Tasmina Perry - Gold Diggers

‘Running back to me?’

The blonde’s sneer was slowly dissolving, her lip wobbling. ‘Last month he told me that he loved me,’ she said, her voice cracking. ‘He said he loves me because we’re a good match. He said you live in Cornwall and that it wasn’t working and it was never serious. He told me himself.’

Erin felt her cheeks burn hot. ‘You’ve been seeing Richard?’ she said incredulously.

‘For six months. And then you deliver Adam Gold on a bloody platter and Richard decides to “give your relationship another go”.’ The woman’s words were dripping with spite and bitterness. Erin almost felt sorry for the silly, vengeful cow.

‘Don’t waste your tears on Richard Pendleton,’ said Erin, taking a deep breath to compose herself. ‘Because you know what? I won’t.’

She turned and walked into a cubicle and sat on the toilet seat, pressing her thumbs into her eyes and willing herself not to cry. For a moment, she actually thought she might laugh, but then the tears came, dropping onto her knees. What she had said to the blonde woman was true: it wasn’t Richard she was crying for; she could see now he was a self-seeking, pompous prick. But she still felt worthless. Gullible. A fool.

It had always been that way she thought sadly, remembering when she was fifteen and she had really fancied Michael McGavey from the next village. They had flirted for weeks in school, taken long walks on the cliffs and kicked pebbles into the sea with their shoes. When Becky Lewis announced her parents were away in Tenerife and she was going to have a sleepover party – boys and girls – Erin couldn’t believe her luck. She had gone into Newquay to buy a new dress and she and her friends had giggled with anticipation over what might happen over the course of the evening. Michael had been less friendly that night. Becky had smiled at him and plied him with her dad’s beers. When the games and the horror movies had finished, he’d gone into Becky’s bedroom while Erin had lain frozen in her red sleeping bag listening to the sounds of muffled first-time sex. Some girls didn’t care if you fancied a boy. Some girls thought that if they fancied that boy too, then it was all that mattered. Even if they were your friends, they would still have him. Because they were prettier and wittier and because they could.

Adam can’t see me like this , she thought stubbornly. If she could just reach the cloakroom without seeing anyone, she could slip away unnoticed.

‘There you are. I’ve been looking for you.’

Richard had taken his jacket off and his dicky bow was hanging around his neck. He looked bloated with self-satisfaction and more than a little drunk. He looked around the lobby smugly, where a few people were already beginning to collect their coats.

‘What a good night – and isn’t Adam great? I think I made an impression there. Do you think he’ll request me personally when he instructs us? Anyway, it looks as if Charles is going to swap my final seat from probate to tax. I mean, what good will fucking probate do me? And I’ll be sitting with one of the heavy-hitting partners too.’

Erin stared blankly at him. He had completely failed to register she was upset.

‘Well, you deserve it,’ she spat, ‘after you’ve been working so hard over the last few months.’

‘Ooh,’ he said sarcastically, ‘what’s got into you?’

‘I’ve just been speaking to some blonde in the toilets who was telling me exactly why you’ve been putting in such long hours at the office. You must have been exhausted, you poor thing.’

Despite Erin’s obvious sarcasm, Richard still hadn’t completely twigged her meaning. ‘Some blonde? Who?’

‘Long face, short skirt, says you’re great in bed apparently. I said we must have been talking about another Richard Pendleton.’

‘Bella?’ he croaked. ‘Oh, she’s just another trainee. Worked with her in the CoCo department – as you know the hours could be incredible sometimes, but …’

‘You bloody liar!’ she said, jabbing a finger into his chest.

Richard’s face whitened. ‘Look, what’s she been saying?’ he stammered, his earlier confident bluster now completely dissolved.

‘The real reason you didn’t want to come down to Cornwall or have me to stay at weekends. Quite a handy arrangement for you, wasn’t it? Her up here and me tucked away two hundred miles away.’

‘She’s making it up,’ he said, trying to sound indignant. ‘She’s a bit, you know, la-la,’ he said, twirling a finger at his temple.

‘Save it Richard,’ she spat, pulling her coat on. ‘I’m not interested any more.’

‘Look, okay,’ he said, grabbing Erin’s arm and lowering his voice, ‘so we had a little fling. You know how difficult the long-distance thing between us is. And, yes, Bella and I were both working long nights and one thing led to another. But it’s long over and she can’t accept it.’

He began shaking his head, his mouth twisting up sourly. ‘I can’t believe the little tart told you.’

‘But it didn’t stop long ago, did it, Richard?’ said Erin, shrugging off his hand. ‘It stopped the second I became useful to you.’

‘Erin, stop it,’ he hissed, noticing that people were beginning to look at them. ‘Let’s go home and talk about this.’

They both saw Adam Gold coming out of the ballroom at the same time. He was pulling on his cashmere overcoat when he saw them.

‘Erin, Richard. I have to go,’ he said, glancing at his gold Patek Philippe. ‘Thanks for a great evening.’

Richard, still pale, went to shake his hand. ‘It was an absolute pleasure, Adam. Thank you for coming.’

Adam smiled, although his brow furrowed. ‘Erin, can I grab you for one minute?’ he said, pointing towards the door.

She followed him, trying to compose herself, aware that her eyes were still stinging from crying.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked.

‘Absolutely fine,’ she forced a smile. ‘Probably had a bit too much to drink.’

At that moment a rogue tear slipped down her cheek and she turned so that her back was to Richard, still hovering in the lobby.

‘Erin, what’s the matter? What’s happening?’ whispered Adam, shooting a ferocious glare in Richard’s direction.

‘It’s nothing Adam, honestly,’ replied Erin, struggling to suppress the sobs she felt welling up.

‘Tell me.’ It was an order.

‘Okay. My boyfriend is a liar and a cheat,’ she said as matter of factly as she could, gulping in air between the words. ‘While I was in Cornwall, he was cheating on me. All that time.’

Adam touched the sleeve of her coat gently and turned to look at Richard. Behind him, they could see Charles Sullivan waving a balloon of brandy in the air as he said goodbye to guests. He saw Adam and began to move over towards them.

‘Do you want to teach Richard a lesson?’ whispered Adam.

She blushed. ‘He deserves it,’ she said, laughing despite the tears. ‘What are you going to do?’

‘Just watch.’

They walked towards Charles and Richard. Erin’s heart was beating so furiously she thought it might stop, and her mouth was dry with anticipation. She recognized the look on Adam’s face, the ‘smiling assassin’ expression he had when he was just about to close a good deal.

‘Adam! Not going already?’ said Charles, slapping him on the shoulder. ‘Well, I have to say, it’s been a pleasure. Let’s stay in touch – you know what they say about your people phoning our people …?’ he said winking at Erin. ‘I gave you my card, didn’t I? It goes without saying that the firm would love to do some work with the Midas Group.’

Adam pulled the business card Charles had given him from his pocket and held it in the air. ‘Thanks, Charles. I have your details.’