The Christmas Party (38 page)

He’d remember to ask her later what she’d bought Melissa for Christmas. It was sure to be beautiful. And expensive. She knew his wife only too well.

‘The party went very well,’ he said. ‘Good work, Veronica. Make sure it goes on to Tyler’s budget.’

‘Yes, Mr Harvey.’ She cleared her throat. ‘I’m afraid there was a slight incident after you left.’

‘Benson caught with his hand up a secretary’s skirt?’ Lance guffawed. It wouldn’t be the first time.

‘I’m afraid the marquee caught fire and was destroyed. Wadestone Manor has suffered some smoke and water damage.’

‘Was it our fault?’

‘It may have been. The fire investigators and insurance assessors are there this morning.’

‘Keep me informed.’ Every year someone landed them with a huge bill for damages. Why couldn’t anyone party without trashing the place?

Lance headed to his desk via his drinks cabinet and poured himself a bourbon. He shuddered as the initial swig hit the spot. That was more like it. He sat down behind his desk, enjoying his first drink of the day.

The view out of his window on this side of the building was uninspiring. The city of Milton Keynes was growing at an alarming rate, changing rapidly from a scruffy, squalling infant into an attractive youth. Just as his own boys had. He looked at the photograph of his family on his desk. Melissa had been a wonderfully devoted mother and had more than made up for any lack of parental adoration he himself had felt. His job had been everything then. Whatever else came along took second place. Whatever crises occurred, Melissa dealt with them without bothering him. He’d always appreciated it, so that, luckily, he wasn’t one of those sad cases who was left with nothing – money in the bank but no family, no friends, no future once the company had finished with them. He’d seen that scenario far too often to let it happen to him. He loved her and he would make this Christmas a great one for her before they went home to the States. He should text her, but at this moment he had more important things on his mind.

He glanced at his watch. It was one o’clock in the afternoon UK time, which would make it a fairly uncivilised hour of the morning in Washington. From his last conversation with Bud Harman, Fossil Oil International had also enjoyed, or endured, its Christmas party last night. He wondered if they’d managed to burn down the goddamn building too. But Bud would be in bright and early. He and Lance were both drawn from the same oil well. Lance picked up the phone.

‘Hey, Bud,’ Lance said when it was answered. ‘How’s it going?’

‘Mornin’, Lance.’

Bud, at least, sounded hale and hearty. It would be a brisk call. They always were. Harman wasn’t the sort of man to indulge in social niceties during transatlantic telephone calls. He wasn’t the sort of man to indulge in social niceties face to face, come to that.

‘I know it’s early but I’m calling about the SACKED programme. I want to get things firmed up before I leave for Christmas.’

‘I wanted to speak to you too, Lance. You know how things move here. We had an emergency meeting last night before the Christmas party and the board decided that we won’t implement SACKED just yet. There are global changes coming and we’re going to put it on the back burner for now. Revisit it in six months or so.’

‘Right.’ Lance was pretty sure he’d already announced it at the party last night. He’d have to check with Veronica.

‘That doesn’t mean things won’t change for you. I have good news, Lance. I’m promoting you to executive president. We had to let Don Fletcher go. The man just couldn’t stand the pace.

Lance was shaken to his very core.
Promoting
. The word reverberated in his brain. This wasn’t a common word in Bud’s vocabulary.

‘It’s a lot more travel, but you can do it based from London or New York, whichever suits you.’

He knew that. The executive president’s role would see him going round the globe overseeing Fossil’s interests. It was a very desirable position.

‘You’re on board?’ Bud bellowed down the phone.

Lance puffed out his chest. ‘I sure am.’

‘I knew you would be. You’re a company man through and through.’ He could hear the metaphorical back-slap in Bud’s voice. ‘We thought Simon Conway could fit into the chairman’s role,’ he continued. ‘He’s a great asset to Fossil Oil and we should use him to his full potential. With Tyler Benson behind him, they’ll make a great team.’

‘Tyler will be disappointed. He’s had his eye on my job for years.’

‘We’re not in this business to make everyone happy.’

‘We could promote him to deputy chairman,’ Lance suggested. ‘New title, more money. It would smooth things over.’

‘Do it then. We’ll talk more in the new year.’

‘Merry Christmas, Bud.’

‘Merry Christmas to you too, executive president.’

Lance felt choked as he hung up. And proud. Much as he’d tried to tell himself otherwise, there’d been no doubt that he’d been teetering on the brink of corporate oblivion; now a saving hand, in the unlikely form of Bud Harman, had plucked him back to safety in the nick of time. There would be no global restructuring this week. The SACKED programme had itself, for the time being, been sacked.

Melissa would be pleased. If there was one thing she would like more than being a chairman’s wife, it would be being an executive president’s wife. It would probably entail a whole new wardrobe. Executive president of Fossil Oil – it sounded good. There would be no twilight exodus on Christmas Day. No grim Washington winter. And plenty of time to finish off the turkey his wife had optimistically ordered.

He thought Melissa would choose to stay in England too, despite her continual moaning. She liked it here and she had things to keep her occupied. Some things that Lance wished didn’t keep her
quite
so well occupied, but then that was life. In the dim and distant past, he hadn’t exactly been as white as the driven snow himself. Still, her little affairs had never done them any harm and he could see no reason why that should change. They were both pretty content with their lot.

Tyler and the new recruit Conway would make a formidable team. Simon was honest, upright and straight-down-the-line. He would make a good chairman. His calm, direct style of management would temper the worst of Tyler’s excesses and was the right choice to take Fossil Oil into the future. Tyler would like his promotion too. Another step up the corporate ladder. It was what he lived for. If they both played their cards right, the world was their oil well.

The telephone jangled next to him, shaking him from his pleasant reverie. Perhaps it was Melissa touching base. He massaged his shoulder, which still ached naggingly. He’d ask Veronica to get him some painkillers. That should see him right. With a contented smile to himself, he put the receiver to his ear. ‘Lance Harvey,’ he barked, ‘executive president.’

He liked the sound of that.

Chapter Fifty-five

We go to the pub across the road from Fossil Oil, part of a massive chain of identikit venues but none the worse for it. I guess because it’s Christmas Eve, the place is busy even at this early hour. It’s always popular with the staff of the varied corporate offices around this part of the city, Fossil included. I recognise some of the faces that are already in here now, even though they should be at their desks. Us included, I suppose. The pub does a cheap all-day breakfast which is a major part of the appeal and, around us, dozens of bleary-eyed and clearly hungover people are tucking in. I find the canteen in the offices much nicer, but Josh wanted to be off the premises for the discussion we’re about to have, and I had to agree with him. We definitely need some cooling-off space between us and Tyler Benson.

The hubbub of conversation is at such a level that Josh has to lean over when he asks me, ‘What do you want to drink?’

‘Just a cappuccino, please.’

‘No breakfast?’

I shake my head. I’m too wobbly inside to want to eat and I’m grateful to my dad for the base layer of toast.

Josh queues to be served while I find an empty table. There’s one by the window, overlooking the boulevard that leads right up to the city centre. It’s fuggy in here so the glass is running with condensation and I resist the temptation to draw a sad face in it. Instead I pick up an abandoned napkin and wipe a clearing in the pane so that I can look through. There’s nothing to see but cars easing their way through the slush on the roads and people hunched and hurrying into the nearest shelter from the falling snow.

Then, much to my relief, I see Karen arriving for work. She’s wearing dark glasses and walking very gingerly. Though she is still wearing towering heels in the snow. It looks as if she’s feeling a bit fragile this morning and I can certainly empathise with that. I think she’s one of the few people who enjoyed the Christmas party. Not that she’ll remember any of it. I’m just glad she’s turned up unharmed. Then I realise that I’m starting to think like my dad, and stop.

A few moments later Josh comes back with coffees for both of us. He sets them down then pulls up a stool to sit on.

When we’ve both taken a sip, I say, ‘So, we need to come up with a cunning plan.’

Josh grins at me. ‘I only came into the office to find out how you were and give you some support. I didn’t expect to find myself out of a job as well.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ I say. ‘I didn’t mean it to happen either. I don’t know why you’re smiling.’

‘Me neither,’ he admits. ‘It just seems like a really absurd situation. I think Tyler’s overstepped the mark this time. He’s being totally unfair to you and he’s falsified my sales figures to make me look bad. If it comes to it, I hope I can prove that to an employment tribunal. At the very least, my payslips show that I’ve been paid bonuses every month. You don’t get that from underperforming.’

‘That gives me some hope. Maybe we should go to Human Resources and tell them what’s happened.’

‘We could.’ He looks hesitant. ‘That would probably work for my case, but they might not take kindly to what you did to Tyler.’

Ah. Of course, he’s right. Tyler might have been in the wrong the way he treated me, but I haven’t exactly helped matters. You know the old adage, two wrongs don’t make a right? That.

‘Maybe Tyler isn’t being as clever as he thinks he is.’ Josh looks at me over his coffee cup. ‘We do have another bit of leverage. If we want to play dirty too, that is.’

‘We do?’

‘We could threaten to tell Lance and Kirsten that he’s been having an affair with Melissa Harvey.’

‘Do we know that for certain, or is it just office gossip?’

‘I’m prepared to believe there’s no smoke without fire.’ Josh sighs. ‘This isn’t a route I want to go down, but what else can we do?’

I don’t want to stoop to Tyler’s level, but he’s already proved that he’s not a man to be reasoned with. ‘Let’s think about this very carefully. I’m anxious not to open a can of worms.’

‘I don’t want him to push you out,’ Josh says. ‘You’re good at your job. I only wish you’d told me what he was doing earlier.’

I shrug. ‘Tyler’s the one with the power. He’s holding all the cards. I’m the new girl. Who would have believed me?’

‘I would have. Will you trust me now?’

‘I think so.’ Josh seems to be cut from a very different cloth from the men I’ve known before, and certainly from Tyler Benson.

‘If that’s the best you can do for now, then I’ll take it.’ He risks another smile. ‘When you get to know me better, I hope you’ll feel differently. You do still want to get to know me better?’

I nod. This is the moment I open up my heart to him. It’s such a small step, but it feels like a mammoth leap into the unknown. I want to shield my daughter even more than I want to protect myself from harm, but I don’t think it’s good for her to go through life without a male role model apart from my dear dad. It’s not good for me to be so self-sufficient that I end up old and lonely either. I’d like another child, someone to share our life, someone to love me. So, here I am willing to dive into the abyss of romance once more.

‘You can come to my parents’ house for Christmas Day, if you’d like,’ I offer. I try to sound casual, as if it doesn’t matter to me whether he comes or not, yet my heart is pounding in my chest and my palms are as damp as these windows. What if he turns me down? I’d feel like a fool. I rush on. ‘It might be a trial. They’ll both try to kill you with kindness.’

‘There are worse ways to go,’ Josh says. ‘If you’re sure it’s OK, I’d really love to come.’

‘Great.’ I resist the urge to run round the pub, punching the air. ‘I’ll let you know what time and all that.’

‘Can I bring something? Contribute to the meal? Buy some wine? I’d like to get Mia a gift too.’

Now we’re both a bit awkward. ‘Just bring yourself. That’ll be enough.’

‘Thanks, Louise. If I’m honest, I was dreading Christmas alone. I’ll look forward to it.’

We exchange a shy and wary smile.

Josh drains the dregs of his coffee and puts his cup down in a very decisive manner. ‘Now that we’re fortified, let’s go and get our jobs back.’

Chapter Fifty-six

Kirsten had just finished getting dressed when Simon came back into the bedroom after calling Lance Harvey. There was a sombre air about him and his face was pale and serious. It wasn’t the happy, smiling countenance that had kissed her yet again before leaving the room not ten minutes earlier. She settled herself on the edge of the bed and waited. Simon sat next to her and took her hand in his. He fiddled with each of her fingers without speaking.

‘You might as well spit it out,’ she said when he didn’t fill the silence. ‘I gather Lance didn’t take your resignation too kindly. Did he get all heavy and threaten legal action?’ Kirsten studied his face, wishing she could read the veiled emotions. ‘You have to remember that beneath that fading exterior beats a strong, litigious American heart.’

‘No, he didn’t threaten me with legal action,’ Simon said with a ponderous puff of breath. ‘He didn’t threaten me with anything at all.’

‘What then?’

Simon looked at her squarely. ‘Before I could say anything, he offered me a promotion.’

‘What?’