Page 32 of Loving Jemima

She’d been brought up to apologize, to admit fault, something her father had always insisted on. It was far better to admit something had gone wrong than it was to be found out covering something up. And Jem was adult enough to see that she really hadn’t thought about the consequences of what she was doing in terms of Ellie rather than herself.

She’d made a bad decision, it was that simple.

“What are the actual facts of the matter?” Ellie asked, wrapping her hands around her mug. “I mean, I’m fairly sure that you’re not exactly a permanent employee or anything.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jem said, stung. She thought she’d done rather a good job of dressing the part that morning.

“It means that it’s pretty obvious that your father has put you on this project for a reason. What is it?”

Jem thought about this for a second and then thought that there was no reason to lie. “I crashed my car, it needs to be fixed, this is how my father thought I should work off the debt.”

Ellie sat back in her chair, her eyes narrowing. “But that doesn’t explain why you’re trying to get me fired. I mean, unless you’re childish enough to just want to act out to spite your father. To be honest, it seems like he’s doing the right thing, making you take some responsibility and all.”

“Yeah, good parenting isn’t exactly his thing,” Jem said.

Ellie ignored this. “So, what is it then? Why do you need me off the job?”

Jem bit her lip. She didn’t exactly know what to say to this.

But Ellie did.

“Is it because you hit on me and I turned you down?”

Instinctively, Jem looked over both her shoulders to see if anyone had heard. Then she let out a full breath.

Ellie leaned in again. “I didn’t bring it up because it’s unprofessional. I don’t know what you’re thinking about all this, but I’m assuming that it was just as much of a surprise to see me when you walked into that meeting room as it was for me to see you.”

Jem’s mouth was dry, her heart was hammering in her chest. She did remember, she did recognize her. She should have known that she couldn’t be that lucky. Except maybe she was because it didn’t sound like Ellie was planning on telling anyone. “Unprofessional?” she croaked.

“Yes, you might not have a lot of work experience, but even you should be able to see that whatever did or didn’t happen between you and I in a club one evening has nothing to do with the actual job at hand.”

Another deep breath. “So that means… that means that you just want to forget it? Pretend it never happened?” It was her turn to lean in closer. “To never tell anyone?”

Ellie shrugged. “That seems like the adult thing to do.”

Yes, she was lucky, that was the only answer. She was going to get away with this. A sudden feeling of relief and gratitude overcame her. Right at that moment she was willing to do whatever it took to repay Ellie.

???

There was something there, a spark of something in Jem’s eyes, those lovely china blue eyes, that Ellie didn’t recognize at first. It was only when she heard the relief in Jem’s voice that she finally put the pieces together.

“You’re not out, are you?” She spoke without thinking properly.

“I… I don’t know what you mean,” said Jem.

Ellie took a breath. It explained things, she supposed, explained why the woman would be defensive, trying to protect herself. It was also none of Ellie’s business. She never should have said anything. Now that she had though, she couldn’t leave it hanging like that.

Jem’s hand was on the table and Ellie moved her fingers closer, feeling the weight of Jem’s secret, knowing that she must have been scared thinking that her life was about to be overturned.

“I… I won’t tell anyone,” she said, letting her fingers touch Jem’s. “I would never do that. Your secret is safe with me.”

For a long second, Jem looked at her and Ellie thought that she might feel something. There was a warmth there, a tiny spark of something that might have been or could be, she wasn’t sure which. Then Jem nodded, just once.

“I’ll call the Walthambridge tomorrow and apologize,” she said, withdrawing her hand. “My father knows the owner so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“No,” Ellie said. “No, I think you were right. That isn’t the venue for us. We’re looking for something more… unique perhaps.”

Jem grinned. “That’s something that I could work with.”