‘Don’t bother. I can see I was on the wrong track. You’re obviously settled in rather too well here. Have this towards the meal.’ He stood up and put some notes down on the table. ‘Enjoy life while you can, Fiona. Remember some things rarely last the course. Maybe I’ll see you when you eventually get back to Norminster.’ He swept out of the restaurant and walked away.
‘I’m sorry about that,’ Fiona apologised. ‘Not very nice for either of us.’
‘Not your fault.’
‘But I know I’m partly to blame. I never meant to lead him on the way I did. How was I to know he’d take it to mean something it never did?’ To her amazement, Adam burst out laughing. ‘What? What have I said that’s funny?’
‘Nothing, love. You don’t realise what an attractive woman you are. Any man would think you meant something more when you flirt with them.’
‘I don’t flirt. Never. I just treat people normally.’ He said nothing and looked at her, still with his irritating smile on his face. ‘Don’t I?’
‘Trouble is, you don’t realise you’re doing it. Look at you with Declan and Rory. You had them eating out of your hand in seconds after you met them.’
‘I never did.’ He still said nothing. ‘Let’s go, shall we. I’ll pay for this disaster. It’ll have to be on my credit card.’ She scooped up Patrick’s notes and took out her card, signalling to waiter for the bill. He came over and she handed him her card. He put it into the machine and handed it to her for her pin number. He looked at the machine and then at her.
‘I’m sorry madam. It’s been refused. Do you have another card?’
‘Here. Use this one.’ Adam handed him his own card and paid the bill. Fiona looked horrified, ashamed and wishing the ground to open up in front of her. As they left the restaurant, she spoke to Adam.
‘I’m so sorry. That was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me. I don’t understand it. I know I’ve spent a lot of money, but I’m nowhere near my limit. You must have the cash too. I’ll get it out.’
‘Forget it. It isn’t a problem. Really. But it is worrying that your card wasn’t accepted.’
Fiona frowned as she tried to calculate her spending lately. She knew it was near the top, but certainly not overrun. She would pay her bill as soon as she could look on her laptop for the figure. She worked out that it wasn’t due for another week or so.
‘I’ll pay the bill when we get home. I can do it on my laptop.’
‘I’m wondering if you keep your pin number on the computer?’
‘Course. But it is well protected. I wouldn’t have thought anyone could find it. Besides, it is protected by other passwords.’
They went back to the car and drove home almost in silence. She was worrying about her maxed-out card, and he was thinking about the hacking that he knew had gone on. He now had other worries about Fiona’s laptop. He knew she wouldn’t have the security he had, and it might be very easy to get into. They went into the apartment and she went to her room and switched on her laptop. What a disaster of an evening, she was thinking. Patrick had behaved abominably, and Adam wasn’t all that much better. Why was it taking so long to boot up her computer? She switched it off and on again, following the age old rule, switch it off and reboot. The same thing happened.
‘Adam? My computer won’t boot up. What do you think is wrong with it?’
‘When did you last use it?’
‘Yesterday, I think. Or it may have been the day before.’
‘I’m horribly afraid you’ve been hacked. Someone’s got into it and possibly removed some of the software.’
‘But how could they have done so?’
‘Possibly looking for information. My system was attacked too. I have too many safety features on mine though. Let me look at it. Maybe I can see what’s wrong.’
‘Oh good heavens. First my credit card and now this. What’s wrong with the world? Why do people have to do this sort of thing? There’s nothing on there that makes any difference to anyone but me.’
I don’t know either. It’s a silly, crazy world. Good job some of us are sane, isn’t it? Look, I didn’t want to worry you before, but my system has had another attempt to hack it. They didn’t get into it, but there have been abusive messages since. I guess whoever was doing it was frustrated they couldn’t get any further.’
‘Who do you think might be doing it?’
‘I did wonder about Patrick.’
‘Patrick? I doubt he’s got those sort of skills.’
‘He knew about the problems with Melissa. Have you told your father about them?’
‘I may have mentioned she had been less than honest.’
‘You gave him the name? I mean you actually mentioned her by name?’
‘I might have done. I can’t honestly remember.’
‘Well, we’ll leave that one on hold for now. It seems I’m safe for the time being.’
‘I’m thinking I might go to bed now. I’ll have to look at the wretched laptop in the morning. Oh why is life so difficult? I almost wish I was more like my Mum. She never seems to worry about anything more than the grandchildren.’
‘I might as well do the same. Need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the television folks tomorrow.’
‘I’d be interested to join you for that meeting, if that’s okay.’
‘Fine. Brent Cross at eleven o’clock. I’ll say good night then.’
‘Good night. And thanks again for this evening.’
‘No problem. See you in the morning.’
Fiona went to bed, but lay awake thinking about Adam. Why did she think she was in love with him? In truth, she realised, she barely knew him. They’d had fun together, and he was very generous. She knew this was no basis for anything more, and she really needed to be careful. She thought about him kissing her, and even the thought made her feel weak. No, she told herself. She must not make more of it than it really was. She needed to be sensible and realise she was staying in his flat with her father’s permission. Her father was quite right in suggesting that he must behave himself.
She fell asleep, but woke later in the night. She heard some movement and decided to go and see if it was Adam doing something. She went along to the office and pushed open the door quietly.
‘Melissa?’ she said loudly. The woman jumped and glared at her. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Trying to check on something. Nothing to do with you, so go back to bed.’
‘How did you get in?’ Melissa glared at her.
‘I have a key of course.’ Fiona smiled.
‘But you gave that back to Adam. I saw you do it.’
‘You surely don’t think I only had only one key? I got several more cut so I wasn’t ever shut out. You may think you’ve got it easy and Adam’s interested in you. Well, believe me, he isn’t. I know him rather better than you do. I’ve been in partnership with him for several years and I know when he’s using someone.’
‘Using me? How exactly?’
‘Oh he’ll flatter you. Buy things for you. Pay for meals out. Make you think he really cares. I’ve seen it all before. Your business isn’t the first one he’s tried to sell to.’
‘I don’t believe you. You’re jealous because he’s moved on.’
‘Jealous? Me? You must be joking. We have a past, and possibly even a future together. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have some work to do.’ She turned back to the computer. ‘Only I can’t seem to access the pages. What has he done to this blasted machine?’
‘He’s changed the passwords. It was hacked recently and he didn’t want it to happen again.’
‘Oh yes. I forgot. So what are the new passwords?’
‘I have no idea.’
‘Come on, you silly girl. Of course you must know.’
‘Well, I’m sorry, but I have no idea. He didn’t want me to know. So, I suggest you go back home and call round to see Adam tomorrow. We all need to talk. There are several things we need to say to each oth
er.’ Fiona was trying hard to control herself. To her relief, Melissa rose and went to the door.
‘Don’t even begin to think this is over,’ she said with a leer. ‘I’m not done with you yet.’
Feeling herself beginning to shake, Fiona switched off the light and went back to her room. She didn’t sleep again that night.
Chapter Eleven
It was seven o’clock when Fiona decided to get up and make coffee. Her mind had been teeming with thoughts ever since her night visitor had left. Melissa had undoubtedly been trying to scare her off Adam, but, if she had a grain of truth, her thoughts of earlier in the night had been well-placed. She really should not get involved with Adam Sullivan in any way. What did Melissa mean when she’d said it wasn’t the first time he’d tried to sell the company? Maybe he had tried to sell it to someone else, but that didn’t make it a bad deal, did it? She sipped the hot coffee, clutching the mug to warm her hands. Standing by the window, she looked over the city and thought how beautiful it looked so early in the morning. It was really where she wanted to be. Perhaps she could get her own flat somewhere. It certainly couldn’t be anywhere near this one, as she simply could never afford to pay anything like this one must have cost. But it was too soon to be thinking this way. She needed to wait until the deal was finished and a new role could be found for her.
‘Morning,’ said Adam, coming into the room. ‘Ah, coffee. Excellent. Gosh I slept well. How about you?’ He poured himself a cup and came to stand by her. ‘Looks good today, doesn’t it?’
‘I didn’t get a great deal of sleep, actually. We had a visitor.’
‘A visitor? Who?’
‘Melissa. She was in the office and I went through to find her trying to get into the computer.’
‘What? How on earth did she get in?’
‘She had several keys cut before she gave one back to you. She didn’t believe me when I said I didn’t know the new passwords.’
‘Well, I’m glad I didn’t tell you then.’
‘She was quite vitriolic about you. Said I wasn’t your first woman living here. I knew that anyway. But she said we weren’t the first company you’d tried to sell to. Is that right?’
‘Well yes. I had someone in mind last year, but it fell through. I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware that I should have told you that. It was before the Brent Cross shop really began to take off. And no, I haven’t had anyone living here with me before. The spare room has been used when my mother and Jacob came over just after Christmas. I’ve only been living here for just over a year, so I don’t know what Melissa’s game is.’
‘I said you’d see her later today.’
‘I have the meeting with the television people this morning. No doubt she’ll have discovered her father’s deal with us by this afternoon. I’ll go and dress now. Do you still want to come along?’
‘Well, yes, please. If that’s okay with you?’
‘Course it is. Business suit today, please.’
‘No problem.’
‘You are okay, aren’t you?’
‘Of course. Why?’
‘I detected a different note in you. A sort of restraint maybe?’
‘I’m a bit tired. Nothing to worry about. I’ll go and dress.’
She went into her room and stripped off. She stood under the shower, watching the light show that was built in. She would miss all these nice features when she got her own flat, but that was getting ahead of herself. She dried herself and went to get dressed in her suit. As she was dressing, she heard raised voices in the next room. Fiona sighed. It was Melissa coming to get her marching orders, no doubt. She delayed going through for as long as she could, but decided she wanted some breakfast.
‘You cannot do this,’ she was almost shouting.
‘I’m sorry but it has to end right away,’ Adam told her. ‘You need to see your father. He’s paid back the money you took and demanded that we end our contract right away. See him if you want to know the results.’
‘You bastard. How dare you go to see him? What lies did you tell him, eh? What lies?’
‘I was economical with truth, if you want to know. I didn’t mention your using our petty cash whenever you wanted to. I didn’t mention the heavy discounts you were accustomed to taking from the shops. I think you’ve got off pretty lightly.’
‘I want my money back. The money you started with.’
‘Sorry Melissa. That won’t be happening. Your father has paid me for what you took and some of the startup money is included. As I said, go and see him. Sort it out with him. You’ll have your contract back in the next few days. Terminated.’
The woman went white. Her eyes flashed, and she went very quiet. In a scarily calm voice, she spoke.
‘You’ll be hearing from my solicitors.’ She turned and left the flat.
‘I’d like my keys back please. All of them.’ She stuck two fingers into the air and left. ‘Ah well. I’d better get a locksmith round to change the locks,’ he said.
‘Breakfast?’ Fiona asked.
They drove to Brent Cross almost in silence. She sensed that Adam didn’t really want to talk. He was in something of a state of shock about Melissa. It was quiet in the store and Rory greeted them politely.
‘I’ve put together a heap of fabrics as you instructed. I gather they’ll want some for particular patterns they intend using, plus a collection of fabrics for the candidates to choose from.’
‘That’s great. I’m not quite sure how they want to run this, but it makes a good starting point.’
‘How are they going to run this programme?’ Fiona asked. She was puzzled.
‘They’ll select a group of home dressmakers. They ask them to make various items in a timed situation. Some of them are actually made in fabrics chosen for them, and some they choose for themselves.’
‘I see. Or I think I do. Won’t they need a shop full of stuff to choose from though?’
‘It’s all up for discussion. That’s why we’re meeting here. Oh, there’s someone coming now.’
Two women came into the shop.
‘Mr. Sullivan? I’m Josie Flanders. This is my colleague, Sarah Winters. I believe you know something of our plans?’
‘Indeed yes. I’m pleased to meet you. May I introduce my new partner, Fiona Theobald, and the manager of this shop, Rory McKenzie.’ Everyone shook hands and murmured the usual greetings. ‘Would you like some coffee?’
They all went to sit at the rear of the shop, and the discussions began. Adam had got their plans exactly right and was offering just the sort of things they wanted. There were smiles all round, and the deal was looking good.
‘So, you’re prepared to supply a whole range of fabrics on sale or return? We’ll also need a range of haberdashery items. Ribbons. Bindings and all the trimmings. Can you supply them too?’
‘Of course. You can see the range we hold in store. We can easily duplicate that for you.’
‘This is wonderful. Can I see some fabrics now,’ asked Josie. Her sidekick was following her round, making notes as they walked round the shop. Fiona stayed back with Rory as Adam showed them round.
‘I hope he’s going to make some sort of profit,’ Fiona said quietly. ‘It’s quite an undertaking actually.’
‘He knows exactly what he’s doing. I’m just so relieved Melissa isn’t here. Is she still on holiday?’
‘I’m ... er, not sure.’ She didn’t know how much Rory was supposed to know about the situation and decided to let Adam tell him.
An hour later, Adam came back to Fiona after he’d shown the two women out.
‘That was all very satisfactory,’ he said, looking pleased. ‘They’ve agreed to credit us with supplying the fabrics at the end of the show. It should enhance our trade somewhat. They’ve agreed to pay us well too. Above the costs. I’m delighted with the deal. I’ll give you a list of what sort of things they’ll be wanting. I’ll put an order in for all the trimmings too. That should make us a nice deal all round. S
o what have you two been talking about?’
‘I’ve been asking about soft furnishing sales. I gather they don’t make a great deal of profit.’
‘Not really,’ said Rory. ‘But nor does it cost us much to have them there. The suppliers give us their ample range, and we simply have them there for customers.’
‘So have you mentioned your idea?’ he asked Fiona.
‘Of course not. It’s up to you to make that sort of decision.’
‘I think it could work, actually. Go ahead and talk it through. See how he feels about it.’
She began to tell him about her patchwork idea. As she talked, she was getting more and more enthusiastic.
‘You see, people want to do more in the craft sort of things, and this could really do well. Especially if we put it online too. People would order stuff from all over the place. It could be posted to them.’
‘We’d have to have considerable reorganisation. I mean, posting fabric pieces might cause problems. Suppose they didn’t like them after they’d been sent?’
‘Then they’d have to send them back. At their own expense, of course. Most of the pieces would be quite small, though. Fat quarters and such like.’
‘What on earth is a fat quarter?’ asked Adam.
‘A metre cut into four using the middle line. So it makes a wider strip.’
‘I suppose it’s worth a try.’ Rory sounded slight dubious.
‘It has the added benefit of using up small leftovers from some of the rolls of fabric. You know, If you’re left with a single metre of something. It’s an idea anyway,’ she finished.
‘Perhaps you’ll be able to set it up,’ Adam suggested. ‘When or should I say, if you’re working down here.’
‘I’d love to. When/if I’m working down here.’ She gave him a small grin. ‘Perhaps I should look for a flat in this area.’
‘You wouldn’t actually like living in this area,’ Rory replied. ‘A little way out is better. Sorry, I shouldn’t really say that, should I?’
‘It’s okay. I’ll be glad of any advice when the time comes. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m starving. Anywhere we can get something to eat?’
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