Page 49 of I Knew You Were Trouble

Wonderful – now what?

‘Marie,’ I say, turning to my would-be ally, my fingers mentally crossed, ‘what doyouthink?’

Her expression shifts and her eyes flash with excitement. ‘I think it sounds fun.’

‘Fun?For whom? Not forme, that’s for sure,’ I respond adamantly.

She gives me her signature shrug and draws from her unlit cigarette. Okay, so Marie isn’t going to help me.

‘Please, Poppy…’

Kate’s pleading tone breaks through my thoughts, and I look her in the eye.

‘The only way to stop Jon is to turn the tables on him. And Ursula’s plan does that. It will hurt him in the hip pocket, totally piss him off,andwe’ll all get to confront him together – say our piece.’

I exhale through my nose, resigned. When it’s put that way, this plandoeshave merit.

‘If our bosses sign off on it, I’ll do it,’ I say, resigned.

Unsurprisingly, she ignores the ‘if’ part and beams at me.

‘But like I said before, no promises, okay?’

‘Okay,’ she agrees.

‘I’m sure it will be fine,’ says Ursula dismissively.

I could throttle Ursula right now. For years, she’s been a mentor to me, and I’ve always looked to her to be a beacon of sense and professionalism. Now she’s behaving like an evil mastermind.

‘Oh,’ says Kate as if she’s suddenly remembered something. She turns to Ursula. ‘You said you had a vested interest in my case. What did you mean by that?’

‘Well, just as you want Dunn to pay for duping you into an engagement, I’d like my former business partner to pay for compromising my professional reputation.’

‘And how does that concern me?’ Kate asks.

‘She owns Perfect Pairings.’

‘Oh, I see.’

‘Mm-hmm,’ Ursula replies.

Marie clears her throat and we all look her way. She taps twice on her phone, then lifts her head and addresses us. ‘Dunn has a reservation at the Langham on Wednesday for two nights.’

‘So,notin New York then. Imagine my surprise,’ says Kate sarcastically. ‘Wait – did you determine that while we’ve been sitting here?’

‘Mais, oui,’ Marie replies as if it’s a stupid question.

‘Wowser,’ Kate says to herself.

‘Well, Poppy, it looks like we have the mark’s known whereabouts in two days hence,’ says Ursula. ‘Kate, we’ll need you to brief Poppy on all things Jon Dunn. Marie, keep digging – determine if there are any other women he’s romantically involved with.’

Marie nods her acceptance of her assignment and just like that, I’ve been usurped. Not only am I now positioned at the centre of this case, but Ursula’s issuing commands as if it belongs toher.

‘There’s something else we need to consider,’ I say, commandeering this discussion before Ursula volunteers me for anything else. ‘Do we continue to involve Adriana’s brother, Willem de Vries? He’s been instrument?—’

‘Yes, yes, we should definitely keep working with him,’ Kate interjects.

I catch her eye and she looks away, lips pressed together and her cheeks flushing. She must recognise what her outburst has revealed. And while Kate may believe she’s ready to leap into a new relationship, I truly hope she takes some time to heal.

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