The Pact by Amy Heydenrych

Author:Amy Heydenrych
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction

Chapter 52

Freya

Nine days after the murder

A tall woman with long, platinum hair walks purposefully towards Julian. She ignores the turning heads, and sheds her thick white coat to reveal a white pantsuit beneath it. The only hint of color is her lipstick, which is as dark as clotted blood. The atmosphere in the office shifts. Whoever she is, her power ripples over every person here. She darkens the door of Julian’s office, and Freya is certain she sees him shrink in his seat.

‘Who is that?’ she whispers to Virginie.

‘It’s Atypical’s silent partner, the brains behind this operation. Ruth Johnson.’

As if she hears the women mentioning her name, Ruth turns to face both of them. Julian joins her and gestures for Freya to come to his office.

Her stomach lurches. Ever since their encounter the other day, Freya has been avoiding Julian.

‘Freya! Lovely to see you. There is someone who has come to join us who I really want you to meet.’

Why now? Why so soon after a member of the Atypical team has been murdered? Something doesn’t feel quite right about this. But then, Freya meets Ruth’s gray-blue eyes that focus on her, bright and warm. Every gesture she makes is slow and assured. Her authority announces herself in the in-between spaces, in what she doesn’t have to say.

‘Allow me to introduce you to my co-CEO, Ruth Johnson,’ adds Julian, now looking a bit weaker.

‘Hello, Freya,’ she says in a soft, low voice that vibrates with warmth. ‘I am Ruth, one of Atypical’s founding partners. I’ve been traveling for the past two years, but Julian needs all hands on deck for this East African project, so I have come back. This kind of work really inspires me.’ The new development illuminates a spark of hope. Atypical could live up to being the company she dreamed about after all.

There is an ease in how Ruth moves around Julian, brushing carelessly against him, leaving no space between them. Freya wonders if they were lovers once, or close friends.

‘Ruth has been so looking forward to meeting you,’ says Julian. ‘I’ve been harping on and on about how special you are. I’m going to leave you two to get to know each other better.’

She feels it coming on despite her misgivings . . . the glow. Julian still thinks she is special, even after what she did. They value her here. She is safe.

Her mind whirs at a breakneck pace. Say something, anything, she thinks.

Thankfully, Ruth speaks for her. ‘I was so excited when Julian told me you had started here. I’m assuming he didn’t mention this when you joined but I have been tracking your achievements for quite some time and insisted that we make you an offer.’

Freya can’t look her in the eye – the praise is too much to process. To think that during all those years of striving, during all the extra hours waiting tables, during all the small wins, the broken shoes she couldn’t afford to replace, those desperate moments where she

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