One Way or Another Page 5

  And she was off, chatting about her work, answering Sarah’s intelligent questions. Before she knew it, she’d reached the end of her glass of wine.

  Sarah pointed at her own empty glass. “Shall we get another?”

  “Yes, please,” Bethany replied without hesitation, and Sarah beamed.

  “Wait, you named your car Frannie?” Sarah laughed and leaned forward in her chair. “Seriously?”

  Bethany smirked, and it gave Sarah a warm glow inside. Bethany was opening up, relaxing, and it was wonderful to observe. She reminded Sarah of a shy creature emerging from its shell, and Sarah was pleased she’d helped that process start.

  “She’s a Ford Fiesta, and Frannie just kind of…fits.” Bethany sighed. “She’s getting old now, though. And I can’t really afford to replace her so when she goes, I’ll probably give up a car altogether.”

  “I don’t have one. I’ve never bothered, living in London.”

  “Yes, I know lots of Londoners don’t. I just got used to having her when I was at university; plus, she was a present from my mum, so I just couldn’t give her up once I moved back to take up my teaching job.”

  Sarah couldn’t really understand but she nodded anyway. Attachment to ‘things’ had not played a major part in her life. Sure, she’d never wanted for anything, with her parents as well off as they were, but maybe that was it—everything had been too easy to obtain, and so its emotional or sentimental value was minimal. Presumably Bethany’s mum giving her a car was a big deal in their relationship, so of course it meant more.

  “…and going away to study was a big thing.”

  Shit. She’d tuned out, and now sat upright to bring herself back into the conversation. How much had she missed? And just what the hell was happening to her tonight? She never lost attention on a date. Never.

  Quick, think of a question!

  “Did you settle into uni life okay though?”

  Bethany shrugged. “I did, after a few months. Luckily Bristol was a big enough town that there were plenty of things to do once I did find my feet.”

  Good. Saved.

  Bethany started talking about her classes, and her fellow students, using her hands to emphasise certain points, her recollections of her time at uni clearly bringing her joy. Sarah leaned her elbow on the table and propped her chin in her hand, mesmerised by the beautiful sight in front of her.

  The wine was making her mellow, yes, but she knew most of this wonderful state of being came from sharing time with Bethany. From talking to her, laughing with her, merely being in her presence. A number of times Sarah had tried to shake it off, to get back into her tried and trusted game zone, but even trying to remember what that was eluded her.

  Was Bethany some kind of witch? Had she cast a spell over Sarah? It was weird, like everything Sarah normally did and said during a date in order to lead the evening to its ultimate—and usually very pleasurable—conclusion had been removed from her brain. She tried pinching herself, to pull herself out of this haze where everything was warm, and cosy, and dreamy.

  Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone whose mere presence instantly pulled her into a full state of alertness. Oh, shit. Kristen. Sarah tried turning slightly, so the back of her head would be presented to the rest of the bar, but it was too late. Kristen slid off her stool and began to make her way over.

  “Are you okay?” Bethany asked, tilting her head slightly.

  “Ah, no, not really. I apologise in advance for—”

  “Sarah.” The word dripped with ice. “Fancy seeing you here.”

  Sarah winced and turned to face the visitor, trying at the same time to ignore the evident shock on Bethany’s face.

  “Kristen. You’re looking well. But if you’ll excuse me, I’m actually here with—”

  Kristen turned to look at Bethany and Sarah’s stomach plummeted. “Yes, so I see. I assume this is your latest conquest? Look out, whoever you are. Don’t expect coffee in the morning. You’ll be lucky if she’s still in the bed when you wake up.”

  Sarah’s heart thudded. “Kristen! Please, there’s no need for that.”

  “Really?” Kristen’s eyebrows arched. She was still beautiful—that tall, lithe body perfect in its proportions, her blonde hair ridiculously long and soft-looking, but the blue eyes were harder than Sarah remembered, and the mouth that had been so plump to kiss now looked thin and cruel.

  Sarah stood. Enough was enough. “Kristen,” she hissed, staring intently into her eyes, “leave it. I never made you any promises, and you know that. Please, walk away and leave me and my date alone.”

  Kristen visibly flinched at the word ‘date,’ and snorted softly. “Whatever. Good luck,” she spat at Bethany, then stalked away.

  Sarah closed her eyes for a moment before turning back to the table and sliding into her chair. Bethany’s face was a mix of confusion and anger.

  “Bethany,” Sarah said, keeping her tone as even as she could manage given how much her insides were churning. “I am so sorry about that.”

  “Who was she?” Bethany’s tone was hard, and Sarah couldn’t blame her.

  Sighing, Sarah took a fortifying sip of her wine before speaking. “A woman I had a one-night stand with about three months ago.” She had no desire to lie to Bethany, and she had no idea why that was so. “It seems she misunderstood my intentions that night and was very angry about me leaving in the morning. Normally I handle things like that better but somehow I got that one wrong.”

  Bethany sat as far back in her chair as possible, her left hand fiddling with her handbag where it lay on the table. She looked ready to bolt.

  “Normally? Is that what I am? A one-night stand?”

  Sarah stared at her. How the hell did she answer that? As honestly as you answered her first question, a little voice somewhere in the back of her head said.

  “When I asked you for your number on Friday, yes, that was my intention. It isn’t now.”

  She flushed, and her stomach dropped to her knees and back again. Cold sweat broke out across her shoulder blades. She’d meant it. Every word. Holy shit.

  Bethany blinked, and took a sip of her wine. Then she grimaced. “Well, I can’t fault you for honesty.” She turned to look out the window.

  Sarah waited.

  When Bethany looked back, there was a firm resolution in her eyes. “Okay. I’ll stay. But let’s see how we are at the end of the evening before we think beyond tonight.”

  Sarah’s relief was a hot and cold wave of feeling flowing through her veins. “Thank you. And again, I’m very sorry for how that unfolded.”

  Bethany shrugged. “You couldn’t have anticipated it.”

  They were silent for a moment.

  “At the risk of sounding like I’m just trying to feed you a line right now,” Sarah said, her voice sounding nervy even to her own ears, “I was really having a great time with you before that, and it’s been lovely getting to know a little bit about you.”

  Bethany smiled—it was small, but it was a start. “Me too.” She sighed and leaned forward. “Okay, let’s forget that woman, shall we? We’re here, we’ve got wine, let’s not waste it.”

  Sarah chuckled, shaking her head. “You are one cool customer, Bethany Keane.”

  Bethany’s answering laughter was musical. “Okay, flattery may yet work.”

  Sarah rubbed her hands together. “Great. Let me work on that. In the meantime, I believe you were telling me about your uni days. You were the serious one, yes?”

  Seemingly willing to take up Sarah’s unspoken offer to reset the evening right back to where it had been so rudely side-tracked, Bethany grinned.

  “Yes, I’m afraid I was one of those very studious types in college; no partying.”

  “Always the one with her nose in her books and her homework in on time?”

 
“Exactly!” Bethany blushed, her cheeks turning the sweetest of pinks.

  “No naughty Sapphic escapades in the halls after dark?”

  Bethany frowned. “Well, even if I did, I’m not sure I’d share that sort of tale with you on our first date.”

  Sarah winced. The flirty question had just slipped out, as per usual, and Bethany’s reaction made it abundantly clear that that wasn’t her style. Don’t be an asshole. There’s something different about her compared to all the women who have gone before, so you have to be different too. Sarah feared she wasn’t up to the task.

  “Sorry about that. I…” She sighed and plunged on, hoping Bethany would re-engage with a serious question. “Are you still studying, perhaps for a Masters?”

  Bethany’s shoulders relaxed, and Sarah inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. “No, all done. I qualified and have been teaching for five years now.”

  “Good for you!” Sarah toasted her with the last of her wine.

  Bethany smiled, then said, “Um, I was wondering, do they do food here? This wine is going to my head and I think I need to eat something.”

  “We could always go back to my place. I’m sure we could find something to eat there. Each other, perhaps.” She smirked, and in the next moment knew the comment had dropped her straight back into the asshole zone.

  Bethany froze, her eyes narrowing and her lips pursing. “You can’t seem to help yourself, can you?” she said, her tone clipped. “I thought you’d redeemed your Neanderthal persona when you were so nice inside the shop, but now I’m thinking that was all a bit of an act.”

  “Neanderthal?” Sarah’s hackles rose, although she knew it was more from anger at herself than at Bethany.

  “Yes!” Bethany snapped, before she reached into her handbag and yanked out some money, which she then threw on the table. “Crass jokes and comments, acting all macho. It might work on women like Kristen but not on me.” Her voice was a hiss from between tight lips, and her eyes blazed. She looked incredible all riled up, but Sarah set that observation aside as she scrambled to rescue the situation.

  “Bethany, I’m sorry. I—”

  Bethany stood, and Sarah rose to block her exit.

  “Bethany, please. I really am sorry.” Bethany wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Look, yes, I agree, some of my comments have been misguided. I…” She groaned, knowing how bad this was going to sound but knowing she had to say it. “It’s what I’ve always done, and it’s always got me what I wanted in the past. I’m not going to hide from that. But there really is something about you that makes me want to be different. I—”

  “Sarah, please let me pass.” Bethany’s tone was unforgiving, and she still wouldn’t meet Sarah’s eyes.

  Sarah sighed. “Bethany, please. Give me another chance.”

  Well, this was certainly new territory, begging a woman to stay. But she had to; there was something about this woman, something that had Sarah convinced she would lose something very important if Bethany left right now.

  Bethany said nothing, but she did, at last, raise her head to lock eyes with Sarah. There was hurt in her expression, and confusion, and sorrow, and all of it turned the wine sour in Sarah’s stomach.

  “I really do want to be different with you,” Sarah whispered, then sighed as Bethany pushed past her and walked out of the bar.

  Chapter 6

  Slam! The filing cabinet drawer rammed into place with a satisfyingly loud metallic clang.

  “Hey, Connolly, what’s with the attitude?”

  It was Roy, the other senior legal advisor at Robbins & Pearse Ltd—Sarah’s only peer, and a man she detested with every fibre of her being.

  “Time of the month?” he asked, a sneer in his tone.

  “Piss off,” Sarah muttered under her breath before turning to face him. “Don’t know what you mean,” she said blithely, before walking back to her cubicle across from his, the folder she’d retrieved from the cabinet gripped tightly in her hand, bearing the brunt of her anger.

  Roy grunted and swivelled in his chair back to his monitor. Sarah had learned long ago the secret to taking the wind out of his sails whenever he felt the need to confront her: ignore him, not rise to the bait, and walk away.

  She threw the folder down on her desk and flopped into her chair, swivelling it slowly left and right as her gaze drifted out of the tenth-floor window that overlooked Liverpool Street station. She watched without really seeing as the people below scurried in and out, their lives ticking along, presumably just as they always did.

  Hers wasn’t, and that was what had her in such a foul mood this morning.

  The date with Bethany had been wonderful. Amazing. Unforgettable.

  Right up to the point where Sarah had reverted to her flirty—some might say obnoxious—self and completely blown it.

  She was mad at herself, but also a little mad at Bethany for not giving her another chance. Sure, Sarah had been a little crass in her comments, but most women would have rolled their eyes at her, or given some witty comeback and just moved on with the evening. Sarah’s apology had been sincere, but had fallen on deaf ears, and she couldn’t help feeling that Bethany had walked away too easily.

  Vaguely aware that Roy was now walking away towards the coffee station, Sarah dropped her head back, huffing out a breath as she stared at the ceiling. She needed to talk to someone. It was hard to accept, but she was way out of her depth with this thing.

  Her mobile was buried deep in her handbag, but eventually her fingers closed around it and she pulled it out.

  Evelyn answered after only two rings.

  “Sarah, dear. What a lovely surprise in the middle of a day.”

  “Hi, Evelyn. How are you?”

  “I’m very well. Just completed today’s crossword and Jonathan’s now making us some lunch before we tackle that pesky viburnum.”

  Sarah smiled—Evelyn’s true passion in life was her garden. It was small but beautiful, packed full of plants, and although her body was slowing down, her enthusiasm wasn’t. If there was a task she couldn’t manage herself, Jonathan—or sometimes Sarah—was roped in to carry out her commands, which she issued from a comfortable chair on the small paved area just outside the kitchen door.

  “Well I’m glad to hear you’re keeping him busy.”

  Evelyn chuckled.

  “Anyway,” Sarah continued, her voice cracking slightly. “I was wondering if you were around tonight.”

  “I am, yes. Would you like to come for dinner?”

  “If that’s not imposing or too last minute?”

  “Not at all, dear. I will tell Jonathan.”

  “Thanks, Evelyn.”

  “Everything okay, Sarah?” Evelyn’s voice held concern.

  Sarah sighed. “I don’t know. I need to talk to you about something. About a woman.”

  “Oh, well in that case, get here as soon as you can, dear. Can you get away for lunch?”

  The unmistakeable sounds of Roy’s annoying whistling drifted down the corridor and Sarah knew he was on his way back to his desk.

  “Sorry, I can’t do lunch. I’ll see you this evening, okay? Gotta go.”

  “All right, dear. See you later.” Evelyn’s disappointment was obvious, but Sarah couldn’t help that. She did allow herself a wry chuckle, though—reaching out for advice to her ageing aunt and her waspish carer might not be the best idea she’d had all week, but whatever they came up with, it was sure to be entertaining.

  Roy returned with the gorgeous guy from Accounts trailing after him.

  “Visitor for you,” Roy grunted, thumbing in the guy’s direction. “Didn’t know where your cubicle was,” he finished, his tone dripping with sarcasm. He rolled his eyes before walking off again.

  “Tosser,” Sarah muttered, then looked at the man standing before her. Much to his credit, he wore a friendly grin,
despite Roy’s less than stellar introduction. He was about her height, with light brown hair combed into a neat wave, and was smartly dressed in a dark blue suit. His chiselled chin was the sort she’d only ever seen in old Hollywood movies, and he was rather breath-taking when he smiled.

  Holding out his hand, he said, “Hi, Scott Fisher. I work on the forecasting and budgeting team.”

  Sarah shook his hand and returned the smile. “Nice to meet you. And sorry about…” She gestured vaguely in the direction Roy had taken.

  Scott chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ve worked with worse than him.”

  I find that hard to believe.

  “So, what can I do for you, Scott?”

  “I just wanted to check a couple of contracts with you; make sure I understand the penalty clauses. We’ve got some issues with a supplier and we’re currently holding off paying their last three invoices. I need to know if I have to factor a hefty fine into our next forecasting cycle if we refuse to pay.”

  “Cool. Take a seat and we’ll go through them.”

  Scott was a breath of fresh air in her otherwise stale morning. He was intelligent, easily following her explanations of the trickier penalty clauses, and although obviously not her type—being a man and all—he certainly was far nicer to look at than most. His eyes, in particular, were a beautiful hazel that seemed to glow in the bright sunshine that streamed through the window.

  When they were done, Scott thanked her profusely.

  “And remember, don’t let the dinosaur get you down,” he said conspiratorially as he stood, and his mouth creased into a gentle smirk.

  She smiled, but it fell away as he departed. Dinosaur. Didn’t Bethany think Sarah belonged in prehistory? Ugh, don’t tell me I have something in common with Roy.

  “Michael! Put that stick down. Right now!” Bethany rolled her eyes as he defiantly hurled the stick into the hedge that lined the back of the playground. “Little bastard,” she muttered.

  A chuckle from her right told her she’d been heard. Luckily it was only Elise, her colleague on playground duty this lunchtime.