Patently in Love (22 page)

At around five on Friday morning, Jane gave up trying to sleep and dragged herself
out of bed. She made herself a coffee and sat on the sofa wondering what to do.

She missed Marsh. It hurt so much to think that she could never hold him again that
she wanted to forgive him.

No,
she told herself. That was a stupid idea. She had let her heart rule her
head with Ashby and look how that had ended. She had to accept the evidence. No one but
Marsh had known about the booking at the restaurant.

She blew her nose. Splitting up with Ashby had hurt a lot. But that was nothing
compared to how miserable she was now. She dreaded seeing Marsh when she went to work.
It would be really hard to remain objective. And it would all be so horribly public.

He would probably try to talk her 'round. There was a risk she might give in and
forgive him, only to be devastated when he betrayed her again.

To make things worse, everyone would be talking about her. The magazine article,
all the stuff about her and Ashby, her very loud argument with Marsh, had all been discussed.
They would all be waiting to see how she was dealing with it.

What had Marsh meant about possibly not having a job tomorrow? Had something
else happened that she didn't know about? Was she out of a job too?

She couldn't access work emails from Polly's, so the only way she could find out was
to phone someone. But she didn't know anyone well enough to phone them up at five in the
morning. She would just have to wait until she got into work.

Her head throbbed and her eyes burned. Her nose and throat were swollen and raw.
All she really wanted was to go home to her mother. But she'd run away before, and it hadn't
made any difference.

London hadn't been a refuge. She'd just spent her time looking over her shoulder and
jumping at shadows. Then, just when she had started to believe that the gossip columns had
forgotten about her, the paparazzi had turned up. She hadn't escaped her past.

Perhaps Polly was right. The only way to deal with it was to accept it.

The first step was to go to work. Jane sighed and drained her coffee. Since there were
still several hours to go before she needed to leave the house, she might as well have a good
long bath.

* * * *

Ashby Thornton's ex girlfriend, Jane Porter has a new
boyfriend, but who is he? Cause Celeb's Amber Jackson finds out.

Jane's new hottie is Marshall Winfield, a patent lawyer specialising in
Chemistry, at London patent law firm Ramsdean and Tooze. Good looking and
brainy too! Jane met Marshall when she fled Manchester to hide away from her
heartbreak at losing Ashby. Is this just a rebound romance, or have Jane and
Marshall discovered a chemistry of their very own? Look for a detailed
exclusive in next week's issue!

* * * *

Thankfully no one else was waiting for the lift. Jane used the few seconds of solitude
to gather her thoughts.

On the underground journey in, she had worried that everyone would stare at her, but
no one had paid her any attention.

London was big and impersonal enough for her to go about in peace. But work was a
different matter. She wasn't just a nameless face in the crowd. The office gossip network
would have been busy so it was fair to assume everyone had seen the article and photograph.
It would be pointless to pretend it had never happened. Her insides trembled at the thought of
facing everyone, but she didn't have much choice.

The doors pinged. Jane drew a deep breath and stepped out. Pleasance, the
receptionist looked up from behind the glass doors. She looked a little frazzled.

"Morning Jane. Feeling better today?"

"Morning," Jane forced a smile. "Yes, thanks. I think I've got over the shock a bit
now."

"We all knew ages ago, you know."

"And I thought I was doing such a good job keeping a low profile." Jane hoped her
tone sounded light.

"To be fair," said Pleasance, "it was only news because they made such a fuss about
you disappearing in the first place. That really backfired on you, eh?"

"Looks like it."

The phone rang. "Good morning, Ramsdean and Tooze." Pleasance frowned, her
eyes flicked to Jane. "May I know who's calling please?" She listened for a moment, the
corners of her mouth tightening. "Could you be more specific sir? Perhaps, the name of your
company?" A slight nod. "Yes. Why don't you do that? Good bye." She hung up and sucked
her teeth. "They have been calling all morning. Ever since they found out where you work.
Every other call is for you or Marsh."

Jane sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Just as well Marsh isn't coming in today."

Jane's chest clenched from a mixture of disappointment and relief. "Why? Where is
he?"

Pleasance gave her a funny look. "You should know."

Of course, people thought they were still together. Jane shook her head.

"Oh." Pleasance's expression went from surprise to concern. "What happened?"

Jane shrugged. "It's complicated."

"Have you two had an argument? Is that why he hit Keith?"

"What?" She couldn't imagine Marsh hitting anyone. But then, she hadn't thought
he'd be the sort of person to talk to the press either. Obviously she was a terrible judge of
character.

"Of course. You left early and missed all the excitement. It was quite incredible."
Pleasance's eyes flicked to someone behind Jane. "Wasn't it, Ruth?"

"What was?" said Ruth, as she unfurled a long scarf from around her neck.

"Marsh punching Keith in the face."

"He didn't actually punch Keith. Nearly did, though. That's what Val said."

Pleasance's reply was cut short by the phone ringing again.

Ruth laid a hand on Jane's arm. "Come on. I'll fill you in on what happened."

As she followed Ruth through the office, conversations stopped and eyes tracked
their progress across the floor. Jane could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
She hated being stared at. It made her feel exposed and vulnerable. She focused on the back of
Ruth's head and walked on, eyes front.

Once they were in their office, Ruth gave her an account of the previous day's
excitement.

"And what happened afterwards?" She imagined there would be repercussions.
People weren't allowed to go around threatening to hit other people in law firms.

"They're both suspended. Susan's interviewing people to get to the bottom of it all
and then the partners will decide what action to take."

Suspended! The Marsh she knew would have been devastated by that. But, she
reminded herself, she didn't really know him that well.

Her head was starting to hurt again. She rubbed her temples.

She'd thought Keith was pleasant, if a little misunderstood. She'd seen Marsh as shy
and, basically, a nice man. It was hard to believe that either of them would sell her story to a
newspaper.

She wanted to believe Keith was lying and Marsh was in the clear, but try as she
might, she couldn't think of a single motive for Keith to talk to the magazine. His name was
never mentioned, so he couldn't be doing it for publicity. He might have been paid, but she
doubted
Cause Celeb
was that desperate to know her whereabouts. It wasn't that big
a story, surely. The only one who had anything to gain was Marsh.

"Jane," said Ruth. "Are you okay?"

"It's just...so hard to believe that either of them could do this."

"Surely, you don't still suspect Marsh told the magazine?" Ruth said.

"Well, I can't see who else did."

"Marsh would never do that. Especially not to someone he was going out with."

Jane bit her lip. It was no longer a secret that she and Marsh were seeing each other.
After all, it was all over the gossip press. But she hadn't realised he'd talked about her to
Ruth.

"Oh come on," said Ruth. "I know you and Marsh did your best to keep it a secret,
but it was really obvious. You went red whenever he came in, and he couldn't keep his eyes
off you. It was all quite funny, really. You guys were trying so hard to be nonchalant that it
just made it all the more obvious."

"Right," said Jane, barely above a whisper. She opened her email. There were several
messages waiting for her. One was from an unfamiliar address: StevieNoWonder. Spam that
had got through the office filter, probably. She moved her mouse to delete it just as her
reminders pinged, She flicked to her calendar.

"Seriously, Jane. There's something you should know." Ruth leaned forward. "Val
said--"

"I've got a meeting with Susan. In two minutes!" She looked up at Ruth, feeling
slightly panicked. "Why does she want to talk to me?"

"She's doing the investigation into what happened." Ruth shrugged. "She interviewed
me about it yesterday. It makes sense that she'll want to talk to you. You're a key player in the
whole drama."

"I'd better go then." Jane shot to her feet. She was already in trouble. She didn't want
to be late as well.

Susan and another woman were sitting in the office when Jane knocked. "Come in,
Jane. Sit down." Susan indicated a chair across the desk. "This is Alison, from the regional
office."

Alison, who was small and matronly and looked out of place in a suit, shook Jane's
hand and gave her a warm smile. The tension in her shoulders slackened slightly. She sat
down.

Susan leaned back and steepled her fingers. "Jane, as you probably already know, I'm
trying to find out the truth about the assault that Marshall is alleged to have made on Keith
yesterday morning. I gather you're a key part of this, so can you tell me, in your own words,
what happened yesterday."

Jane outlined what she knew, including what had happened the night before. From
their expressions, she could tell that none of it was news to Alison and Susan. When she had
finished, there was a short silence while Susan made notes.

While she waited, Jane's worries about her position resurfaced. She was, after all, still
on her probationary period. "Am I in trouble?" she blurted.

Susan looked up, frowning. "I'm not exactly pleased. But I do understand that all of
this is not really your fault. You seem to have done your best to avoid being in the
papers."

Jane felt a great weight lift off her shoulders. "Thank you."

"However," said Susan. "You should have told us about this situation when we
interviewed you."

"It didn't seem relevant at the time," said Jane. Remembering where she was, she
added, "I thought you might not give me the job if you knew."

Susan raised an eyebrow. "You underestimate yourself Jane. But, I suppose it didn't
seem that relevant at the time, since you hoped you had escaped. However, when this
wretched
Cause Celeb
campaign started, you should have mentioned your
concerns."

She waved Jane's attempt to speak aside. "It doesn't matter now. What's done is done.
We will work out how best to manage it. I have emailed you a list of journal articles that I
need. I'd appreciate it if you can get copies to me by lunchtime, so that I can read them before
I meet the client."

Susan's change of tack confused Jane for a moment. "Er...okay." Unsure whether she
was dismissed, she looked at Alison, who gave her a small nod. Before she reached the door,
Susan called her name. She turned back.

Susan was tidying papers on her desk. "Marshall Winfield is an exceptional young
man, with maturity far beyond his years." she said. She looked up briefly and then back at her
papers. "The same cannot be said for Keith Durridge."

Jane almost ran to the Ladies. She needed a moment of privacy to sort her thoughts.
Susan's last comment had taken her by surprise. Had she said to believe Marsh and not
Keith?

The only thing that pointed to Marsh telling the press was her assumption that no one
else knew where they were going for dinner. What if that assumption was wrong?

Locking herself into a cubicle, she sat down on the closed lid and buried her face in
her hands. Right now she didn't want to talk to anyone. The only person she really wanted to
see was Marsh.

The intensity with which she missed him surprised her. It wasn't just that she missed
his touch, she missed having him to talk to. In the few weeks she'd known him, she had been
more comfortable than she'd thought possible. He had been more than just her lover. She had
genuinely felt as though she'd met her soul mate.

Tears escaped and ran onto her fingers. She wanted to believe that Marsh was the
man she'd fallen in love with, not the conniving weasel that Keith suggested. But did she want
it badly enough to be made a fool of all over again?

She rubbed the tears away and took a deep breath. She couldn't fall apart at work.
Standing, she dabbed away the last of her tears and straightened her jacket.

Jane had to pass Jim Edwards' office on the way to hers. Jim and Marsh were old
friends. Had Marsh told Jim where he was taking her? Could Jim have inadvertently told the
press?

Hope rose inside her chest. She backtracked a few steps.

Jim looked up when she entered. He didn't look surprised to see her. "How can I help
you?"

Relieved that she didn't have to explain why she was there, Jane said, "Did Marsh tell
you where we were going for dinner?"

"Yes, but I didn't tell the press, if that's what you mean."

He had a friendly, open face. She believed him. "I didn't think you would have."

"Are you okay? Do you...want to talk about it?"

For a moment, the genuine concern in his voice nearly undid Jane. There was
something reassuring about Jim. Just as there had been with Marsh. Right now, she would like
nothing better than to sink into a chair and let someone look after her. But this wasn't the time.
She shook her head.

"Probably just as well," said Jim. "I couldn't have promised you confidentiality
anyway. My wife would have tortured the information out of me."