Page 14 of The Retreat
‘You can’t have the money back. It’s gone,’ Imogen told her quickly.
Talia exhaled sharply. ‘No, no. I’m not here for that.’ Her eyes flickered from Imogen’s face to the ground, then back again. ‘I need a favour,’ she said.
Imogen let out a sharp laugh, harsh and bitter. ‘A favour?’
But Talia wasn’t laughing. ‘Just let me explain,’ she said quickly. ‘Please.’
Imogen wondered if she should simply slam the door. But there was something in Talia’s eyes that made Imogen hesitate. The rage that had boiled up in her the last time they spoke wasn’t there anymore. Instead, there was something more vulnerable. Scared, even.
Nine
Talia shifted uneasily in Imogen’s poky living room. It had been easy enough to find—Imogen was listed. Getting up the guts to come here had taken a bit longer. But she knew this wasn’t something to shoot a DM about. She needed to be eyeball to eyeball for this pitch.
Imogen hadn’t said anything yet. She was seated on an old couch that should have been thrown out years ago, waiting—probably out of sheer curiosity. For Talia to come here, Imogen would know it had to be good. And Talia was not going to disappoint her.
‘Imogen, look... Before I go on, let’s just get the obvious out in the open. I realise the depth of our shared animosity. You cost me a girlfriend, and I cost you a job. There’s no love lost between us.’
Imogen’s hackles visibly shot up. ‘I don’t think I quite see it like—’
Talia put her hand up. ‘I’m not here to litigate our history. I’m not here to talk it through. I’m not here to make amends. We can park all that. I’m here to offer you, well, an opportunity. Of sorts.’
Imogen tilted her head in sour, amused amazement. ‘Oh?’
Ok, it was time to say it. Get it out there.
‘This is going to sound ridiculous, and I... I can’t even believe I’m asking you this, but—’ She cut herself off. Was she really doing this?
Yes. Yes, she was. Or it was bye-bye partnership.
Imogen watched her, arms crossed. Talia knew she didn’t have the luxury of time to make this perfect. There was no ideal explanation, no neat way to dress it up. She had to get this out fast.
‘It’s about my boss,’ Talia said, her words coming out in a rush now. ‘I told her I had a girlfriend. I mean, I told her Ihavea girlfriend. And...’ She winced, eyes flicking to the floor, unable to meet Imogen’s gaze while she said it. ‘Her name’s Alex Gray.’
Imogen’s brow creased. ‘Okaaaay…’
‘I made her up,’ Talia continued, her voice faltering. She couldn’t believe she was having to confess this pathetic thing to Imogen, of all people. ‘I made up a serious girlfriend because my company isverybig on family values, stability, all that crap. You can’t go up without it. I’m completely happy to be single, but it was holding me back, so I did what I had to. But now... well, my boss wants to meet her. She expects Alex to be at this retreat next week. She’s made it clear that it’ll lock in my promotion. Without her, I could kiss it goodbye. I could kiss any chance of moving forward with this company goodbye.’
She stopped, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. This was it. There was no way back now.
Imogen hadn’t said anything. She just sat there, her face unreadable. Talia shifted her feet and plodded on.
‘You may recall from when you paid that little visit to my office that my boss called you Alex. And I missed the opportunity to correct her. So now, youareAlex as far as she’s concerned.’
Imogen’s lips began to turn up at the corners. She knew where this was going, and she was finding it delicious. Talia’s nails dug into her palms at the realisation that Imogen was enjoying the power she had over her already. But Talia was in for a penny.
‘I need you to be Alex,’ Talia blurted out. The words tasted like dogshit in her mouth. ‘I know it’s insane, but it’s just for the weekend. Just be there. Pretend to be my… my, my…’Say the word. ‘…girlfriend just for the retreat. I’ll pay you ten thousand pounds to do it.’
The silence between them stretched out longer than Talia could bear. Imogen’s lips parted like she was about to say something, but then she stopped herself. Talia pushed on.
‘I know it’s going to be awful being around each other,’ Talia said, the words coming out harsher than she meant them to. ‘But this is business, Imogen. You’ll never have to see me again after this. I’ll make sure of it. You’ll get the money, and I’ll get the promotion, and we can both walk away with what we need.’
Still nothing.
‘Just pretend to be Alex. That’s all I’m asking. Ten thousand pounds for one weekend. You don’t have to do anything else. You certainly don’t have tolikeit. I won’t ask for anything more.’
Imogen’s expression shifted slightly, but she still didn’t say anything. She was staring at Talia with a mixture of confusion, disbelief, and satisfaction.
‘Wow,’ Imogen finally said. ‘Youreallymust be up shit creek to come tome.’
