Sushi for Beginners - Marian Keyes [119]
‘But…’ Mercedes glowered blackly.
‘Go on,’ Lisa said impatiently.
Everyone else in the office suddenly found their toecaps very, very interesting. No one could look at the humiliation, it was too horrible.
‘But…’ Mercedes tried again.
‘Go on!’
Mercedes stared, then grabbed up the photos and banged to her desk. As she passed, Ashling heard her mutter, ‘Bitch,’ semi-under her breath.
Ashling had to agree. What was Lisa like?
The atmosphere was toxic with tension. Ashling had to open a window, even though the day wasn’t warm. Some fresh air was needed to cleanse the ugly mood.
The only person in good form was Jack. Occasionally he emerged from his office, blithely oblivious to the tension, conducted his business, bestowed grins all round, then disappeared again. Slowly the poison dissipated, until everyone except Mercedes felt almost normal again.
At twelve-thirty, Mai arrived. She gave a general greeting then asked to see Jack.
‘Go on,’ Mrs Morley nodded perfunctorily.
Everyone sat up in glee as the door closed behind her.
‘That’ll wipe the smile off his face,’ Kelvin observed.
Trix almost went around selling hot dogs, so festive and ringside was the air.
But no fighting broke out and they emerged serenely, very much together, Mai smirking beside Jack’s bulk as they left the office.
Everyone exchanged startled looks. ‘What was that all about?’
Lisa, about to leave to inspect the bedrooms at the Morrison for their ‘sexiness’ factor, was abruptly stricken with privation. She had to sit down and swallow hard to try to dislodge the cold, hard sensation of loss. But what was the problem? She’d known he had a girlfriend. It was just with all the squabbling they’d done, she’d never fully taken it seriously.
Ashling was also a little nonplussed. What have I done?
When Lisa booked a taxi to take her to the Morrison, she asked – with mild embarrassment – for Liam. She’d started doing that lately. She could only suppose that she liked Liam, with all his salt-of-the-earth Dublin chat.
By the time she arrived at the hotel she’d taken her upset about Jack and Mai and reconfigured it into something manageable. Hadn’t she promised herself only that very morning that she was going to bag herself a bloke? And that it didn’t have to be Jack. Not yet, in any case.
‘Where do you want to be dropped, Lisa?’ Liam interrupted her thoughts.
‘Just up here, at the building with the black windows.’
There was a young man, decked out in a beautiful grey tailored suit, loitering by the front door of the hotel.
‘Ah, look, love,’ Liam’s voice softened. ‘Your fella’s waiting on you. And all done up like a dog’s dinner in a whistle and tie. Is it your birthday? Many happy returns of the day. Or is it your anniversary?’
‘That’s the doorman,’ Lisa muttered.
‘Is he?’ Disappointment made Liam very high-pitched. ‘I thought he was your chap. Ah well. D’you want me to wait for you?’
‘Yes please, I’ll only be about fifteen minutes.’
Briskly, Lisa tested the bounciness of the Morrison’s beds, the crispness of the sheets, the size of the bath – it was big enough for two – the amount of champagne in the mini-bar, the aphrodisiac foodstuffs available from room service, the CDs in the room and, finally, the handcuff opportunities. All in all, she concluded, you could have a very nice time here. The only thing that was missing was the right man.
Returning to work, her eye was caught by a huge billboard advertising a new ice-cream called Truffle. She was going to the launch that very evening. Then she noticed the magnificent man on the poster, his ravishing mouth wrapped around a Truffle, his eyes glazed with what was meant to be lust, but could just as easily have been achieved with a couple of Mogadon.
I’d love to have sex with him.
God, she realized, I’m turning into a sad old spinster. Fantasizing about a photograph. The sooner I get laid the better.
35
The launch party for the