Agent Provocateur (19 page)

Grace worked the night before and is tired. She is also disappointed. The man she was testing was all over her like a rash in minutes and she didn’t even approach him; he’d approached her. Yet another cheater, yet another one to add to her generalisation. All men are cheats. They either cheat or leave you. Still, Grace believes he is out there, not just one of him but a number of them. The men that are faithful. She just doesn’t get to meet them.

When she started being a honey trapper, her boss told her that the most important thing is for her not to be cynical and bitter, especially as it’s the sort of job that could ruin her private life. Grace did not tell him that her private life had already been ruined, and although she wasn’t bitter she was certainly cynical. She soon learnt what he meant. The number of men that were willing to cheat surprised her, to say the least, and could easily have turned her into a man hater, so she worked hard for it not to. Nicole has become her role model in this; her marriage is happy, therefore there is hope. Anyway, just because she knows she will never be able to fall in love, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t like men or find them useful. So she plays it as a game. One day a man will resist her and when that day comes, the game will be won. But that doesn’t mean that at times she doesn’t feel down in her boots about the men. She just has to make sure that she soon pulls herself out of it, because otherwise it will surely send her mad. Whatever, it is her job and it is important to her. Betty should not be allowed to try to ruin it. Grace won’t let her.

As she opens the door to the café she sees Betty, almost cowering in a corner, and cheers up. All thoughts of last night forgotten, she decides that today is going to be a good day -unfortunately not for Betty.

‘Have you ordered?’ Grace asks, sitting down. She hasn’t rehearsed the meeting in her head and has no idea how it is going to go.

‘No. I thought I’d wait for you.’ Betty smiles. She has done nothing but practise what she will say. She thought it through, and rehearsed it, but she is terrified it might go wrong. Grace picks up a menu and hides behind it.

When the waitress comes over, Grace orders coffee and toast. Betty follows.

‘Look, I don’t want to waste your time or beat around the bush,’ Betty says, once the waitress is out of earshot.

‘Good.’

‘I’m here to apologise.’

‘Right, and it’s that simple?’ For once, Grace really is enjoying being with Betty.

‘No, I know it isn’t. I was wrong. I was supposed to be shadowing you, not judging you, and as for the thing with the client, I know that I should never have done that.’

‘You lost me a job.’

‘I’ll pay for it. It’s only fair.’ Betty can feel her insides churning and she also feels hot. Humiliation is physical. It is also uncomfortable. She has no idea how much money a job is worth. She hadn’t got that far.

‘No. I don’t want your money.’ Grace is having a fine old time. She has the upper hand and she likes it.

‘What can I do to make it up to you?’

‘Nothing.’

‘But there must be something?’

‘Betty, tell me, why are you apologising?’

‘Because I was wrong.’

‘And not because your editor told you to?’

‘How do you know?’

‘It’s obvious. We haven’t really got on from the moment we met. There was always this twang of disapproval in your voice and a fleck of it in your eyes. You wound me up, I made you do something you didn’t want to do; I embarrassed you. Then you lost me a client. So, by my reckoning it’s my turn.’

‘I’m sorry you see it like that, but I deserve whatever you have in mind.’ Betty detests being humble. She detests Grace for making her so, and also Fiona, because it is all her fault.

‘Simple, I’m not going to do your article.’

‘But, Grace, we have so much good stuff already.’

‘Yeah, and I’m pulling out. Also if you use any of this “good stuff” you have, then I’ll sue you.’ Betty opens her mouth and closes it again because the waitress approaches with their coffee.

‘Can I have an orange juice as well?’ Grace asks.

‘I’m not sure there is any point to me staying any longer,’ Betty says.

‘Fine, go then. I’m still going to finish my breakfast.’

Betty starts to get up, but then she sits back down again and tells her temper to behave.

‘Can we talk about it?’ Betty’s practice has proved useless. She is feeling desperate, and the panic about her job is very real.

‘I thought we had.’

‘Look, Grace, I really need to rescue this. I can’t take back what I’ve done, but I wish I could. I need to finish the feature and my editor wants a case study of you in order to do that.’

‘Well, that sounds to me like we’re even. You lost me a client, I lose you a by-line.’

‘It’s more than one by-line. If I don’t do this then she’s going to relegate me to all the shit stories.’

Grace laughs.

‘It’s not funny.’ Betty hates the way her voice sounds, all whiny and babyish, and she thinks she might cry.

‘Yes it is. You bullied me, and you bullied my client. If it’s one thing I can’t stand it’s bullies. You got what you deserved.’

‘You hit me.’ Anger is welling up again.

Grace laughs again. ‘After you called me a slut.’

‘Well, you made me talk to that slime ball of a man all night.’ Betty’s voice is raised, her earlier grovelling forgotten.

‘Because that’s my job. I was trying to get you to understand more what I do.’ Grace knows that this isn’t exactly the truth.

‘
Oh
, I understand it perfectly.’

‘Look how quickly the mask has slipped. “Oh, Grace, I am so so sorry.” Are you hell? You still feel exactly the same.’

‘So what if I do?’ Betty spits.

‘So, it looks like your job is going to be a bit shitty from now on.’

They are shouting again. War is raging. Betty realises that she has blown it. Grace is still having fun.

‘I’m sorry.’ Betty calms herself down.

‘So you keep saying.’ The toast arrives with the orange juice. Grace looks at them both. ‘I don’t think I’ll bother.’

Flashing a large smile at Betty she grabs her coat and her umbrella and she leaves the café. She gets to the door and looks back once. Betty sits there with her head hung dejectedly. Grace, one: the smug married bully, nil.

Chapter Fourteen

Being cowardly, Betty goes back to the office and sends Fiona an email saying that Grace isn’t quite ready to forgive her. She practically cowers under her desk for the rest of the day, but to her surprise Fiona doesn’t respond. She then sees her leaving the office without so much as a glance her way, and she wonders if, after all, Fiona will let the story die. She prays that she will as she carries on with her work.

Grace is sitting at home, having completed her work. She feels a final sense of relief at Betty being out of her life, knowing that no matter what she says she will not let her back in. She doesn’t ever want to see her again. She feels bad about Nicole, and the lost publicity but not bad enough to contemplate working with ‘that woman’.

She makes herself some lunch and a cup of tea and takes it into the living room where she switches on the television, something she rarely does. She finds a soap opera, one that she doesn’t recognise, and she watches it while she eats. Getting totally caught up in a plot she can barely fathom, she almost jumps out of her skin when the buzzer goes. She prays that it isn’t Betty, but she goes to answer it anyway.

‘Hello,’ she says into the intercom.

‘Grace, it’s Fiona.’

‘Who? Oh, yes, of course. Betty’s boss. What are you doing here?’

‘You think I could come in and explain?’

Grace shakes her head and buzzes her in. She has to admit, as she stands with her door open, that she is curious.

Fiona smiles at her, and immediately Grace understands Betty’s desperation for forgiveness. With her designer clothes, her heavily made-up face and good jewellery, Fiona does not look as if she is to be messed with. For a moment, Grace feels intimidated, until she remembers that Fiona wants something from her.

Without speaking, Grace leads her into her living room, where Fiona sits down, uninvited, on her sofa.

‘Grace, thank you for seeing me.’

‘How did you know where to find me?’

‘Your address is in our file. Betty’s file.’

‘Well, I told her that I have no intention of going back to the feature, my boss is happy with my decision, so if you’ve come here with the intention of changing my mind, you won’t.’

‘Urn, Betty said as much. But I didn’t come for that.’

‘You didn’t?’

‘No, I came to apologise.’

‘Apologise?’

‘Yes, for Betty. I know what she can be like and after hearing what she said about you – well, I feel terrible that I, or the magazine, subjected you to that.’

‘What she said?’

‘Yes, you know, about you being a marriage wrecker and a slut and all those other horrible things.’

‘She said them about me to you?’ Grace knows Betty’s views, and she isn’t really surprised that she has said things to Fiona, if only to save her skin.

‘Yes, well, me and the rest of the office, actually. She’s terribly indiscreet. Anyway, I thought it only fair that I apologise.’

‘She’s been bad-mouthing me to everyone at your magazine?’ Grace is losing her calm and anger is welling up.

‘Yes, and her friends and her husband, although I’m sure you knew that already. She’s not been very fair to you.’

‘That’s an understatement.’

‘It is, I know. But, Grace, I want you to know that I don’t hold with her views and I am dealing with her.’

‘I hope you fire her.’

‘Um, well, I can see you might want that, but I can’t. The employment laws in this country are a joke. It’s impossible to fire people without paying them. Anyway, you can rest assured that she will be punished by me.’

‘I wish I could get my hands on her.’

‘Oh, I don’t think that would be a good idea. I hear you had a little fight.’

‘She lost me a client, she judged me constantly; I couldn’t help it.’

‘Quite right. I’m sure I’d have done the same in your position. She really, really hates you.’

‘Well, I thought it was more that she hated what I did.’

‘Oh, yes, and that, of course. But she took against you quite severely and I have no idea why.’

‘Neither do I.’

‘Anyway, I can see that you’re not a stuck-up bitch.’

‘She said that?’

‘Oh, I didn’t come here to tell you that. I’m sorry.’

‘What are you going to do to her?’

‘Well, I’m going to give her a few horrible articles to work on.’

‘That’s it?’

‘What else can I do? I mean, I’m her boss and I can’t do anything that isn’t professional. I know she was wrong to describe you as a vulture picking the eyes out of women—’

‘What? What the hell does that mean?’

‘Oh, you know, how you hover around men, taking them away from their women and then discarding them, and even making them pay. I know that isn’t how it is, but Betty, well, as I said, she’s very judgemental.’

‘I don’t believe this. I knew she hated me, but to be saying this to everyone …’

‘I know. That girl needs to be taught a lesson. Oh well, I’ve said what I came to say, so I’d better leave you.’

‘Hang on. You came here to apologise and you’ve made me angrier. I’m not continuing with the feature, you know.’

‘I wish I could persuade you otherwise.’

‘You can’t.’

‘Urn, how about if you could get your own back on her?’

‘Fiona, I’m angry but I’m not vindictive.’

‘I know, but, well, I think that you should definitely do something about her.’

‘Why?’

‘Because she is slandering you all over town. That’s why.’

‘The bitch.’ Grace is beginning to get caught up in Fiona’s web.

‘Exactly. You know what? If I was you I’d do something.’

‘I just want to forget her.’

‘Of course, but you won’t. I know these things. The problem is that she’s going to haunt you unless you do something.’

‘You think so?’

‘She needs to be brought down a peg or two.’

‘I agree with that, but I don’t see what I can do.’

‘Honey trap her husband.’

‘What?’

‘A bet.’ Fiona stands up, jangling her jewellery as she does so. ‘Betty thinks her marriage is so perfect that she has the right to look down her nose at you. So, you propose a bet whereby you try to seduce her husband and in return you let her finish her feature.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘Fine then, leave it. Let the perfect wife haunt you for the rest of your life. Let her win.’

‘But she hasn’t won because I refused to do the feature.’

‘You believe that? Actually, Grace, by refusing to do the feature you have just given her more fuel to bad-mouth you.’

‘I have?’

‘Which, believe me, she is doing. What I would do if I were you would be to challenge her to this bet. She gives you some time – say, three months off the top of my head – to try to seduce her husband. That way, she learns properly about what you do, and how serious it is, and she will also think twice before belittling you.’

‘I don’t see how that would work.’

‘Well, it’s simple. She thinks she has the perfect marriage, you and I know that she’s probably wearing rose-coloured glasses, so you prove it to her.’

‘And if he refuses to be seduced?’

‘Well then, she will still have endured the agony of not knowing and she’ll think twice about treating you badly in the future.’

‘That’s evil.’

‘Yes, but she is being evil about you. Anyway, I really ought to go. I’ve got a magazine to run, after all.’

‘She’s really been horrible about me?’

‘I’m afraid so.’

‘To everyone?’

‘Yes.’ Fiona moves towards the front door.

‘You think this would work? I mean, you think she’d stop being such a bully?’

‘I do, but it’s up to you. Give me a call.’

Before Grace has the chance to question her further, she has gone.