She paused but I didn’t know what to say in response. I understood that Astro didn’t matter to her. Why would it? For her, it was just a job. But for me, it was far more than that. Astro was proof of my success, proof that I could be valuable without a medical degree, that I could build a company with unimpeachable integrity. So much integrity, in fact, that my private social life had become a point of contention with the board. Was there any greater evidence that I’d built something beyond reproach? “I think you’ve done a great job while you’ve been here and we’ll be very sorry to see you go,” I replied, hoping she knew I meant it.
“I’ll have a plan to you and a draft article that we can discuss by the end of the day.”
“Thanks, Gretel. I appreciate it.” As she turned to go, I remembered something she’d said to me earlier. “For the record, what was the personal advice you would have given me?”
She headed toward the door. “I’d tell you to resign and go find something to do that you love. It might not be a bed and breakfast, but it’s not this.” She didn’t wait for a response, just shrugged and shut the door behind her.
Resign? There was no way I was going down without a fight. But first I needed to get out of here. I had to clear my head and figure stuff out. Astro wouldn’t collapse if I took the day off, and there was somewhere else I needed to be.
Twenty-Seven
Madison
As I made my way through a lounge in the Covent Garden Hotel, the contrasting colors and patterns on the curtains, carpets, and sofas were so vivid, I could barely see the door off to the left that the receptionist had directed me to.
Audrey had cancelled the meeting Nathan had arranged and hadn’t returned any of my calls for the last week. It wasn’t so surprising. I’d given up hope that I’d ever hear from her again after what I’d done to Nathan. Yesterday she picked up, asked me to meet her here at two, then hung up again. She was either going to give me a piece of her mind for writing what I had about Nathan, or she wanted to talk about her story.
I wanted to talk about her story. I couldn’t face even thinking about Nathan. Every time I did, it was like diving into a pit of regret and self-pity.
She greeted me as I entered what looked like a library. “Hi,” she said, shuffling around me and closing the large oak door behind me. “Good to see you again.”
“Yes, and you,” I replied.
She gave me a sharp nod before turning her back. I was definitely going to get a telling off at the very least. “Will they mind us closing the door?” We were in a public hotel after all, and if the door was open, she might not be quite so brutal with me.
“No, they said it was fine.” She took a seat on one of the overstuffed sofas and nodded at the tray on the huge footstool between us. “I ordered us tea. Is that okay?”
I nodded and sat in the chair next to the sofa.
“Thanks for coming,” she said. “I’m nervous, so excuse me if I’m a little . . . off.”
“Thanks for answering the phone. I’m a little nervous too.”
She sighed and clutched her hands together in her lap. “Sorry about all your missed calls. If Mark can have a secret bank account in the Cayman Islands, then he can certainly bug my phone. And I’m too scared to go and buy another one. If he was to find it, he’d know I was up to something.”
I’d been so caught up in my own drama, I’d not thought that Audrey might not be picking up because of Mark.
“But you’re not up to anything,” I reassured her. “He’s the one hiding stuff from you. You’re just protecting yourself.”
She smiled tightly as she handed me a cup and saucer. “Yes. That’s what Nathan keeps saying. He’s been so good to me.”
That’s who Nathan was—fiercely loyal to people close to him. It’s why he would have taken what I’d written about him so badly. As much as I could try to justify what I’d done as truth-telling, I knew he wouldn’t see it that way. I took a sip of my too-hot tea and tried to focus on Audrey.
“So where do we start?” she asked.
Relieved that we were here to talk about the story, I reached into my bag and pulled out a notepad. “Why don’t we just talk a little. Do you mind if I take some notes?”
“Yes, that’s fine. And you know you can’t publish anything until—”
“Until you tell me I can.”
Audrey smiled, gratitude in her eyes. “Nathan said you’d be the right person to talk to.”