by Rosa Temple
‘Not quite,’ I said, my eyes searching the crowd for Anthony but only seeing Inez in her long bronze-coloured dress that clung elegantly to her tall, slim frame. ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen next.’
‘Seriously?’ Amber said. ‘From what I can see, Shearman is going to be on the up and you’ll probably be working for longer than that year. I can see you’re enjoying it.’
‘I am,’ I said, still scanning the crowd. ‘But as for staying on at Shearman, it’s going to be a case of wait and see.’ I still didn’t see Anthony but caught sight of Father in a corner talking to Anya. She looked agitated and moved quickly away from him, while he was still trying to talk to her. Father rubbed his hand over his head and caught my eye. I waved, and tentatively, he waved back.
His strange behaviour had distracted me from what Ebony had been saying but my ears pricked up when she said the magic words.
‘What?’ I asked, not having believed my ears. ‘You want to buy stock for Harrods?’
‘Yes that’s what I’ve been saying for the past five minutes but you were miles away,’ Ebony said with a huge grin. ‘I can tell this is overwhelming you. At the launch I didn’t have the go-ahead from Harrods to place an order. But I brought the buying executive with me this time and he can see that my wanting to purchase stock for Harrods wasn’t just a case of nepotism. He’s seriously impressed and he was even talking about staging another fashion show at Harrods between Christmas and New Year.’
‘Honestly?’ I put my hand over my mouth, searching the crowd for Anthony so I could tell him that we’d just nailed our most prestigious account. There was no sign of him. ‘Ebony, thank you so much. I’ll be speaking to a couple of new designers, too. The range is set to grow. But I must find Anthony and I really need to mingle.’
‘Of course. I’ll call you on Monday and set up a meeting.’
‘Great.’ I went to leave.
‘And, Magenta,’ Ebony said. I waited. ‘Well done again. You’re amazing.’
I smiled and slipped away. I finally spotted Anthony with Inez draped around him and I felt a dip in my spirits. I quickly decided that anything I had to say to him could wait, after all. I didn’t want to be anywhere near Inez.
‘Hey, Madge.’ Anya appeared from nowhere. ‘I’m sorry but I have to go. My agent called and Clinique vont to add a few studio shots to the vinter campaign ads.’
‘Oh, shame. I haven’t had a drink all evening and I thought I could sit with you later and play catch-up. I suppose I should try to find Mother and Father, wherever they are.’
‘I haven’t even seen them,’ she said, quickly before slipping on her cashmere coat and pulling up the hood.
‘But I thought I saw –’
Anya pecked my cheek before I could finish my sentence about having seen her with Father earlier. She started backing her way out through the crowd. ‘I’ll call you,’ she said and instantly her back was turned and she was gone.
I found Father talking to Mother. As I approached, Mother rushed up and hugged me to her.
‘Darling, this was a standout show. Really, really brilliant. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could join your sisters in the family business? Imagine what could happen with all that talent you’ve had hiding.’
‘Two Bright girls are all you need, Mother. Besides, you know I don’t take orders well from my big sisters.’
‘You wouldn’t need to. You’d have your own department.’
‘No, Mother, Amber is your marketing person; you don’t need me.’ I kissed her cheek. ‘But it was sweet of you to ask.’
‘Well, if you ever change your mind …’
The party began to thin out and I allowed myself a second glass of champagne. I eventually caught up with Anthony. We didn’t say much except to suggest a meeting, first thing on Monday. He was ushered away by Inez shortly after he introduced me to his parents. They were very proud of their boy and of me.
As I sat in the taxi on my way home, still buzzing from all the attention, gratitude and admiration. I looked at the city lights blurring by and knew that the show had sealed my commitment to Shearman in a way I never would have expected.
Chapter 23
We were riding on the crest of a man bag wave as we went into December. Anthony had to move the factory to larger premises and he and Cassandra spent days interviewing new staff and overseeing operations to get Shearman working on a larger scale. Back at the office I was working alongside the other staff to take Shearman into the global market, well Germany and Holland – but it was a start.
At the same time, as if I didn’t have enough on my plate, I thought it might be a wonderful idea to have a staff Christmas party. Cassandra laughed up her sleeve at all my party themes but even she couldn’t deny my suggestion to take over the ground floor, order in some Christmas platters from Fortnum & Mason and hire a cool band was a good one.
The entrance hall to our building was really quite grand. It had a high ceiling and marble floor and was big enough to shove a small band in one corner and have room to dance and chat in the middle. I put a small Christmas tree in the hall just by the staircase and decorated it quite tastefully, in my opinion, with shiny red and gold ornaments. In previous years they’d made do with a tiny fake one in the kitchen. The kitchen had doors that partitioned off what would be a staff lounge but was never used. I converted the two rooms into a bar, buffet and seating area, which I decorated with some holly and berry garlands.
Cassandra pulled a face as if she were sucking a lemon and waltzed into the ladies, where I was dressing for the party, to announce that she was off. Being very cagey about where she was going, she squeezed into a glittery dress, some high heels and was gone. I ignored the ultimate snub and carried on getting ready.
I was dressed in a little, black Jean Paul Gaultier number and felt fabulous. It wasn’t a new dress but I’d never worn it before. It was just another gorgeous ‘must have’ that had sat in my walk-in wardrobe for just this occasion. It certainly impressed Anthony; I could tell.
‘How do you do this?’ he asked me, looking at the way his staff from both the office and factory were getting down to some nifty Christmas tunes courtesy of the brilliant band in the corner. ‘Wait, why would I ask you that?’ said Anthony. ‘Of course you can do this. You’re Magenta Bright.’
‘You make me sound like a superhero,’ I replied. ‘To be honest, this wasn’t so hard to organise although I’d never been to a work party before. In fact, I made it my business to leave any job that was open at Christmas just so I could party with friends for the whole season and have the time to sleep off hangovers. But this is great. The atmosphere is stunning and I realise that comes from the camaraderie of working closely with people who are committed and share a vision.’
We were standing by the tree at the foot of the stairs, both holding a drink, and as I wittered on I could feel Anthony staring at me. I looked up at him.
‘What time does Inez get here?’ I asked. He took a breath before answering.
‘Soon, I think. This clashed with her office do,’ Anthony said. ‘I think she went out to dinner with her colleagues.’
‘This is nice, though. And great that people brought partners.’
‘Absolutely.’
He was still staring and I was doing my best to not look at him. I was following the advice of my personal trainer, Lena, who had shown up to our last training session at Costa with a couple of books she’d bought in the second-hand bookshop a few doors down – one was on unsolved crimes, the other on serial killers who had hidden their victims’ remains under floorboards or in the garden.
I’d asked her about her ex but she’d been keen to get off the subject and talk about the distressed look on my face. Needless to say, I had been falling apart in my personal life. The conflict I’d been feeling showed in the overly large coffee and the number of foodstuffs I’d ordered from the counter cabinet when we last met. Lena didn’t think I’d e
at it all but when I began to tuck in, relentlessly, she thought it best to make the session all about my problems and put her books on murder away.
I’d been keeping her up to date with progress. Like Anya, she thought I ought to open a conversation with Hugo. I was still adamant it was a bad move.
‘Anything to take your mind off Anthony,’ she’d said. ‘Remember? You were supposed to forget him. Taking cold showers is obviously not working. I know the work is exciting you and you wouldn’t dream of leaving now, but that’s all the more reason you have to be strong.’
So there I was at the party – being strong. Not looking into the soft and chocolatey discs of brown that were Anthony’s eyes, or at the way the waves of his hair were beginning to curl at his collar now that he’d adopted a looser style for work. I ignored how he smelled and I ignored his new shirt that was mid blue and made his skin look magnificent. Yes, I was doing a wonderful job of not fancying my boss – I don’t think.
Across the hallway, the door opened and in walked Inez. I’d never been so happy to see that woman in my life. In fact, completely out of character, I broke away from Anthony and rushed over to give her a friendly hug. She froze, in an Anya way, and for the first time I began to see similarities in the two. Both incredibly attractive women – tall, slim, elegant and sexy. Inez was dressed in an ivory white coat and hat.
‘Love this coat,’ I said. ‘Is it Lacroix?’
‘Doubtful,’ she said. ‘It was a present from Anthony, from some random boutique.’ She took off the coat and hat, handing them to me as if I were the doorman.
‘He’s got great taste,’ I said.
Anthony approached and Inez leapt into his arms. I excused myself and went to take Inez’s things to Cassandra’s office. As she wasn’t going to be there I’d decided to set up a rail for the coats in reception. I also dangled some mistletoe just over the entrance to the room. I looked up at it and then at the way Inez had yet to unpeel herself from Anthony and decided that my champagne flute needed to be refreshed.
I squeezed my way through the happy, partying crowd to find the bubbly. I topped up my champagne flute and inadvertently picked up the bottle too. Out in the marble hallway I looked around suddenly feeling extremely out of place. Unnoticed, I sneaked up to my office and sat at my desk with my feet up and sipped from my glass. My laptop screen saver was on – a picture of Santa pulling his trousers down and then up again made me smile. Santa’s back faced the viewer and I kept laughing at Rudolf’s expression every time Santa flashed him.
It was a Friday evening. Anya wasn’t in London until Monday. She was visiting a relative. Mother was at a yoga retreat and I was feeling lonely.
After another glass of champagne, I touched my mouse, wondering if any urgent emails had come in. Stupid really, I was in no place in my head to sort business emails. Wearily I cast my eyes at the folders in my mail reader and saw it, just calling to me, the folder marked GOBP. The only email it contained was Hugo’s. No other Ghost Of Boyfriends Past had ever emailed me before or was ever likely to.
I opened Hugo’s email. Stupid. But I didn’t read it. I didn’t need to. I’d memorised it by now. What I did do was scan down to the phone number at the bottom. Hugo had put it in, knowing that I might not have saved his number on my phone from when he called last. He’d got that right.
Then I did another stupid thing. I got my phone out and put the number in. One breath away from calling Hugo and I stopped. I called Anya instead. Her mobile rang and rang and she didn’t pick up. I let it go to voicemail but didn’t leave a message. My eyes trailed over to that email again and then down to the mobile number at the bottom and before I could stop myself I was calling Hugo. I didn’t have time to hang up and come to my senses – Hugo was quick to pick up.
‘Magenta. I’m so glad you called.’
I’d done it, opened that can of worms and there was no replacing the lid and pretending I wasn’t holding the can opener in one hand and the open can in the other.
‘You don’t have to speak,’ he went on. ‘Just knowing you called means the world.’
‘I don’t know why I did,’ I said at last. ‘It was a mistake. An impulse.’
‘It wasn’t a mistake. Are you at home?’
‘Office party.’
‘Oh, nice. I hope.’ He sounded playful.
‘It’s a nice party. Where are you?’
‘I’m in a rented cottage in Cumbria. I couldn’t stay at the house. It was being overtaken by aunts and well-doers who are trying to take my dad out of himself. Though how they’ll do that I don’t know. Dad has never been so lost in his life. I don’t know what he’ll do without my mum. She was his life.’
‘That’s so touching. I’m sorry about your mother, Hugo.’
There was silence for a while.
‘How-how are you?’ I said. ‘I mean, I can’t imagine what it could be like.’
‘Not like anything I’ve ever known, Magenta. I loved my mum. It might not seem like it because I was never home and I rarely called but …’
‘You seem to be good at love from a distance, a master in fact. I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. We were talking about your –’
‘Let’s not talk about Mum. I’m making my peace with that. I’d rather we talked about you and me.’
‘Hugo, there is no you and me to talk about. Do you realise we knew each other for less than a week?’
‘So?’
‘So why are we here, now, having a phone call about nothing? I mean there is nothing. Nothing for us to talk about.’
‘But you called, so there must be something. There must be ten years of something to talk about. I’m pretty sure you’ve got some harsh words you’d like to say to me. Am I right?’
‘Not any more. Maybe then, all those years ago when I was a still a kid. I was too young to be that much in love. I was too young to have my heart broken. We should never have met.’
‘I disagree. I’m so glad I met you Magenta. I always think back to that week. There could never be another like it, could there? I still have that electric feeling when I think about you, knowing you, touching you, being with you. Like I said, it never left me, whether you want to believe me or not.’
I said nothing.
‘What about you?’ he went on. ‘Do you remember how it felt?’
My mind went back in time again. The crowd of people parting so that only Hugo could be seen. And then he was there, right beside me and then we were on that street, the warm summer night, the musky smell in his room and being tangled between his sheets and his arms.
‘I don’t,’ I said.
‘I don’t believe you.’
‘Well, then you should. I have to go.’
I moved the phone away from my ear and stared at the End Call button, hearing his voice, calling my name. With a click of my finger, his voice was gone. My face contorted as if I was screaming. In my mind I was, very loudly. I squashed my face with my hands to make the screaming stop. I downed the rest of my champagne and decided it was time to go. Grabbing my bag I looked around for my coat and then remembered hanging it on the rail in Cassandra’s office. I cursed myself because I wouldn’t be able to make a clean getaway.
Out on the landing I heard laughter and music, more pronounced now, not muted and foggy as it had been from my office. I sped down the stairs, hoping not to be noticed. Impossible. Someone tried to drag me to the dance floor but I feigned a headache and said I had to go. I escaped into Cassandra’s office and pulled my coat off its hanger. As I swung around to the door there stood Anthony. He looked puzzled as he stared at me.
‘You’re not going are you?’ he asked.
‘My head is thumping away, Anthony. I’m really sorry. You know I love a party but my head …’
‘No, no, I completely understand,’ he said but didn’t move away from the door.
I looked up at Anthony as I put on my coat and noticed the piece of mistletoe that ho
vered from an almost invisible thread above him. Anthony and I just stood there, speechless. My eyes kept targeting the mistletoe until at last Anthony looked up. His eyes trailed slowly back down to mine and his lips parted.
‘Is this where the party is?’ Inez burst in and stood between us, her back to me. ‘I’ve got your drink,’ she said to Anthony.
‘Thanks.’ He looked at me. ‘Magenta has to go. She’s not well.’
‘Yes, bye,’ I said and almost bowled them both aside. ‘See you Monday,’ I called over my shoulder but I was sure they didn’t hear me over the music.
Outside I blew out a stream of white vapour and wrapped my arms around my body as I began to walk towards Park Lane to try to find a taxi. I found one quite quickly but I didn’t want to go home. I still had that lonely feeling and I wanted some company. Mother and Anya were out of town and I doubted Ebony, my third choice, would be home. I jumped into the back of the waiting taxi.
‘Cleveland Square,’ I said to the taxi driver. ‘In Bayswater.’
‘Got it,’ the taxi driver said and off we went. I had no idea if my father was home and if he wanted company but I was tired of him putting me off and telling me he was busy when only weeks before he and I were getting on like a house on fire.
The driver stopped outside Father’s apartment block and I could see a light on in one of his rooms. Thankfully he was there and I hoped he had some ice cream in the freezer.
I knew the security code to let myself in and took the lift to the luxury apartment that Father had located to after the divorce. He’d moved into my part of London, which was great, but I’d always wished he’d stayed a little closer to Mother and the family home.
I rang Father’s doorbell. He took a surprisingly long time to answer. It was only nine-thirty at night. Surely he hadn’t gone to bed that early. I kept on ringing. Eventually I heard his bare feet approaching the door and I could tell he’d looked in the spy hole. Father opened the door by just a small amount and I almost banged my nose on it as I went to go in.
