it was, but thankfully, as the week went on, the fear diminished. It didn’t disappear, but normal life intruded and staked a claim on her attention. She, like most people, was a creature of habit. She had her routines: wake up, coffee, toast, upstairs to shower and brush teeth, dress. She did them in that order, every day. It meant she didn’t have to think. She just did. It was easy, reassuring. Most people were like that: it was why, the first time someone stayed in a hotel they were unsettled; the next time, it was familiar, almost like home.
On Friday afternoon, she was wrapping up a meeting with a client. It had been a difficult few hours. The client had been sued for continuing to make a toaster despite having been given reports that it could catch fire and they were not happy with the work Kate and her colleagues had done. Michaela was there – probably enjoying Kate’s discomfort – along with a woman, Claire, whom she had worked with before, and a man, Nate, who she had seen around, but not met. He was a contract specialist who had been drafted in to answer some specific questions.
The client had spent most of the meeting pointing out what they considered to be mistakes. At first Kate had gently tried to argue that she had done the best she could, given the circumstances – they were in the wrong and they were going to have to pay a large sum of money – but there was no point. They were upset and, rather than look at themselves, they were blaming their lawyer, and all Kate and her colleagues could do was to take it.
At the end of the meeting she headed for the coffee machine. She poured herself a cup of black coffee and leaned against the wall. She had not been looking forward to the weekend – she had no plans – but now she was glad it was Friday afternoon. Saturday and Sunday could take care of themselves; all she wanted now was to get out of here and go and have a drink.
‘Tough meeting.’ Nate appeared in the doorway. ‘Not the most pleasant bunch.’
‘I know,’ Kate said. ‘They were so unreasonable.’
‘Ach,’ Nate said. ‘They were pissed off because they’re going to lose. That’s all.’
‘I mean, what do they expect from us?’ Kate said. ‘We’re lawyers, not miracle workers. They’re in the wrong: nothing we can do will change that. If they want someone who can do that then they need to go to Hogwarts and see if Harry Potter wants to work for them when he leaves school.’
Nate laughed. He was thin, with high cheekbones and sharp features. His wore gold-rimmed, delicate glasses, and had an intense, searching gaze. ‘You should have suggested that as a strategy.’
‘Right. Michaela would have loved that.’
He nodded. ‘You have a point. Perhaps better that you kept it to yourself.’
‘It’s a shitty case,’ Kate said. ‘How did you get roped in?’
‘I asked if I could,’ Nate said. ‘I wanted to work on it.’
‘Seriously?’
He smiled at her. ‘Seriously.’
‘Why?’
‘Because it’s interesting. And I’ve heard that you do good work.’
‘I wouldn’t get your hopes up,’ she said. ‘What I do is pretty bog-standard stuff, I’m afraid.’
‘Not what I heard.’
She rolled her eyes. She wasn’t sure Nate was telling the whole truth, but still, it was flattering to hear that she had a good reputation. Kate blew out her cheeks. ‘Well, it’s been quite a week. And that was the perfect end.’
Nate nodded at the coffee mug in her hands. ‘Sounds like you could do with something stronger.’
‘You can say that again.’
‘Sounds like you could do with something stronger,’ he said, then laughed. ‘Sorry, couldn’t help it. I’m famous for my crap jokes.’
‘With good reason, it seems,’ Kate said. ‘I’m not sure what’s worse – that client or your sense of humour.’
‘You want to get out of here? Go for a drink?’ He looked at his watch. ‘It’s pretty much clocking-off time.’
Kate hesitated. Was he asking her out on a date? It was a long time since she’d been single, and the etiquette of dating – even of what passed for a date – was a mystery to her. Could you go out innocently with a colleague you barely knew? Or was there more to it?
She glanced at his hand. No wedding ring. Not that she was interested. He was not her type.
She shrugged.
‘Why not?’ she said. ‘Where do you have in mind?’
They went to a tapas bar in a converted cellar under a railway station. They ordered some chorizo, a smoked mackerel paste of some kind and a plate of Spanish cheeses, none of which she knew the name of. She had a glass of Ribera del Duero; he had two bottles of Spanish beer. He was – when he was not indulging his passion for crap jokes – witty and engaging and good company, but she knew immediately that it was going nowhere, at least not in a romantic sense. Although she liked him and would have happily done it again some other Friday, there was no spark, no frisson of excitement. She didn’t have any sense of being intrigued by him, of wanting to know him better, of wanting to impress him, to make him like her.
But still, it was fun, and great to get out. She couldn’t see herself with Nate, but she could see herself in places like this with other people.
She looked back at him. He was staring at her; he blinked, caught out, and a pink flush spread up from under his collar. There was an awkward silence. For a moment she wondered whether he was going to comment on it, but then he smiled, although the smile did not quite reach his eyes. They looked a little sheepish; nervous, even.
‘Another drink?’ he said.
She shook her head. ‘No. I’m driving. Aren’t you?’
‘Nope. I bike in on Fridays.’
‘Oh? Is that new?’
He patted his stomach. ‘Need to keep an eye on this. So I got myself a bike and some tight shorts.’
‘I don’t know what you’re worried about,’ Kate said. ‘You’re hardly carrying a lot of weight.’
‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘All the sitting around in meetings, at the computer – it’s starting to bother me. It might be as much in my mind as anything else, but still – I want to nip it in the bud.’
‘Well,’ Kate said. ‘I’m impressed. Where is it you live?’
‘Sale. Not too far.’
Kate looked at her phone. She was planning to curl up in front of the TV with a glass of wine. ‘I’d better be going. Thanks. This was fun.’
She signalled the waiter. When he brought the bill. Kate reached for her bag.
He put his hand over the bill. ‘I’ll get it.’
She shook her head. ‘Thanks, but I’d prefer to split it.’
‘OK,’ he said. ‘Your call.’
She opened her bag and took out her purse. As she did, the canister of mace fell out onto the table.
Nate looked at it. ‘Is that the stuff you spray on people?’ he said. ‘It would have come in handy today. You could have used it on the clients. That would have shut them up.’
‘I wish I’d thought of it.’
He picked it up. ‘Why do you have it? Are you worried about something?’
‘I live in Stockton Heath.’
‘Oh,’ he said. ‘I see.’
‘I’ve got an alarm too.’ She tapped her fingers against the table. ‘Although