Knowing Me Knowing You (46 page)

‘
That’s not fair,
’
Kate remarked.

‘
It’s no wonder he’s taking someone else to lunch, the poor guy probably doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going.
’

‘
He does, we…..
’

‘
I just wonder what’s going to happen when this ‘Knowing Me Knowing You’ show has finished. No
weekends away, no limelight, back to reality,
’
Lynn
carried on.

‘
I don’t enjoy the limelight.
’

‘
Speaks the woman who paraded on stage in nothing more than her underwear and a feather boa.
’

‘
What are you trying to say
Lynn
?
’

‘
Look at him! In there, with Elle Macpherson! You said it yourself, why isn’t he having lunch with you?
’

‘
It’s complicated.
’

‘
£1 please?
’

‘
What?
’

‘
We agreed
,
I get £1 every time you say those words.
’

‘
We did not.
’

‘
Well we should.
’

‘
Don’t you start; I’ve got Hermione on my back enough as it is.
’

‘
Probably because we can’t see the problem, he likes you, you like him, what’s complicated about that?
’

‘
You don’t understand.
’

‘
No I don’t….
God, quick, hide!
’

‘
What?
’

‘
Joel’s coming out, do something!
’
Lynn
hissed.

Kate turned around and faced the menu board, hiding her face as best as she could and hoping that Joel didn’t notice her.

Lynn
had pulled a notebook from her bag and had her head buried in it, pretending to be highly interested in the contents.

‘
Hi
Lynn
,
’
Joel greeted, immediately seeing her.

‘
Oh hi Joel didn’t see you there. I was just…..
’

‘
Kate, fancy you being here,
’
Joel said.

‘
Oh, yes, well, Lynn has to organise a partners’ lunch and she
er
, wanted to get some menu ideas for catering and I was coming to town anyway to post some letters and, here we are,
’
Kate spoke hurriedly turning to face him, red from the neck up.

‘
Well, I could have picked up a menu from here for you, you should have called me,
’
Joel said.

‘
Oh well, I didn’t think and
Lynn
, you didn’t think of that either did you?
’

‘
No, I didn’t.
’

‘
So, are you having a nice lunch?
’
Kate asked.

‘
Well we’ve only just ordered, but everything that’s come out of the kitchen smells great, I just left my phone in the car,
’
Joel said and he opened the door and reached in for it.

‘
Oh well, we won’t keep you, we have to go to the deli next,
’
Kate said, backing away up the street and pulling
Lynn
with her.

‘
OK, well I’ll see you later,
’
Joel called.

‘
OK, bye,
’
Kate replied, waving her hand and smiling a ‘life is wonderful I’m getting on without him’ smile.

As soon as he was out of earshot Kate let out an exasperated breath.

‘
How stupid do I feel? Do you think he knew we were spying on him?
’
Kate
enquired
.

‘
Er
, I would say....yes, definitely,
’
Lynn
spoke with a nod.

‘
Great.
’

Joel smiled as he watched
Lynn
and Kate walk up the street in the direction of
Randall’s
. He dialled a number on his phone and made a call.

‘
Mione
, it’s Joel, yes, she was here.
’

That evening Kate was still reeling from the embarrassment of being caught in the act of snooping. She had busied herself bathing
Bethan
and getting her ready for bed while Joel made dinner. But, now they were on their own there was no avoiding it.

‘
So, what did you have for lunch?
’
Kate asked bravely.

‘
I had pasta,
carbonara
sauce,
’
Joel informed.

‘
Was it nice?
’

‘
Yes, very nice.
’

‘
And what did
Marina
have?
’
Kate
enquired
.

‘
She had salad.
’

‘
Should have guessed,
’
Kate muttered under her breath.

Salad! And she probably only ate a third of it.

‘
So did you and Lynn get all the menus together?
’
Joel continued.

‘
What?
’

‘
For the catering for the partners’ lunch.
’

‘
Oh yes, yes, she has four or five to look at now,
’
Kate answered.

She silently cursed herself for being so dim but smiled at Joel, trying to maintain face.

‘
Good.
’

‘
Yes, good.
So are you seeing
Marina
again?
’

‘
Yes, she’s going to come to ‘Knowing Me Knowing You’, she doesn’t actually live far from the hotel,
’
Joel informed.

‘
Oh, that’s nice,
’
Kate replied.

No it wasn’t, it was shit.

‘
So how was your day? Is Miranda behaving herself?
’

‘
She hasn’t spoken to me since you came to see her, well just a vague good morning and a one line sentence about client matters. It seems all the files of mine she altered have been corrected, so
Lynn
says, she’s installed some alert system which tells her when Miranda is logging in to my client matters.
Lynn
’s wasted as a secretary really; she would be an asset to MI5.
’

‘
That’s good.
’

‘
So what did you say to Miranda to make her have a change of heart?
’

‘
I can’t possibly say.
’

‘
Come on Joel, you have to tell me.
’

‘
I don’t.
’

‘
You want this?
’
Kate asked, grabbing Joel’s plate of Thai curry and holding it away from him.

‘
That’s not fair. Give me the food.
’

‘
Tell me what you said to her.
’

‘
Alright, alright, put the plate down.
’

She waited for an explanation.

‘
I told her I knew she wore a wig. I rang my old client, the one I told you about and she gave me the name of her wig maker. You should have seen Miranda’s face when I mentioned the company name, she went white,
I
thought she was going to be sick. I told her if she kept hassling you at work or if she told anyone at the contest that I was an escort I would let every one of her colleagues and every one of her clients know her little secret,
’
Joel told her.

‘
Oh my God!
She really wears a wig? I can’t believe it! She’s so proud of her hair; she flaunts it so much,
’
Kate exclaimed in shock.

‘
Well there you go. So hopefully our secret is safe and you can get on with your work without her trying to sabotage it.
’

‘
Thank you.
’

‘
You don’t have to thank me; I did it for my own benefit as well, that 40% of the prize money,
’
Joel answered.

‘
Do you really think we can win?
’

‘
Yes, don’t you?
’

‘
It started out being something I was pushed into and now I can’t imagine my life without the show,
’
Kate said with a sigh.

‘
You’re going to miss being blindfolded and being asked what you would do if my mother-in-law’s brother was cheating on me?
’
Joel
enquired
.

Kate thought for a moment.

‘
That would be so gross.
’

‘
Decided what to do with the money yet?
’

‘
Pay back Aunt Jess the money she lent me, get her out of my life for good, clear my credit cards and throw the rest at the mortgage I guess.
’

‘
You could sell the house and buy your farm in
France
.
’

‘
How many chickens do you think I’d get?
’

‘
Enough to keep you in omelettes for the rest of your life.
’

‘
Ah, but I would need someone to cook them for me.
’

‘
That could be arranged.
’

Kate smiled at him.

‘
Eurostar
is getting cheaper all the time, especially for weekend breaks,
’
Joel replied, starting to eat again.

Kate swallowed, sensing the meaning in his reply. He didn’t want her.

‘
Mione
it isn’t a real wedding you know, I don’t need a bouquet or a lucky horseshoe,
’
Kate spoke as she and Hermione walked around
Highbridge
Mall.

‘
Of course you need a bouquet, all the other brides will have one and anyway that’s already arranged, it’s being delivered to the hotel tomorrow afternoon.
’

‘
Good God,
’
Kate exclaimed.

‘
Right, we need to find earrings and something for your hair, maybe a fascinator,
’
Hermione said, diving into a jewellery shop.

‘
What on Earth is a fascinator?
’
Kate shrieked, following her friend.

‘
Something pretty to wear in your hair to spruce it up a bit Sweetie.
’

‘
Spruce it up?
’

‘
Well it’s a bit plain isn’t it? We need something floral, perhaps an orchid or how about a gerbera, aren’t they your favourite flowers?
’

‘
Yes they are,
’
Kate answered.

‘
I never knew, Joel told me.
’

‘
Hmm, it seems he knows almost everything about me,
’
Kate replied.

‘
Which is a good thing, seeing as you have a relationship contest to win tomorrow.
So, how’s it been having Joel in your bed? Not that it’s for the first time,
’
Hermione asked as she looked at earrings on the counter.