Stiletto Safari (18 page)

Now for his love life—and yes, there’s quite a bit of salacious gossip, so brace yourself. Apparently he was set to marry Sasha Friend (I’ve nicknamed her “bitch-face” because I already hate her so much). They broke up and he hightailed it for Africa. Bitch-face has made a number of public comments on their relationship. Here are just a few:

“Hamish is the love of my life. We are taking a temporary break due to the difficulties of managing conflicting workloads.”

“Hamish and I will definitely marry at some point. We’re going to have loads of kids. It’s a question of when and not if…”

I’ve attached some articles.

BTW, he is very good-looking so I can see why you’re into him, but check out the supermodel angle before you get too involved!

Now, on an entirely different subject, I am still seeing Craig. I know, I know,—what am I doing? He wants to take me surfing in Hawaii. What do you think? I haven’t said no yet, but have left myself an out by saying that I might not be able to get leave. I really like him, but I’ve been wrong so many times before.

Work is completely horrid, so be thankful you’re not here. There’s a rumor circulating that we’re about to be taken over by Mansfield Jeffries. I have no idea if it’s true, but there have certainly been a lot of closed doors. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything. I’m actively looking for another job.

I can’t wait until you come home. It’s just not the same without you. Send me all your news and your thoughts on what I should do about Craig.

Sal xx

Impatiently, I clicked on the first attachment Sal had sent through. Gorgeous, bikini-clad Sasha Friend beamed back at me. The article was entitled “Our new IT girl: is Sasha Friend hot or what!” The article was shameless self-promotion drivel, with Sasha Friend talking about life as a supermodel and
Hamish Walters, the love of my life…

I checked the date of the article: only eleven months ago. A wave of nausea rolled over me. What was I thinking getting involved with Hamish? I was no Sasha Friend. From all accounts, they were an on-again off-again item, which made me either the rebound girl or the cheap fling. Maybe I should go back to Nick. I wouldn’t have to tell him about Africa—holiday romances can stay on holidays, can’t they?

In the few weeks we’d been together, Hamish hadn’t mentioned Sasha Friend at all, which wasn’t a good sign.

The second attachment was an article about the death of his sister, Bianca. In the middle of the article was a family photograph taken in happier times. I started skimming the text.

The flywire door banged shut. Not bothering to look up, I called out to Ismail, “What did you forget? You’ve been way too quick for a baby.” Behind me I could hear Ismail’s steps. “Don’t worry, e-mail is working just fine for once.”

“Yes, I can see that.” I whirled around. The voice belonged to Hamish and not Ismail.

“What are you doing here?” I stammered, guiltily trying to shut down the article.

“I finished up early and as I was driving back to camp I passed Ismail and Amy. They said you were here,” Hamish replied.

To my horror, the article had frozen on the screen and Ismail’s sorry excuse for a PC was not responding.

“I wasn’t snooping. A friend sent me this…,” I guilty stammered.

Hamish came closer. “She was beautiful, wasn’t she?” He touched the screen with his fingers and sighed. “I should have told you about Bianca, but it’s a very painful memory. I don’t like talking about what happened.

“She was amazing. Quite a lot like you, actually. Beautiful, headstrong, competitive, and at times a total pain in the ass. Growing up, she was my best friend, although an annoying friend because she was better than me at absolutely everything. She could ride better, got better grades, and was terrific at every sport she tried. I really looked up to her.”

“So what happened?” I asked. Of course, the question I really wanted to ask was, “Are you still dating that stupid blonde bimbo,” but that just seemed insensitive.

He went on, lost in the moment. “Before Bianca died, our mother was extremely ill. After numerous visits to specialists, she was diagnosed with a very rare virus. The virus attacked her brain and central nervous system before she finally received treatment. Her recovery was a long-drawn-out affair, and we were worried about losing her more than once.

“Given her condition, Bianca and I both agreed to spend the Christmas holidays at home. The night of the accident, we were at an old family friend’s for Christmas drinks.

“The drinks were dull. To compensate, both Bianca and I drank too much. By the time we were ready to leave, Bianca was in no state to drive. Even though I’d been driving for years around the estate, I didn’t have my license, and besides, I was pretty far gone. Mother seemed fine; she’d only had one drink, so she drove.

“The evening was bitterly cold and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. Even though we were in a four-by-four, the roads were slippery.

“As we rounded a tight bend, an oncoming car shone its high beam at us. Mother panicked and we slid off the steep embankment. Our car rolled several times before smashing into a tree. Mother was knocked unconscious, and I sustained a number of fractures. All I can remember is that Bianca’s face was a ghastly white and she had blood streaming from her ears, which I later learned is one of the telltale signs of fatal head trauma.

“Somehow I managed to call emergency services and then passed out. The rest is a blur. I remember coming to and being the only one still in the vehicle. When I properly woke, I was in hospital. No one would tell me what had happened to Bianca or to mother.

“As soon as I saw my father’s face, I knew the news wasn’t good. It sounds trite to say, but he’d literally aged overnight. He sat on the edge of the bed and told me Bianca was dead. They weren’t sure if mother was going to make it.

“The police paid me a visit the next day. They asked a number of questions about the minutes before the accident. According to them, the car that we’d passed had veered onto our side of the road, which is probably why we careered over the embankment. Disgustingly, the occupants of the other car hadn’t reported the accident, even though they must have seen it. The police never found the other driver.

“After two weeks, I was allowed out of hospital. Apparently I was lucky, because I’d narrowly avoided breaking my spine. My arm, two ribs, and my collarbone were broken. Mother was discharged two weeks after me.

“There was a considerable amount of interest in the accident. Because mother and I were still in hospital and couldn’t attend Bianca’s funeral, a memorial service was held six weeks after the accident. Hundreds of people turned up. In life my sister was very much loved, and in death she was sorely missed.

“A number of gossip columnists attended the memorial service. That’s when the crazy stories about the accident started to circulate. Initially, the speculation was that Bianca or I had been driving the car stoned or drunk. Because I’d been expelled from school and I didn’t have a license, I became the easy target.

“Of course mother wanted to clear my name, but I didn’t think it was necessary. We’d all been through enough. What happened that night was no one’s business, and after a few days the press lost interest and moved on.”

Hamish paused. When I looked up at him, I saw that he had tears in his eyes. Impulsively, I dried them with my fingers. Looking down, he smiled at me before tousling my hair. “Any more questions from my inquisitive girlfriend?”

Fifteen minutes ago I would have been thrilled to hear the word “girlfriend,” but now all I could think about was Sasha bloody Friend. Clearing my throat, I said in a small voice, “Tell me about Sasha Friend.”

Hamish rolled his eyes and a dark cloud passed over his face. Wearily he sighed, “Sasha Friend keeps ruining my life.”

Not quite the answer I was expecting. In fact, it was a much better answer. He hated her! Impatiently, I waited for Hamish to go on.

“We only dated for a couple of months, but that’s all anyone ever asks me about. If you want to know the complete truth, Sasha was a big mistake. As soon as I realized how little we had in common, I ended things.”

“So why does she say that you’re the love of her life and one day you two are destined to get back together?”

Hamish looked surprised. “How do you know that?”

“Come on, Hamish, the article in
Cosmo
—the whole world knows,” I answered exasperatedly.

Hamish shook his head slowly. “Well, I don’t read
Cosmo
, but I can tell you that Sasha and I are over, period. So you’re going to have to take my word for it.”

“So why is she coming here?”

This time Hamish looked completely taken aback. “What do you mean?” he said sharply.

Looking at his face, I could see that he really hadn’t known.

“
Vogue,
” I sighed, “although I really wasn’t meant to tell anyone. I just figured you already knew. She’s coming in a month.”

Hamish sat down dumbfounded. I needed him to leave so I could deal with Nick’s e-mail which was sitting in a visible window at the bottom of the screen.

“Would you like a coffee?” I lovingly asked.

“Sure, that would be nice,” he murmured in response.

“Actually, would you mind making it? I just need to finish something off before shutting down.” As anticipated, Hamish wandered compliantly to the kitchen.

As soon as I heard the kettle hum, I clicked on Nick’s e-mail. I decided for now to take the coward’s way out:

This message has not been delivered to its intended recipient.

Guiltily, I hit send just as I felt Hamish kiss the top of my head.

Chapter 28

T

hree weeks later, I still hadn’t summoned up the courage to write to Nick. Hamish and I were officially a couple and Sasha Friend was due to turn up in ten days!

With every passing day I was feeling more and more agitated. I needed the girls’ advice, so I headed up to Ismail and Amy’s to e-mail. Of course, there was a party going on, so I was going to have to be quick:

Help!

Bitch-face is arriving in less than two weeks. What do I do? Let’s face it, she’s gorgeous, successful, rich, and did I mention gorgeous?

Hamish tells me it’s all over, but what if he changes his mind once she arrives?

Am I right to be worried or am I just being totally paranoid?

Sighing, I hit send, knowing I probably wasn’t going to get a response for at least a couple of hours.

Perhaps I should just devise Hamish a simple little “how much do you love your girlfriend” quiz and leave it casually lying about. In fact, it might be the mature thing to do rather than getting all worked up over potentially nothing. I could ask subtle questions like:

    1. Do you prefer:

        a. Brunettes; or

        b. Trashy blondes

    3. Is your ideal life partner:

        a. A sexy, smart woman with a real job; or

        b. A dumb bimbo who probably can’t read?

    3. If you were in a great new relationship and your slutty ex-girlfriend came to town and wanted to have sex, would you:

        a. Take out a restraining order; or

        b. Have sex and hope your new girlfriend never finds out?

I was ruminating about question four when I heard the computer ping. Sal had already responded.

Amazing ESP! I was just e-mailing you. I’m so pleased you’re online right now. You’re not going to believe it: this morning I got a job offer from GE (corporate counsel in their commercial legal division) and I’m going to resign from Harvey & Rose this afternoon. It is the weirdest feeling ever. I mean, I’m feeling excited, but also nervous. Everything has happened so quickly. Let me know what you think. Am I making a mistake?

Mmm…I know this is not the answer you want to hear, but honestly, I’d be worried about bitch-face. Don’t get me wrong: you’re gorgeous and the best, but can you really imagine a guy who wouldn’t want to date her? She’s famous! Still, I guess Hamish did break up with her, so maybe everything is fine and you really don’t need to worry about things. Just remember to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. At least that’s what I’d do.

I’m off to Hawaii with Craig. I’m actually really looking forward to it. Can you imagine me having a bona fide holiday? I won’t be able to check work e-mails because I’ll be between jobs. I won’t know what to do with myself!

In case you haven’t heard, Nick is a free man.

Oh my god, I couldn’t believe how much had changed in the last few weeks. Sal really was leaving Harvey & Rose and she was now dating laid-back Craig.

Selfishly, the thought of Sal leaving Harvey & Rose horrified me. I’d be so lost and lonely without her. Deep down, though, I knew it was for the best. Sal needed a life, not to be chained to a desk 24/7.

I pondered her advice. She was right, of course. I was going to have to watch Sasha Friend like a bloody hawk.

Another ping, this time from Emi:

Gorgeous girl, I’m between practice sessions so can’t write much. You have nothing to worry about—you’re just as hot as bitch-face (I feel so mean calling her that, by the way)! Am loving France and Henri is totally adorable. Will write more tomorrow xxxxE

Hearing from the girls made me feel depressed. I wondered if it would ever be the three of us again in New York. Still, I couldn’t begrudge my friends their wonderful new lives; I quickly sent Sal a reply saying that she should go for it. I wondered how her resignation would go down. Probably not well; that girl was a workhorse and billed more hours than many lawyers more senior than her.