Just Business by Ber Carroll Page A

appreciate that,’ Lucinda agreed. ‘Look, why don’t you take a few days to think it over? We can meet again next week.’
    Niamh was furious. They had barely asked him about the allegations and now Lucinda was granting him time to come up with lies to justify his behaviour.
    â€˜Phil, I’ve taken minutes of this meeting. I’ll send them to you later today for you to look over,’ she said, her exasperation not far from revealing itself.
    Phil left and Lucinda got up to follow him out.
    â€˜Just a minute!’ Niamh stopped her. ‘I can’t help get the feeling that you’re not impartial about this …’
    â€˜Excuse me?’
    â€˜When we met with Helen you were indifferent to the point of rudeness. Yet you were fawning all over Phil today.’
    â€˜I’m sorry if you got that impression.’ Lucinda sounded sincere. ‘I wasn’t having a good day when we met Helen. To tell the truth, I’m struggling without a secretary and I’ve been short with everyone.’
    â€˜Why did you give Phil more time just like that?’ Niamh wasn’t going to give up. ‘He either did it or he didn’t – what’s there for him to think about?’
    â€˜We have to be fair. It’s a huge accusation and a lot to land on someone in one go. Imagine how you would feel if you were told you were being accused of harassment. You’ve had no prior warning and, like all harassers, you believe you did nothing wrong. It would be an enormous shock and it’sunfair of us to expect a complete response straight away.’
    Niamh had to admit that Lucinda’s explanation made sense.
    â€˜Look, Niamh,’ the lawyer continued, her voice contrite, ‘I’ve been so busy that I’ve been rude to everyone, even Jack. Speaking of the little mite, it’s his birthday today and I have to get home. I’ll see you tomorrow, all right?’
    There was nothing Niamh could say in the wake of such an eloquent apology. She couldn’t even begin to figure Lucinda out – she seemed to change her mood at whim.
    Lucinda did a quick check on the time as she hurried away. She had promised Jack she would be home early. He had been half asleep when she kissed him goodbye that morning. Her heart had ached because her child missed out on so much. He didn’t realise it yet and Lucinda hoped that she and Marcus would have a normal life before he was old enough to know. She couldn’t wait to get home to make a fuss of him now.
    Jack’s birthday party was just for the family – Jack and his mum and dad. They didn’t know any of the children who lived in the neighbourhood, didn’t want to know them. Jack longed for someone to play with but Rover Avenue was only going to be a temporary address. It was better to fade into the background as much as they could.
    Lucinda was in the process of logging out when her fax machine started to creak with an incoming document. She picked it up. It was from Paul Jacobsen, a rebuttal to her previous letter. It was clear that they couldn’t get any further without having a face-to-face meeting. It was time to talk, listen, negotiate and compromise. She stuck a Post-it on her computer screen to remind herself to arrange a meeting with Paul and Denis for next week.
    She drove home, weaving from lane to lane, seeking the fastest moving traffic. She darted through amber lights when she should have stopped. She got to their house in the western suburbs by six-thirty and raced in the door to her beloved son.
    Scott found a solicitor through the recommendation of a former colleague. Frances King was a tall sturdy redhead with a London accent. Large spectacles added more angles to her already gaunt face. The fact that she was reputedly one of the best in her field was not reflected in her modest fees.
    Scott apologised for bringing Jenny along to their meeting but Frances wasn’t at all bothered