Page 17 of The Temp

‘We all are,’ I say, watching Theo grabbing a skewer off the tray as it slides off and almost stabs Frank in the neck. Frank darts out of the way, without even bothering to look up from his phone. But when Daisy turns on her heel and slowly makes her way back to the house, I don’t miss him eyeing her up discreetly. If only we could film with our eyes.

Linda burps. ‘Oops, sorry. It’s the beer.’ She cocks her head at Daisy. ‘Does she look at Tom with those do you want to fuck me eyes?’

‘Linda!’

‘Look, I know you’re doing your good Samaritan thing, but I’d keep an eye on her if I were you – cooking for you, chauffeuring your daughter everywhere, keeping the house spick and span. She’s making herself indispensable. Classic signs of husband snatcher.’

‘Oh, stop it,’ I protest, ‘Tom’s like a father to her.’ Linda raises her eyebrows, taking another swig of beer. ‘Technically, he could be.’ Another look. ‘A much older brother then,’ I say, slipping back next to her at the island worktop. ‘Besides, Tom isn’t like that.’

‘He’s a man, isn’t he?’ Linda says dryly. ‘Men’s brains work differently. Usually from the comfort of their underpants.’ I give her a side glance. Linda can be so cynical at times.

‘Never mind about all that,’ I reply, tetchily. Did you see the way Frank was eyeing Daisy up just now?’ I wave a cucumber at her. ‘That just proves he can’t be trusted. Tom agrees.’ When I first relayed my theory to Tom about how Frank and Zelda met, he wasn’t sure, said it could’ve been a coincidence. But when I told him I’d shown Frank Zelda’s Instagram account and brought in some samples, at his request, he agreed, called him a snake.

‘You’ve been moaning at her to leave Chris for ages and now that she has…’

‘Yes, but Frank’s not right for her. He’s too young for a start off.’

‘Fourteen years is nothing these days.’

‘I want her to be with someone safe, like Tom.’

‘You mean boring?’ Linda laughs lightly but my face is deadpan. ‘Look, let her have her fun with her bad boy. He is very cute, isn’t he? Enough to make any woman commit adultery.’

‘Linda.’

‘I’m joking. Just let them be. Look, she’s happy. It’ll fizzle out.’

‘You know I can’t do that,’ I say smoothly, ‘not after what he’s done.’ Tom suggested texting Zelda in Monaco and telling her all about her sleazeball lover, the sooner the better, he said. But I could hardly let rip about her boyfriend while she was on holiday with him. What if she’d confronted him and ended up having a steaming row? Zelda’s spirited, like our father, and Frank’s got a vicious temper. There are a lot of cliffs in Monaco. It was too risky.

‘Zelda’s had her fun in the sun, Linda. She needs to know the truth about Frank.’

Linda shakes her head at me incredulously, a faint smile on her lips, then goes back to slicing a tomato. ‘She won’t thank you for it, trust me. She might even take his side, not believe you. Look how she reacted when you told her he was your trainer.’ The moment Zelda arrived back from Monaco she phoned me, excited to tell me all about her holiday and to see if we were still on for today. I’d been waiting all week to spill the beans about Frank, including the incriminating bits I’d kept from Tom, and couldn’t wait a moment longer.

‘Zelda, I need to talk to you about Frank.’ The words spat out of my mouth urgently, like coins from a jackpot fruit machine. ‘Can you pop over this evening? Alone?’

‘If this is about you hiring Keiko, I already know and it’s fine.’

My heart sank. Frank had got in there before me, told Zelda I was one of his clients – claimed he had no idea we were sisters – what a coincidence, then played the hero – said he didn’t mention it at the dinner party because I said no one knew I’d hired him – that it was a finance thing – something to do with my husband. Zelda was a bit miffed with me for not confiding in her but completely got why I kept it from Ebenezer.

‘Whatever you tell her now, baby, she’ll question it, and he’ll find a way to worm himself out of it. After all, you didn’t even bother telling her you’d hired him, he did. One, nil, my friend, one nil.’

I huff in exasperation, dicing half a cucumber as if it were an Olympic event. ‘What am I supposed to do, Linda? Turn a blind eye? Pretend Frank didn’t hit on me, didn’t turn up at my house and hurl abuse at me, didn’t kick the wheel of my car? Didn’t stalk my sister? The man’s a maniac. I’ve seen his darker side, remember. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to Zelda.’

‘There is another way.’

I stop chopping and look at her. ‘I’m listening…’

Chapter 15

‘I don’t know about you, but I’m stuffed,’ Theo says, two hours later, rubbing his bloated belly. We’re sitting on the garden patio, enjoying the afternoon sun. Theo is stretched out on the rattan lounger and I’m on a chair next to him. Frank hasn’t left Zelda’s side all afternoon, not even for a loo break, which has made Linda’s plan impossible. Jesus, what kind of bladder has he got? He’s guzzled enough beer and wine today to fill a barrel with wee.

‘We’ve still got dessert.’ I look up at the cloudless sky. Birds chirp and croak in trees. Their voices a backing track to the hum of conversation and laughter in our garden. It’s hard to believe it’s mid-March. It feels like a spring day.

‘I’m sure I could squeeze some in.’ Theo smiles. ‘Is it one of Zelda’s?’

‘No, she didn’t have time. I made a crème caramel.’ Out of a packet, but he doesn’t need to know that.

‘My favourite. Nice and light.’ Theo points his beer bottle at Frank. ‘So, what do you make of pretty boy, then?’

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