Time After Time (29 page)

‘Well, yes. I mean, we … the conflict. You see … I …’

‘Charles,’ said Max, ‘stop babbling nonsensical rubbish. It’s clear what you’ve been doing behind our backs.’ He sniffed and looked at his watch. ‘Time to put an end to it.’

Charles jumped up and jabbed his index finger in the air towards Hayley. ‘Why couldn’t you just quit?’ he fired off. ‘I could have replaced you like that.’ He snapped his fingers.

‘What?’ Hayley said, standing to face him. ‘You little –’

‘You always were his favourite. All those years he mentored you, gave you opportunities, sent you to Chicago. That should have been
me
.’

Hayley put both hands on the boardroom table as she leaned forwards. ‘I worked hard for years and you –’

‘Oh save it, Hayley,’ Charles said, holding up a hand. ‘I have plenty of friends I could slot right into your seat without anybody even noticing. But Tony kept convincing everyone that you’re something special. Yeah, I bet he thinks that alright, what with all the late nights you spend
working
together. And –’

‘Charles,’ Tony said loudly, ‘if I were you I’d stop right there or you’ll be needing an ambulance.’

‘You’re threatening me?’ Charles shouted. ‘Really, Tony?’

‘Nobody will be needing an ambulance,’ Max said, holding his hands up. ‘But, Charles, you
will
be needing a lawyer. Oh, wait a moment.’ He cocked his head to one side and smiled icily. ‘You’ve got one. Klingel’s, right?’

Hayley glanced around the room. Steven, Bhupinder and Tony’s eyes were all staring at Charles. The three blind mice could have cut the atmosphere with a rusty butter knife.

‘Well,’ said Steven, ‘I put forward that Charles’ partnership with the firm be suspended immediately, pending a thorough investigation. We’ll also address the partnership investment. Those who agree please say Aye.’

A chorus of ‘Aye’s’ resounded around the room. Hayley saw Thorsten Berger’s head bobbing up and down on the screen avidly, even though he technically didn’t have a vote.

‘You may leave now, Charles,’ said Max. ‘You’re …
dismissed
.’

‘I’m not going to make it easy for you,’ Charles hissed as he looked around the table. ‘Any of you.’ And then he disappeared through the doorway faster than you could say
busted
.

‘Are you alright, Hayley?’ Thorsten’s voice travelled around the meeting room, finally making it to the depths of her brain.

A broad smile spread across her face. ‘I’m fine, Thorsten. Really I am.’

‘Hayley,’ Tony said as he grabbed her by the shoulders, his smile as wide as hers. ‘How long have you known?’

‘About four hours,’ she said and burst out laughing.

‘What? Jesus,’ he shook his head. ‘I can’t believe he’s been picking off potential clients.’

‘Oh I can,’ Hayley said. ‘He wanted me out. You too, probably. One way or another. I reckon it was divide and conquer. Me first, then you. Or the other way around. I don’t think he cared much, to be honest.’

‘But …’ Tony scratched his head. ‘It’s his dad’s firm. And it wouldn’t be as successful without you.’

‘Or you,’ Hayley said.

‘Jealousy and envy can do very strange things to a person.’ Steven had made his way around the table and stood beside them. ‘But I’ve never heard of this level of manipulation within a company. It’s poison and I’m sorry. Truly.’

‘Thank you,’ Hayley said. ‘That means a lot.’

‘And what about the Berger deal then?’ Tony said, looking from Hayley to Thorsten on the TV screen and back again. ‘It’s …’

‘Perfectly safe, Tony,’ Thorsten called out, and he held both his thumbs up with his arms outstretched. ‘Hayley and I discussed everything this morning. With your help, we’ll sign it when I’m back in London next week.’

Hayley felt months of tension rush out of her body. It was over. It was
all
over. She covered her face with her hands.

‘Stay on the line, could you Thorsten?’ Max said. ‘I’d like you to witness what I’m about to suggest. Sit down everyone, please.’ He turned to everybody around the table as they took their seats and the room fell silent.

‘We’ve discussed this on various occasions and I think we should do so again immediately.’ He paused and looked at Hayley. ‘We all know Ronald wanted you to become a partner, but his untimely death and Charles’… antics have delayed things considerably. Gentlemen, it’s time to put that right. All in favour of Hayley becoming a partner in this law firm please say Aye.’

Everybody repeated Aye and banged their palms on the table. Thorsten cheered and shouted, ‘Bravo, Hayley.’

‘Bloody hell,’ Hayley said, although she assumed nobody could hear a word over the noise anyway. ‘I … I …’

‘And,’ Max said raising his hands, smiling and trying to control the mayhem, ‘We shall also extend a partnership offer to Tony. Something else we should have done a long time ago. Everybody in agreement, please say Aye.’

Steven, Bhupinder and Max leapt up and shook hands with Hayley and Tony. By the time they were done her arm ached and her cheeks hurt from the hundred thousand mega-watt smile plastered on her face.

‘You
devil
,’ Tony said when they finally had a few seconds to speak to each other. ‘Why didn’t you tell me everything as soon as I got here?’

‘What?’ Hayley said with a confused look. ‘And spoil the surprise?’

Then she flung her arms around him, no longer caring if her brand new partners, or Thorsten Berger, saw her cry like a baby.

As the days went by, Hayley started to wonder if the whole surreal experience had been a bad dream and attempted to put everything behind her. But after waking up almost every night with sweaty shouts of, ‘No!’, and clinging onto Rick as if he were a lifeboat, she decided there was only one way she could prove to herself that she wasn’t going mad. Besides, she couldn’t stop the feelings of curiosity from rising within her. She had to know.

Chris was relatively easy to find. She searched for the club called Crowbar and sure enough, he regularly appeared as a guest DJ. When she walked up to him at the club the following weekend, his jaw dropped and he almost scratched one of his records.

‘Hayley,’ he shouted over the music, his face beaming. ‘Hell’s bells. What are you doing here? I can’t believe it’s you. Hang on, let me get someone to take over and we can have a chat.’ He took her to a local pub and grinned every time he looked at her.

‘I always wondered what happened to you,’ he said. ‘You were such a cool girlfriend.’

Hayley waved a hand. ‘Don’t be daft, you were the cool one, remember? You were my Johnny Castle.’

Chris slapped his thigh. ‘You and your Johnny Castle obsession.’ His face turned serious. ‘I still feel bad about the day your dad hauled my arse out of the house. And good for him. I was an idiot.’

‘Don’t worry, we were young and passionate and … stupid,’ she said, waving a hand. ‘So what happened afterwards? What have you been up to?’

‘Well,’ he shifted in his seat, leaned forward and lowered his voice, ‘I got involved with the wrong crowd. Almost got the sack. But then Mum died and I lost the house because I couldn’t keep up with the mortgage. Not having anyone to look after me sorted me out pretty quickly. I grew up sharpish.’

‘I’m sorry to hear about your mum,’ Hayley offered.

‘Ah, cheers,’ he said, sitting back. ‘She was a battle-axe alright, but I still loved her. Shame she gave up the booze too late.’

Hayley nodded. ‘And you’re married?’

‘Yeah, for almost twelve years now. Patricia keeps me on the straight and narrow,’ he said, ‘and we’ve got two boys.’ He pulled his wallet from his pocket and took out a photograph. The boys were the spitting image of him, clad in Chelsea shirts and holding up pliers and screwdrivers. ‘Connor’s nine and Max is twelve.’ Chris said as he pointed them out. ‘They want to be electricians when they grow up. See?’ He beamed. ‘Just like their dad.’

‘It’s great to see you so happy,’ Hayley said.

‘Thanks,’ Chris answered. ‘I hated losing you like that, but if you hadn’t dumped me, none of this would have happened, you know what I mean?’

Hayley smiled. ‘I know exactly what you mean,’ she said as she patted his arm, ‘believe me.’

Hayley tried to track Ian down but his phone number was unlisted and his Internet profile practically non-existent. She found articles in business magazines but chickened out of calling his office or going to the house in Belgravia. One evening her phone rang just as she was on her way home from the office.

‘Listen to this,’ Ellen shrieked as soon as Hayley picked up. ‘You’re not going to believe it.’

‘Try me.’ Hayley grinned. Flying pigs, pots of gold at the end of rainbows – even the existence of Hogwarts wouldn’t have come as a surprise. ‘Bet you I will.’

‘Remember how you were wondering what happened to your exes?’

Hayley laughed and sat in her office chair. ‘Oh yes. Vividly.’

‘Well, are you sitting comfortably?’ Ellen said in an old-fashioned, posh voice. ‘Then I’ll begin. This is in today’s paper. Listen!’ She drew a dramatic breath and read out loud. ‘Mrs. Fitzpatrick, wife of well-known multi-millionaire businessman George Fitzpatrick, co-founder of GF Investments Ltd, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.’

‘
What
?’

‘So you know who this Fitzpatrick geezer is? Did you meet him?’

Hayley swallowed and shooed the image of George reaching for her crotch out of her mind. ‘Only once and that was enough. What else does it say?’

‘Listen, it’s mental. Mrs. Fitzpatrick is accused of attempting to poison Mrs. Beatrice Graham, the wife of Mr. Fitzpatrick’s business partner, Mr. Ian Graham. The motive behind the attack is as yet unclear. Jesus, Hayley. She tried to kill Ian’s wife.’

‘Jesus, that’s horrible,’ Hayley said with a shiver.

‘I know, right? But hang on, there’s more.’

‘More? How –’

‘Shhh and listen. The police declined to comment on the rumours that Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Graham are under investigation for insider trading. At this point it’s unclear if said investigation and the attempted poisoning are linked. Bloody hell!’

Hayley almost felt sorry for Ian. His precious image was unravelling faster than he could say ‘offshore bank account’.

When Hayley tried to find Matthew, things got slightly more complicated and after searching for him unsuccessfully she contacted Alan and they arranged to meet.

‘I’m so happy you called me,’ he said when he arrived at the café Hayley had chosen. ‘I always wondered what happened to you. I wish we’d stayed in touch.’

Hayley hugged him. ‘It’s so good to see you.’

‘How have you been?’ he asked.

‘Well,’ Hayley said. ‘A lot has happened since we last saw each other.’ She told him about her time in Chicago, meeting Rick and having Millie and Danny.

‘Incredible. Sounds like you figured it all out.’ He smiled.

‘It took a while,’ Hayley said. ‘How about you Alan? Did you ever get married?’

He shook his head. ‘No. I never really met a woman that would accept me for who I am.’

Hayley nodded and smiled. ‘I’m sorry to hear that. How about Matthew? How is he?’

‘He’s great. Did you know he joined the Red Cross after you split up?’

‘I didn’t, but I’m not surprised.’

‘Neither was I. Actually he got married in Africa,’ Alan said. ‘He met his wife, Sandy, on one of his assignments. They’re working together in Kenya now, and they adopted a boy and a girl three years ago. Sweet. I love being an uncle.’

‘That’s great,’ Hayley said. ‘I’m pleased it’s all worked out for him. Please tell him I said hello the next time you speak to him, okay?’

‘Of course I will. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled,’ Alan said and smiled.

She sipped her coffee. ‘Listen, I have to pop to the library afterwards. Will you come with me?’

‘Sure, why not?’ Alan shrugged. ‘I’d be happy to. You know all about my love affair with books.’

Thirty minutes later Hayley smiled broadly as she intently watched the events unfolding in front of her. She’d made some discreet enquiries a week before and had found out from Ronald’s sister-in-law that Susan still worked at the library, and had recently divorced.

‘I agree,’ Alan said to Susan. ‘
Nineteen Eighty-Four
was definitely a game changer. But what about the
War of the Worlds
? That was even earlier.’

‘We have one of the originals here,’ Susan said, ‘signed by H.G. Wells himself. Want to see it? I’ll get it from the back.’

Alan turned to Hayley with a pleading expression.

‘You go,’ she reassured him, then she leaned in and whispered. ‘Remember to invite me to your wedding.’

Alan blushed and squeezed Hayley’s hand before dashing over to Susan, who was waiting for him with a slightly flushed face. Hayley watched them talk animatedly, their eyes bright and their hearts full of new beginnings. Somehow, Hayley felt as if some kind of balance had been restored.

Hi Sean,

It’s been a long time and I need to speak with you. Can we connect?

Hayley

Four days later after she sent the message via LinkedIn, he wrote back.

Hayley,

Surprised to hear from you. It has been a long time. Yes, let’s talk. Here’s my number.

Sean

Hayley stared at the screen, then got up and closed the door to her office. Her fingers shook as she picked up the receiver and dialled his number.

‘Sean Ferris.’

‘Sean. Hi. It’s … it’s Hayley.’

She heard Sean inhale sharply and hesitate before he answered. ‘Hayley, hi. I … I wasn’t sure you’d call.’

‘I … I know.’ Hayley swallowed. ‘This is really … I don’t know,
strange
.’

Sean laughed. ‘Just a bit. So … how are you?’

‘I’m … okay. Very well, in fact. And you?’

‘Good too.’ He cleared his throat. ‘So you wanted to talk about …?’

‘Unfinished business, I guess,’ Hayley said.

‘Oh … Shite, this is awkward.’ He paused for a second. ‘I … I’m married.’

‘Gosh, sorry. No, I didn’t mean unfinished in that way.’ Hayley scratched her head. ‘I owe you an apology. For the way things worked out between us.’

He laughed. ‘Phew. Don’t worry about it. That was a long time ago. And I’m the one who should apologise.’

‘Why?’

‘For walking out the way I did,’ Sean said slowly. ‘For not calling you back. I shouldn’t have let you go. But the longer I left it, well …’

‘I understand,’ Hayley said. ‘I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. That you’re happy.’

‘That’s sweet,’ Sean said. ‘And I’m good, Hayley. Never better.’

‘Really?’

‘Really. Still working as a paramedic and we’re living in Brighton now.’

‘Kids?’

‘Yeah, a girl and a boy. Melanie wanted more but I can’t handle it.’ He laughed.

‘Melanie?’ Hayley frowned.

‘Yeah, my wife.’

‘Did … did you meet at work?’ Hayley asked.

‘Good guess,’ he said and laughed again. ‘She was a newbie, first day on the job. We were both sent to this massive accident … I guess you could say it was love at first defib.’

Hayley smiled. ‘It sounds like you two were meant to be.’