(2012) Evie Undercover (33 page)

‘Nothing till Friday. I’ll phone the editor on Friday
, leaving
it as late in the day as I possibly can to make it hard for him to talk to Tom before I do.
I
’
ll
tell him where to stick his job, and then I’ll tell Tom the truth when I see him that evening. Tom suggested that I stay on at the house on Friday until he gets home, which I shall do. We’re going out for a meal in the evening and there’s no point in my coming all the way back here first.’

‘It
’s
all coming together, i
sn’t it? I’m so pleased for you, Evie.’

‘You’ve no idea how much better I feel about everything now. I really can’t believe that me having been on the staff of
Pure Dirt
for
a few
minutes will mean the end of Tom and me – it’s not as if I ever gave them a story about anyone.
No, t
hat’s not going to happen
.
I think
it’s going to turn out alright. All the same, though, I’ll be glad when Friday night is over.’

‘I can’t see Tom holding it against you, either. He must know you well enough by now to know that you’re not the sort of person who’d ever dish up dirt about anyone.’

‘I certainly hope he does.’ She gave a deep sigh, stretched her legs out in front of her and stared at her fluffy pink slippers. ‘It’s a shame it’s Tuesday, or I’d suggest that we go out and celebrate when Rachel gets home, but I don’t fancy having a head like whatever tomorrow morning. I want to have my wits about me
this week
.’

‘
You ought
to ring Gabriela
and tell her what happened, if you haven’t done so.
’

Evie pulled a face. ‘I seem to have had rather a lot of Gabriela lately
. But
you’re right
,
I should
. A
fter all, it’s thanks to her that I’m still with Tom and not a d
istraught
wreck by now.
I’ll make sure I don’t get into a conversation, though.
I wonder what time she gets home. I don’t like to ring when she’s at work – it might be awkward for her.’

‘If it’s awkward, she won’t pick up.’ Jess stood up, picked up the empty cups and
took them
into the kitchen. There was a clatter as she pu
t the crockery next to the sink.
‘Hey, talk of the devil,’ she shouted a moment later. ‘Get the door, Evie.
It’s
Gabriela
–
she
’s getting out of a taxi. Wow!
That
gold jacket’s to die
for. And my God, her fuck-me
heels could be Miu Miu sandals!’

‘Shit, shit, shit,’ Evie muttered under her breath. A quick phone call would have been so much easier. She absolutely was not in the mood for another girlie evening with Gabriela, not in the middle of the week, not when all she wanted was a quiet evening with her housemates. Yes, she was very grateful to Gabriela, but enough was enough, and enough was fast becoming too much.

Reluctantly hauling herself up off the sofa, she shuffled to the door in her slippers. As she raised her hand to unlock the door, the bell sounded.

‘Hi, Gabriela!’ she said, opening the door wide and standing back to let her in. ‘I almost beat you to the door. Jess saw you getting out of a cab.’

Gabriela beamed at her.
‘Hello, Evie.’
As s
he stepped
into the house
, her expression chang
ed
to one of apology. ‘I hope you don’t mind me
visiting you
without
an invitation
. I had to call on a design company in Highgate to introduce myself, and the taxi driver said that we must pass fairly close to where you live, so I asked him to drop me here. But if it is difficult, I can leave.’ She half turned back to the door.

‘No, you’re OK. You must have a cup of something or a glass of wine. I won’t suggest a meal, though, if you don’t mind, as we’re eating scraps tonight
. W
e
’re
clearing the fridge of everything left over from the last year – anything that isn’t too mouldy or green will be eaten. Also I’m pretty tired and want an early night. But come on in.’

She closed the door behind Gabriela and led the way into the communal area.

‘You can be sure that I will not stay for long,’ Gabriela began apologetically. ‘I know you are tired and that’s one of the reasons
I am here
. Y
ou sounded so tired last night that I was quite worried about you. Another reason is that I wanted to k
now how things were
with the editor. These two things are obviously connected.’

‘That’s very kind of you, but you needn’t worry
.
I’m fine, or I will be when I’ve had a good night’s sleep. Here.’ She indicated the armchair. ‘Take a seat. What can I get you to drink?’

‘Just a coffee, please.’

Jess appeared in the k
itchen doorway. ‘Hi, Gabriela!
It’s nice to see you again. You sit down, Evie
.
I’ll get the coffee. D’you want another one?’

‘OK, thanks.’

‘Right. I won’t be two ticks.’

Evie sat down on the sofa
and curled her legs under her
. ‘You were absolutely right about the editor. I was going to phone you and tell you so. I’ve got a stay of execution until Friday, and that’s when I’ll quit the job. I’m really grateful to you for your advice
–
I would never have thought of that myself.’

‘Not at all
. I
t was a pleasure.’

Jess came into the room carrying a tray
with three coffees
.

‘Thank you, Jess,’ Gabriela said, taking one.

‘I didn’t know if you took milk so I’ve put some in a jug. And there’s sugar, too. Just help yourself.’

‘You’re very kind.’

Jess put the tray down on the table and went and sat next to Evie. She took the last two
mugs
from the tray, gave one of them to Evie, leaned back and took a sip of her
drink. ‘So, h
ow’s the new job coming, Gabriela, or is it too soon to tell?’

‘No, I don’t think it is. I think I’m going to enjoy it. It certainly will be a challenge, but I like challenges. They bring the adrenalin and add excitement to life.’

Jess laughed. ‘I’m afraid I like my excitement
to be
out
side my work
. What exactly are you going to be doing? It’s a design company, isn’t it?’

‘Oh, it will be too boring for you if I explain. And it will take too long. I am overseeing a rather complicated design project for an Italian company. The company that I work for in Italy has transferred me here for a year to do this. But Evie is tired and I want her to have some rest so I will tell you about the project some other day, if you wish. Besides, I have something quite interesting to tell Evie.’

‘You do?’ Evie asked, surprise in her voice. ‘What
sort of interesting
?’

‘Our family has found a wife for Eduardo, and Eduardo is very happy about it.’

‘
No kidding
!’ Evie exclaimed. ‘That’s a bit sudden. Or isn’t it?’

A
stab
of
mixed
emotion shot through her
. She was ple
ased for Edua
rdo – of course she was
–
but
she was
also a touch put out that he coul
d transfer his affections f
rom
her
to someone else
with such speed.
M
entally
she
kick
ed herself
–
how pet
ty was that
?
S
he
push
ed
back
her grievance
and focus
ed
on being
pleased
that a very kind man had found someone
who wanted
to share his life.

‘Not really. They’ve known each other for many years. Eduardo was very attracted to her, but her family could not resist an offer made to her by a very wealthy man with businesses that would have been compatible with her family’s businesses. They accepted his offer, and the two became engaged. Eduardo was heartbroken. But now, some months later, there is a problem about the engagement, and the girl’s family has approached my family this week, indicating very subtly that Eduardo would now be welcomed as a suitor.’

‘I’m so pleased, Gabriela,’ Evie said. ‘
That’
s wonderful news. He’s such a nice person
, and
he deserves to be very happy.’

‘I’m glad that one of us is pleased,’ Jess muttered. ‘I’m not. And Rachel won’t be.’

Gabriela laughed. ‘You’ll get over this great disappointment, I think, Jess. Rachel, too.’

‘I must ring Eduardo and tell him how happy I am for him.’ Evie looked at her watch. ‘In fact, despite the hour’s difference, it’s still quite early in Italy
–
I could ring him this evening.’

‘No, you must not,’ Gabriela cut in quickly. She leaned forward in her chair. ‘These are delicate matters, Evie, and family honour is involved. The discussions could still break down, although we hope very much that they will not. It would be humiliating for Eduardo if they broke down and people outside the family knew about this. Please, do not ring him
,
not until I tell you that it is a formal engagement. Then he will be very pleased to hear from you.’

‘I can see what you mean. OK, I won’t ring him
until you give me the all clear.
I’d hate to hurt him
.
I do like him very much. Now, Gabriela, to change the subject
.
Jess and I want to know your secret.’ Gabriela
seemed to stiffen slightly
.
How strange
,
Evie thought.
She shrugged
inwardly
and
carried on,
‘How do you manage to look as immaculate at the end of the day as you do at the start of the day?’

Gabriela gave a tinkling little laugh, slipped off her gold jacket, sat back in the armchair and crossed one cream-trousered leg over the other.

How easy it all had been,
Gabriela
thought with an inward sneer as she walked away from the Camden Town house. It was like taking candy from a baby, as the Americans would say.

A few well chosen words, and there was no longer any risk of Evie contacting Eduardo when Tom threw her out of his life. As he would. Very soon.

There
would never again
be a
ny
risk of an
alliance between
Evie
and
Eduardo
,
and
the Evie and Tom abomination
would not
survive beyond the start of the following week. And it had all been so easy.

With a spring of euphoria in her step, she raised her arm and hailed a taxi.

Chapter Twenty-two

… and the sky darkens.

F
or the second time in five minutes
,
Evie stared at the clock on the corner of the large mahogany desk
. It
now
said a quarter past two.

As soon as she’d arrived at Tom’s house that morning, she’d turned the clock
to face her and she’
d
glanced
at it at regular intervals ever since. She hadn’t been able to concentrate on her work at all, she’d been in such a state
of anxiety. A
nd her anxiety had got worse with every silent passing minute.

She was absolutely
certain
that h
er editor
was going to
call
. H
e
would
give her a verbal lashing
, followed by
an ultimatum that reversed every
thing he’d said the
evening
before, and i
t
was
all
going to go pear-shaped.

How different everything had looked that morning
when she
’d
got up, compared with
the way it had looked the night before.

The night befo
re, she’d been on a super high.