“Men,” Millie sighed. She drank some more of mulled wine.
She was furious on Kay’s behalf.
“I didn’t know about the new hospital wing,” Claire commented, shaking her head. “I heard that staff were being cut.”
“No, they’re being moved,” Millie corrected. “An auditor recommended moving staff to different wards. And, on top of that, it has nothing to do with Kay. She granted funding for the new wing. But the staff, that’s an NHS thing. But the paper put them together so people blamed her for staff cuts. Cuts that weren’t even happening.” Millie sighed and flopped into a chair. “It’s just so unfair.”
“It is,” Claire agreed. “I’m sorry you had a shit day.”
“It’s okay. I’ll get over it,” Millie muttered.
“I thought we could put the tree up tonight?” Claire suggested. “Get plastered and cover everything in fake snow and tinsel? But maybe tonight’s not a good night for it?”
Millie drank some more mulled wine. “No, I think tonight is the perfect night for it. I need to eat first though, or I’ll be useless to you.”
Claire picked up her handbag from the worktop. She got out her purse and handed some notes to Millie. “Be a love and go and get some pizza, my treat.”
Pizza sounded like a great idea. Especially with drink and decorating, Christmas tunes and laughs. It would be the best tonic to a terrible day.
“Okay,” she agreed. “But you’re untangling the Christmas lights.”
Chapter 35
Kay held the mug of coffee in her hands and looked out of the window of her office. It was pitch black, and had been for a few hours. The promised snow hadn’t materialised yet but Kay knew it was on the way.
It had been a hell of a day. The Bromford Gazette had been attempting to get hold of her for a quote. She knew whatever she said would be used against her so she said nothing. She hadn’t checked the website, not wanting to read whatever lies they decided to publish.
Every time she left her office, she was the recipient of furtive stares from people in the Town Hall building. Everyone knew. Everyone. And it was uncomfortable.
She knew they were talking about Millie’s age, the fact she was a charity worker, the fact that Millie and Kay were polar opposites. And there was nothing Kay could say about any of it. She needed to remain silent, stoic, until it all blew over.
On top of that, Millie had been unable to text her. She’d received a quick message to say that she was working in a basement with no reception.
That had been hours ago.
She closed her eyes and held her breath. After a few seconds, her hearing attuned to the sound of the protestors. They were back and they’d added a few choice songs to their repertoire. The words ‘cradle’ and ‘robber’ floated into the darkness and Kay felt anger spike within her.
There was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” she called.
She turned to see Steven enter the office. He placed some documents in her in-tray and she reached for them. He put his hand on top of them, preventing her from picking up the work.
“Perhaps it’s time to go home?” He suggested. “It’s been a long day, and it is seven.”
“Of course, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, dismissing him.
He sighed. “I meant, time for you to go home.”
She shook her head. “There’s work to be done.”
It was partly true, there was always work to be done. But it didn’t need to be done then. She just didn’t want to go home to a cold and lonely house.
She’d left that morning with Millie, and now had no desire to return without her. She remembered the evening before, soft kisses, wandering hands, writhing bodies.
“Go home, Steven,” she said. “I have things I want to finish up. I’ll be fine.”
She tugged on the pieces of paper he’d put in the in-tray and he lifted his hand. He looked at her for a few moments before slowly nodding.
“Don’t work too late,” he said. “See you in the morning.”
“Have a nice night,” she replied.
She sat down and wiggled the mouse to bring her computer back to life.
She heard his footsteps and then the office door clicking closed. She let out a sigh and attempted to focus on her work.
Chapter 36
Mario at Mario’s pizza parlour didn’t look at all Italian. In fact, he looked—and sounded—Welsh. But Claire had assured Millie that whoever he was, he made the best pizza in Bromford.
It was a cash-only, no delivery takeaway. And there was a queue out of the door.
Millie had been annoyed at the lack of convenience, she was used to ordering online and waiting for a knock on the door. But the promise of excellent pizza was worth the hassle.
She’d placed her order and was now waiting with the other customers. She wanted to text Kay but also wanted to wait until she’d eaten something. Not to mention that texting Kay made her remember the perfect evening they’d had the night before, and made her depressed in knowing it wasn’t going to be repeated that night.
A familiar looking man stepped in and she wondered for a moment where she recognised him from. He stepped up to the counter, got Mario’s attention, and placed an order. He paid and then stepped away to wait with the rest of the hungry patrons.
He saw Millie and looked hesitant.
She’d seen that look before. It was Steven, Kay’s assistant. She waved to him.
“Hey,” she said.
He pocketed his change and walked over.
“Hey,” he greeted in return. “How are you?”
She shrugged. “Hard day. You?”
He nodded. “Same.”
Millie swallowed. “And… your boss? How is she?”
“Also having a rough day.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at the poster on the wall.
Millie sighed. “I wish I could fix things.”
Steven looked at her, really looked at her. Millie got the impression he was sizing her up and debating what her motives were.
“Yeah, me too,” he finally said. “It’s just a shame. This town doesn’t like her.”
“They really don’t,” Millie agreed. “It’s the paper, isn’t it?”
Steven nodded. “Yeah. Well, some people would dislike her anyway. But a lot of the problem is the false information that comes from the website.”
“How long has it been going on?”
“Three years, maybe more. Getting worse each year.” Steven smothered a yawn. “She’s a good person, doing good things. People may think they want her gone but I don’t think anyone can do what she does. The way she juggles priorities, gets extra funding, keeps things open.”
His voice was getting louder and Millie could hear the frustration. She put her hand on his arm.
“I know,” she reassured him. “I do.”
He slumped slightly against the wall. “I’m sorry. I’m just so sick of this. She doesn’t deserve any of this.”
“Do you think public opinion can be swayed?” Millie asked. “You’ve been in this line of work longer than I have. Is the damage undoable?”
Steven thought about it for a few seconds. “The public are fickle. They like her every now and then, when she does something that absolutely can’t be twisted to be negative. If they could actually hear the truth, then, yeah.” He laughed bitterly. “But that won’t happen. Jonathon won’t stop. The paper was in trouble before all of this, he’s keeping it alive with these rumours.”
Anger raced through Millie. How dare Jonathan keep his dying rag alive by dragging someone else through the mud? What kind of person did that?
Some would call her naïve, but she believed in freedom of the press and she believed in the unbiased nature of honest reporting. To think that she had stood up for people like Jonathan to publish whatever terrible, twisted stories came into his mind was sickening.
“Twitter keeps it going, too,” Steven added. “Although, there have
been times when I have gotten a couple of my mates to point out the truth. It doesn’t get much coverage but it’s something. I feel good that I did my bit.”
Millie stared at him.
“What?” He asked.
“People power,” Millie said. “That’s all we need. You know, I’ve always believed that if you get enough people together, you can do anything.”
“Like what?”
“I have an idea but… it’s huge,” Millie explained, excitement building. “Like, we will need to work together and we’ll need a real Christmas miracle to get it to work… but… I really think we can do it.”
Steven grinned. “Well, count me in.”
Chapter 37
Kay signed off the last of the stack of invitations and flopped back in her chair with a sigh. Fundraisers were taking place at the end of January and that meant getting the invitations out now. And then reminders a couple of weeks later.
They needed the fundraiser to be a success or else she’d find herself with another enormous black hole in the budget. If people knew how closely linked charity and local government were, they’d be shocked.
She looked at her phone and noticed with surprise that it was past eight o’clock. She was still in the office, having preferred to bury herself in work since the newspapers had decided to announce her private life two days ago.
It didn’t help that she hadn’t seen Millie at all on Monday and hadn’t heard much from her all day that day either. It was now forty-eight hours since she’d seen Millie and her heart was increasingly aware of every passing minute. She didn’t want to be one of those clingy partners but she missed her terribly.
They’d text a couple of times, and Millie had said that she’d be super busy all day Tuesday. Kay had wondered if it was the start of the brush off.
She’d tried to figure out what it was about Millie that had her thinking and dreaming about evenings together, planning for a future together. It couldn’t just be the attraction, the sex was extremely good, but there seemed to be more. As if a light switch had been flicked on within Kay, light suddenly illuminating her once dark heart. She’d not felt like this for a long time. Not since Diana.
She couldn’t even bring herself to feel guilty. Diana had made her promise that she would find someone else if anything happened to her. Kay had promised that she would, but had thought it unlikely. She’d never been one for dating or suddenly falling in love.
In fact, she’d resigned herself to a quiet life alone. Not unhappy with the fact, not happy with it either, just aware of the likelihood of her fate.
Her phone rang and she saw Millie’s name on the screen. She smiled and then a breath caught in her throat. Maybe this was the brush off she had been half-expecting since this curious relationship—if you could call it that—had begun.
She took a deep breath and answered the call.
“Good evening, Miss Yates,” she drawled with a grin.
“If you say that again I’m going to come over there,” Millie warned.
“Is that supposed to stop me from saying it again, or encourage me to say it again?” Kay asked.
Millie groaned, it was seductive and deep and reminiscent of their time in her bed. Kay wanted to hear that sound again, soon. “I’m sorry I can’t come over, I’m—”
“Super busy,” Kay repeated from the text. “I know.” She couldn’t hide the disappointment from her tone.
“I want to see you,” Millie explained. “Really, I do. But I just have this thing I need to deal with. What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Working from home,” Kay said. “Steven is busy all day with some project he’s been working on, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to work from home. Especially as it was supposed to be the Christmas light switch on date and you suggested the protests would be larger. I thought I’d give security a break from having to walk me in and out of the building.”
“Good,” Millie said. “Good, you be safe. Can I come over tomorrow?”
“Yes, of course,” Kay replied immediately. She hoped it didn’t sound too needy. “I can make dinner.”
“You cooked last time,” Millie said. “Let me bring something.”
Kay frowned. Millie had said she adored her cooking, why was she turning it down? “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’d like to do something for you. And you don’t want me to cook, believe me.”
Kay laughed. “Very well. Wow me with your pre-prepared food.”
“Maybe not wow you,” Millie confessed. “Anyway, how was your day? Tell me everything…”
Kay couldn’t help but smile. She settled into her chair and started to talk about her day. It had been a long time since someone seemed genuinely interested in hearing about her day, it felt nice to share.
It would be nicer in person, but for now she would take what she could.
Chapter 38
Kay nervously paced the hallway, occasionally looking out of the window for Millie’s arrival. She knew she was acting like a teenager in lust, but she couldn’t help herself. It had been three days since she’d seen Millie and the text messages and phone calls alone had not been enough to satisfy her craving for the woman.
It had been another day where Millie had been very busy. And another day where Millie had evaded any questions about what she was busy with. Thankfully, Kay had important reports to get buried in and the day had passed quickly.
Without hardly hearing from Steven or Millie, she’d gotten stuck into work and had only briefly looked up from her work for lunch. When five thirty had approached, she’d rushed upstairs to get out of her clothes and into something a little more casual. She didn’t want Millie to think she was always in work outfits, even if the younger woman did seem to enjoy a skirt suit.
The doorbell rang and Kay couldn’t help the smile that instantly covered her lips. She opened the door and stood to one side.
“Come in,” she offered, relieved at seeing Millie in the flesh again.
“No, you need to get ready to come out with me,” Millie replied with a grin. She stepped forward and placed a soft kiss on Kay’s cheek. “Wrap up warm, it’s freezing out there.”
Kay frowned. She saw a car waiting outside, but it didn’t look like a taxi. “What’s going on?”
“Wrap up warm,” Millie repeated. She stepped into the house and opened the closet. “Scarves, mittens, whatever it is you wear. Come on, chop chop.”
Kay found herself doing what she was told, an unusual experience as she couldn’t recall the last time someone had even attempted to boss her around.
“Boots too, it’s raining,” Millie said, picking through her shoe rack. She picked up a pair of knee-high boots and swallowed hard. “Okay, you’re wearing these for me one day but not tonight. Think councillor thoughts.”
Kay’s head snapped up. “This is an official thing?”
“Not really.”
“But—”
“Too many questions, not enough doing,” Millie said, silencing her. “Do you trust me?”
Kay looked at her for a few stunned seconds before realising that she did. She’d wormed her way into her heart and her trust. “I do.”
“Then come on,” Millie implored. “Warm clothes. Chop chop.”
“You like being bossy, don’t you?” Kay asked as she picked up her thickest coat.
“You like me being bossy, too, if I recall,” Millie replied with a wicked smile.
She got ready and Millie told her that she looked perfect. They exited the house and Millie opened the front passenger door of the waiting car for her. Kay got in and the driver gave her a strange look, as if she hadn’t quite made her mind up about Kay yet.
“Hello,” Kay greeted, hoping for some answers.
“Hi,” the driver said, not giving her anything.
Millie got into the back. “This is Claire, my best friend.”
Kay’s eyebrows shot up. This was the friend. The friend who would surely hate her on sight. But for some r
eason she was driving them somewhere and didn’t quite look as if she wanted to kill Kay.
“I’m confused,” Kay admitted.
Claire pulled away and started the journey to wherever they were going.
“It’s a surprise,” Millie said.
“I’m not good with surprises,” Kay confessed.
“Me neither,” Claire said. “Imagine my surprise when I heard about you two.”
Kay swallowed. “Yes, well, that must have been quite the shock. Nearly as surprising as it was for me, I imagine.”
“This will be a good surprise,” Millie added.
“Well, that remains to be seen,” Kay said.
“It’s a good surprise,” Claire agreed. “Don’t worry.”
Kay looked at her. She was holding the wheel tight and Kay could feel the waves of confusion coming from her. Millie had explained Claire’s politics and how she wasn’t a fan of Kay. And yet, she was somehow involved in whatever this was?
“Thank you for being the driver,” Kay said, offering an olive branch.
“Thank you for making Millie so happy,” Claire replied, softening a little. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen her this happy. It’s nice.”
Kay smiled and turned to look at Millie, who was sat in the back of the car and beaming happily.
“Of course, I’ll end you if you hurt her,” Claire promised.
“Claire,” Millie warned.
“What? It’s my job as best friend to threaten her a little,” Claire argued.
“A little? You threatened to kill her, and I’m pretty sure it’s not in the job description,” Millie replied.
“It is,” Kay agreed. “You have a good best friend.”
Claire glanced at her quickly and smiled.
They parked up in town, in one of the quieter car parks. They got out of the car and Millie quickly took Kay’s arm and started to head into the town centre.
“Where are we going?” Kay asked.
“We’ll be there soon,” Millie replied.
“That’s not an answer,” Kay informed her.
Christmas Lights Page 13
