Page 12 of Don't Point at the Moon

“Bad morning?”

“Beth got up in the early hours, as she does, to use the apartment block gym before anyone else had risen,” said Kate, placing her bag next to Mitchell and dropping into her seat. “And I don’t know about you, but I relish Saturday and Sunday mornings, the only time I can treat myself to a snooze. Well, it looks as though that little luxury is out of the window. Our little Angel, it transpires, is an early riser too, and demanded to be entertained. So while Maria—our live-in nanny—was preparing breakfast, the little madam decided to jump up and down on my bed until she fell against one of Beth’s matching bedside lamps of vintage porcelain, which promptly fell to the floor and smashed into a thousand pieces. Beth tried to laugh the matter off when she returned but I can tell when she’s pissed. After I managed to get Angel to eat breakfast, every time I tried to put a foot outside the door to come here she threw a tantrum. I almost called and cancelled.”

“Where was Beth while all this was happening?”

One of the waiters dropped off a double espresso and an oversized cup of what looked like a café latte. Kate downed the shot in one go before answering.

“On a call with a client.”

“She does know adoption is supposed to be a shared responsibility, doesn’t she? Everything’s not going to rest on your shoulders, is it?”

“Of course she does. But her job isn’t like ours, Mitch. There are times when she has to be full-on, day and night, front andcentre. I respect that. It’s why they pay her good money. She’s taking Angel to the clinic this morning so we can have our catch-up.”

“Fair enough,” said Mitchell. “Let’s talk business and get that out of the way first, but you should know I’ve been sworn to secrecy by Pauline.”

“We’ve all been sworn to secrecy. The handful that know. But we’re going to have to talk at some point. May as well be sooner than later.”

Kate knew the same as Mitchell but had a better grip on the redundancy packages on offer. Just as Mitchell had suspected, Charteris was offering nothing more than statutory amounts.

“They’ll leave a skeleton staff behind,” said Kate. “And find much smaller premises, but over eighty-five per cent of jobs will go. With your knowledge of the local market, they would be insane to let you go. But I’ve had a headhunter lining up interviews for me—”

“Already?”

“No point hanging around, is there? No doubt we’ll be expected to handle the redundancy interviews.”

“Not alone. You’ll have someone from HR sitting in with you.”

“No disrespect, Mitch, but that doesn’t give me much comfort. Honestly, I would rather not be around to handle any of it. Hey, one of the banks I’m interviewing with is a relatively new outfit with their Asian operation headquartered here. They’re also advertising for a Head of HR position. Do you want me to send you details?”

Even after three weeks, Mitchell hadn’t fully processed the changes, not in his head. Ellie constantly teased him about his misplaced loyalty to the bank. And he had automatically assumed the restructuring would entail him staying put. Did he really have the enthusiasm or the energy to begin all over again learning the ways of a new company?

“No harm looking is there?” said Kate, digging out her phone. “I’ll send you the details anyway. Delete them if you’re not interested. Once I’m home, I’m bound to get swept up in one domestic dilemma or another.”

While Kate fiddled with her phone, Mitchell’s gaze scanned the room, and he shrank on spotting Tommy entering the café. Fortunately, the place had filled up, and Mitchell’s table was hidden at the back. Tommy had a pretty, petite young woman with him, curly copper hair parted down the middle and reaching the shoulders of her white flannel shirt. For some reason, he liked her instantly. She had an openness and a sense of fun that shone from her smiling eyes. Tommy followed behind her, a good foot taller, his eyes scouring the spaces around them, probably looking for somewhere to sit. Mitchell noticed several women and some men turn to look at him. Fair enough, too. He was, without a doubt, a good-looking man, even if he was an asshole. Probably curious at what had grabbed Mitchell’s attention, Kate twisted around in her seat, then sprang up with a squeal and waved them over.

Mitchell closed his eyes briefly with dismay before opening them and trying to centre himself. The last thing he wanted was another mouthful of abuse from Tommy.

“Shelly. Tommy. Yoo-hoo. Over here.”

In true Kate style, she hugged and cheek-kissed hellos with both of them while Mitchell remained seated, flatlining a grin and holding a palm in salute. For once, Mitchell felt grateful that Kate had only managed to get seats on the row of smaller tables, with people already installed on either side. Otherwise, he felt sure, she would have invited them to join.

“Shelly and Tommy are teacher friends of mine. They’re both at the SIA School on the way to the Peak. Shelly teaches science and Tommy teaches—”

“Physical education,” said Tommy, avoiding Mitchell’s gaze.

“Do you two know each other?” asked Shelly eventually, in all innocence, pointing a finger between Mitchell and Tommy.

“A little,” said Tommy, who looked as embarrassed as Mitchell felt.

“Not really,” said Mitchell at the same time.

“They have a mutual acquaintance. Harold Choi,” said Kate, who looked quizzically at Mitchell and must have tuned in to his mood. “He’s one of those people who tends to know everyone but keeps them in different silos. Although I’m surprised these two didn’t bump into each other at our party. They both came along when we introduced Angel to the world.”

“Oh, Kate. I am so sorry we couldn’t make it,” Shelly said earnestly. Mitchell sighed inwardly at the perfect diversion. “My hubby had this work thing—”

As the girls chatted, Mitchell caught Tommy’s eye. Tommy tried for a lopsided grin, which seemed odd after the unpleasant things he’d said the night they’d last met. The gesture confused Mitchell, who did not return the smile. Instead—even though the action made him feel petty—he picked up his phone from the table and began checking messages. Eventually, he heard Tommy’s voice interrupt the girls’ chatter.

“Shall I grab us a table before they’re all taken?”

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