Page 14 of The Last Saturday In July
When Jess hung up she sent Adam an email to let him know. With any luck, Saturday wouldn’t suit him, and she’d be spared his company. Then she messaged Kate. She hadn’t talked to her since Adam’s arrival. Now she had to make sure that Kate didn’t say the wrong thing, without letting her know why.
It was getting complicated.
A while later, they slipped into the last seats at the bar in Pizza Pizazz.
‘I thought we were having sushi,’ said Kate.
‘Would you prefer sushi?’
‘Pizza’s fine for me.’ Kate was cheerful. ‘Although maybe we should both steer clear of the deluxe special with extra cheese, at least until after the wedding.’
‘I won’t have the extra cheese.’ Jess shifted uncomfortably, hating any reminder of the weight battle she’d fought right through her teenage years. ‘So,’ she adopted a deliberately casual tone, ‘have you met Frank Charleston’s nephew?’
Kate opened her breadsticks. ‘Not yet why?’
To hell with casual. Jess leaned across the table and lowered her voice. ‘The guy has been sent to spy. Frank is freaking out about the marketing of Linford, and suddenly doesn’t trust me to do my job. He’s a total pain.’
Kate frowned. ‘Frank?’
‘No, his nephew, Adam Rourke.’
‘So, you had a formal meeting?’
‘We had a coffee at Butlers.’
‘No wonder you’re suspicious.’
‘Kate, take me seriously. I really don’t want to work with this guy.’
Kate crunched down on a breadstick. ‘You’re not making any sense.’
This was the perfect moment to confess her Isle of Man one-night stand. But the more she thought about it, the worse it seemed.
Kate peered at her. ‘Are you okay, Jess? You’ve gone a bit pale.’
‘I’m fine.’ Jess took a breath. ‘Sorry. Look, it’s just this guy was working at the company’s head office in Switzerland, and he was meant to be coming over later this year. But Frank asked him to step in now because of the Linford wedding. Don’t you think that’s a bit off?’
‘Not really. What I don’t understand is why you’re getting involved in that wedding.’ Kate tucked her hair behind her ears. ‘Don’t they have a full-time events manager?’
‘Ian Finnegan, yeah. But this is our first big event.’ Jess sat up a bit straighter and undid the button on her skirt. That felt a bit better: maybe she wouldn’t eat the whole pizza. ‘Anyway, Frank wants me involved, remember?’
Kate shrugged. ‘So now you’ve got help.’
‘I still wish I wasn’t working with him.’
Kate folded the empty breadstick packet into a small, neat square before tucking it under the salt. ‘You’ve only met him –how can you not trust him?’
‘It’s just a feeling.’ Jess chose her words carefully. ‘I think it’s safer to keep everything completely professional between us, so I’m not even going to mention that I’m engaged. I don’t want him knowing anything personal about me.’
Kate shot her a quizzical look. ‘Whatis going on?’
‘Nothing, look, please don’t mention me at all.’ Jess thought quickly. ‘He’s Frank’s nephew and I don’t want him reporting back, so don’t tell him anything about my private life, promise?’
‘Fine, you lunatic.’ Kate shook her head. ‘Now, can we change the subject?’
‘Absolutely.’ Jess beamed. ‘Did I tell you that Simon’s best man is coming back to Dublin for good this week? And he’s single!’
‘That’s nice.’ Kate studied the menu.
