Page 25 of The One That I Want

I hold off as long as I can, but the laughter bubbles up inside me and I giggle. Ewan spins in his seat and we share the joke, our eyes locked.

Just then, my phone chimes with a message, breaking the spell. I check it and it’s Bex:

They’re here. I’ve shown them to your office. Getting tea sorted.

They?Poppy’s early –andshe’s brought someone with her. Oh no! It’s not my first date, is it? She wouldn’t. Or would she?

‘Er, so sorry, Ewan, but I’ve got to go!’

I quickly gather my things and head out the door, half-drunk coffee in hand and with the vague awareness that I’ve just been rude to my new friend. But I have something more pressing on my mind.

I’m going tokillPoppy Dean!

7

POPPY

‘George, you seriously need to let this go.’

The case name ‘Handsome and Greta’ was vetoed by Paloma, and George hasn’t stopped whingeing about it the entire way toNouveau.

‘But, Poppy?—’

‘No, no “but, Poppy”. I don’t particularly like case names based on fairy tales either. And didn’t Hansel and Gretal get eaten by a witch or something?’

‘They wererescued.’

‘I genuinely don’t care.’

He pouts. Wonderful, I’m sitting in a client’s office with a grown-arse man who’s sulking. Why did I bring him with me again?

‘You’re attached to the play on words, that’s all,’ I say, adopting a more soothing tone. Huffy sigh. ‘Look, we’re moments away from meeting the client. Can we please shelve this discussion?’

This alludes to me being willing to discuss it further, which I’m not. This is now ‘The Greta Davies Case’, which George will discover the next time he brings it up. He finally acquiescesto my plea and sits up straight, adjusting the sleeves of his sportscoat to show off his cufflinks: fluffy bumblebees which complement his bright-yellow shirt.

While we wait for Greta, I sip the tea that Bex brought us – it’s not terrible but it’s not good either. From my experience, the quality of tea relies heavily on the skills (or lack thereof) of the maker. Bex was also a little stand-offish with me, which surprised me considering we’ve worked together before.

‘Poppy,’ says an out-of-breath Greta as she bursts into her office. She stops short and looks between us. ‘Oh, it’s only you,’ she says to George.

George and I look at each other, confused.

‘Oh, thank god! Thank god!’ Greta skirts around her desk, where she dumps her laptop and handbag, then sits heavily in her chair. She gulps from a takeaway coffee cup, tipping it up to finish it.

‘Greta, is everything all right?’ I ask.

‘Yes,’ she says, depositing the now-empty cup on her desk. ‘I… I thought you werehim,’ she says, flapping a hand towards George.

‘Him?Oh!’ I exclaim. ‘No, we wouldn’t do that, Greta – spring a potential match on you without warning.’

‘I realise that now, but when Bex sent the message…’ She heaves out another sigh and sits back against the chair, making it rock back and forth.

George and I exchange glances again. His lips are pressed together so hard, they’ve all but disappeared. Greta is clearly on edge – it’s a good thing she isn’t meeting her match today (so to speak).

‘That’s on me, Greta. I should have told you that George was coming with me today. He’s not staying – he just?—’

‘I just wanted to see the mothership,’ he says, his tone hopeful. It’s a weird thing to say but Greta responds positively.

‘Of course you did,’ she replies, breaking into a relieved smile. ‘So, how about I show you both around before I introduce Poppy to the team?’

---