Undercover Alice (7 page)

Work on Tuesday was full of chatter about the
picnic. It seemed everyone had had a great time, although Sarah was keeping a
low profile, staying in her office with the door shut.  I wondered how much of
our chat she had remembered; she was obviously extremely drunk, but surely she
remembered at least some of it. We managed to avoid each other for much of the
week, though, which suited me just fine.

I had a couple of e-mails from Barry, asking me what
was going on (in a less polite fashion, obviously). I replied, fobbing him off
as best I could. I was beginning to realise that my exposé was posing my more
problems than I thought it would. Mainly, that I was actually growing quite
fond of Matt. Maybe a little too fond, I reflected, as I watched him through
the office window.

I was just packing up my things to leave on Friday
afternoon when the phone rang. I answered, and was horrified to hear a woman in
obvious distress, crying down the phone.

‘Ma’am?’ I said. ‘Are you ok?’

There was a choking sniffle, and then, ‘I need to
speak to Matt.’

‘Of course,’ I said, and glanced into the office.
He’d taken his phone off the hook again, so I couldn’t patch the call through.

‘It’s his mother,’ the anguished voice said. It
sounded like something awful had happened.

‘Please bear with me two seconds,’ I said, and
hurried next door. ‘Matt, your mother is on the phone.’

He obviously saw the look of worry on my face and
his own face looked concerned.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘She seems very upset.’

Matt replaced his phone on the hook quickly.

‘Patch her through now please.’

I rushed back to my desk and did as he asked. In my
hurry, I left the door between our offices open, and I could hear his side of
the conversation.

‘Mum? What’s wrong?’ There was a pause, and I saw
the blood leave his face. ‘When?’ he asked, his voice shaking slightly, then,
‘I’m getting the next flight out, I’ll meet you at the hospital.’

He replaced the phone on its cradle and sat gazing
into the distance for a moment. I wondered what to do, I couldn’t just sit
there, pretending nothing was wrong, when I knew something terrible had plainly
happened.

I tentatively walked into his office.

‘Has something happened?’ I asked.

He looked at me, pale and suddenly looking exhausted.

‘My dad’s had a heart attack. He’s in hospital. I’ve
got to get out to Madrid, I’ve got to –’  

He waved a hand around the office, helplessly, and my
heart ached for him. I did the only thing I could think of. I crossed round the
desk and put my arms around him. For a second, he stiffened, and I thought I’d
made a huge mistake. But then he relaxed into my embrace and we stayed like
that for about 10 seconds.

I was the one who pulled back, suddenly
self-conscious. What was I thinking? I had surely overstepped a boundary. I
briefly thought of Dave Barry. Had any of his staff ever hugged him? I thought
not. I had to at least maintain a veneer of professionalism.

‘Right,’ I said, briskly, standing back again. ‘Go
home and pack a bag. I’ll book the next flight out to Madrid and send for a
taxi to pick you up – I’ll call you with the details. I’ll re-arrange your
meetings for the next few days at least, and you can let me know if we need to
cancel more.’

He looked at me, as if he wanted to say something
but didn’t know what.

‘Go,’ I said, sternly, pointing to the door. He
stood up, grabbing his car keys, and hurried out the door.

I sat down at my computer and took a deep breath.
All I could think about was that embrace, and feeling his body against mine. I was
embarrassed, though, as I’m not sure it was the sort of thing a PA should be
doing to their boss. Much less, what a reporter should be doing to the subject
of their sting operation. Still, he hadn’t seemed offended and I’d hoped it had
given him a crumb of comfort in an otherwise horrible situation.

I quickly looked at flights, and found there was one
leaving for Madrid in three hours. I booked it with my own card – Matt had been
meaning to give his company credit card details but hadn’t got round to it –
and called a local taxi firm, arranging for them to pick Matt up in good time
for his flight. I then googled taxi firms in Madrid, and had a very confusing
conversation in some sort of Spanglish. By the end of it, though, I had arranged
for him to be met and immediately taken to the hospital. Or at least, I hoped I
had. Either that or I’d just ordered three large chickens and a bowler hat.

I thought about calling Matt to appraise him of the
arrangements, but thought that might be too intrusive, so I texted him.

‘Taxi coming at 6pm, flight is at 8. Taxi will pick
you up at airport and take you directly to hospital.’

My finger hovered over send, and then I quickly
added ‘Thinking of you x’ and hit the button before I could change my mind.

I stayed late, calling round to rearrange Matt’s
schedule for the start of the following week. When I reached an appointment
with Sarah’s name on it, I sighed and stood up from my desk. I could imagine a
phone call with her being even worse than face-to-face, so I headed down the
corridor. She was still here, sitting at her computer, her nails clacking on
the keys. She looked up when I entered and I could tell she could at least
remember some of what had happened at the picnic.

‘Oh, Alice, hello.’ If words could chill…

‘Hi, Sarah. Look, I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve
had to postpone Matt’s meeting with you on Tuesday.’

She bristled. ‘We’ve had that meeting arranged for
months. Does he knows about this?’

‘I doubt he cares,’ I snapped, losing my temper.
‘His father has had a heart attack and he’s on his way to Spain.’

Sarah clapped a hand to her mouth.

‘Oh no, poor Matt. I should call him.’

‘He’ll be on his way to the airport now,’ I said,
coldly. ‘I’m sure he’ll be in touch when things are more settled.’

She glared at me.

‘He’ll want to hear from me.’ Without even waiting
for me to leave, she flipped her mobile phone open and pressed a few buttons,
holding it up to her ear.

‘Matt, it’s Sarah. I just heard, I’m so very –’  I
heard Matt’s voice cut across her. ‘Oh of course, sorry, I’ll let you get on.
Call me if you need anything.’ And she hung up, looking disappointed.

I smirked to myself. Immature perhaps, but after the
way she had spoken to me at the picnic, I figured I was entitled to be at least
a little immature.

‘Was there anything else?’ Sarah looked pointedly at
the door, obviously ready for me to leave now I had witnessed her
embarrassment.

‘Nope, that was all,’ I said, smiling at her. I
left, feeling childishly glad that Matt hadn’t had the time to speak to her.

I got home about 8pm, worn out. I’d been due to meet
Jen for drinks, but I’d called her and she’d agreed to come round bearing pizza
instead as I just couldn’t face going out. I’d just got out of my work clothes
and into my pyjamas when she arrived.

‘God, you look terrible,’ she said, brightly,
placing the pizza box on the table and brandishing a bottle of wine at me.

‘Thanks,’ I muttered, going to the kitchen cupboard
and taking out a couple of wine glasses. I poured us each a generous measure,
and we sat on the sofa, eating pizza straight out of the box.

‘Any word from boy wonder?’ Jen asked, taking a sip
of wine and smacking her lips theatrically.

I cringed at her name for him; I’d tried not to gush
about him in our conversations, but I could never fool Jen.

‘No, but he’ll be in the air right now.’

I glanced at my phone. He should be there in another
hour or so. I hoped the taxi would be there to meet him. Preferably without the
chickens and bowler hat.

‘What did Snippy Sarah make of the whole thing?’

I told her about Sarah’s call with Matt, and Jen
roared with laughter.

 ‘Serves her right, silly cow. How’s your research
going?’

I twirled a crust of pizza between my fingers.

‘Good…’ I said, evidently not very convincingly.

Jen stared at me, hard. ‘You have
been
researching, haven’t you?’

‘Yes of course,’ I said, indignantly. ‘I found out
his sister died a few years ago, I think in Spain.’

‘Really?’ Jen seemed interested. ‘How?’

‘He didn’t say,’ I shrugged.

‘You mean you didn’t press it…’ Jen said, giving me
a knowing smile. I started to object but realised she was right and grinned
sheepishly.

‘Oh, Jen. I don’t know what to do.’ I threw my hands
up in mock exasperation. ‘On the one hand, I
really
want this story to
be a success. I want to write an award-winning article, I want to be offered a
job with a big paper, I want to make a name for myself…’

‘But?’ Jen prompted.

‘But I really like him,’ I said, miserably. ‘He’s
kind and he’s funny and he makes me laugh, and he makes me want to do things
like lick beer foam off his top lip.’

Jen spat out a mouthful of wine, choking. ‘He makes
you want to do
what?’
she asked, looking almost horrified.

I blushed. ‘Oh we were in the beer garden and he had
beer on his top lip, and all I could think about was licking it off.  I know,
I’m depraved.’

Jen had recovered slightly. ‘I’m not sure about
depraved, but you’re certainly weird,’ she said, wiping the wet patches where
the wine had landed. ‘Look, you barely know him. You’ve worked there a couple
of weeks, and you aren’t even properly working there. Sure he’s smart, and
funny, and gorgeous, apparently, but he’s also potentially spent three years in
prison and has a shady past. He’s not exactly Mr Perfect. There’s nothing wrong
with having a flirt, but don’t forget why you’re there. You want this, Alice,
you’ve wanted to be an award-winning reporter since we were kids. Don’t forget
your dream.’

She was right, I knew she was, but I kept seeing
Matt’s face as he hung up on his mother. He looked so vulnerable. How could I
hurt him in the way I planned to? But how could I turn down the opportunity to
live my dream? I just didn’t know how to proceed.

Jen left soon after, and, after clearing things
away, I headed to bed. It had been quite a tiring week, and I was looking
forward to a lie-in the next morning.

***

I was awoken by my phone buzzing frantically. I
groped around for it, realising that my room was still pitch black. As I
fumbled with the buttons, I noticed the time: 4am. Who the hell was calling me
at 4am?

‘Hello?’ I mumbled, still half asleep.

‘Alice, it’s Matt. I’m sorry for calling you so
late. Or early. Is it early? When does it stop becoming late and become early?’

I was awake instantly. I could tell from his voice
something was wrong.

‘Matt? What’s wrong? Are you ok? Did the taxi turn
up?’

‘Yes it did. I got to the hospital in time. My dad
died an hour after I arrived.’

His voice, always so passionate and cheerful,
wavered and my stomach tightened. I felt sick for him. I wanted to put my arms
around him again and hold him tight.

‘Oh my god, Matt, I’m so sorry. Are you ok?’ I
turned on my bedside lamp. ‘Of course you aren’t ok, what a stupid question.’

I didn’t know what to say, so I kept babbling.

 ‘At least you got to see him, I’m so glad you got
there in time.’

‘I didn’t know who else to call.’ His voice sounded
so small, so full of pain. I wanted to weep for him.

‘Where are you?’ I demanded. ‘Are you somewhere
safe?’

‘I’m at my parents’ house,’ he said, sighing. ‘I’ve
just put my mum to bed. She’s utterly destroyed, but I think she’ll sleep for
an hour or two. They were married for 40 years.’

I thought I caught a stifled sob and I had to hold
back my own tears. It wouldn’t do to have both of us crying down the phone.

‘Is there anything I can do?’ I asked. ‘Do you need
me to do anything?’

He paused, and I could tell he was debating whether
or not to ask something.

‘This is totally inappropriate,’ he said, ‘but I
don’t have anyone else. Would you be able…’ he tailed, off, suddenly sounding
awkward.

‘What?’

‘Could you come out here? I’ve got so much to
organise and I don’t know where to start. My mum is in a state and I can’t ask
her to help, and I’m an only child now…’ He broke off.

‘Of course I will,’ I said. ‘But what about Sarah?’

‘Sarah?’ He sounded puzzled.

‘Wouldn’t she be better?’ I asked, gently.

‘I don’t see why,’ he said, still sounding confused.

I thought for a second. I was pretty sure this
wasn’t in my job description, but the thought of Matt alone and struggling made
me feel wretched, and I couldn’t bear to say no.

 ‘I’ll look at flights and get out there as soon as
possible.’

I heard his sigh of relief.

‘Thanks, Alice, this is amazing of you. I know it’s
not in your job description, and you’ve only worked here a couple of weeks.’ He
laughed, mirthlessly. ‘Some induction, eh?’

‘Try to get some sleep,’ I said. ‘I’ll text you my
flight details.’

He asked me to stop by his flat – he said he kept a
spare key in a drawer in his office – and pick up a couple of things en-route,
and said he would pick me up at the airport as he would be hiring a car.

‘Thanks again, Alice,’ he said, gratefully. ‘You’ve
no idea how much this means to me.’

I got out of bed and headed into the living room,
turning on my laptop to search for flights. There was one at lunchtime that
seemed my best bet. I paid, wincing at the price and thanking my lucky stars I
had a fairly generous overdraft facility, and tried to get back to sleep. I
couldn’t, though, so got up and started packing. Google had informed me the
temperature was mid-20s, and I scoured my wardrobe for suitable things to wear
in the warmth. Should I pack something for the funeral? Surely not, he wouldn’t
want me at that, I was just out there to be practical, that’s all.

When I was packed, I texted Jen. She wouldn’t be up
at 6am, but I had nothing else to do and the sooner I told her the better, as
it meant she might have calmed down by my return. I knew she would recall our
conversation just a few hours earlier, and now I was doing the exact opposite.

‘So, I’m off to Spain. DON’T SAY ANYTHING. I know, I
know. It’s strictly professional. I’m going to ignore your texts and calls for
24 hours until you calm down. Peace out xx’

I also sent an e-mail to Barry, letting him know I
was ‘going dark’ for a few days. He would be over the moon with this latest
development, I thought, sourly, but I was beginning to care less and less about
what Barry thought of things.

When I could sit around and wait around no longer, I
jumped in my car and drove to the office. There was hardly anyone there on a
Saturday, but I was annoyed to see Sarah’s car parked in the car park. I hoped
I could get in and out without her seeing me.

I knew, of course, that I couldn’t. She must have
seen me as I scurried past her doorway, head down, and she appeared in Matt’s
office a few minutes later.

‘What are you doing?’ she said, accusingly, as I
stood there with his house key in my hand.

‘Matt asked me to come by and pick up his house key
and get him some things,’ I said, coldly.

‘What? Why? Isn’t he in Spain?’ Sarah looked
puzzled, and then suspicious. Did she think I was stealing? I reflected that
this was an ideal opportunity to rake about for incriminating material, but
there was no way I was doing that after Matt’s father had died.

‘Yes,’ I took a deep breath, knowing Sarah wouldn’t
like what I was about to say. ‘He’s asked me to fly out there today. His dad
died last night, and he wants some help with arranging things.’

She looked like she’d been slapped.

‘He asked you to fly out there?’

I nodded, feeling slightly smug at the obvious
annoyance and disappointment on her face. I could tell she thought it should
have been her, and I reflected that perhaps she had seen more in her
relationship with Matt than was there. I might even have felt sorry for her,
but I remembered her words at the picnic, the way she spat them at me,
spitefully, and I just couldn’t. You reap what you sow, I thought.

‘Yes, my flight leaves at lunchtime so I really have
to get on.’

I moved past her to the door and left her standing
in the office.