Free Between You and Me by Lisa Hall Page B

towel at me. ‘I’d never say that, you idiot. As long as you’re sure. Remember you can call me any time, for anything.’
    ‘I know. Now shut up. Mama’s coming and Dad already said he’s going to tell her after we’ve left so we don’t get the Spanish Inquisition.’
    Later that evening, on the drive home, I turn to you to rave about how well the evening has gone and how I’m so pleased you’ve fitted so well into my family, but you cut me dead. As you rant at me about how I’m spoilt, how I shouldn’t think I’m great just because my family do and how, pretty much, you don’t think a lot of my family at all, I feel like you’ve punched me in the guts. It’s almost as though we attended completely separate evenings – and my version of the evening went far better than yours.
    For the first time in our relationship I think that maybe Julia is right. Maybe I have made a mistake in moving in with you so quickly, when in actual fact I don’t really know you at all. But then, after that night, you never mention how you feel again, not until after we are married anyway. The next evening we go ice skating, falling over each other and laughing till we cry. Another night full of perfect moments, with the promise of more for the rest of our lives. We go back to our little shared house, falling into bed after a beautiful evening together, and I think maybe I have just imagined the venom in your voice when you spoke about my family. Maybe I have got it wrong.

Chapter Sixteen
    CHARLIE
    Anita’s voice crackles through the intercom, ‘Mr Pavlenco is here for your ten o’clock meeting, Charlie.’
    ‘Thanks, Anita. Get him a coffee and put him in the boardroom. I’ll be through in a moment – oh, and can you let Geoff know he’s here? He’s supposed to be in on this meeting as well.’
    ‘Geoff’s not in today, Charlie. He left a message earlier to say he’s ill and won’t be able to make it in for the meeting today.’ And there’s the reason why Geoff will never make partner, never amount to anything more than what he is already – and he’s only achieved that thanks to his father being an old school friend of Mr Crisp. The guy has no ambition and I’m not even one hundred per cent sure why he bothered to train as a lawyer in the first place, when he can’t be bothered to put the hours in. Possibly just to keep his rich old dad happy. I grit my teeth in annoyance before speaking into the intercom again, remembering to smile at the last minute. Apparently you can hear a smile in someone’s voice.
    ‘That’s not a problem, Anita. I have all the paperwork here and ready. Please make Mr Pavlenco comfortable and I’ll be with him shortly.’ I lean back in my chair, scrunching my fingers through my hair, and use the ten minutes’ grace I’ve just earned myself to collect my thoughts. Lucian Pavlenco, a Romanian Mr Big and the head of Otex, has arrived early for our meeting this morning, to finalise the last few arrangements before we pitch our buy-out offer to the communications company that’s up for grabs. Pavlenco has made a name for himself as a big entrepreneur, headed in the footsteps of the likes of Richard Branson. He just appeared from nowhere one day, it seems, and has spent the last five years buying up small companies, adding them to his existing portfolio and then making a shit load of money out of them. Which is the reason why I’m feeling a little nervous about dealing with him on my own – this is a big deal, and if all goes to plan I’m in with a chance of making partner at Hunter, Crisp and Wilson.
No, not if – I will make damn sure it all goes to plan so that I make partner, even if it means making Geoff look bad.
When I make partner, everything will be perfect. I will be able to keep Sal at home, taking care of the house, and the extra money will make everything a little easier. I won’t need to worry any more about Sal making noises about going back to work when Maggie goes