Page 83 of Behind Frenemy Lines

This was a promotion—one she’d worked hard and schemed ruthlessly for.

“Rosalind, that’s fantastic! Congratulations. It’s so well deserved.”

“Thank you.” Rosalind sounded delighted. Besides the professional recognition the promotion represented, she’d been talking about moving closer to her family in Indonesia for years. “Now, what did you want to discuss?”

“My news isn’t quite so happy,” I said. “I’ve resigned. I’m due to leave Swithin Watkins next week. I’m sorry it’s such short notice.”

I was prepared for Rosalind to interrogate me about the reasons for my departure. I was planning to be discreet, but not so dignified as to deny it if she guessed it had something to do with Arthur.

But you could always rely on Rosalind to be surprising.

She said, “Oh, have you got a job somewhere else?”

“Er, no, but—”

“But then this is perfect timing. It must be fate,” said Rosalind. “Listen, Kriya, I know I’m forever asking you to do crazy things, but you know there’s always a method to my madness. I have an offer to make you. I want you to listen and think about it seriously. Will you promise me you’ll do that?”

There was no one on the benches behind the church that day. I sat down on the one that didn’t have a broad streak of fresh bird shit on it.

“OK,” I said. “Tell me more.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Charles

Kriya came backfrom her walk as my call was wrapping up. She put a coffee cup on my desk.

Kriya: “I went by the nice coffee place. Black Americano, right?”

CG: “Yeah. Thanks. Is everything all right?”

She was probably sick of me asking. But there was something different about her. Like something had happened.

Kriya sat down at her desk. “Rosalind’s offered me a job.”

Blinked. But it wasn’t surprising, in a way. Well-timed. “At Sanson?”

Kriya nodded. “It would be based out of their Hong Kong office. She’s moving out there on promotion.”

Thatwasa surprise. Didn’t know how I felt about it. “You’d be joining their in-house legal team, I assume.”

Kriya: “Yeah. Sanson’s manufacturing is all out of ASPAC, mostly China. Hong Kong is a major hub for them. Rosalind’s got a brief to raise compliance standards across the region. They’ve got a new GC there, too, he’s got headcount to expand the Legal team. Rosalind knows him, they used to work together when she was at Sanson France. She says he’s very nice.”

CG: “Are you going to take the job?”

Kriya: “Well, it’s not a done deal. I’d be reporting to the GC, so he’s got to approve it. Rosalind’s asked me to send her my CV. And the GC wants to meet me. In Hong Kong. He’s one of those old school guys who don’t believe in Teams meetings, I guess. They’ve said they’ll cover travel expenses.”

She blew out a sigh. Looked overwhelmed.

No wonder. I felt overwhelmed and I wasn’t even the person all of this was happening to.

CG: “Are you going to go?”

Kriya: “Why not, right? It’s a free trip. And I’ll be at loose ends from next week.”

Hong Kong was a long way away. Probably didn’t say much of me, as a son and a brother, that I’d never felt the distance so much before.

CG: “It’s a big decision, moving to another country.”

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