Kiss It Better by Jenny Schwartz Page B

stairs.
    ‘Would be hard to miss.’
    Cassie glanced over the bannister.
    Jodie was on the phone. She glanced up and their eyes met. The woman flinched and glanced away. She was definitely phoning someone about Cassie’s presence. Were her loyalties to Theo or his dad?
    At Theo’s office, his secretary was replacing the phone. Well, that answered the question of Jodie’s loyalties: not to Theo or his dad, but to a fellow employee.
    Cassie smiled.
    ‘Good morning, Theo, Ms Freedom,’ Ayesha Smith — nameplate at the front of her beautifully organised desk — greeted them graciously.
    ‘Cassie.’
    ‘I am Ayesha.’
    Theo barely waited for the courtesies. ‘News travels faster than light in this place. Ayesha, Cassie will be in and out of the office while she’s staying with me. Can you sort out security for her, please?’
    Not a flicker of Ayesha’s perfectly mascaraed lashes indicated she’d noticed Cassie’s lodgings. The woman was elegant. Late forties, perhaps early fifties, with a short, sleek black haircut and steel-grey suit with a softening pale-pink blouse and black high heels. Her fingernails matched the pink of the blouse.
    Cassie was completely outclassed; her wry thought was that at least now she knew the standard to aspire to with this morning’s shopping.
    Theo turned to her. ‘I’d show you around, but this morning is pretty busy. You can wander around or Ayesha could you give the tour?’
    ‘It’s an office building, Theo. I won’t get lost.’
    He smiled. ‘But you might miss some stuff. We have a roof garden.’
    ‘Really? No, don’t tell me now. You’re busy.’ She thought about how a girlfriend would act. ‘I’ll window shop till the boutiques open. You can show me the roof garden tomorrow.’ She stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. His hand rested naturally for a moment at her waist. ‘I’ll be back at ten thirty.’
    ‘Good luck with the shopping.’
    ‘I don’t need luck. I’m determined.’ And boy, was she. Expensive clothes would be like armour against Leighton’s lies and the ordeal of meeting Theo’s family knowing that they’d be judging her by those fabrications.
    She passed a couple of men on the stairs and although they smiled as they said good morning, she thought their assessing stares indicated a chat with the busy receptionist. Cassie waggled her fingers Jodie — who was on the phone and looking guilty again — and stepped out. Car fumes had never smelled so good.
    Time was against her. She had to find something, buy it, head back to Theo’s to change and then return here all glammed up.
    A little black dress would be the safe choice. Boring though, and if she was to counteract Leighton’s story and that awful photo of her, then she needed a bit of drama.
    She found it in a micro store that had painted its walls white, but also painted the floors white and hung mirrors anywhere there weren’t clothes, the tiny fitting room or the even smaller front counter. Despite the desperate attempts to create an illusion of space, the clothes worked.
    The owner was a friendly guy her age who, on seeing her pressing her nose to the glass trying to see in, opened the door ten minutes early. After that she was determined to buy something, even if it didn’t have the perfect meet-the-they’ll-never-be-your-in-laws dress.
    ‘Wander around, sweetie, while I finish my cup of joe. Heaven bless caffeine. Last night was fun, but oh, this morning!’ he rambled while she flicked through clothing. Despite his claims of a hangover, he was sharp.
    She picked a shift dress off the rack and held it up.
    ‘It’ll fit you,’ he said. ‘Trust me.’
    ‘Will I look like a liquorice all sorts if I wear it?’ she asked wryly, not sure if she was brave enough for the thick strips of candy colour and black.
    ‘Your boy will just yum you up.’
    ‘Actually, I’m meeting his parents.’
    ‘Ooh.’ The shop assistant jumped off his bar stool perch. ‘I’m Luke, designer as