Page 45 of Number 10 Affair

She squealed like a child, and I groaned, walking into my bedroom.

“Oh my God, you didn’t?” she cried. “I can just picture him. I bet no one has ever slapped him before, but good for you, Laura. Finally, you put him in his place, so now you can finally fuck his brains out.”

“Hello? I think there's something wrong with you. I'm not getting involved with my boss, who also is the Prime Minister of this fucking country. He’s arrogant and obnoxious. I hate his guts!”

“You will be banging like rabbits by the end of the week, and you will love every second of it,” she declared, completely disregarding what I’d just told her.

“I’m hanging up now. My mum is calling me,” I lied.

“Hold on, we need to talk about—”

“Bye, Veronica,” I said and hung up because I was too angry with myself to continue to talk.

I searched around for my best pair of panties when I put the laundry away, but they were gone. What the hell? I was a hundred percent certain I’d left them there with the other folded clothing on my bed. Or maybe not? We had people to do the laundry at Number 10, but I preferred to keep my life as normal as possible, which meant I did all that myself.

Where were they?

Then it hit me.

No, he wouldn’t have taken my best pair of knickers, especially not after what had happened on Friday night.

I left the room, trying to get on with my day after that. This evening I would probably see him—and a good thing, too, because he still owed me an explanation. My rational side was telling me to resign because he would keep taunting me until I gave in and we slept together, but more importantly, I didn’t want to disappoint Maja. Spencer was an exceptional politician, and I knew his career was much more important to him than this thing he had for me. Today, of all the days, he would not avoid me like he had in the past few weeks.

He had to be the one to have stolen my knickers, and that annoyed me even more than the fact that he’d ruined my date. Miffed, I marched to his bedroom and stepped inside, a little apprehensive about invading his sanctuary. There were no personal items around. The walls were beige, and everything was neat.

God, I was crossing the line, but he had pushed me over the edge on Friday, and now I wanted to prove to myself that I was right. He was obsessed with me. I started searching, intermittently inhaling his scent on the pillows. Spencer Banks was everywhere; this whole room was so him. There was a book on the nightstand, so I picked it up.

“Atomic Habits,” I read, instantly finding it a bit boring. I didn’t peg him for one who’d read self-development stuff.

There was no sign of my panties anywhere, and as I moved I kept trying to remind myself why getting involved with Spencer was such a bad idea. I’d made up my mind. It was for the best that I wouldn’t join him and his family for their holiday in Sicily. I had to give Maja as much time as I could and then simply resign. This was for the best.

I was just about to leave when I realised I hadn’t checked the large polished wardrobe, only the two big dressers. I walked up to it and opened the door. Something told me I should stop this and leave the room because I was crossing the line, but curiosity won me over—especially when I saw a small box tucked between two shoeboxes. The thing was old, falling apart in places, but I had a tremendous urge to see inside.

The box contained some old photos of him and his family. In one of them he was so young but still very handsome. I kept wondering why he never talked about Maja’s mother, because surely his daughter must have asked about her. I didn’t know why she had left, or maybe it was Spencer who’d left her. Either way, I had a feeling he wouldn’t want to broach that subject at all, especially when Maja was around.

In one picture, he was posing with his brother, Rupert. The family resemblance was clear, though Spencer had cleaner features and darker hair. Rupert had a more rugged appearance, with tattoos peeking out. He was equally handsome but carried a rougher edge, fitting Veronica’s type. I still needed to speak to my roommate and find out if she’d spoken to Spencer’s brother at all since that Friday night in the club. This was such a freaky coincidence that we were both working for them. Apparently, Rupert had only just invested in Emperor, and Veronica found out on Friday night that he was going to be her new boss.

I had met Veronica shortly after I’d moved to London a few years ago. One night, I was strolling into a bar, trying to pull my life together, and she’d stormed past me in a huff, having just thrown her drink in some guy’s face. We’d hit it off right away, and she quickly became like a sister to me. Well, as much as she would allow. She was like my family, yet a lost cherished one who I would probably never get to fully know.

I glanced through the rest of the pictures that were inside the box and then pulled another one of Spencer with a woman, or rather a young girl. The picture wasn’t of great quality, and it was taken on holiday somewhere because the two of them were standing among palm trees, on a beach. My heart beat faster when I saw how Spencer had his arm around her and looked genuinely happy. I turned the photo around, and there a date was written, showing that this picture had been taken around eleven years ago.

The woman was blonde, slim, and beautiful. Even though the picture wasn’t great, I could see the instant resemblance to Maja. She had the same small beauty spot by her right eye like Maja had, too. I stared at that picture, thinking that there was definitely love between them. Eleven years ago, Spencer had been a different man. He wasn’t afraid of commitment and he had wanted that closeness with someone.

I put the picture where I’d found it and then made sure to leave everything as it had been when I’d entered his room. I didn’t like snooping around, but the compulsion had taken hold.

I still hadn’t found my panties, even though I had no doubt he’d stolen them. Maybe I should call him out on it, but I had a better idea. Sooner or later, Spencer would regret that he’d started messing around with me.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Spencer

I obsessed over the whole Friday night incident throughout the weekend.

Laura had been on my mind the entire time, and my brain was in such a tangle, I even considered contacting my old therapist. I hadn’t had a session for years, but I felt like I needed it because I obviously couldn’t deal with my own demons. I had issues with commitment and women.

What an utter disaster. If I didn’t stop pushing Laura like this, she’d end up leaving Maja … and me. I’d officially crossed the line, and that broke me. When I finally got inside my empty home, I regretted sending my daughter to my mother’s.

Christ. I was the Prime Minister of this country. If I couldn’t get my act together in my own home, how could I make things better for my people in theirs?

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