Page 95 of Alice Carver Manifests Her Perfect Life
Oh my god. The ‘reputable third party’ overseeing the merger at Carsons. The LL Group. It was Matthew!
‘You really have been reading up,’ said Matthew.
‘Absolutely,’ said Guy. I could see little wavering flames burning in his pupils. ‘And I’d like to buy you a drink, Matthew. Have a good talk. Alice says you’re practically family. It couldn’t be more felicitous.’
‘I see,’ said Matthew dispassionately.
Guy’s phone rang again. ‘My wife is relentless. Let’s park this for five minutes whilst I answer her. Keep hold of him, Alice,’ he ordered. ‘ Matthew and I have a lot to discuss.’
I smiled obediently but as soon as he’d moved out of earshot, I turned to Matthew. ‘Why the fuck didn’t you tell me? That it’syourcompany reviewing our merger?’
But Matthew seemed pretty frustrated himself, which was remarkable considering what I’d just heard. ‘Why, Alice? Just why?’
‘Why what? How do you get to sound pissed off? I didn’t even know your company did stuff like this! You’re always boring us with talks of ethics.’
‘My companyisethical, Alice,’ said Matthew, his voice clipped. ‘Unlike your boyfriend.’
‘But I thought you did coaching and training? All that psychology stuff?’
‘Yes. We do multiple things.’
I was barely listening because I was trying to remember exactly what I’d said to Matthew. ‘Oh no, and I told you about the taxi expenses loophole.’ I actually felt like crying. ‘Drunk Stephen… I feel like a traitor. You can’t use what I told you to sack my friends! You can’t!’ I could feel my eyes starting to well, and I was finding it hard to catch my breath.
‘Get a grip, Alice.’ Matthew glanced over at the other customers, some of whom were looking our way. ‘And stop shouting in my restaurant.’ He indicated the door curtly, and I followed him out of one of the arched doorways and along a corridor to the cellars. ‘You’re being entirely unreasonable,’ he said bluntly, as soon as the cellar door had closed behind us.
I rested my back against the cool wall, looking up at the vaulted ceiling and the stacks of wine, and tried to regain a sense of control. But the thought of Drunk Stephen being fired by Matthew, because of me, triggered it off again.
‘How can you live with yourself?’ I said. ‘How can you fire people and ruin lives?’
‘I’m not firing anyone. My company literally protects the rights of innocent people in the corporate world.’
‘Then why is everyone terrified of you? Huh? Guy’s been panicking.’
‘I think you’ll find it’s the company directors and leaders who have an ambivalent relationship with me,’ said Matthew irritably. ‘Not everyone.’
‘Yeah, right. So why would they invite you to be involved in the merger then? I’m not totally naïve, you know.’
‘Because I’m preferable to multiple employment lawsuits.’
‘I trusted you, Matthew. I thought we were friends. How could you let me babble on about everyone, knowing you’d be deciding their fates? I even told you about Guy. He’ll kill me. Oh my god, Matthew.’ I looked at him appalled. ‘Is that why you took me away for the night? Was it part of the process of finding out and digging deep?’
The thought made me feel slightly sick.
Matthew shook his head at me and sighed. ‘Thanks, Alice. Good to know what you think of me, although I suppose you have made it perfectly clear over the years.’
‘You lied to me.’ I poked him in his stupidly unyielding chest.
‘No, Alice, I’ve told you what I do before:youweren’t interested.’
‘I mean you lied about this!’ I shouted. ‘Coming into my place of work.’
‘I didn’t know,’ he said, his voice measured. ‘I thought you were at Bloomsbury, otherwise of course I wouldn’t have discussed your work with you. It was only when I saw your ID card that I realised.’
‘So why didn’t you say something to me when you did know? This is worse than cheating at Scrabble.’
‘I’d only had initial meetings at that point. All confidential. And I don’t cheat at Scrabble. I don’t need to.’
‘So why haven’t you warned me since?’
