Kathryn Ross - A Marriage On Paper

Alicia tried not to blush, aware that Maddie was listening, and said briskly, ‘I need you to sign this form when you have a moment.’

‘Fine.’ Dex reached across and turned the form, signing it with his usual flourish.

‘Shouldn’t you read that?’ Maddie enquired smoothly.

Alicia opened her mouth to tell her that Dex had already vetted it once, but Dex answered before she could get a chance. ‘No need. Alicia is a brilliant secretary.’ He straightened and smiled. ‘Competent, efficient. I trust her implicitly.’

‘Really?’ Maddie’s voice had a slightly wary edge, but her smile didn’t falter. ‘Good, then we can leave this list in your capable hands.’ She put a piece of A4 paper down on Alicia’s desk.

‘What is it?’ Alicia looked down at it, then up at the woman.

Maddie’s appearance was as perfect as ever, she noted Her suit was a pale lilac, cool and feminine. Her lipstick, a vivid sweet-pea-pink, seemed to match her perfume, a flowery yet overpowering scent. Her dark hair, as always, sat in a perfect shining bob. Did Maddie never have a bad hair day? Alicia wondered dryly.

‘It’s a vital list of potential customers that we have to get back to,’ Dex answered. ‘I need you to put the information on the computer for me.’

Alicia nodded. ‘I’ll do it straight away.’

‘Great. All right, Maddie, we’re on track for Tuesday, and our meeting with the accountants, it seems.’

The woman smiled. ‘Indeed it does. I’ll look forward to it.’

The phone rang and Alicia snapped it up. ‘Oh, yes. Hold on a second, I’ll see if he’s free.’ She covered the receiver. ‘Your accountant,’ she mouthed to Dex.

He nodded. ‘I’ll take it in my office. See you Tuesday, Maddie.’

As the door closed behind him, Maddie lingered beside Alicia’s desk.

Alicia looked up at her.

‘Do you think I could have a glass of water?’ the woman asked. ‘I’ve got a terrible headache…must be the heat outside.’

‘Yes, of course.’ Alicia got up and went over to the small room that led off her office, where she made tea and coffee. She took a bottle of mineral water from the fridge and poured a glass. Then brought it back out to Maddie.

The woman smiled at her. She opened a packet of aspirins that she had taken from her handbag and took one with a sip of the water.

‘That’s much better, thank you.’ She put the glass down on the desk, and as she did so her fingers caught on a stack of paperwork sitting there, causing them to fall to the floor in a jumbled heap. ‘Oh, no! I’m so sorry.’ She bent to try and retrieve them.

‘It’s OK,’ Alicia said soothingly. ‘I’ll sort it out.’

‘Well, if you’re sure. I’m really sorry.’

‘It will only take me a moment,’ Alicia assured her. ‘I’ve got them all numbered.’

‘Fine.’ The woman stood up, and with a sugary-sweet smile left the office.

It took Alicia longer than she had anticipated to clear the mess. She was still doing it when Dex emerged from his office a while later.

‘Hell, what a day,’ he muttered. ‘I was hoping we would finish a little early.’

‘When have you ever finished early?’ Alicia smiled.

He thought about that for a moment, then gave a rueful shrug.

‘At least you managed to get a lunch-break today.’ Alicia finished filing away the last of the papers from the floor and returned to her desk. ‘Did you reserve our table at Romanio’s?’ she asked him casually.

‘First thing I did this morning. I’ll pick you up at eight.’

She looked up and met his eyes. They had been so busy in the office today there hadn’t been a moment to think about their situation, let alone talk about it.

‘Fine.’ There was a moment’s silence. She felt awkward suddenly. It was crazy. They had gone out together for so many meals, yet she felt the strain between them, the knowledge that this date was different.

‘I’ll just put this information into the computer before I finish up here.’ She changed the subject and reached for the piece of paper that Maddie McDowell had put on her desk. She frowned as she found it wasn’t there.

She looked down on the floor under the desk, wondering if it had fallen.

‘What’s the matter?’ Dex asked.

‘That list Maddie put on my desk isn’t here.’

‘It must be there.’

Alicia bit down on her lip, trying to think what could have happened to it. ‘Maybe it fell on the floor with the other papers.’ She spoke almost to herself.

‘Hell, Alicia, that list is important,’ Dex grated. ‘You could have been more careful.’

‘I was careful; it was on my desk, and I haven’t touched it.’

‘Maybe it floated out of here on its own?’ Dex muttered sarcastically.

Alicia glared at him. ‘It must have fallen with some papers that Maddie knocked over. Maybe I’ve filed it mistakenly with one of them.’

Dex shook his head and returned to his office.

An hour later Alicia still hadn’t found the list. She had been through every file and frustration was building.

Dex came out as she was starting to go through them again.

‘You’d better finish up,’ he said gently.

She glanced at her watch. It was almost six-thirty! ‘Perhaps you should cancel our table. I don’t think I’ll be able to relax until I’ve found this blasted list.’

‘Forget the list.’ Dex walked across and closed the filing cabinet firmly. ‘I don’t want to cancel our table.’

She met the dark, intense look of his eyes, and she sighed. ‘I don’t know where it could have gone, Dex—’

‘Look, just forget it now. I’ll sort it out. You go home and relax for a while. I’ll pick you up at eight o’clock.’

Alicia hesitated, then nodded. She did feel tired. She needed a leisurely shower and a few moments to herself before dinner. It had been a gruelling day.

‘OK, see you later.’

As soon as she’d left, Dex started to go through the files himself.

Alicia couldn’t stop thinking about that list. It plagued her as she had her shower; it mocked her as she put on her make-up and styled her hair. What on earth could have happened to it? Things didn’t just vanish into thin air.

Dex was punctual picking her up. He had changed into a lightweight pair of beige trousers and a khaki-coloured shirt. He looked relaxed, unconcerned as she brought up the subject of the missing list. ‘I thought we were forgetting about that,’ he said as he opened the passenger door of his car for her.

‘I can’t.’ She waited until he had got into the car beside her before continuing, ‘It’s just so weird, Dex. I’ve never lost anything before.’

Dex shrugged. ‘You’re under a lot of strain…got more important things on your mind, I suppose. Don’t worry about it any more. I rang Maddie and she has kept a copy. So it’s not a disaster.’

Alicia frowned. ‘I may be pregnant, Dex, but that doesn’t make me incompetent.’

‘I didn’t say it did.’ He shrugged.

‘I just can’t think what could have happened to it. One moment it was on my desk…the next gone.’

‘Maybe aliens beamed it up.’ Dex grinned. ‘This could be the first case of industrial sabotage by Martians.’

‘A Martian named Maddie, perhaps?’ Alicia said lightly.

He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. ‘Now why would Maddie take our list when she was the one who brought it over?’

‘I don’t know.’ Alicia’s voice was flat. The idea that Maddie had taken it when she’d been out getting her that glass of water had taken hold as she’d dressed this evening. But she couldn’t for the life of her think why the woman would do such a thing.

‘Maddie seemed to find the incident amusing,’ Dex laughed. ‘She reminded me that I had just called you competent and efficient this afternoon…many a word spoken in haste, repented at leisure.’