Doing the Right Thing (19 page)

“The bitch is manipulating you.”

“I know.” Will sagged and put his head in his hands.

“I don’t want to live with her. Make her go away. Put her in a hotel. I’ll pay,” Ed said.

“I’m working on it.”

Ed bent his mouth to Will’s ear. “And I’m not deaf. As long as you keep fucking her, Vee’s not going to leave.”

Will clenched his jaw.

“What are you going to do about Addie?”

The wall came straight up, solid steel, six-foot high. Will leapt up and stood in front of him. “I didn’t fucking rape her. She wanted it as much as I did.”

“For fuck’s sake, Will. Listen to yourself.”

Will dropped back to the edge of his desk and dragged his fingers through his hair.

“I never let her think it would be anything more than a quick fuck.” He rushed on, not talking to Ed, but to himself. “I gave her the chance to stop and she didn’t want to.”

“Why was she still a virgin? Have you thought about that? She’s pretty. She can’t have been short of offers. Chances were she was saving herself for someone special.

Was that you?”

Will looked up. “Why the fuck not?”

“You think you can make love to someone so sweet, and then just walk away without them being hurt?” Ed gaped at him.

“You did,” Will said.

For a moment, there was silence.

“You fucking bastard,” Ed said and walked out.

Will sat on his chair and put his head in his hands. What the hell was he doing?

He’d thought his life would take a turn for better in the north and instead it was going downhill faster than a sledge. Vee wouldn’t leave him alone. She’d pounced on him this morning as he walked into the bathroom, stuck her hand down his sleep pants and grasped his morning woodie before he’d had time to blink the sleep out of his eyes. He wasn’t proud of what happened next. She’d begged and he’d fucked her. Why the hell had he done that?

Well, he knew why. He just wanted to get rid of her, but it had been a mistake and it wouldn’t happen again. They were using each other, but enough was enough. He didn’t want Vee, he wanted Addie.

The moment he and Addie had made love, he’d felt wonderful and then terrible because of what followed. He’d forgotten what making love could be like—the excitement, the thrill of being touched by new hands, exploring a new body. He’d found as much pleasure in making her happy as he had in pleasing himself. Now he’d wrecked it by pandering to his neurotic almost-ex wife. Only maybe Addie didn’t have to know. Will wanted to forget it had ever happened and start again.

Addie filled him with longing for what he could have in his life. She’d made him wake up and realize how far he’d let things slide. Vee had wormed her way back in when he should have made the break permanent. Addie was sweet and loving, and Will knew he’d hurt her in a way he could barely comprehend. Pretending he hadn’t made him a coward.

He wished Ed hadn’t come into the bedroom. He wished Vee had walked in, seen Addie in his arms, taken one look, run out and disappeared forever. Only Will knew it wouldn’t have happened. Vee would have gone crazy. She was obsessed with him.

Ed retreated to his office and leaned back against the door. He’d just seen something different in his brother that he didn’t much like. Will was lying to himself so he didn’t feel bad. How many times had he done the same? Slept with a woman knowing she wanted more than a one-night stand?
More times than he could count. Ed told himself that if he kept things short and sweet, no one got hurt. It was a lie.

After he’d been burned by Susie and Ariel, he’d moved from being a long-term relationship kind of guy to the sort who specialized in one-night-stands. Now, that was all that was expected of him and Ed felt trapped by it. Women who thought they could change him, tame him, turned him off. The keener they became, the less he was interested. There was some irony in the fact that while most of the young women in this office seemed determined to throw themselves into his arms, the one who hadn’t, the sweet, innocent one from the gym, the one Ed thought was cute and that maybe he’d like to ask out on a proper date and not rip her clothes off, had thrown herself at Will.

Will took out his mobile and called Ed.

“Sorry. Come back in here. Please.”

When the door opened, Ed’s jaw was taut.

“Sorry,” Will repeated. “Was Addie upset? What did she say? Was she okay?” His shoulders slumped. “Shit, of course she wasn’t.”

Ed leaned against the wall next to the window. “She pretended she was.”

“What did you tell her?”

“Nothing. She didn’t ask me about Vee. Oh, except for one thing. She wanted to know how tall she was.”

Will swallowed hard.

“She also said it was partly her fault because she assumed you didn’t have a girlfriend.”

“Christ.”

“You’re a complete shit, Will. You know that?”

“Yes.”

“You’re supposed to be the sensible older brother. Mum’s always telling me to try and be more like you.”

“Fuck.”

“Pull yourself together. Get rid of Vee and apologize to Addie.”

“Right.”

“That is what you want?” Ed asked.

Will knew what he wanted…he just didn’t know if it was what he deserved.

“Well, make up your mind, otherwise you might find you’re too late.” Ed walked out again.

Will knew what he ought to do. Leave Addie alone. She wasn’t at work today, which should have been a good thing, only it wasn’t. He was disappointed he wouldn’t see her lovely face. Maybe he should send flowers to say sorry. Only sorry for what?

Sorry he’d got carried away, that he’d taken advantage of her, that Vee had turned up?

Sorry he’d let Ed take charge of a situation he should have handled himself? Will didn’t want Vee, he wanted Addie. He’d blown it.

* * * * *

Addie and Lisa stood waiting for the bus to Leeds, shooting misshapen ghosts into the cold air every time they exhaled. Addie thought she’d never been so relieved she had another job to go to. The idea of facing Will or Ed filled her with horror. Her self-esteem flopped around at her feet like a fish out of water. She’d rerun the whole day in her mind, time after time, trying to convince herself she was making a big deal out of nothing. She knew acting as though it had never happened—in fact forgetting it had ever happened—was the key to survival, but she couldn’t. Conducting inane conversations with struggling students at the language school was just what she needed to stop the neurons in her brain shooting down cul-de-sacs all ending in Will.

Addie and Lisa groaned in unison as the bus passed the gray building where they worked. They rose to their feet.

“Remind me why we do this?” Lisa asked.

“Because you have a mortgage to pay, you love clothes, shoes and nail varnish, and you didn’t get the job with the diplomatic service.”

“Rub it in why don’t you.”

They jumped off the bus.

“Nor the job with Greenpeace or that London stockbroker.”

“We’re not paid enough for this,” Lisa whined.

“We’re being tortured by foreign teenagers. How could we ever be paid enough?”

Addie held the door open for Lisa.

“Are you in tonight?”

“I wish. I’m babysitting for Finn. They’re meeting Trixie’s teacher. She’s definitely not paid enough.”

“Excuse me, where is the principal’s office?”

Addie and Lisa turned. A pretty woman smiled at them. With flawless skin and green eyes, she looked as though she belonged on the pages of a magazine, not in the classroom.

“End of the corridor, turn left. There’s a sign on the door,” Lisa said. “By any chance, are you the angel who’s going to help me with French conversation? Evelyne Marchaux?”

“That’s me. Are they that bad?” Evelyne said with a laugh.

“Worse,” Lisa told her. “The most important piece of advice you’ll get. Never turn your back.”

Addie knew Lisa was right. Mobile phones with cameras were banned, but that meant nothing. A couple of the teachers had already featured on YouTube. She and Lisa split up and Addie made for her first class. At least the ones who wanted to learn Japanese were better behaved.

* * * * *

That night, Will sat in his car a little way down the road from Addie’s house, a bunch of flowers on the seat beside him. Lisa had told him Addie wasn’t home, then slammed the door in his face, so he guessed they’d been talking. He decided to wait. He was cold, but he didn’t want to go back to the house and Vee. Ed wasn’t there to dilute her. He’d gone out with Beth. Will had no idea how he managed to date a string of women from work and still remain on speaking terms.

Will had spent the last twenty-four hours thinking about Addie. In the middle of looking at accounts, she slipped into his mind and took over. When he ate his lunch, he thought about the fish and chips they’d shared. When he talked to any of the women in the office, he found himself thinking how they couldn’t compare to Addie. He loved the way she blushed, her sense of humor, how she laughed at his jokes, the way she smiled, that crazy screw in her navel and the gentle dip where her neck met her shoulder and…

Will groaned. There must be something annoying about her. She flinched when he touched her. He gulped. She couldn’t help it and he rather liked it.

Maybe she read horoscopes. He hated that. She probably couldn’t navigate and muddled up right and left. He was certain she’d eat with her mouth open, help herself to the parts of his food he always liked to save ’til last. She’d continually moan she was looking fat, she’d ask questions that were impossible to answer without causing a blazing row and… Will stopped. That was all Vee.

He almost missed Addie’s return because he wasn’t expecting her to arrive in a flashy BMW. Will rubbed a circle on his misted-over windshield and watched as a tall, fair-haired guy walked with her to the door. As the man leaned toward her, Will held his breath. He thought they might be kissing and he was furious. Last night she’d been in bed with him, now she was with another guy. How dare she? Then Will remembered what she did had nothing to do with him. He’d let her leave because Vee had turned up. Not just leave, she’d dropped out of a first floor window because she thought he hadn’t wanted her. He hadn’t phoned to explain. He hadn’t sent flowers. He’d brought them, but he was too late.

Will drove off in a temper, but had to stop at the end of the street to wipe the condensation from the windshield. He threw the flowers in a waste bin. He didn’t want Vee to think he’d bought them for her. He pulled away and then had to stop again. He still couldn’t see where he was going, but the blurriness wasn’t from the windshield.

Will wiped his eyes and took out his mobile.

“Hi, it’s me.”

“Hello, you. What are you up to?”

Will felt better hearing his mother’s voice. Their relationship had improved once she’d remarried. “On my way home.”

“Another late night? You work too hard, Will.”

“Um.”

There was a long pause.

“I’m waiting,” she said.

“Vee’s in Leeds.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t know how to get rid of her.”

“Poison?”

“Very funny, Mum.”

“All right, strangle her. I’ll give you an alibi.”

Will managed a chuckle.

“You
do
know how to get rid of her. You have to be firm.”

“The divorce hasn’t gone through.”

His mother groaned. “Do you still want it to?”

“Christ, yes.”

“Then do the right thing. Make it happen. Don’t let her back into your life, Will.”

“How are you?” Will asked, hoping he didn’t have to tell his mother Vee now lived with him and Ed, albeit on a temporary basis.

“Changing the subject or do you really want to know?”

“Changing the subject.”

His mother laughed. “I’m fine thank you, William. Thomas and I were about to de-worm Mollie.”

“No more detail,” Will pleaded. “I better go.”

“Tell Ed I’ve forgotten what he sounds like.”

“Right.”

“Bye, sweetheart. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Will smiled. His mother was so much happier now she was married to Thomas, proof there was life to be had after a divorce.

Will drove back to the house and went in to face Vee. He’d move her out.

Tomorrow.

“Will, is that you?” she called.

“Yes.”

“Count to ten and then come into the kitchen.”

Will stopped short when he walked in. She’d put candles on the table and he could smell food cooking. Vee never cooked.

“You’re later than I thought you’d be, so it might be a bit dry.”

Will knew what she was trying to do, but he didn’t know whether it was better to let her fail or stop her trying in the first place. He had no appetite, but she’d gone to so much trouble and it was so unlike her, he gave in and opened the champagne she’d bought. The drunker she was, the more likely she’d fall asleep before they began to argue.

* * * * *

When the bell rang, Addie thought Finn had come back after dropping her off.

There was no one there, but an enormous bunch of flowers sat on the step. For a split second, her heart leapt because she thought they might be from Will.

“Ooh, who’s sending you flowers?” Lisa asked as Addie walked into the kitchen.

“Yours.” Addie plonked them on the table.

Lisa grabbed the card. “David must have blown his entire beer budget.
Dear Lisa,
sorry, sorry, sorry. I miss you. Fancy a pizza?
”

“I think the romance gene missed him.” Addie grinned and then the doorbell rang again. “It’ll be David with a pizza.”

It was. When the pair of them walked into the kitchen, Addie realized it was all back on. It was that easy.

Will was amazed Addie hadn’t spotted him. Maybe he’d underestimated his espionage skills, or overestimated her powers of observation. As she walked away from her house on Saturday morning, he followed her in his car and then followed the three buses she caught. There had been several panicky moments when he thought he’d lost her, convinced she’d got off without him noticing, and another heart-banging moment in Keighley when he had to make a quick decision over where to park. On a Saturday morning this close to Christmas, he thought it a miracle when a space opened up in front of him. Fortunately, Addie’s height made her stand out and he continued to play James Bond on foot.