Demons Page 9

  “I’ve watched you today, and you’re not your usual ball-busting self.” Claire smiled at her. “You look like something’s on your mind, and whatever it is, well… it’s making you sad.”

  “I’m fine.” Suzy tried to sound perky. “It was just a long trip down from Birmingham. The traffic was a bitch.”

  Claire nodded in understanding.

  “Ok, I can see you’re going to make me say it.” She sighed. “I call bullshit, Suzy. Big, stinky bullshit from a hairy cow’s ass!”

  Suzy couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “Nice expression.” She nodded. “I may have to use that one on Matt.”

  Claire turned slightly so she was staring Suzy straight in the face.

  “You know how much I adore Matt, Suze. He’s one of my boys, and I’d bitch-slap the bastard that tried to do any of them harm, even if they are all twice my size.” She smiled. “But I love my girls just as much, and when one of you hurts, it tears me up. I want you all to be happy, honey, and I can only help you with that if you tell me what’s going on.”

  Suzy could feel the tears prick the back of her eyes. Claire had always been there for her, since the first time she’d walked into the Alpha Company offices with Charlie just a baby in her arms, almost fifteen years ago.

  “You know I’m not just fishing for gossip, don’t you?” Claire squeezed her hand. “I just want to help put that smile back on your face. And I don’t mean the polite smile you’ve been wearing all day, either. I mean the one that says you just screwed your husband’s brains out before the party started, and you don’t care who knows it. That’s the Suzy smile we all know and love.”

  Suzy let out a laugh which sounded remarkably like a sob.

  “I don’t remember what it’s like to smile like that.” She sniffed, wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye. “It’s been an awfully long time.”

  “Talk to me, sweetheart.” The older woman urged. “Tell old Claire what’s going on.”

  “It’s nothing really.” Suzy shook her head. “Matt’s working all the time, which means we hardly get to see him. Charlie’s pissed at him because he’s been blowing off family events of late, today being yet another example. And I’m feeling pushed out because he gave my job to Lacey the Bitch, the perfect PA, without even asking me whether I wanted to be a stay at home mum or not.”

  “Yeah, I can see that’s a whole lot of nothing.” Claire nodded seriously. “But, before we brush all of that aside, let’s go back to the PA. ‘Lacey the Bitch’? Why do I get the impression you don’t like her?”

  Suzy could see Claire was trying not to laugh.

  “Honestly?” Suzy waited for Claire to nod before leaning forward. “Because she’s a twenty-something, skinny, big-chested fucking bitch, who’s trying to steal my husband from me. And the killer is that the asshole is too dumb to see what she’s doing, and thinks she’s absolutely marvellous, because around him she acts like Miss Goody-fucking-Two Shoes!”

  Claire nodded solemnly, as Suzy stopped for breath.

  “I can see you’ve got a whole lot of nothing going on there.” She agreed. “So, let’s break all this down into bite size pieces, leaving the skinny bitch for last… you said Matt’s working all the time? Is that to do with the new club contracts?”

  Suzy flopped back in her chair, her energy levels dropping following her little outburst.

  “Yeah, big time.” She sighed. “Please don’t repeat this to JT or the others, because Matt’s going to mention it at the meeting next week, but he’s really struggling. There was already plenty of work coming through the office to keep him busy but taking on the two clubs has almost quadrupled his workload, because they expect him to be at their beck and call all the time.”

  “Does he handle everything himself?” Claire frowned. “What about the team-leaders? Don’t they pull their weight?”

  “They do, yes, but they’re busy dealing with the existing contracts, and none of them has been with Alpha more than a couple of years.” Suzy shrugged. “They don’t have the experience, or the clout, I guess, to be having meetings with senior management, and owners of Premiere League football clubs. And believe me those guys are demanding! One of their players stubs a toe off the pitch, and Matt is hauled in to explain how it happened.”

  “So, Matt, being his usual super-hero self, is taking all this on his own shoulders.” Claire scowled. “Men can be so damned stupid sometimes. Why can’t he just ask for help?”

  “Because he’s Matt.” Suzy shrugged. “He’s proud of what he’s achieved in Birmingham and didn’t want anyone to think he’d let them down.”

  “Pshht!” Claire waved a hand. “Everyone knows what a great job he’s done, building that side of the business to what it is today. Hell, it would be a thriving stand-alone business even if he cut all ties with the London branch.”

  Suzy sat quietly, watching Claire’s expression change as she mulled through the problem.

  “He needs another Alpha director working with him.” Claire finally concluded, to Suzy’s relief. “But who?”

  Suzy shrugged.

  “I can’t think of anyone who would want to uproot their family to move a hundred plus miles away from London.” She frowned. “Unless they rotated the position between them and commuted each week. But that wouldn’t be much help. Matt would spend half of the week getting people back up to speed all the time.”

  “Ok, would you leave me to think about it for a few days?” Claire smiled at her. “I have a few ideas, but I’ll need to work through them before next week’s meeting.”

  “Sure.” Suzy nodded. “Anything you can think of will be much appreciated.”

  “So, what was the next part? You’re feeling pushed out?” Claire asked. “What’s that all about?”

  Suzy explained about JT and Matt deciding she needed to take more time off after Rory’s birth, which had ultimately led to her being a stay at home mum.

  “It’s not that I hate being at home with Rory.” Suzy shrugged. “He’s adorable, and in a perverse way, I’m glad to have had his first year with him. But I also loved my job, working with Matt every day. We were a team, and it bonded us. We could talk about work over a glass of wine in the evenings, and problem solve over breakfast. It was fun.”

  “And now?” Claire prodded her.

  “Now, if I ask about work, I get told I wouldn’t understand because a lot has changed since I left.” Suzy pulled a face. “The only time he talks about work is to tell me how fucking marvellous Lacey the Bitch is. It’s ‘Lacey did this’, and ‘Lacey did that’, and ‘Lacey rearranged the way you used to do things and it runs much more smoothly now’. I hate that woman!”

  Claire smiled at Suzy’s little outburst.

  “Well, seeing as we’re back full circle to Lacey the Bitch… why don’t you tell me how you feel about her?” Claire winked at her. “Go on, honey… don’t sit on the fence.”

  Suzy grinned.

  “It’s not my imagination, Claire, I swear it’s not.” She sighed. “She’s in that damned office every minute of the day that Matt’s there. I swear it’s like she’s got a tracker on him or something. If he goes in early, say at six in the morning, by ten past six she’s sitting at her desk. If he works until ten at night, she stays in the office until he finishes.”

  “Maybe she’s just conscientious?” Claire suggested. “Trying to impress the boss?

  “It’s not just that.” Suzy shook her head. “She tries to keep us apart. Answering his phone when he’s not there and telling me she’ll get him to ring back, and when he finally does, it might be three hours later. He probably only went to the toilet.”

  “Or maybe he was in a three-hour meeting?” Claire suggested, earning herself a scowl.

  “Did I ever tell you about our anniversary?” Suzy wondered. “Matt asked her to book us a restaurant and let me know where and when to show up. He was in the middle of the first club contract negotiations, so I understood how busy he was, but
he insisted we were going out somewhere.”

  “That sounds like the Matt we know and love.” Claire smiled.

  “Yeah, except I spent two hours sitting alone in the Clarion Hotel waiting for Matt to show up, while he was sitting in the Carlton Hotel, ten miles away, waiting for me.” Suzy sneered. “And to top it off, his phone had mysteriously made its way into Lacey the Bitch’s handbag at the end of their meeting, so he had no way of calling me, and my calls went to voice-mail all night.”

  “Whose mistake was that?” Claire asked.

  “Who d’you think.” Suzy scowled. “She swore blind that she told me the Carlton, but if that was the case, why did the Clarion seat me at a table when I gave them our name? And, of course, Matt believed her over me, pointing out that I still had my ditzy post-baby-brain, and must have convinced myself she said the Clarion.”

  “I can see why you might be pissed at her, but mistakes do happen.” Claire reasoned.

  “I know what she told me, Claire. I even wrote it down and checked it back with her.” Suzy hissed.

  “Had anything like that happened before?” Claire frowned.

  “Oh, yeah! That wasn’t the first time she’s misdirected me.” Suzy explained. “I was looking for Matt the one day because he’d left his phone at home, and she told me he was due at the club by ten. I drove all the way over there in rush hour traffic to give it to him, only to find out that they’d replaced the office mobile phones the day before, and it was the old handset he’d left at home. If I’d have tried to ring his number, I’d have gotten straight through to him, but she didn’t bother to mention that. Or mention the fact that he was standing mere feet away from her when she told me he was due at the club by ten.”

  Claire frowned.

  “It does sound like she’s a bit conniving.” She nodded. “I’m surprised Matt hasn’t figured out that she’s a bit too good to be true.”

  “I’ve tried talking to him about it.” Suzy explained. “In fact, we had a big bust up the other day about it. Matt ended up sleeping in his home office, which is an absolute no-no in our house. The next morning, he stayed home so we could talk through things, but I ended up walking out, leaving him to look after Rory for the day.”

  “I’m sure that went down well.” Claire rolled her eyes.

  “It did, actually. Matt said it gave him plenty of thinking time, and he came up with some good ideas.” Suzy explained. “He agreed to speak to the other directors, and if he could get someone else to come up to Birmingham, he agreed to having Lacey the Bitch work for them, and I could go back and work with him.”

  “Well, that does sound like the Matt I know and love.” Claire grinned.

  “We even had a bit of a smooch, and planned one of our ‘special nights’, if you know what I mean.” Suzy wiggled her eyebrows.

  “I think I have a good idea.” Claire grinned. “And how did that go?”

  “It didn’t.” Suzy growled. “Twenty minutes of foreplay, and Lacey the Bitch is banging our door down with some emergency that required Matt’s urgent attention. He’d turned his phone off and the call had been diverted to her phone.”

  “What time was that?” Claire asked.

  “Just gone ten o’clock.” Suzy hissed. “While Matt was getting dressed, I went downstairs to find out what was going on. Lacey the Bitch must have realised what she’d interrupted, because she seemed terribly pleased with herself.”

  “Has Matt said anything about it since?” Claire asked sympathetically.

  “He was out all night and had to go straight to the office the next morning.” Suzy shook her head sadly. “He came home last night and just crashed, and he was already gone this morning before I got up. We’ve barely exchanged two words in the last two days, and once again, he’s a no-show today.”

  “The traffic will probably be bad, Suze.” Claire patted her hand. “He wouldn’t miss today if he could help it.”

  “Why not?” Suzy scoffed. “He forgot his son’s first birthday party this week, leaving us stranded at the pub with no money and no car.”

  Suzy gave Claire the full story, leaving the older woman with a scowl on her face that would have soured milk.

  “Ok, now this is all getting a bit out of hand.” Claire hissed. “You just leave it with me, honey, and old Claire will get this mess sorted. It may just have to be a temporary fix for a few weeks, until things settle down in the New Year, but you mark my words… a change is coming.”

  Suzy was so relieved to finally have an ally, that she threw her arms around Claire’s neck and burst into tears.

  “I don’t want to lose Matt, Claire.” She whispered through the sobs. “I can’t.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry yourself.” Claire held her tightly, staring over her shoulder. “That boy isn’t going anywhere.”

  Chapter 12 – Matt

  Matt stared through the glass conservatory door, one hand on the handle about to open it, when he saw his wife throw her arms around Claire’s neck.

  As Claire stared at him over Suzy’s shoulder, he could see his wife’s whole body convulse, as she sobbed in the older woman’s arms.

  He wanted to barge in, yelling ‘What the fuck?’ but he would have been lying to himself and Suzy if he tried to pretend that he didn’t know what was going on.

  When he couldn’t stand the censure in Claire’s gaze any longer, he turned and walked back towards the kitchen.

  “Hey, Matt.” Alice’s smile was genuine. “Did you get stuck in traffic? I heard there was a wide load broken down on the M1, causing havoc.”

  “Yeah, I think that was the cause of it.” He smiled. “By the time I came through, they’d cleared it into a layby.”

  “Did you get any food before you left Birmingham?” Alice asked. “Claire put a tray of sandwiches in the den a few minutes ago. There might be some left, or I can make you some more if you’re hungry.”

  “Thanks, but I’m fine.” He wrapped his arm around Alice’s shoulder and gave her a quick hug. “Stop playing hostess and take a load off. You’re always making sure everyone has everything they need. You’ll wear yourself to a frazzle.”

  Alice stared at him as though he’d said something monumental.

  “D’you know what? You’re right.” She turned and reached into the refrigerator for two beers. “I’m sure everyone knows where I keep the drinks and snacks by now. Time to put my feet up.”

  Matt took the beer Alice offered and watched her climb up on the counter stool and kick her shoes off.

  “Care to join me, or are you looking for Suzy?”

  He slid onto the stool opposite her and took a swig of his beer.

  Damn, but that tasted so good!

  “Suzy was in the conservatory, chatting with Claire.” He shrugged. “They seemed to be having some girl-time, so I didn’t want to disturb them.”

  “Suzy doesn’t spend nearly enough time with the rest of the sisterhood.” Alice nodded. “It can be too easy to get caught up with your own stuff and get disconnected. It’s good for her to have a chance to catch up with everyone.”

  “She talks to you girls all the time, I thought.” Matt frowned. “It’s like you all came from the same mother.”

  “Well, Claire is our unofficial mother.” Alice nodded with a smile. “But I confess I don’t get the chance to speak to everyone as often as I’d like. Between our family stuff, Alpha family stuff, my charity work and generally being Mrs Jon Thornton, I don’t get an awful lot of free time just to chill and catch up with the girls. And when I do, it tends to be midnight here, so the only people who want to take my calls are on the other side of the Atlantic. It’s fair to say I spend most of my girl-time talking to Candy, Sacha or Sara these days. Of course, Vicky and I spend days at a time joined at the hip for charity work, but sometimes I can go a couple of weeks without speaking to Suzy. I really should try harder.”

  “She knows how busy you are.” Matt smiled. “And just because you’re Mrs Jon Thornton doesn’t mean you h
ave to be the one doing the calling. Suzy has unlimited minutes on her phone. It’s up to her to use them.”

  “Matt, she has three kids including a one year old to run around after.” Alice smiled. “It’s not so long since Andrew was a baby that I can’t remember how much hard work that entails.”

  “I guess.” Matt probably didn’t appreciate that as much as he should. “Has she been Ok today?”

  Alice frowned at him.

  “Define Ok?” She asked.

  “Oh, she’s just been running herself ragged getting ready for Christmas.” Matt lied. “I just wondered whether she’d had the chance to kick back and recharge the batteries with the sisterhood today.”

  “Matt, there’s not much kicking back at a one-year-old’s birthday party, and today there were three of them.” Alice smiled. “I did think Suzy looked a bit tired today, but I just put that down to the long drive to get here, and then running around after Rory all afternoon. That boy is cute as a button, but he has energy to burn.”

  “He’s a Johnson, that’s for sure.” Matt grinned.

  “So, what are your plans for Christmas? “Alice smiled. “Are you staying down here?”

  “We’re coming down for Luke and Ellen’s Christmas Eve party.” Matt nodded. “We’ll stay over so that the kids can open their presents, but then we have to leave mid-morning to get back to Suzy’s mum’s place for lunch and presents with her new stepdad and his family. She didn’t want her mum to feel totally abandoned.”

  “That’ll be nice for Carol.” Alice nodded. “It must be strange to have a new husband at that time of life. Both of you having to fit into each other’s habits and routines.”

  “They’re well suited.” Matt smiled. “Bernie was widowed for a long time when he met Carol. They’re both fairly easy-going and love the kids and grandkids. I’m looking forward to a nice Christmas dinner before the craziness starts again on Boxing day.”

  “Both clubs will be playing on the twenty-sixth?” Alice frowned. “Well that sucks rotten eggs!”

  “Yeah, it makes for a very short Christmas break.” Matt nodded.