Chapter Twenty Four
“Wow.”
Brandy stood and refilled their coffee cups, digesting all that Dylan had said.
“I’ve
screwed up Brandy.”
She nodded, “I never liked Louise, you KNOW
that, but that’s not what’s swaying me here. Since you’ve been in London I’ve
spoken to Mattie several times, she’s SO nice. She sent me some proper tea a
couple of weeks ago.”
Dylan closed her eyes, “I get it, she’s a
bloody saint and I’ve screwed her over AGAIN.”
Brandy chuckled, “I cannot believe you were
married to her. That has stunned me.”
He opened his eyes, “am I THAT unsuitable?”
She shook her head, “not at all, you’re a
very eligible bachelor; I just can’t believe that you kept it quiet...or that
you have caused so much chaos for the poor thing.”
“What
about me?”
Brandy laughed, “you? You in your gilded cage
here? You have the world at your feet, running a multimillion dollar
conglomerate of businesses. What about her? She was a manager at a hotel.
Hardly the greatest salary, I guess she needs the job, and now you’ve forced
her to resign.”
Dylan hung his head, suitably told as Brandy
continued, “on the occasions I’ve spoken to her I’ve found her to be very
flexible, helpful, but also efficient. I’d have trusted the hotel in her
hands.”
“Well
she’s gone. And there’s nothing I can do about that, so we move on.”
Brandy laughed, “there’s ALWAYS something you
can do about that, and do NOT expect me to hang around here if you don’t get
someone decent to replace her, you are away from this office FAR too much as it
is. I don’t get paid enough to ‘be you’.”
He lifted his head and looked at her
sceptically out of one eye, “you have always had a penchant for the over
dramatic, and you miss earn MORE than enough. Your last pay rise saw to that,
daylight robbery that was!”
She paused, then her voice became serious, “and
that was because I am worth it, you trust me to man the fort. THAT is important
when you travel like you do. This hotel...it’s kind of like a baby to you, you
want to see it do well. For that you need someone you trust in charge. However
spectacularly you argued, you TRUST Mattie, and more importantly you NEED her.”
She pulled herself to her feet, “I’ll forward
you the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting.”
He gave a nod, then hung his head, what the
hell was he going to do?
“Your
ex husband FIRED you?”
Mattie laughed shaking her head as the three middle
aged men that she’d debated the merits, or lack of, of David Cameron with were
now all stood staring open mouthed.
“I’d
not put up with that!”
“No,
he didn’t sack me! I resigned.”
Philip the middle of the three shook his
head, “why?”
Mattie, several pints of beer to the good and
couldn’t help but laugh, “for the same reason I divorced him, unreasonable
behaviour!”
The four of them laughed together until John
the man nearest shook his head too, “you’re crazy. If he sacked you then you’d
be able to take a chunk of his money, then laugh at him.”
Mattie considered that for a moment, “but it
was so good making him look a complete tit in front of everyone. It was my
reward enough.”
Dennis, the third of the trio of bricklayers
who were spending their evening in the same pub as her turned to her, “but you’ve
got it all wrong. That little snippet of victory only lasts until he replaces
you.”
Philip laughed, “he ain’t gonna replace her
very easily, now come on. Tall, pretty, knows her politics...AND she can handle
a few pints of beer. He ain’t never gonna find another you!”
Mattie grinned, “well thank you Philip. That
is very kind, but he has brought an American colleague over with him...that’s
who stirred the shit.”
“A
sceptic tank!” Dennis announced, “and you left her to take your place?”
Mattie shrugged, “It wasn’t the same once he
was involved. I loved my job, but need my sanity more. So if you know of any jobs
going...I am a keen worker!”
John leaned in putting a hand on her
shoulder, “what you like with cement and a trowel?”
Grimacing she reached for her pint and
drained the glass, “I’ll pass on that skill!” Then she gestured to the barman, “another
four for us please!”
He nodded, having partaken in several of
their conversations over the past two hours.
As she was about to pay the door in the
corner of the room opened and in burst three men, the last of whom was Andy,
her friend.
“Andy!”
She called out. “I’ve been trying to call you all afternoon.”
He rushed over, and gave her a hug, “what’s
happened? Why are you here? I’ve never seen you in a pub in the middle of the
day.”
Aware that she was a little drunk she sighed,
“well, I resigned. So I am here having my sorrows drunk by these three lovely
men. Philip, John, Dennis, this is my friend and neighbour Andy...Andy, these
are the greatest builders in the world.”
Andy shook his head in bewilderment, watching
her laugh with the three almost strangers, the irony was that it was the
happiest she’d been in years, she knew in her drunken state that he’d not ever
seen her so carefree.
He tried to talk to her, be sensible and
serious, but she was having none of it.
“They’re
bringing out the karaoke machine later, but first we’re going to have some
chips!” She said that with a ridiculous smile that he couldn’t help giving in
to her enthusiasm.
The ringing of her phone penetrated the pain
and fogginess that seemed to encase her whole being. Mattie reached for the
bedside table patting around manically searching helplessly for her phone. She
finally managed to locate it, still ringing and vibrating and managed to peel
open one eye to register the ‘unknown number’ calling her. With a sign she
dropped her head and her hand back to the bed and ignored the call. Ten minutes
later she managed to focus on her alarm clock. Eleven am. She couldn’t remember
EVER being in bed until that time. But then she couldn’t remember feeling as
ill as she did.
She tried to remember her last movements, but
other than Andy arriving, buying her a drink she couldn’t remember anything. Eventually
she rolled onto her back and thought again, karaoke. She remembered singing ‘What’s
up’ by the Four Non Blonds...badly. She laughed, but that caused a lancing pain
to almost blind her.
“Shit!”
She tried to speak but her dry mouth only uttered a hoarse rasp.
Was this
death? She wondered. But then each time
she opened her eyes she was rewarded with a view of the crappy flat she rented
and knew that this was purely a hangover...from hell.
This was why she never drank. As she lay
there feeling like hell on earth, flickers of memories started to return. The
karaoke, food and debating with the three amigos and she’d kept dubbing them,
and then walking out of the hotel. She gulped at that memory. How to celebrate
the end of a regular income was obviously spending more on alcohol in one day
than you had in the previous six months.
Groaning she buried her head in the pillow,
ignoring the phone that had started to ring again.
Dylan tossed his phone across the back of the
car, if only she’d answer, if only Matilda would speak to him, then he could
walk into the meeting with his head held high. He didn’t expect her to come
running back, he knew she’d gone for good, but he wanted the chance to
apologise. That was all.
He sighed as the Manhattan streets flew past
his window, he’d felt like a bastard before he received the replying email from
Martin back at the hotel. In it he highlighted in no uncertain terms how much
money Matilda had saved the hotel by jumping 0quickly onto all of Paul’s
drunken promises. He’d told him that every day there was a call or enquiry about
something Paul had agreed to, and it was always ridiculously below rate, be it
breakfast, a room or more worryingly a conference. None were registered, and so
often most couldn’t be accommodated. Matilda had battled to get a policy in
place whereby all would follow the same procedure. That had worked for
everyone, bar himself.
Shit.
He closed his eyes and took several deep
breaths. He knew what he had to do. Once this meeting was over he had to
return. Brandy would kill him, but he had to make this good, there was nothing
else he could do.
“What
time is it?” Mattie called out from under her pillow to the persistent banging
on her door.
“Half
past four!” Andy called out, “and I’ve brought you some hangover remedies.”
She sighed, “you’ve got a key.”
He laughed, still shouting from behind the
closed door, “I’m not about to burst in, you might be stark naked, or ‘with
someone’.”
She glanced under the duvet at her body at
some point she’d pulled on a t-shirt and shorts. “You’re safe!”
Then the door opened.
The flat was barely that, it was a bedsit at
best, a large room with a bed, sofa, small kitchenette and a separate bathroom.
It was tiny, but it was cheap and suited her. Now as Andy stepped into the room
she had nowhere to hide, so she groaned.
“How
bad was I?”
He dumped orange juice eggs and what looked
like bacon on to her counter, “hilarious! Who knew you were SO much fun?”
Whilst she blushed at the memories, or lack
of them she realised that the previous night was the first time she’d REALLY
let go in her life. She’d been a shy teen, and taken that into University, then
she’d met Dylan who overwhelmed her, she’d become a part of his life as he had
hers, but looking back, maybe unkindly, she always had to be the sensible one,
making the serious decisions. Then she’d been single, motherless and broke, and
it hadn’t gotten any easier.
She realised Andy was talking and groaned,
she really had been out of control the previous night, she’d never had a
hangover like it.
As promised Andy delivered the perfect bacon
and egg sandwich, coupled with orange juice laced with Alka-Seltzer, if that
didn’t make her feel better, arguably nothing would. Though she didn’t hold out
much hope.
“Have
a shower then we’re going in mine to watch the football with a hair of the dog.
I got cans earlier.”
“I’m
never drinking again.”
He laughed, “famous last words, now do as I
say. Football starts in an hour. Ok?”
The next day was Friday, a stupid day to go
looking for a job, but she had to something, one day drinking, one day
recovering, she was in danger of throwing her life away. So, she dressed in a
compromise, linen trousers and a sleeveless blouse, not overly smart, but definitely
not casual, then headed out to some of the temping agencies that she knew of. Early
afternoon and she’d left her CV with half a dozen agencies, to mixed response,
then meandered along Regent Street to her favourite sandwich shop.
When she’d met Dylan they’d lived together
for the rest of their university days in a bedsit in Kilburn. It hadn’t been
anything special, but probably better than she had now. They’d been happy
thrust on top of each other in a single room with a bed, a sofa and the tiniest
dining table; the kitchen had been an alcove and was barely big enough to swing
a cat.
When they’d graduated and got jobs, well her
anyway, they’d moved to Bayswater. It was a much better area, closer, and the
flat they rented actually had a lunge AND a bedroom. They’d thought they were
the bees’ knees; they even entertained friends in their new found wealth of
space...though the two rooms combined weren’t as big as oe of the rooms in the hotel,
but they’d been happy. And they were in spitting distance of Hyde Park.
She and Dylan would spend Sundays walking the
pathways hand in hand, dodging runners and horse riders, and it was on one of
those walks that they found a bench, secluded in a copse of trees, but
overlooking one of the lakes. It became their favourite place; they took
picnics there, sat and read the Sunday papers, and often sheltered from the
rain and watched the sun set. As she walked, Mattie found herself strolling
into Hyde Park...and towards the bench.
It was a warm day, and she settled on the
bench, setting down her coffee and carrot cake, then opening her bacon and avocado
sandwich sat back. It was ages since she’d done this, and even longer since she
hadn’t felt physical pain coming there, to that bench. After Dylan had left she’d go there
periodically, mainly to cry, to let go of the distress that she hid so well the
rest of the time. Smiling she watched two women with two young children who
were insisting on walking whilst the mothers pushed their buggies, but in
typical child fashion, the two ran off in completely opposite directions
meaning that they were blighted by perpetual chaos.
Mattie smiled her maternal instinct was so alive;
things could have been so different. Sighing she attacked the second sandwich
and had to contemplate the fact that as the weekend approached she had nothing
to do. No agenda, no plan, nothing.
Rather than filling her with excitement, it
filled her with dread. Work was routine, purpose, structure, without it, she
was kind of lost. Andy managed to live with erratic working hours, college,
parties...but she wasn’t like that, had never been. Her mother always said she
was born on time, the exact day, and before Coronation Street started.
The sandwich was good; it was ages since she’d
cut loose and ages since she’d eaten food like this. If the sandwich was good,
the cake was amazing. Moist, yet firm, topped with cream cheese frosting. The
perfect thing to wash down with strong black coffee.
The sun came out, and whereas she might have
gone home, or even passed via more agencies, she slipped her jacket off and
stretched her arms along the back of the bench, turning her face up to the sun,
eyes closed.
“Matilda?”
A voice cut through her peace dragging her back from her relaxing dreams with a
thud.
Oh my God! !!I love you MZ! !! Such a quick and great update. !
ReplyDeleteTrust Dylan to ruin a peaceful moment, wrong place at the wrong time*sigh*
Please Mattie whatever you do just don't give in. Let him suffer, beg whatever. I know finding a good job is difficult but you may never know what future in stores. Where is that Adam guy ,the leach. Maybe he can do somrhing
Andy is a college guy ? Silly me for forgetting
Annie
She's not about to completely roll over. Not by a long shot!
DeleteMZ
Love the quick updates, MZ! I'm not even going to pretend I don't love how much Dylan is regretting his behaviour, there's not a lot more satisfying than to read about a man who knows he's in the wrong haha, and the way he talked to Mattie was so far from attractive. Really looking forward to how he's going to try and solve this one!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work :D
xx alisonwonderland
Just your thing, a man in the wrong and the world beating him up for it, hey? Ha ha
DeleteMZ
Glad that Dylan has realised his mistake and it was quite fun to see the drunk side of mattie. She needed to let go and have some fun. Thank you for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteSamaira T
She needs to let her hair down, she's worked too hard for too long, But she's in control now, so watch out!!
DeleteMZ