Page 11 of The Temp

‘Don’t you think quitting was a bit harsh, then? Why didn’t you just fire him and hire someone else?’

‘And have all that awkwardness at the gym? No thanks.’ I scoff, tapping my fingers against my chin.

‘I see.’ Linda flops onto a seat at the kitchen table, nudging out a chair for me with the tip of her Vans-clad foot. ‘You said you told Frank stuff you shouldn’t have.’

I nod furiously, take a sip. ‘Well, he knows I hired him behind Tom’s back for a start off.’

‘Okay, but you didn’t tell him about Liam, did you?’

‘That’s the other thing,’ I gulp, ‘and the reason I can’t report him to Serval’s manager.’

Closing my eyes, I’m catapulted to the day my life turned upside down. After seventeen years, I thought Liam was a distant memory. But then one day, two months ago, a DM popped up on Instagram, saying remember me? with Liam’s face in the little circle next to it. I was gobsmacked. I didn’t think I’d ever hear from him again after the way things ended. I was going to ignore his message but curiosity got the better of me and I started typing.

We messaged on and off for a few weeks. There was no flirting between us. Liam’s married with three kids. We agreed to not tell our partners we were back in touch in case they got jealous. In hindsight, I think I only went along with it to please him. Liam’s wife had a bit of a reputation. I knew her from back in the day – Ona Cummings. She was nice enough but a bit hot-headed and possessive. She once threw a drink over Lisa Marsh, one of the girls from our crowd, because her mechanic husband was chatting to poor Lisa at a party about replacing her brake pads.

Reminiscing about the past and the old gang with Liam was fun, it felt nostalgic, as if I’d gone through a time warp. When Liam asked to move our messaging onto WhatsApp, I agreed. Then one night, while Tom and I were snuggled on the sofa enjoying one of our TV dramas, my phone flashed up with a message from Liam. Unfortunately, I’d just dashed to the loo during a commercial break and left my phone on the coffee table. When I returned, Tom was holding my phone in his hand, face like thunder.

Our row was explosive and I got the silent treatment for days. He only calmed down after I let him read all our messages and agreed to stop all contact with Liam. I knew Liam would be cool with it, after all, he knew what it was like to live with a jealous partner. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. Liam wouldn’t have it, insisted on meeting up with me. I refused, of course, I’m not stupid. Until he dropped a bombshell that blew my world apart.

Chapter 9

‘Have you taken leave of your senses?’ Linda exclaims. She’s on her feet now, towering over me, hands on hips. ‘How could you trust someone you barely know with such an explosive secret? You made me promise not to tell another living soul about Liam, not even your own sister. You even made me swear on Polly’s life.’ I actually felt bad for making Linda swear on her beloved Persian cat’s life. ‘What were you thinking?’

‘I didn’t tell him,’ I whimper, as she pulls out gold-coloured side plates from a cabinet. ‘I didn’t have to. Frank saw us together on the day I met up with him.’

‘Oh, I see,’ Linda says, her tone depicting tell me everything now.

I give Linda a quick rundown of what happened. On the day Liam forced me to meet him at an indie café in Crouch End, Frank turned up. It was only when I got up to go to the loo that I noticed he was sitting right behind me, so close that our chairs were practically touching. I wasn’t going to introduce them. But then Liam shot to his feet and stuck his hand out and said, Liam Cooper, buddy. Bella’s old flame. Pleasure to meet ‘ya.

‘Wow,’ Linda says, ‘why didn’t you tell me all this before?’

‘I didn’t think much of it, to be honest. They met, so what? It wasn’t until he came round earlier today, threatening to tell Tom everything if I didn’t re-join the gym and put the incident behind us, that things got nasty.’

‘Fucking hell, that’s considered stalking. Did he hear any of your convo with Liam? Because if he did…’

I rub the back of my neck. ‘No. I don’t think so. He pulled out his earplugs when he saw me and looked genuinely surprised. But I had to make him promise to not say anything to anyone about seeing me with my ex. News travels fast in Serval and some of the mums from Georgia’s school train there. I couldn’t risk it.’

‘What was Frank doing in the cafe, anyway? Does he live in Crouch End?’

‘No, he lives in Hertfordshire. He’d arranged to meet a private client there.’

‘Bit of a coincidence,’ Linda says dryly.

‘I thought that too, but then a client did turn up. He even introduced us. Claudia, I think he said, and off they went. Anyway, I refused to go back to Serval. We ended up having an explosive row outside mine earlier. I’m still quite shaken by it.’

‘He must be in love with you.’

I rub my chin. ‘I don’t know about love. Probably an infatuation. You know, older woman, younger man thing,’ I laugh lightly.

‘Well, hopefully, he’ll disappear now he knows you’re not interested.’ Linda holds her chin. ‘Try not to overthink things.’ A beat and then. ‘Any news from Liam about...’ Pausing, she throws a glance at the summerhouse. ‘You know what?’

I shake my head. ‘He promised to stay away if I did what he asked.’

‘Good. I’m glad he’s sticking to your deal. I don’t think you’ll be hearing from him again.’ Linda reaches out and cups my shoulder. ‘I’m sorry your life’s been a bit of a shitshow lately, babe, but, look, it’s done now.’ The oven alarm goes off and Linda gets to her feet and grabs a pair of black and white chequered oven gloves. ‘You made a mistake. Just put it all behind you and move on.’

‘You’re right,’ I agree, sighing loudly. Chatting with Linda always makes everything seem less daunting. Her energy is electrifying. ‘Anyway, let’s talk about something else,’ I say. I don’t want it to spoil our evening. ‘On a happier note, I’ve finally hired a temp.’ Grinning stupidly, I get to my feet, and as Linda begins plating the herby mushrooms, I fill her in on Daisy. ‘It’s only for a few weeks – until she finds another job and somewhere permanent to live.’

‘Oh, you two,’ Linda croons, wiping a bit of sauce off one of the plates. ‘That’s such a wonderful thing to do. I was having a discussion about homelessness with the girls at work the other day, it could happen to any of us. Gosh, I wish I could do something like that, make a difference in someone’s life,’ she muses, chucking a tea towel over her shoulder. ‘Can you run this under the tap for me, sweetie?’ She hands me a greasy spatula.

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