Faithful by Louise Bay Read Free Book Online Page B

actually there. Maybe things were always like this and I hadn’t noticed before. But would I be thinking like this, questioning like this, if I wasn’t getting this attention from Daniel? I was just imagining the grass on the other side of the fence. I was being immature. I’d been happy for six years and suddenly, because someone else was interested, I was starting to question what I’d previously been happy with.
    Maybe.
    But I think Anna had a point when I had said the same thing to her on Friday night. I’d had these thoughts before Daniel came along. I hadn’t told my parents about the engagement before Daniel. Charlie and I had stopped talking, stopped connecting, before Daniel.
    I was relieved to get back to work on Monday. I wanted to be out of the flat. It seemed everywhere I was, I wanted to be somewhere else . Nowhere was comfortable.
    I redoubled my efforts to throw myself into work. I was so busy on the Palmerston presentation that I didn’t have time to think. Monday whizzed by. Charlie didn’t come home until after I was asleep on Monday, and I couldn’t wait to get to work on Tuesday. I had a bigger part of the presentation to deliver this time; I’d prepared well and was feeling confident. It was just David and me presenting today, so more pressure, but I had done this before.
    When we arrived at the Palmerston offices, David and I were herded into a huge meeting room with views of St Paul’s. It was awesome, despite the gray drizzle. I could just make out Lady Justice on top of the Old Bailey. London was distractingly beautiful. Finally our audience arrived: the General Counsel and his assistant, Jim, and Emily. Jim was one of those men who looked friendly; he was chubby and wearing a tie that probably hadn’t been on sale since 1987, but it suited him. He couldn’t stop smiling. It was comforting; I liked him and felt more at ease. We all swapped business cards—I noticed Jim’s title was General Counsel of Gematria Enterprises. I’d heard of them, but couldn’t think where. I thought this was Palmerston?
    Jim gave us a brief introduction to the Palmerston Hotels.
    “The hotels were the beginning of this business and we are very proud of them, a bit emotionally attached to them . Even the CEO—he might join us. He wants our advisors to understand this is not just a business deal for Gematria. It’s more than that; it’s personal.”
    R ealization crept up my body. Oh god. This was Daniel’s company. I was sitting in his meeting room. I wanted to run. Did he know I was here?
    “Excuse me . I just need to use the ladies room.”
    I just reached the bathroom when the floor started to move beneath me. I crashed into one of the stalls and sat down with my head in my hands.
    What was going on? Did Daniel know I was here? Had he planned this or was it fate? He couldn’t have known I would be involved. There were over 500 lawyers at my firm. It was surely just a coincidence. I needed to man-up and get back in that room before I threw away my career.
    I splashed some water on my face and tried to steady my breathing. This was work and nothing else. I reapplied some makeup and took another deep breath and strutted back to the meeting room.
    Something was different when I entered the room; the air was heavier than it was before.
    Jim smiled at me. “Leah, this is Daniel Armitage, our CEO . I said he might be joining us. This is a very personal project for all of us.” My mouth dropped open as my eyes followed Jim’s line of vision.
    “Leah.” Daniel extended his hand looking right at me. The room fell away and I found myself staring at his hand. Covering for me, he grabbed my right hand with his. His hands felt soft and enveloped mine and I closed my eyes. He abruptly pulled away and invited me to take a seat.
    I sat down and refocused. I could do this. He didn’t mention that we knew each other, so I followed his lead and pretended he was a stranger.
    Oh god, had he invited my firm to