Can You Keep A Secret? Part 20

'Oh,' she says, and stares at me over the bag. 'Oh G.o.d, of course. Sorry, Emma. I didn't ... I just ... you know, it was such a shock!'

'Come on, you haven't told me how your date with Phillip went yet,' I say firmly. 'Cheer me up with some good news.'

Katie's breathing has gradually calmed, and she removes the bag from her face.

'Actually, it went really well,' she says. 'We're going to see each other again!'

'Well there you go,' I say encouragingly.

'He's so charming. And gentle. And we have the same sense of humour, and we like the same things.' A bashful smile spreads across Katie's face. 'In fact, he's lovely!'

'He sounds wonderful! You see?' I squeeze her arm. 'You and Phillip will probably be a far better couple than Connor and I ever were. Do you want a coffee?'

'No thanks, I've got to go. We've got a meeting with Jack Harper about personnel. See you.'

'OK, see you,' I say absently.

About five seconds later, my brain clicks into gear.

'Wait a second.' I hurry down the corridor and grab her shoulder. 'Did you just say Jack Harper?'

'Yes.'

'But ... but he's gone. He left on Friday.'

'No he didn't. He changed his mind.'

I stare at her in disbelief.

'He changed his mind?'

'Yes.'

'So ...' I swallow. 'So he's here?'

'Of course he's here!' says Katie with a laugh. 'He's upstairs.'

Suddenly my legs won't work properly.

'Why ...' I clear my throat, which has gone a little husky. 'Why did he change his mind?'

'Who knows?' Katie shrugs. 'He's the boss. He can do what he likes, can't he? Mind you, he seems very down to earth.' She reaches into her pocket for a packet of gum, and offers it to me. 'He was really nice to Connor after he gave his little speech ...'

I feel a fresh jolt.

'Jack Harper heard Connor's speech? About us breaking up?'

'Yes! He was standing right next to him.' Katie unwraps her gum. 'And afterwards he said something really nice like he could just imagine how Connor was feeling. Wasn't that sweet?'

I need to sit down. I need to think. I need to ...

'Emma, are you OK?' says Katie in dismay. 'G.o.d, I'm so insensitive-'

'No. It's fine,' I say dazedly. 'I'm fine. I'll see you later.'

My mind is whirling as I walk into the marketing department.

This is not the way it was supposed to happen. Jack Harper was supposed to be back in America. He was supposed to have no idea that I went straight home from our conversation and chucked Connor.

I feel a smart of humiliation. He'll think I chucked Connor because of what he said to me in the lift, won't he? He'll think it was all because of him. Which it wasn't. It so wasn't.

At least, not completely ...

Maybe that's why ...

No. It's ridiculous to think that his staying has anything to do with me. Ridiculous. I don't know why I'm so jumpy.

As I near my desk, Artemis looks up from a copy of Marketing Week.

'Oh Emma. I was sorry to hear about you and Connor.'

'Thanks,' I say. 'But I don't really want to talk about it if that's OK.'

'Fine,' says Artemis. 'Whatever. I was just being polite.' She looks at a Post-It on her desk. 'There's a message for you from Jack Harper, by the way.'

'What?' I start.

s.h.i.+t. I didn't mean to sound so rattled. 'I mean, what is it?' I add more calmly.

'Could you please take the ' She squints at the paper. ' the Leopold file to his office. He said you'd know what it was. But if you can't find it, it doesn't matter.'

I stare at her, my heart hammering in my chest.

The Leopold file.

It was just an excuse to get away from our desks ...

It's a secret code. He wants to see me.

Oh my G.o.d. Oh my G.o.d.

I have never been more excited and thrilled and petrified. All at once.

I sit down and stare at my blank screen for a minute. Then with trembling fingers I take out a blank file. I wait until Artemis has turned away, then write 'Leopold' on the side of it, trying to disguise my handwriting.

Now what do I do?

Well, it's obvious. I take it upstairs to his office.

Unless ... Oh f.u.c.k. Am I being really, really stupid here? Is there a real Leopold file?

Hastily I go into the company database and do a quick search for 'Leopold'. But nothing comes up.

OK. I was right first time.

I'm about to push my chair back when I suddenly have a paranoid thought. What if someone stops me and asks what the Leopold file is? Or what if I drop it on the floor and everyone sees it's empty?

Quickly, I open a new doc.u.ment, invent a fancy letterhead and type a letter from a Mr Ernest P. Leopold to the Panther Corporation. I send it over to print, stroll over to the printer and whisk it out before anyone else can see what it is. Not that anyone else is remotely interested.

'Right,' I say casually, tucking it into the cardboard folder. 'Well, I'll just take that file up, then ...'

Artemis doesn't even raise her head.

As I walk along the corridors my stomach is churning, and I feel all p.r.i.c.kly and self-conscious, as though everyone in the building must know what I'm doing. There's a lift waiting to go up, but I head for the stairs, firstly so I won't have to talk to anyone and secondly because my heart's beating so fast, I feel like I need to use up a bit of nervous energy.

Why does Jack Harper want to see me? Because if it's to tell me he was right all along about Connor, then he can just ... he can just b.l.o.o.d.y well ... Suddenly I have a flashback to that awful atmosphere in the lift, and my stomach turns over. What if it's really awkward? What if he's angry with me?

I don't have to go, I remind myself. He did give me an out. I could easily phone his secretary and say, 'Sorry, I couldn't find the Leopold file,' and that would be the end.

For an instant I hesitate on the marble stairs, my fingers tightly clutching the cardboard. And then I carry on walking.

As I near the door of Jack's office I see that it's being guarded not by one of the secretaries, but by Sven.

Oh G.o.d. I know Jack has said he's his oldest friend, but I can't help it. I do find this guy creepy.

'Hi,' I say. 'Er ... Mr Harper asked me to bring up the Leopold file.'

Sven looks at me, and for an instant it's as if a little silent communication is pa.s.sing between us. He knows, doesn't he? He probably uses the Leopold file code himself. He picks up his phone and after a moment says, 'Jack, Emma Corrigan here with the Leopold file.' Then he puts down the phone, and without smiling, says, 'Go straight in.'

I walk in, feeling p.r.i.c.kly with self-consciousness. The room is huge and panelled, and Jack's sitting behind a big wooden desk. When he looks up, his eyes are warm and friendly, and I feel myself relax just the teeniest bit.

'h.e.l.lo,' he says'.

'h.e.l.lo,' I reply, and there's a short silence.

'So, um, here's the Leopold file,' I say, and hand him the cardboard folder.

'The Leopold file.' He laughs. 'Very good.' Then he opens it and looks at the sheet of paper in surprise. 'What's this?'

'It's a ... it's a letter from Mr Leopold of Leopold and Company.'

'You composed a letter from Mr Leopold?' He sounds astonished, and suddenly I feel really stupid.

'Just in case I dropped the file on the floor and someone saw,' I mumble. 'I thought I'd just quickly make something up. It's not important.' I try to take it back, but Jack moves it out of my reach.

'"From the office of Ernest P. Leopold",' he reads aloud, and his face crinkles in delight. 'I see he wishes to order 6,000 cases of Panther Cola. Quite a customer, this Leopold.'

'It's for a corporate event,' I explain. 'They normally use Pepsi, but recently one of their employees tasted Panther Cola, and it was so good ...'

'They simply had to switch,' finishes Jack. '"May I add that I am delighted with all aspects of your company, and have taken to wearing a Panther jogging suit, which is quite the most comfortable sportswear I have ever known."' He stares at the letter, then looks up with a smile. To my surprise, his eyes are s.h.i.+ning slightly. 'You know, Pete would have adored this.'

'Pete Laidler?' I say hesitantly.

'Yup. It was Pete who came up with the whole Leopold file manoeuvre. This was the kind of stuff he did all the time.' He taps the letter. 'Can I keep it?'

'Of course,' I say, a little taken aback.

He folds it up and puts it in his pocket, and for a few moments there's silence.

'So,' says Jack at last. He raises his head and looks at me with an unreadable expression. 'You broke up with Connor.'

My stomach gives a flip. I don't know what to say.

'So.' I lift my chin defiantly. 'You decided to stay.'

'Yes, well ...' He stretches out his fingers and studies them briefly. 'I thought I might take a closer look at some of the European subsidiaries.' He looks up. 'How about you?'

He wants me to say I chucked Connor because of him, doesn't he? Well, I'm not going to. No way.

'Same reason.' I nod. 'European subsidiaries.'

Jack's mouth twitches reluctantly into a smile.

'I see. And are you ... OK?'

'I'm fine. Actually, I'm enjoying the freedom of being single again.' I gesture widely with my arms. 'You know, the liberation, the flexibility ...'

'That's great. Well then, maybe this isn't a good time to ...' He stops.

'To what?' I say, a little too quickly.

'I know you must be hurting right now,' he says carefully. 'But I was wondering.' He pauses for what seems like for ever, and I can feel my heart thumping hard against my ribs. 'Would you like to have dinner some time?'

He's asked me out. He's asked me out.

I almost can't move my mouth.

'Yes,' I say at last. 'Yes, that would be lovely.'

'Great!' He pauses. 'The only thing is, my life is kind of complicated right now. And what with our office situation ...' He spreads his hands. 'It might be an idea to keep this to ourselves.'

'Oh, I completely agree,' I say quickly. 'We should be discreet.'

'So shall we say ... how about tomorrow night? Would that suit you?'

'Tomorrow night would be perfect.'