‘You did well,’ said Tom to Edward.
‘At keeping my mouth shut?’ Edward laughed.
‘Yes,’ said Tom as they walked to the lift and Tom pressed the button. ‘You head off and I will organise the paperwork with their lawyer. Call you later?’
‘Thanks, Tom,’ said Edward as the doors opened.
‘My pleasure, I love a bit of cut and thrust. You were becoming my most boring client, so it’s good you’ve given me something to do.’
Edward was still laughing when the doors closed.
The lift travelled for a few floors and then the doors opened and a young woman stepped inside. She looked at him for a long moment and then turned away.
People didn’t always know his face unless they were avid readers of his books but the way the woman looked at him wasn’t as a fan but more curious. She looked as though she was about to speak and then stopped herself.
Maybe a friend of Serena’s, he thought, and then it dawned on him.
‘Do you know Eve Pilkins?’ he asked. ‘She used to work here.’
The woman turned to him.
‘I know Eve. I live with her. I’m Zara,’ she stated. ‘And I know who you are.’
Edward sighed. ‘She won’t believe I wasn’t with Serena.’
Zara nodded. ‘I know but she spent years working with someone who lied to her daily and about things that affected her career and her life. She doesn’t know what to believe now.’
‘How can I convince her?’ he asked.
‘You can’t – that’s not your job. She will have to work out how she feels about everything but right now she’s exhausted. She’s edited a book under incredibly difficult circumstances, she’s given everything and more to you and your children, and she is burned out from Serena.’
Edward was silent. Zara was right of course.
‘How can I help her?’ he asked. ‘With no agenda, I just want to make sure she is safe and feels better soon. Her happiness means more to me than anything.’
The lift stopped and the doors opened and Zara put her arm out to stop them closing.
‘You can’t do anything. This is for her to solve but I will tell her I saw you. That you were asking after her.’
She stepped out of the lift and Edward let the doors close. This was as close as he had been to Eve in days and yet she was still so far away. He leaned his head back against the cold metal and closed his eyes.
He wanted only the best for her and he wanted to be his best for her, even if she never spoke to him again.
The lift opened and Edward stepped out and walked into the street, without a publisher for the first time in twenty years, ready to start a new chapter in his life.
41
‘Did he look okay?’ asked Eve when Zara told her about the quick conversation with Edward in the lift.
‘I don’t know, what does he normally look like?’ Zara asked. ‘He looked like a rich white dude whose shoes cost more than my rent this month.’
Eve sighed. ‘He said he wanted to make sure you were happy and that he didn’t know how to prove he wasn’t with Serena.’
Eve shrugged. ‘It’s not about that now really. I mean it’s hard to know the real truth, but I need time away from them all – him, Serena, Amber. It’s chaos at Mum and Dad’s with Myles and Flora, but Edward is heading there tomorrow to get Flora, Mum said. Poor little thing. She must be so confused about everything.’
Eve poured water from the kettle into a hot water bottle and gently tipped it so the air escaped and tightened the lid.
Zara was silent.
