Page 95 of The One That I Want

‘And Poppy, any chance I can coax you into the office first thing tomorrow morning? I have another matter I’d like to discuss with you.’

‘Sure.’

The ‘other matter’ is me and my love life, which sends my already fragile stomach into spasms. Anjali still doesn’t know what I know about her ‘secret’ plan. I try to catch Poppy’s eye again, but I’m unable to, and after they’ve said their goodbyes, I’m left alone to pull the plug on my column.

Tiggy had better be up for a lengthy debrief session tonight. So much of my life has gone to shit in the past twenty-four hours, she’s going to get an earful.

25

POPPY

‘Hello, darling, welcome home,’ says Tristan from the sofa. ‘I’d get up to greet you but…’ He points at Saffron, who’s snuggled up on his chest. In his other hand, he’s holding his book at an odd angle so he can read it over her fluffy face.

‘Saffron, get off Tristan so he can greet me properly.’

One eye opens a sliver, then closes again. She doesn’t care –I’mconvincedshe’sconvinced thatthey’remarried and I’m just the interloper who feeds her.

I offload my handbag and keys on the hallstand then cross the combined kitchen–dining–lounge room to plant a kiss on Tristan’s lips. I scratch the top of Saffron’s head. She’s purring, which has nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she’s sitting on.

‘So, how was it?’ Tristan asks, inverting his open book on his stomach, spine up. Shaz would be appalled if he ever treated any of her books like that – though, he doesn’t exactly read romcoms.

I flop onto the sofa opposite him and stretch out, toeing off my ballet flats and rolling my ankles. ‘It could have been a lotworse. Though, they’re pulling the column Greta’s been working on.’

‘Another column?’

‘Yep. And this is the one she and I invented as a cover.’

‘A cover for…?’ he asks without judgement. As always, Tristan is privy to the ins and outs of my case, but with this one, there are so many intricacies and layers of deception, it’s no wonder he needs me to clarify.

‘That she doesn’t know her boss – that’s the V-VIP – hired me to match her.’

‘Which she did? The boss?’

‘Which she did, yes.Andwhich Greta figured out almost immediately, but she doesn’t want her boss to know because that might make her – Greta’s boss – feel bad about wanting to match her – Greta – in the first place. And tomorrow, I have to spin the loss of this second columnandthe fact that I still haven’t matched Greta – because Greta has more or less kiboshed potential number one – so she doesn’t close the case. The boss, not Greta.’

He scrubs a hand over his face.

‘I’ve lost you,’ I say.

‘Just a bit. I make million-pound trades that are less complicated than that.’

‘How about Idon’texplain it a second time and you join me in the bath instead?’

He raises his brows, his lips curling into a sexy smile. ‘Sorry, Saffy,’ he says as he lifts her off his chest and puts her on the floor. She mewls in protest, but he ignores her and rushes off to the en suite to fill the tub.

‘Sometimes it’s not all about you, Saffy,’ I say.

At that, she turns and, with a swish of her tail, struts out of the room.

Greta

‘I need a holiday,’ I groan to Tiggy. I’m stretched out on the sofa with an arm flung over my eyes like the heroine from a silent movie. ‘Today was…’ I sigh, leaving the sentence unfinished because today was a lot of things and none of them were enjoyable. ‘I just can’tbelievewe’re dropping my column – right after I became invested in it. I was sure it would be a hit.’

She doesn’t respond.

‘Are you even listening?’

I lift my arm and look about, but Tiggy’s not even here. ‘Tiggy?’ I call.

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