Page 41 of One Month's Notice

“They need to decide on which one will help the company grow and Clara, the chief financial officer, is advocating for the gambling company as the financial projections are better.” The mention of Clara’s name sat bitterly on her tongue. “She’s pushing Michael towards a deal that I’m certain isn’t right. It goes against his vision of being an ethical social media platform.”

“What that company is doing couldn’t be further away from being ethical.” His jaw clenched visibly. “Their trademark move is to invest in companies where they can gain access to personal information without consent. They will then aggressively target those people and sign them up to accounts with credit to get them started on gambling. Before they know it, the customer is hooked and hundreds, if not thousands of pounds in debt to them. Lives have been destroyed and that company doesn’t even bat an eyelid.”

“If the deal goes through, Michael’s company will be destroyed.” There was a tremble in Nat’s voice. “Not just financially, but his reputation will be ruined as well.”

“You can’t say anything about this.” He shifted, discomfort apparent in the tight lines etched along his forehead. “It could jeopardise the entire case. And I could lose my job.”

“Then help me stop it.”

“Nat…” He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “It’s not that simple. Our investigation has to follow due process and at the moment it must remain confidential. If you say anything and they find out, we may never have another chance to stop them. The case would be compromised and they would take swift action to ensure what they are doing is buried.”

“Please. Isn’t there something we can do? Something you can do? You have to push this forward before the deal is signed.”

There was a lengthy pause while Simon considered his options.

“I will do my best, but I can’t promise anything. In the meantime, you have to do everything you can to persuade them to go with the other investors.”

“Of course.” Nat’s stomach dropped at the thought of challenging Clara.

The chime of the doorbell cut through the air and Simon stood up quickly. Nat could see he didn’t want to discuss the matter any more, and she felt uneasy that she had put him in an uncomfortable position.

Simon returned with bags of fragrant Thai food cradled in his arms.

“It smells amazing.” Nat’s voice was deliberately light as she arranged the dishes. “So Lucy mentioned something about her manager calling and asking if she is coming back to work.”

“Yes.” Simon paused, a prawn hovering halfway to his mouth. “I just think it will be difficult, with Louis so young. The shift patterns are really tiring and she doesn’t need to work.”

“Maybe.” Nat shrugged her shoulders. “But she loves what she does. Isn’t that important too?” She met his gaze squarely.

“I suppose.” He shifted his focus to twirling noodles with his fork. “I just thought she enjoyed staying at home.”

“She loves being at home and she’s an incredible mum, but she’s also an incredible nurse. She can do both. This is the—”

“I know, I know. The 21st century.” Simon glared at Nat, but his face softened as she punched him lightly on the arm and laughed.

“You might be right.” There it was—the slightest shift, a crack in the façade of his old-fashioned views. It wasn’t a concession, not yet, but at least it was possible he was coming round to the idea.

Nat pushed back from the coffee table, her knees popping slightly as she stood up. An unwelcome reminder that she hadn’t been to the gym in a long time and was very out of shape. She navigated around Simon’s outstretched legs and padded towards the kitchen with their empty plates, her socked feet silent on the hardwood floor.

“Pick something to watch, will you?” Nat called over her shoulder. “But please, no action or horror tonight.”

She loaded the plates into the dishwasher, then rifled through the wine rack, her fingers trailing along the bottles until she found a Merlot they hadn’t tried yet. With two glasses in hand, she returned to the lounge.

“I thought this might be good.” He motioned to the television with the remote at the frozen title of a recent comedy. Nat nodded, taking a seat beside him as she handed him a glass of red wine.

“Looks good to me.”

As the film’s opening scenes flickered onto the screen, Nat couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling that had settled in her stomach. Despite Simon’s encouragement earlier, she still felt unsure about her portfolio. That, coupled with the potential destruction of Michael’s company, she knew it was going to be a difficult couple of weeks. And there was still the matter of the kiss.

Chapter nineteen

Saturday 21st May

Nat perched on the edge of Lexi’s cluttered dressing table with a glass of prosecco in one hand, while the other brushed against a sequined top that didn’t make the cut. Lexi appeared from the en-suite bathroom wearing the tightest black leather trousers Nat had ever seen. She had paired them with a cropped red top that skimmed her ribs and exposed her perfectly flat stomach.

“Seriously, you’re not going out in jeans.” Lexi shook her head in despair, then began rifling through her wardrobe. “It’s a club, not a coffee shop.”

“I just wasn’t really feeling in the mood to dress up,” Nat said, letting out a deep sigh. “And nothing seems to fit me properly.”

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