Читать книгу The Last Lie: The must-read new thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author - Alex Lake, Alex Lake - Страница 20

Claire’s phone buzzed and she glanced at the screen. It was a text from Alfie. The meeting was in full flow, but she had to read his message.

Can you call?

Her stomach balled up. There was something about the text message which didn’t seem right to her. He’d have his results by now. She’d been expecting a breezy no problem or all fine down below, but not this. Not a request to call her. She started to type a reply – call you back soon – but before she could finish it, she became aware that the room was silent. She lifted her head. Vicki Turner, the senior partner and founder of the firm, was looking back at her.

‘Claire?’ she said. ‘Your thoughts on the last question?’

Claire swallowed. She had no idea what the last question was.

‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I didn’t catch the question.’

Vicki Turner – tall, late-fifties, hair groomed into a static pile, pencil skirt and expensive jacket – looked pointedly at Claire’s phone, and then spoke slowly.

‘The question,’ she said, ‘was about the relationship with the client. If we have a strong relationship then maybe we can resolve the matter without pursuing legal action. Since you manage this contract, I was wondering whether you might be able to provide an opinion on the matter.’

‘Right,’ Claire said. ‘Of course.’ She searched for something to say but her mind had gone blank. She felt the heat rise in her neck and cheeks, felt herself flush. It was ridiculous; she was a grown woman, but here she was, her mind frozen.

‘It’s …’ she began, ‘it’s fine, I think. No, it’s better than that. It’s good.’

Vicki nodded. ‘Do you think we may be able to resolve this payment dispute without going down the legal route?’

‘I’m not – well yes, maybe.’ Claire smiled. ‘Maybe I can talk to someone there. Test the temperature.’

‘OK,’ Vicki said. ‘Let’s do that. Perhaps by the end of the day, if possible?’

‘No problem,’ Claire said. ‘End of the day it is.’

Back at her desk, she picked up her phone and called Alfie. He answered on the second ring. She could tell immediately it wasn’t good news.

‘Alfie,’ she said. ‘What happened?’

There was a long pause. ‘It turns out,’ he said eventually, ‘the problem is me.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well,’ Alfie replied. ‘I have a very low sperm count.’

‘But you took that test! It was fine.’

‘I know. That’s what I thought. But it must have been faulty.’

‘OK,’ Claire said. ‘It’s not the end of the world. There are things they can do even if you have a low sperm count. We can try those.’

‘Not in my case,’ Alfie said. He sounded worse, flatter and more exhausted, than Claire had ever heard him sound before. ‘I have no sperm, Claire. None at all. It’s impossible.’

‘No,’ Claire said. ‘It can’t be! I’ll talk to Dr Singh. See if—’

‘Claire!’ Alfie’s voice was almost a shout. ‘Please don’t make this any worse than it needs to be. It’s time to move on.’

She was about to argue, but she caught the words on her lips. Now was not the time. And besides, Alfie had no doubt explored all the possibilities with Dr Singh, and so if he said it was impossible it must be. He wanted this as badly as she did; there was no way he would leave any stone unturned.

‘OK,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry, darling. I feel for you.’

‘I don’t care about me. It’s you. This is your dream. You deserve better.’

‘There is no one better,’ Claire said. ‘And this test result doesn’t change how I feel about you one bit. I love you as much – more – than I ever did. This will only bring us closer.’

‘Thank you,’ Alfie said. ‘Thank you for saying that. It means a lot. I love you.’

She looked at her watch. It was ten a.m. ‘I’ll see you tonight. What time are you home?’

‘I don’t know. I’m a bit behind. But I don’t want to be too late. I need to see you.’

‘Get back as soon as you can. We can have a drink and talk about how to deal with this. OK?’

He agreed and she put her phone on her desk. She pushed it away from her, then rubbed her temples. So there was a reason she couldn’t get pregnant, and it was this. Although she’d wanted him to go and see Dr Singh she hadn’t really thought there was a problem. It was more for peace of mind than anything else. But now this had happened.

And as it started to sink in tears came to her eyes.

She shook her head. She could cry about it later. For now she needed to get her thoughts straight. Firstly, Alfie would be devastated, so she needed to be sensitive to him. Secondly, there were still avenues they could explore. If she wanted to have her own baby then they could use a sperm donor, or they could adopt. She’d often thought that, after she had a couple of her own and built a family home, she would like to adopt a child. There was something about the idea of sharing what she had with someone in need that appealed to her.

Well, maybe that was going to happen sooner than she’d thought.

She closed her laptop. She needed a coffee. As she got up, Jodie called.

‘Hey,’ Claire said. ‘How’re things?’

‘Good,’ Jodie replied. ‘You? Want to meet up tonight?’

‘I can’t. And I thought you were locked into Pippa world.’

‘I was. But, amazingly, she’s going out tonight. We were supposed to be watching a movie, but she called and said she had plans. She sounded quite happy, actually. Maybe she got asked out on a date. Either way, I thought I’d take advantage and see if you were free.’

‘Sadly not,’ Claire said. ‘I have plans with Alfie. But I’m glad Pippa is off your hands, for a night at least.’

‘Me too. See you soon.’

Claire put her phone in her bag and headed for the main doors. She needed to get some fresh air. She could get her coffee somewhere nearby.

As she left the building she noticed that the busker was gone.