Claudia's Big Break (28 page)

I held up my hand. ‘It's the sorry story of my life. All the men I've known have used me in one way or another. Thanks for being here today, Angie. It's funny, the first time I met you, I thought you liked Jack.'

‘As in wanted to shag him?'

‘Something like that.'

‘Whatever gave you that idea? I don't, by the way.'

‘No, I know. Just me being suspicious. I thought Jack was too good to be true. Turns out, he is.'

Angie pulled me towards her in a bear hug. ‘None of this is your fault, Claudia,' she said when she let me go. ‘How were you to know what Marcus and Con were up to?'

I shook my head. ‘I can explain about Marcus —'

‘You don't have to. It's none of my business. I'm sure you had your reasons.'

Did I? Did I have a reason for sleeping with Marcus, or did I just do it because it felt good when he paid attention to me? Because I felt special when Marcus paused for an extra couple of minutes in my office every morning when he did his rounds?

‘So the memory stick held a code?' I said.

‘Yeah, and once accessed, vast sums of money could have been drained from the company's bank accounts, including overdraft facilities which ran into the millions.'

‘And I was the one who almost made it all possible?'

‘Unfortunately, Claudia, that's exactly what Jack was thinking.'

Moments later, the door knob turned and Jack walked in. ‘Claudia,' he said, putting his hand on my shoulder, ‘you're free to go.'

Thank goodness. I couldn't believe it. I shrugged his hand off my shoulder. ‘You mean it's over?'

‘Not quite.'

He just had to rain on my parade.

‘We'll print out a transcript of your interview and I'll need you to sign it tomorrow. We'll also need you present at Marcus Cassoli's hearing in Brisbane later this year.'

‘Sure.' Whatever. I wanted to get out of there, go back to the apartment and have a shower. ‘Just one thing, Jack — they won't' be coming after me because I dobbed, will they?'

‘Who?'

‘Con and his mates.'

‘Doubt it. Con's on his way to Athens. He's going to be busy for the next seven to ten years. You don't have to worry about him.'

‘And Marcus?'

‘Marcus will also be busy.'

I nodded and walked towards the door with my head held high and Angie beside me.

‘Claudia,' Jack called out. ‘You'll have to repay the twenty thousand dollars as soon as you land in Australia.'

Excellent. Financial Armageddon.

Part of me wanted to ask why Jack had lied to me, why he hadn't simply asked me about all this before it got out of hand. But I couldn't face him a moment longer.

I was over it.

And over him.

I walked out the door still feeling wretched. Of course the holiday had been too good to be true. Even though I'd had an affair with Marcus, a free European holiday was an extravagant pay-off. Not to mention the money. He'd never cared for me at all, he'd just been using me. The same with Jack bloody Harper. What was it with men and me?

24

I
t was close to five o'clock by the time we arrived back at the apartment. Vacillating between tears and blind rage, there were so many things I was upset about I didn't know where to begin.

Firstly, I was furious with myself for allowing Marcus to use me for his sinister ends. None of this would have happened had I not slept with him. And then to find out there were other women as well! Still, I couldn't help feeling shocked that Marcus would do something like this. He might have been a faithless jerk, but I wouldn't have thought he was a criminal with connections around the world. Would Marcus really have let me take the rap for this? Apparently so.

‘Claudia, it happens — a lot more than you think, sweetheart,' said Angie as we sat on the terrace with Sophie and Tara some time later.

‘That makes me feel
so
much better,' I said before bursting into tears again. Obviously, there were a hell of a lot of idiots like me in the world. It wasn't a comforting thought.

‘You couldn't have known,' Tara said.

‘Yes I could. You told me I was getting into serious shit. But I didn't listen to you.'

‘There's one thing I don't get,' said Sophie, twirling her ringlets in contemplation. ‘Angie said that you'll have to pay back the thousands of dollars Marcus gave you. Why did he give you so much money in the first place?'

Tara and Angie looked at me and then uncomfortably at each other, but said nothing.

‘I'll see what the boys are up to,' said Angie finally, standing up.

‘I'll join you,' said Tara, and they both disappeared inside.

‘Sophie —'

‘What is it?' she said, squeezing my hand.

I couldn't believe I was about to destroy her faith in me again.

‘I slept with Marcus.'

‘No,' she started.

‘I did.'

‘What? You're kidding? He's married, for God's sake,' Sophie said, practically spitting out the words.

‘Separated.'

‘Did you love him? Did you intend becoming his second wife?'

‘No. I don't know. I was confused.'

My answer seemed to infuriate her further. ‘If you weren't in love with him, why the hell would you do it? Why would you play with people's lives that way? His wife? Their children?'

‘It wasn't like that, I promise. I had no intention of going to bed with him but he was so kind and sympathetic about all the stuff with George —'

Sophie rolled her eyes.

‘Okay,' I said, putting my hands up. ‘I have no reason. It was inexcusable.' I slept with a married man. End of story. No matter how much I tried to reason why, I couldn't. My morals were in the gutter. Marcus didn't force me. He didn't declare his undying love for me. Neither of us did.

Sophie was seething. ‘So it was just something you did to pass the time?'

‘It wasn't that either. I like — liked — Marcus, a lot.'

‘So the fact that this man had a wife and children didn't matter?'

I didn't answer. How many times could I tell her Marcus was separated? Besides, it was beginning to sound lame even to me.

‘How can I compete when there are women like you, waiting to pounce on every married man that comes along? Women like you, who are funny and charming and don't have to worry doing about doing the laundry or grocery shopping?'

‘This isn't about you, Sophie.'

‘Of course it's about me. It's about every married woman who's cheated on by their husbands with single women who don't give a damn about anyone but themselves. They think they're so goddamn special.'

‘I'm not special.'

‘You got that right,' Sophie fumed. ‘You're a walking cliché!'

I shook my head. An affair was only a cliché until you were smack bang in the middle of it, living the lie every day.

Sophie wasn't finished. ‘You're a disgrace, Claudia.'

‘I'm so sorry,' was all I could manage.

‘It's not me you should be apologising to.' With that Sophie turned and walked up the stairs towards the road that led into Fira.

I thought about chasing her but I couldn't face another scene. Maybe after she'd had time to think, she'd feel less furious. And as angry as she was with me, I was even angrier with myself. I knew what I'd done with Marcus was wrong.

‘That went well,' said Tara when she and Angie walked back outside.

‘What am I going to do?'

‘Sophie's in shock. Give her time,' Angie suggested.

Tara wrapped her arms around me. ‘God, you get yourself into some situations.'

‘I know. I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess.' I thought for a few more minutes before speaking again. ‘I keep going over everything again and again. My brain won't let it rest. I know that sleeping with Marcus was selfish and I have no one to blame but myself. And I know he used me to get to Con —'

‘I doubt Marcus knew how far Con's criminal tentacles stretched,' said Angie. ‘Jack thinks Marcus was duped into believing Con was the answer to all his financial worries.'

‘And he had me to pin it on if things went wrong.' I closed my eyes and shook my head. ‘I can't forgive myself for putting you guys in danger.'

‘We were never in danger,' said Tara. ‘It was our overactive imaginations.'

Just then Sophie walked back down the stairs. I got up out of my chair and walked over to her. ‘I'm so sorry, Soph.'

‘So am I.' Sophie sighed. ‘You thought he was separated. It happens.'

‘Thanks, but I had no business sleeping with him.'

‘It takes two. Anyway, how are you feeling? About Jack?'

I burst into tears. Jack! I couldn't get over the fact that he'd used me as well. He'd been following me since Brisbane airport, maybe even before.

‘Jack never liked me,' I said coldly. ‘He never fancied me.'

‘I really do think Jack liked you,' said Sophie.

‘Whenever the two of you were together he did seem attentive,' observed Tara.

‘Of course he was fucking attentive,' I yelled, finding my fury and pushing away the almond cake Angie had given me. ‘He was pumping me for information. That's all he cared about. It wasn't a coincidence we met in Brisbane or in Athens or again in Santorini. How dumb am I? Why couldn't I see he was following me? I was vital to his investigation. Prick. Pratt. Pig face.'

The three of them sat there, mouths open, staring at me.

‘Feeling better?' said Tara finally.

‘Yes, actually.' I blew my nose, wiped away my tears and sat up properly in the chair. ‘I swear, as God is my witness,' I said, crossing my heart, ‘I will never have another boyfriend! I'm going to become a nun.'

‘Now, now,' Sophie said.

‘Why not? My life's fucked anyway.'

Sophie knew better than to try to reason with me.

‘He fooled us as well,' Tara said. ‘Men, hey?'

‘All this time he was just stringing me along. Doing his job.' I was so furious, I was practically spitting. ‘I was part of his investigation.' I stopped, thought for a moment, then screamed, ‘Which makes the fact that he slept with me an absolute disgrace!'

I was exhausted and ashamed. I wanted to go home to Tara's cosy little terrace on the other side of the world and hide from everyone for a month, a year — as long as I could. Who cared that I was destined to end up wearing Sophie's knitting, surrounded by cats? I'd had enough. I was defeated. I never ever wanted to think about Jack Harper again.

‘Have you done a poo today, Mummy?' Levi asked Sophie when she and I walked back inside to check on the boys. Sophie pretended she didn't hear him. He followed us into the kitchen where we retrieved two enormous chocolate blocks from the fridge.

‘Poo? Did you do a poo, Mum?'

‘Levi, I really don't want to talk about this right now.'

‘Mine was huge. The biggest poo I've eber done. Bigger than a dragon's. I watched it swirl down the toilet. Now Harry's doing one and I'm watching him. We neeb toilet paper.'

Sophie retrieved a roll of paper from the kitchen cupboard. ‘I really don't want to know.'

As we walked out of the kitchen, Levi ran ahead to the bathroom, presumably to check on the state of Harry's bowels. Then I noticed Sophie's shocked expression. ‘You okay?'

‘There,' Sophie said quietly, pointing out to the terrace. I looked. Tara and Angie were locked in a passionate embrace. It was a sweet, intimate moment and I felt as though we were intruding on it.

I turned a very rigid Sophie around and marched her back towards the kitchen.

‘What was that about?' she exploded, moments later.

‘Well, they evidently like each other.' I paused. ‘A lot.'

‘But how? When? Where? When did all this happen?'

‘A few nights ago,' came a voice from around the corner. Tara helped herself to a piece of chocolate, then wrapped her arms around us. ‘Isn't it great? I think I'm falling in love.'

As she twirled back out to the patio, Sophie and I peeked outside. Angie was nowhere to be seen. But there were voices coming from the bathroom. Angie was on toilet duty. Sophie and I saw our chance and ran out onto the terrace with our chocolate.

‘So this is where your inspiration has sprung from?' I squealed to Tara, hugging her. ‘Angie!'

‘I'm stunned,' said Sophie, dropping the chocolate onto the table and flopping into a deckchair.

‘I can't believe you kept this from us,' I said, lunging at Angie when she rejoined us. ‘Spill!'

‘We wanted to tell you,' Tara said, holding Angie's hand, ‘But what with Levi disappearing yesterday and your arrest today, Claud —'

‘Apparently I wasn't arrested,' I corrected. ‘I was detained.' I'd momentarily forgotten about the whole humiliating debacle. ‘Anyway, enough about me, tell us about you two.'

‘I knew Angie was special as soon as we met,' admitted Tara.

Angie smiled. ‘Same.'

‘Those first few days when we all hung out together with Harry and Levi, we just clicked.'

‘Obviously.'

‘Then that night after the beach, after you left, Soph, we kissed.'

‘I had no idea,' I said.

‘I thought you might have guessed something was up when I didn't come home,' Tara said.

Sophie and I looked at each other and I slapped Tara's arm. ‘We had no idea you didn't come home.'

‘You didn't come home?' Sophie said. ‘At all?' Sophie's jaw was still lying rigid on the floor.

‘Nope. After we put Harry to bed, we stayed up all night talking, kissing . . .'

‘Making plans,' Angie continued.

‘Plans?' I repeated, raising my eyebrows.