Page 14 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Oh, sorry. I’ve kept you far too long and I really should get to work – especially having left early yesterday afternoon.’ I stand and reach across the table and Poppy shakes my hand.

‘Before you go,’ she says, ‘we didn’t get a chance to talk about Willem de Vries.’

My cheeks instantly flush, the traitors. ‘How do you mean?’ I ask casually.

Poppy’s eyes narrow slightly – I can tell she’s onto me.

‘I meant his request – to go meet his sister.’

‘Right,’ I say, composing myself. ‘To be honest, I’ve been so fixated on Jon and how to make him pay that I’ve barely given it any thought. He wants me there this coming weekend – Willem, I mean.’

My cheeks heat up again and Poppy’s expression transforms into one of concern. With good reason. On top of everything else, I’m attracted to my fiancé’s fiancée’s brother. What could possibly go wrong there?

‘It’s a lot to ask of you,’ she says, pretending to ignore my reaction to Willem, ‘but if you’re hell-bent on justice, then…’ She trails off, leaving the rest of the thought unsaid.

‘Then I should help Adriana,’ I say, finishing it. It does make sense – and I’m surprised I didn’t think of it earlier. Probably too distracted by gardening shears and the god-like brother.

‘Anyway, it’s something to consider,’ she says with an encouraging smile.

‘No, no, you’re absolutely right. And Iwillthink about it.’

Poppy stands and indicates for me to leave the meeting room first, then walks me to reception.

‘Thanks again, Poppy, for everything,’ I say when we get there.

‘Of course. And I’ll let you know if anything changes after I’ve spoken to my colleagues.’

We say goodbye and as I ride the lift down three floors, I imagine Jon’s face when Adriana tells him she knows about me. Or maybe I should be the first to confront him – I’ve been engaged to him the longest.

Like I told Poppy, I know I’ll have to confront him eventually, but the merethoughtof being anywhere near Jon again sends shivers down my spine, as if someone has walked over my grave.

‘Ground floor,’ the lift announces, and I return to the present with a jolt.

Thank god I have Margot on my side – and now Poppy. Even if she and her colleagues decide there’s nothing they can do to help me, I’ll have her moral support. And when the time comes, I’m going to need every ounce of it.

5

KATE

There’s this wonderful, unexpected sense of lightness that takes hold as I walk towards the Tube station, like a weight has been lifted off my chest. Maybe it’s sharing my predicament outside of my inner circle of one.

Speaking of Margot, I promised to call her as soon as I finished with Poppy. She answers right away.

‘Well?’ she asks, skipping formalities.

‘Well, after she got over the shock, she was really good to talk to. She’s an excellent listener and has this incredible insight.’

‘Ouch.’

‘You haven’t been replaced, silly. But Poppy sees the situation more objectively.’

‘So, she doesn’t want Jon drawn and quartered then?’

‘Ah, no.’

‘How much did you tell her?’ she asks.

‘I told her everything, including your plan to buy gardening shears.’

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