"Thanks." I stand and glance across the restaurant, stopping dead in my tracks.
I sit down immediately so that I'm not seen.
Helena is sitting at a table in the back of the restaurant with Gerhard.
Two of Sebastian’s biggest threats… together.
Fuck.
What are they doing?
I lift my phone and pretend to take a selfie. Instead, I snap a picture of the two of them together.
I find Sebastian and Bart’s names in my phone and send the picture to them, with the caption:
We have a problem.
16
April
My phone immediately rings, and the name Sebastian lights up the screen.
"Hi," I answer.
"Where are you?"
"In a café in Brixton."
"How do you know who she is?”
“She came into my office once.” I stammer.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because of client confidentiality I couldn’t, but now that I work for you….”
“What the fuck is she doing with him?"
My eyes roam over to the two of them talking. "That’s what I'd like to know."
"Keep an eye on them."
"I can't." I drop my head. "They can't see me."
"Are you in the café now?"
"Yes."
"Go out and watch from across the road or something. See if they leave together."
"Okay."
He hangs up, and I raise my eyebrows. "Goodbye, Sebastian," I mouth to myself.
He's obviously distracted, I guess I would be too if I had an evil ex-wife like her.
I collect my order and walk out and cross the street. Damn it, I just want to eat my toasted sandwich while it's hot. I tuck the brown paper bags into my handbag and carry the two coffees by hand. I walk into a dress shop across the street. It has huge windows so I can watch through them.
Holy crap, have I missed them?
How long can I pretend to look in these shops for? There are only four opposite the café, and I have been in them all, while staring through the windows.
It's been nearly an hour. Did they leave already? I've been watching like a hawk, and I haven’t seen anything. What if there was another exit?
Shit.
I can't go back over there in case they are still there and they see me. I also can't leave in case I miss them.
Fuck’s sake, what do I do?
I take out my phone and scroll through my numbers. I really don’t want to call Sebastian, so I call Bart instead.
"Hey, what's happening?"
"They haven’t come out." I look up just in time to see Helena at the till. "Never mind, I see them." I hang up and stand behind the clothes rack.
Helena pays the bill. They walk out onto the street and talk for a moment, and then they shake hands and go their separate ways. I narrow my eyes in contempt. That bitch.
It’s a business transaction.
It's Saturday morning, I’m walking out of the gym with a spring in my step. I've just done a boxing class and worked my ass off. Now, I’m about to drop by the grocery shop and pick up some supplies for the upcoming week.
We go away again on Monday and, quite frankly, I can't wait.
I feel good. I have this buzz of excitement in my stomach, and I know that it has everything to do with a certain man.
I didn’t hear from him last night, and that’s okay. He would have been stressed out about Helena. Bart called him yesterday with my findings, and we're having a meeting about it next week. With nothing further to go on, we really can't do anything else. But it is interesting to know that Gerhard is sniffing around Sebastian's ex-wife.
Why, we have no idea. But one thing is for certain: we will find out.
I dig my ringing phone out of my handbag and see the name Duke lighting up the screen. My heart drops. He called me last night, too.
I can't answer it. I can't be any franker with him than I already have been.
We can't even be friends now because he will always want more, and history tells me that I won't. I just wish he would find someone. I mean, God, he has groupies and beautiful women coming out of his ears. What the hell does he want me for?
I think that’s half of his attraction he has for me… the fact that I don’t want him.
I've somehow become a challenge, and I don’t want to be, because I'm not trying to play hard to get.
I really mean it.
I hit decline and put my phone back into my bag. I've got to be cruel to be kind.
Regret swims in my stomach. Sorry, baby.
It's 6:00 p.m. on Saturday night. I walk through the bar to meet Anna and Penelope. I wave when I see them sitting at a table at the back, and I eventually fall into a seat beside them.
"Hey." I smile.
Anna fills my glass with wine. "Just in time for a toast." She smiles proudly.
I giggle and hold up my glass to theirs.
"To sleazy married dating sites," she says.
We all giggle. "Here, here!" I call. "Congratulations."
We're here to celebrate Anna’s new job. She just got the position of receptionist at Ashley Madison. Yes, you heard that right. Ashely Madison is a dating site for married people.
"So… tell us everything."
"Well, I start on Monday week. I'll be at the head office, on the front desk for a while. If I do well, I can progress to back of house."
I love seeing her so excited.
"What happens at back of house, do you reckon?" Penelope asks.
"Orgies," I offer.
'No." Anna widens her eyes. "We are a classy establishment."
"That caters for married people," Penelope teases.
"It's not how it sounds," Anna says. "Once they explained it to me, I kind of got it."
I raise an eyebrow.
"Ashley Madison is for people who are deeply in love with their spouse."
"Oh, please," I scoff.
"It's completely true. They have no desire to leave their marital home, and they are happy in every way with their partner. It's just that their wife or husband doesn’t have the same libido levels."
"Ugh." I roll my eyes and take a sip of my wine. "Give me a break."
"You know what?" Penelope says. "I get that. Imagine if you were married to the most amazing man, wonderful dad, and great partner. But then due to bad health or some other issue, he loses his ability to have sex. What would you do?" She looks between us both.
Anna shrugs.
"Would you leave him for a loser that can offer you sex?"
"No," I answer.
"So, you would just live the rest of your life without sex?"
I twist my lips. "Hmm."
"This guarantees your partners dignity," Penelope says. "You can have a hook up, discreetly and privately. Nobody is going to find out, and the person you are sleeping with is also happily in love with their partner. You help each other out, purely physically. It’s a win, win situation."
"Cheating is cheating." I huff. "I could never condone it. I've been on the other side of it."