Page 59 of The Plot Twist

‘Relax Verity, she’s not even late yet.’ Allie checked her watch and tried to pretend to feel as relaxed as she was urging Verity to be. In reality, Allie was pretty jumpy herself.

It had taken levels of subterfuge previously unknown to Allie, to set this meeting up and she still couldn’t quite believe that Verity was out with her in public – although shewaswearing a big coat and sunglasses, even though they were sat inside, and even though London had not seen the sun in days.

Verity had suggested the location in an email sent from her mother’s best friend’s email address, saying that Peckham Library was the last place that Jake would think to look for a meeting dedicated to his removal from power. She had casually mentioned that Jake had probably never even heard of it and Allie still wasn’t clear on whether she meant Peckham or a library, before settling on the fact it was extremely likely that Jake hadn't heard of either. Allie had to convey the time and place to their third member and was told by Verity that she must never, ever, mention her name in any follow-up communication confirming the meeting. Needless to say, all of this had obviously rubbed off on Allie who kept nervously looking over her shoulder and then pretending she wasn’t, which was giving her a crick in her neck and a headache to boot. She rubbed her right shoulder and tried to ignore her rising sense of panic that really she ought to be at home, writing, not getting all caught up in publishing subterfuge, however much she would enjoy having a hand in the downfall of Jake Matthews.

And her mood and muscle spasms weren’t helped by the fact that she was currently perched on a fake log, which was designed to support people half her height and probably a third of her weight. And yet here she was because if the big coat, dark glasses, south-east London location and a large building full of books wasn’t enough to throw Jake Matthews off the scent, Verity had to go and pick the children’s section as the least likely place in which to meet. Storytime had just ended, and several parents had given Verity strange looks on their way out, and Allie was beginning to worry that if Jake Matthews didn’t find them, then security might be the ones to bust up their meeting with reports of strange women looking shifty in the kids’ section.

Verity was just about to start on again about what a waste of time this was all turning out to be when quite out of nowhere, a shadow slunk onto the seat (log) next to Allie and tried to shrink into the wall behind. The shadow pulled their scarf tighter around their throat and issued a muffled ‘Hello.’

All of the puffed-up panic left Verity immediately and she deflated with relief. ‘Tessa,’ she gushed, ‘how are you?’

‘Thinking I shouldn’t be fraternising with the enemy,’ Tessa said testily from behind her scarf.

Allie shot Verity a warning look, knowing full well that Verity was about to launch into an impassioned defence of their actions, a high-octane speech about how they weren’t the enemy, that the enemy was hiding in plain sight in the Brinkman’s offices and that they were only here to help Tessa. Allie could just tell that anything like this would startle Tessa into fleeing the scene. Instead, she engaged her best comforting tone and said, ‘I know. It must have taken a lot of courage to come here. Thank you.’

Tessa looked over at her through narrowed eyes. ‘So what exactly do you want from me?’

Verity opened her mouth and Allie shot her yet another warning look. Evidently, this new emboldened Verity was determined to get her speech in however inappropriate it was to the situation.

‘Tessa,’ Allie began in what she hoped was a measured and reassuring tone, ‘I’m going to be honest. We do want something from you. But we also think that if you can help us, it will help you too.’

Tessa allowed her scarf to slip slightly and fixed a flinty stare on Allie. ‘At least you’re being honest.’

‘Look, I want to get Verity her job back. And you told me yourself what a monster Jake is to work for, so you must see that if we work together, we can all benefit?’

Allie held her breath and silently urged Verity to hold her tongue. Tessa obviously needed some time and space to think about what they were asking.

‘I don’t know,’ Tessa eventually replied sullenly. ‘Seems like I’ve got a whole lot more to lose than either of you.’

Verity opened her mouth again to protest but her voice came out as a squeak due to the pressure Allie was exerting on her foot.

‘Yes, I can totally see that. But you’ve also got a lot to gain, too. Think about what it would be like to not work for Jake. To have a different boss…’ Allie resisted the urge to wax lyrical about how wonderful and normal it would be not to have a boss who controlled through fear, who blackmailed his employees and got them to risk themselves by supplying him with wraps of cocaine in the toilets at work events. She really had to restrain herself in order not to scream at the absurdity of how wrong this all was in Tessa’s pinched face.

‘Heisawful,’ Tessa eventually said.

‘I know,’ Allie replied soothingly.

‘And weareall scared of him.’

‘I can’t imagine how that must feel.’

‘He tricked me into getting him coke at the summer party, and now whenever he wants any he reminds me that he could have me fired for supplying drugs, or even arrested if he was feeling especially vindictive.’ Tessa’s eyes started welling up and Allie resisted the urge to look at Verity, who she knew was just desperate to shout out that she had been right, and that it had been Jake and Tessa who Allie had overheard in the bathroom at the V&A.

‘And there are people he is even worse to…’

Allie and Verity shared a nervous glance because what he had done to Tessa seemed pretty awful to them and they didn’t dare to imagine what she might be about to share with them next.

‘Do you want to tell us?’ Allie delicately asked.

Tessa hunched her shoulders. ‘Apparently there’s a girl in marketing that he had a fling with, he treated her really badly, and when he got wind that she might go to HR he cornered her and told her he had incriminating photographs of her that might just find their way onto social media if she pursued it.’

Allie and Verity’s jaws hit the ground. ‘What?’ blurted Verity as she wrestled her dislocated jaw back into its rightful position. ‘Who?’

‘I’m not going to tell you that,’ Tessa said in outrage. ‘It’s bad enough it’s happened. I’m not going to spread her name around.’

‘No, no of course not. Sorry. I’m just so shocked.’ Verity had gone a very strange colour. Allie put her face in her hands, considering the awfulness of what Tessa had just told them. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, she knew what kind of a man Jake Matthews was, but deep down, she had been hoping that, for the sake of humanity, Verity had been exaggerating his depravity. Unfortunately, it looked like she had been underestimating it. Allie rubbed her eye sockets and exhaled heavily.

‘Tessa, I know I said I’d be honest with you. And I was being honest. Both of us have a vested interest in Jake Matthews getting his comeuppance but… Look, it’s more than that. I can deal with not having Verity edit my books, and I’m speaking for Verity here, but I’m also confident she can deal with not getting her job back because she’s awesome and any other publisher would be lucky to have her. But after what you’ve told us, I don’t think I can deal with knowing that Jake Matthews is out there, riding roughshod over the #MeToo movement and ruining young women’s lives. I can’t live with myself if I don’t do something about this. And I know I’m asking a lot, and I wouldn’t do it if I could think of any other way, and if there is another way then please, please tell me and I will do it instead, because I would do anything not to be putting you in this position but … if you decide to go ahead and go public with this, please know that I am right behind you and I know a lot of other women will be too.’

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