had a chance to
really think about it properly -
I mean it sounds like it would be a good opportunity but I need to make sure it’s the right thing for me,
’
Kate answered hurriedly, feeling uncomfortable.

‘
Of course and I expect this competition has somewhat taken over your life hasn’t it? It’s a bit of a roller coaster of an experience isn’t it? Very enjoyable though, I’m looking forward to the final,
’
Colin remarked with a smile.

‘
Well, I think the final is really going to be something special,
’
Kate said.

‘
I like your chap, Joel; he seems to have a good head on his shoulders,
’
Colin said.

‘
Yes he does,
’
Kate agreed.

‘
And how are things with Miranda? I had thought that perhaps my offer to you might have ruffled a few of her feathers,
’
Colin spoke.

‘
I don’t think so, feathers look pretty intact,
’
Kate replied quickly.

‘
Very diplomatically put.
Right, well I won’t hold you up.
I see you have my client Dean on your desk so I’ll let you
get
started,
’
Colin said, preparing to leave.

‘
I will let you know as soon as I know
-
about the exam,
’
Kate added before he departed.

‘
I know you will,
’
Colin replied with a smile.

Kate let out a sigh as he went and picked up the letter again. She couldn’t make a wedding dress but she knew a woman who could.

She picked up the phone and dialled. Her call went to voicemail.

‘
Joel it’s me.
C
ould you meet me at
Hermione’s tonight, about six?
P
repare to be measured.
’

She put the phone down and turned back to her computer.

‘
Sorry to be back again but
Frances
on reception just gave these to me,
’
Lynn
spoke, handing Kate a large bunch of pink gerberas.

‘
The
hospital again please
Lynn
.
I
n fact more aptly, take them to the hospice,
’
Kate ordered, passing them back to her secretary.

‘
Er
, sorry, I took the liberty of reading the card
-
just to make sure because you freaked out yesterday. They’re not from Matthew, they’re from Joel,
’
Lynn
told her.