The End of Cuthbert Close by Cassie Hamer

Author:Cassie Hamer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HQ Fiction
Published: 2020-02-12T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Bugger.

Alex cursed and sucked on her thumb. Stupid needle. Stupid button. Stupid fingers that wouldn’t stop quivering. In her mouth, the metallic taste of blood triggered a tidal wave of saliva. And she was nearly done too. Final stitch.

‘You can’t go in there.’ From outside her closed office door, Brianna’s voice was firm. Still, Alex’s heart fluttered. Plenty of lawyers at Macauley – mostly the sexist has-beens, of which there were plenty – had a bad habit of disobeying the secretaries.

Alex looked down. She’d had to remove her skirt in order to fix the button – Brianna had an emergency sewing kit in her top drawer, god love her – and here she was, in her undies and a blouse, blinds drawn, with Brianna under strict instructions to not let anyone through the door. And that meant anyone. Even Rex.

‘She’s on a very important phone call,’ said Brianna. ‘I can call you when she’s done.’

‘Well, if it’s a very important phone call …’ came Martin’s slightly sneery voice. ‘I suppose I’ll have to wait.’

Alex threw on her skirt and hurriedly tucked in her blouse. It wasn’t wise to keep Martin waiting.

‘I’m off the phone now, Brianna,’ called Alex, straightening the skew-whiff skirt. ‘Please show him in.’

She opened the door with a winning smile pasted to her face. ‘Martin, thank you for waiting.’

He gave a little bob. ‘I received your email requesting an appointment to discuss an important matter.’ He used air quotes around the word important. ‘I thought now might be a suitable time?’

Alex’s heart skipped a beat. So distracted was she by the meeting with the partners she’d completely forgotten the email. Part-time work. Yes. That’s what she was going to ask for, but that was before the partners’ meeting. That meeting had changed everything.

‘Martin. Sorry. Yes. I did send you that message, but um … I’ve … um, managed to work out the problem.’ Alex tapped a file on her desk. ‘It’s all under control.’

Martin nodded. ‘Very well. Still, I think it would be advantageous to confer over the precise details of the partnership arrangements at Macauley. Rex has requested that I walk you through the financial detail and his instructions are to have the contract drawn by the end of the month.’

Martin bobbed again, and Alex blinked quickly.

‘All right then. Yes. That would be wonderful.’

‘Excellent. 3 pm in my office,’ he called over his shoulder and stole off silently down the hall.

Shit, he was talking as if the partnership was a done deal, as if there was no possibility that she would say no. Had no one in the history of Macauley Partners ever refused a partnership? When Alex joined the company, she’d vowed to make history, but that wasn’t quite the history she was contemplating.

Her phone buzzed.

How’d the meeting go?

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