Agent Provocateur (22 page)

‘Fi, we’ve had loads of stories go wrong – why is this so important?’ Betty sat down, when she was eventually granted an audience.

‘I love this story. It’s like women taking control of the cheating bastard husbands or boyfriends. I think the idea of being a honey trapper is fascinating, the job, everything. I think this Grace woman is interesting and I want this as a lead story.’

‘When?’

‘I’ve booked it in for three months.’

‘Three months,’ Betty repeated, remembering the last time she heard those words.

‘Look, we work hard to get good features, you know that, and I want something different from the “how to give good head” stories that we seem to have had rather too many of lately. Fucking hell, Betty, we’re not struggling with our circulation but we will be if we don’t keep on top of it. So I want really interesting features about real people who do unusual things. Grace Regan is one of them. The first and, in my view, the most important.’

‘So there is no way I can convince you to drop this story?’ Betty felt desperation creeping into her whole being.

‘Nope. Unless you can get me a feature on something so amazing that I’ll replace it.’

‘Like what?’

‘Can’t think of anything, can you?’

‘No.’ Betty had felt a flicker of hope, but it died. ‘There is no way I can do this profile.’

‘Of course you can.’

‘Fiona, I’ve just been with her, with Grace. She said the only way she will agree to it is if I let her try to seduce Johnny.’

‘What?’ Fiona looked stunned. She betrayed no sign of knowing anything about the situation.

‘Exactly. She wants a bet whereby she gets three months to try to seduce my husband and that is her condition. Fiona, surely you can see that I can’t agree to that.’

‘Well, I suppose so. Would you like some coffee?’ Fiona only offers coffee to people visiting her office if she wants something from them. Betty felt her heart sink. She nodded and tried to think, but she couldn’t. She felt as if her hangover had returned. Fiona called her PA and asked for the coffee, then she smiled. Betty prepared herself for the worst.

‘Betty, I would never force you to put your personal life at risk for your job, I hope you know that.’ Betty nodded with a sinking feeling. ‘But you and Grace, it’s more of a hate relationship, isn’t it?’ Again, Betty nodded. ‘Well, I think this is your perfect opportunity to get your own back on her and get a great story.’

‘I don’t follow.’ Betty didn’t want to be there, and she didn’t want to hear what Fiona was going to say.

‘Well, you know that Johnny wouldn’t look at another woman, even Grace, and therefore you agree to her bet, although I’m not sure that three months is a bit much. Anyway, you agree, and then when she fails miserably, you will win.’ Fiona smiled as if she had discovered the meaning of life.

‘Or I could agree to the bet and tell Johnny about it, so he’d know all along.’

‘I don’t think that is such a good idea.’ Fiona hadn’t thought about that barrier.

‘Why?’

‘Because you have to prove to Grace that she cannot wreck marriages, and the only way to prove that would be to let her see, genuinely, that she cannot wreck yours.’ Fiona prayed that this logic would work.

‘Fiona, it would mean me lying to Johnny.’ Betty felt sick.

‘Oh well, yes, I can see how difficult that would be. Did you tell him how much your Prada shoes cost?’

‘No, I said they were in the sale.’

‘Exactly.’ The triumphant smile had reappeared.

‘Fiona, no offence, but this is a bit more serious.’ Betty rolled her eyes. It was getting ridiculous.

‘Well, yes, I suppose it is, but what I am saying is that Johnny need never know, and the only people who do are me, you, Grace, and, I assume, her boss. Betty, you know as well as I do how much this job means to you, and you also know that if you told Johnny he’d refuse to go along with it. If the only option is keeping this from him, then I think we might have to do that.’

‘I really don’t want to do this.’ Fiona was a control freak and a bitch and Betty wanted to cry, even though she isn’t the crying type.

‘Why not? You trust Johnny, you have no doubts, and you said yourself that this woman needs to be taught that she can’t just wreck any marriage she wants.’

‘So you mean that I win this and I get to destroy her.’

‘Something like that. Maybe you could have a condition, take back control. Oh, this will be such fun. You tell her that if she loses (and we know she will) then she will agree to give up her job.’ This was Fiona’s trump card.

‘You think she would do that?’ Seeds of doubt began to plant themselves in Betty’s head, along with thoughts of revenge.

‘She’ll have to if she wants her little bet. Think about it.’ Before Betty even got her coffee Fiona ushered her out. Betty could see in Fiona’s face the determination of a woman who was sure that she would get what she wanted. Betty’s heart told her to say no at all costs. To refuse and face the consequences. To tell Grace where to stick her bet and tell Fiona to stick her feature up her arse. But her head knew she would do neither; Fiona and Grace had won. She would accept the bet.

Albeit reluctantly. This is the first real secret that Betty has ever kept from Johnny (apart from the shoes). She has always been completely honest with him, always totally open, never even wanting to keep anything important from him. Yet here she is with a situation (she refers to it as a situation) that she would do anything to keep from him. She feels guilty, she feels as if she is betraying him, she feels that she is a rotten wife and, most of all, she is scared to the quick that perhaps her job is more important to her than her marriage. She can’t believe that. She has always known that Johnny is the most important person in her world; he
is
her world.

Her head was whirring after her meeting with Fiona, so she quickly called on Alison for an emergency meeting. She went to Alison’s office and told her very surprised-looking best friend that there was a crisis.

After she told her the story, Alison looked at her in total surprise. Finally she found her voice.

‘Johnny adores you. He’d never cheat, even with this supermodel woman going after him. But you know that; you don’t need to test that.’

‘What about my job?’

‘I know, but I just don’t think it’s fair to put temptation in front of him like this. And the fact that I know she’s trying to seduce him, I know she’s going to fail – I know it, but it feels wrong. Most of all you’d be lying to him. Betty, you can’t lie to him.’

‘Well, ordinarily I would say it is wrong, but I love my job and I’ve worked hard to get where I am, so this is the only way, and we all know that she’s the one who’ll lose.’

‘That would be satisfying, but still definitely not worth it.’

‘Ali, Fiona made it clear that I have little choice.’

‘It sounds to me that you’ve already made up your mind.’ Alison clearly disapproved.

‘No. Yes. I feel rotten, really I do, but I’m not sure I can walk away from my job.’

‘She won’t sack you, you’re too good.’

‘But I can’t risk that.’

‘Can you risk your marriage?’

‘But it’s not at risk.’ They were in danger of going round in circles.

‘Is it just one night?’ Ali asked.

‘She wants three months.’

‘What?’

‘I know.’

‘It’s ridiculous.’ Alison had never been angry with Betty before, but she was now.

‘Alison, I need your support.’

‘I’ll try, but don’t think I agree with you.’

‘Fair enough. I’m not sure I agree with me either.’

‘It’s not just your job at stake, it’s your pride.’

‘It’s not that simple. I trust Johnny. That’s the one thing that isn’t at risk in all this. My marriage is rock solid and I will have the last laugh. Please say you’ll be there for me.’

‘Of course.’

‘Ali, it’s a big ask, but do you think you might be able to keep this from Matt?’

‘Only because if I tell him then your marriage will be over.’

‘So you don’t mind not telling him this.’

‘I didn’t say I didn’t mind, but it wouldn’t be fair because he’s Johnny’s friend and would probably feel he had to tell Johnny. I think it’s best we keep this just between us.’

‘You’re a good friend.’

‘I know. But then so are you.’ Alison wasn’t happy, but she was resigned to the fact that she couldn’t get Betty to change her mind.

‘Well, that’s fantastic,’ Grace replies to Betty’s acceptance of the bet.

‘Is it? We need to talk about the details. I have some terms of my own.’

‘Fine. I’ll draw up my terms and then we can discuss it when you come to interview me or profile me or whatever you call it.’

When Betty puts the phone down, she is convinced that Grace is sick. How could she take pleasure from this? It is all beyond her, but she has no way of turning back. She feels sick, angry and scared. But it is too late to change her mind. She has to think that she will win and Grace will be left with more than egg on her face.

Grace calls Nicole to impart the news.

‘I can’t believe she agreed,’ Nicole says.

‘Well, she did.’

‘It’s just that I thought she’d turn you down and there would be an end to it all.’

‘Oh.’

‘It’s not that I don’t approve, I just don’t think it’s worth it.’ Nicole has been thinking about the bet quite a lot. She personally wants to get hold of Fiona and wring her neck. She has a feeling that Fiona is playing with both Grace and Betty, although Grace won’t accept that.

‘But it will make me feel better.’

‘Just as long as it does.’

‘But I do have your support?’

‘I told you did. But I have conditions. You don’t fall apart over this. She’s hurt you enough as it is. Second, you keep working as normal. You need normality and I don’t want this bet taking over your life. And last, I need your assurance that you won’t physically harm her.’

Grace laughs. ‘Promise. Nicole, I am going to be all right.’

‘Of course you are.’ Grace smiles as she puts the phone down. Everything is going to work out.

That night, as Betty snuggles into Johnny as much as she can, and she sniffs to smell him, to feel his warm, soft skin, she feels overwhelmed with love for him and she knows that he is her life – but then again so is her job. She tells herself that she is not jeopardising him because she would never lose him. He loves her; she feels that. It’s physical. Their relationship is the strongest she knows.

Grace wants to torment her but that can work both ways. She will torment Grace, she will watch her fail and humiliate her. She will make her quit her job. The boot is on the other foot, and it feels so much better there.

For a moment she thinks again about telling Johnny, but she knows that Fiona is right. There is no way he’d play along and therefore she really does have no choice.

Grace watches her fish and smiles. There is a new Chapter in her life. She would never tell her but she has Betty to thank. The hostility, the superiority, the feeling that she has been bullied by her has given her a much needed kick. She never used to believe in revenge – she always thought it was braver to turn the other cheek – but not any more. Betty pushed her and now she is going to push back. It might not make her a nice person – she understands that – it might not make her a better person, but it will make her feel stronger, and at the moment she needs that. After the bet, she will start to put her life back together again. She will become a normal person, she will have normal relationships, not like her current whirligig ones. She will discover if it is possible for her to fall in love. She will try to laugh more. She will cut back on her job, not working so much so she has a social life. She is looking forward to that, to the new Grace, but first she has a bet to win. And she is really looking forward to that too.

Chapter Seventeen

Betty arrives at Grace’s apartment, ten minutes late. She tried to be later but public transport proved unusually efficient. She presses the buzzer and waits. Grace answers almost straight away and lets her in.

‘Hi.’ Betty feels a mixture of nervousness and resentment.

‘Come in.’ Grace is behaving as if Betty is sunshine. Grace points her towards the living room where a tray of coffee is waiting for her. Grace pours it, still smiling.

‘Why are you smiling?’ Betty asks. She is suspicious of Grace being nice.

‘I’m really glad you agreed to it.’ For some reason, ever since Grace agreed to proposing the bet, she has embraced it. She doesn’t think of it as harmful, but just an opportunity for her to get Betty to not condemn her so much.

‘But you might not win.’

‘No, I might not. But I think it’s worth the risk.’ Grace is definitely behaving as if she has the upper hand.

‘Really?’ This confuses Betty. She wonders when exactly it was that Grace took the upper hand and kept it safe in her pocket.

‘Yup. I don’t even mind if I lose.’

‘Then why do it?’

‘Because if I win, as you put it, then I will have taught you a thing or two about me, and if I lose, as you put it, then I will still have taught you not to be so judgemental. To be honest, finding a man who doesn’t cheat would be such a novelty.’ Grace is playing with Betty; it is written all over her face.

‘You really are a bitch.’ Now Betty has agreed to the bet she feels she can behave however she wants. She has done everything Fiona wanted, she has agreed to risk something that she knows, deep down, she should never risk, but she did it because she loves her job and has a misguided loyalty to her boss. But she can draw the line at being nice. That way, she can claw some, at least a tiny bit, of self-respect back.

‘Um, and you’re a pussycat. Anyway, would you like to hear my terms?’

‘Sure.’ Betty sips her coffee and wonders how on earth they are going to make this work. She has to listen to a woman who is going to try to seduce her husband, and write about her. She wonders if she is dreaming or something, because all of a sudden life doesn’t feel very real. She wishes that Grace weren’t real.