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As soon as Ed left the conference room, James stuck his hand up for a high-five.
So he definitely wasn’t expecting Rachel to punch him in the arm.
‘Ow, Jesus, what was that for?’
‘I’m good at the touchy-feely stuff? James, you made me sound like your assistant.’
He looked stunned. ‘I did not, Rach. What are you talking about? It wasn’t fair that Ed was giving me credit for work you did. I was just setting the record straight. I was defending you.’
That was exactly the faux-chivalry crap he used to pull when they were seeing each other. He’d always known how to play a room. And the last thing Rachel needed was him wading in with his ‘help’ when it came to her job.
‘I don’t need defending, James. I can stand up for myself. I’m here because I’m a good architect, just like you, not some charity case who needs your protection.’
She felt so humiliated. The damage was done in Ed’s eyes. No matter what she said, now he’d think she was just trying to grab some credit. She didn’t want to have to fight for it. She shouldn’t have to.
All the happiness she’d felt at the beginning of the meeting was wiped away. Now she didn’t want to ring her mum. ‘You made me look like an idiot.’
‘I … what?’ He shook his head. ‘I’m really sorry you think that. You don’t look like an idiot and I really didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I’m not trying to protect you. I know you don’t need it. I just wanted to set the record straight with Ed, that’s all.’
The fight went out of her. ‘Can we please just get on with our jobs?’
He shrugged. ‘Are we good, Rach?’
‘Yes, we’re good.’
‘You’re sure? This isn’t one of those times when you say we’re good when you’re really still mad?’
She smiled. ‘So you do sometimes pay attention. No, I’m not mad. I might have overreacted.’ He’d never been malicious. Clueless and exasperating, yes, but not malicious.
‘Well, I am sorry. Do you want to go through some ideas now? I’ve been working on a few things, just some rough thoughts.’
‘I’ve got time. My office?’ she asked.
‘Or mine. Whatever.’
‘Okay, I’ll just run to the loo. See you in five minutes in my office then?’
She caught his smirk as she turned toward the loos.
Fine, she was being petty. She still had some power to win back.
She’d composed herself by the time James approached her desk with his pad.
‘I see you’ve been sketching too,’ he said, trying to get a look at the drawings already on her desk.
‘Just a few ideas,’ she said, covering the pages as he sat down.
‘I guess if we’re working together now we should probably stop seeing each other as competitors.’
‘I don’t think we’re competitors.’ She smiled sweetly. ‘Do you?’
He shook his head. ‘Nuh uh, we’re a team. Just like Ed said. So let me see what you’ve got.’
‘Let me see yours first.’
If they were feral dogs they’d be circling each other with menace. Grudgingly, they traded books.
Suspicion hadn’t always been the cornerstone of their relationship. There had been a time when she’d trusted him with, well, if not her life then at least her naked sleeping person. For much of that year they were as close as two people could be. How could they not be? They were great friends nearly from day one in the office together. And they’d made good lovers nearly from night one in bed together. Rachel felt like she’d hit the lottery – a boyfriend that she could kiss at work. Bonus.
But the relationship kept mucking up the rest of it, so of course it wasn’t that easy. If it had been, they’d be swapping notebooks over breakfast instead of treating it like a hostage situation.
Rachel scanned his drawings to get a feel for the overall look. It was that first glance that set the tone for the client’s impression. You only got one chance to make it.
Then she studied them more closely. She knew he was doing the same thing to her designs. She didn’t dare look up until she was finished.
‘They’re pretty different from mine,’ she finally said.
‘That’s an understatement. We couldn’t be farther apart if we were drawing from different briefs.’
Rachel studied his sketches again. ‘It goes this way up, right?’ James’s building barely had any solid walls. It looked like a pair of glassed-in Brutalist car parks. ‘Well I am surprised by your interpretation,’ she said.
He nodded. ‘It’s all about bringing the outside inside.’ He looked very pleased with himself.
‘It’s not what the brief asked for,’ she pointed out.
‘Yes, it was. It said that we should work with materials that are consistent with the surroundings.’
‘Meaning what? Working with air? The sky? The fluffy white clouds? We’re not designing a house in the Caribbean. It’s a London office. We have to be practical.’
‘The brief didn’t say to be practical. It said it has to be functional. This is functional.’
‘Oh really. How are they supposed to get from one building to another? Swing over on a rope?’
‘You’re one to talk about practical. Were you trying to design a giant doorstop? Yours looks like the cheese grater fell over.’
Rachel had drawn an elegant building that tapered from the pavement on one end to twenty-one floors high at the other.
‘And what’s this supposed to be?’ he continued.
‘It’s an aluminium membrane encasing the external lifts. The brief said to be fun.’
‘That means interesting paint, not a water slide down the outside of the building,’ he said.
‘Clearly we’ve got different interpretations of the brief.’
‘Clearly. Maybe we should let Ed decide.’
‘No way, James. He’s given us this chance to design for one of the firm’s best clients. We’ve only got a little over a month to do it. How would it look if we can’t even agree on the basics? We’ve got to figure this out for ourselves.’
‘Flip a coin?’
‘Not funny.’
That was the trouble with working with your ex, thought Rachel. All the things you’d normally not have to deal with any more – the arguments, annoying habits and, in their case, competitiveness – were still there. And without any sex to compensate.
The idea of going out with James might have been fantastic way back when, but the reality gave Rachel the kind of aversion therapy that people paid good money for. She hoped his RecycLove assessment had space for essays.
No, she conceded as he took back his drawings. That wasn’t really fair. He hadn’t always been a horrendous boyfriend. For every time he’d made her want to throttle him there were probably three when they’d enjoyed themselves. In meteorological terms, he was generally fine with outbreaks of blustery showers. But she’d still got soaked, and that put her off him in a matter of … okay, fine, it took months.
Chapter Nine (#ulink_f2c32dfd-5c36-5bfe-8efe-937d497e87c0)
Sarah (#ulink_f2c32dfd-5c36-5bfe-8efe-937d497e87c0)
Sarah’s brother had a rotten sense of timing. If you wanted someone to spoil your punchline, turn the room awkward with a single question or, in her case, ring the bell when her hands were covered in a papier-mâché of eggy flour, he was your man. With a sigh, she scrubbed her skin. Pasta dough made superglue look like children’s paste.
‘Just a sec!’ she shouted, even though there was no way he could hear her all the way upstairs at the front of the house.
‘You’re early,’ she said by way of greeting.
Robin leaned in to kiss his sister’s cheek. ‘Nice to see you too. You’ve got something on your face.’
He pointed, not moving to wipe it off. It probably looked like something had come out of her nose.
‘Sorry, I’m in the middle of the pasta.’
‘Home-made pasta? Is it a special occasion?’
‘Can’t I do something nice for my only brother?’
Of course, she wasn’t just doing something nice for her only brother. She planned to ambush him while he was in a carb coma.
She didn’t usually have to stuff Robin full of spaghetti alla Genovese to ask for favours. They’d always been close, and especially so since their mum died. But Sarah knew he wasn’t going to be keen to do what she wanted without a lot of persuasion.
‘Drop your coat and stuff on the sofa.’ She kicked her running shoes under the coffee table. ‘I’ve just got to finish kneading the dough and we can eat in about an hour.’
He sidestepped the reading lamp’s wire that trailed across the sitting room floor. ‘This place is a deathtrap.’
‘But it’s our deathtrap and we love it.’
‘I brought wine,’ he said as he followed her down to the kitchen. ‘You want some, right?’ He began flinging the drawers open like he lived there, which was fine with her. Wall-to-wall dereliction made everyone who entered feel at home. Maybe it reminded them of their student housing. Not for much longer though.
‘The opener’s in—’
‘What’s this?’
He held up TheGreat British Bake Off application.
‘It’s nothing. I was going to say the wine opener’s in the drawer to your left.’
‘Are you applying?’
‘No. It was Rachel’s stupid idea. Put it back in the drawer please.’
‘It’s not a stupid idea at all. You should do it. I love your baking.’
‘I doubt Paul Hollywood wants your opinion on it, but thanks. I’m not doing it.’ The way Sarah said it made him drop the subject.
Robin was two glasses into the Chianti by the time the water for the pasta started boiling in the huge pot. Both were ready for the next step.
‘So, I was thinking about Sissy,’ Sarah said, gathering the soft spaghetti strands from the broom handle where they’d been dangling since she’d pulled them from the pasta machine.
‘She was in cracking good spirits when I went up yesterday,’ he said, watching Sarah drop the pasta into the water.
‘I know. She’s been like that for the past few weeks. It’s probably because of that boyfriend. Have you met him?’
His expression darkened. ‘No, have you?’
Sarah shook her head, watching the timer. ‘Kelly says he’s very nice.’
‘I’m sure he is, for someone who wants to shag my little sister.’
He finished his wine with a gulp.
‘Anyway, Robin, she needs a holiday. So I was wondering … Maybe you and Lucy could take her somewhere? I’d love to plan something with her but I’ll be tied up with the builders for who knows how long. She really needs to get away.’
The builders were meant to arrive the first week in January to start the renovations. Rachel had done all the designs and Sarah was supposed to keep the team of builders under control. It was their way of paying for their share of the house since they hadn’t had as much cash as Catherine to contribute towards the purchase.
As she waited for her brother’s answer she realised she was holding her breath. She also knew that, if it were up to Robin alone, she’d be breathing fine.
‘I’m not sure that’ll work, Sarah. There’s Lucy to think about. It’s not that she doesn’t like Sissy. She’s just not completely comfortable with her yet. Give her some time to get used to Sissy.’
‘Robin, I don’t want to tell you how to run your life.’
She was definitely going to tell him how to run his life.
‘But she’s had over a year and Sissy shouldn’t need to be got used to. She’s a person. She’s your sister. If Lucy wants to be part of your life, she’s going to need to let Sissy into hers.’
He leaned back in the kitchen chair. ‘I know, and she will. She’s never been around someone with Down’s before. She just needs some more time. But I don’t think a week away together at this point is going to make them bond.’
Nor would keeping them apart. ‘So you won’t do it?’
‘Please, Sarah, try to understand. I know Lucy does your head in but I do love her. What if you and I at least take Sissy away for the weekend? You could get away for just a day or two, couldn’t you? Or I can take her myself if you’re busy?’
He looked so guilty that Sarah started feeling bad, but no, if she let him get off easily then he’d never force the issue with his girlfriend. If Lucy was going to be in Robin’s life then she had to accept them all. That was the deal.
‘It’s not the same as a proper holiday, Robin, and you know it. It’s been over a year since she’s been away.’
‘Look how well that turned out,’ he said.
