Read Online Just Like a Woman by Madeleine Clark - Free Book Online

therefore this incident that had occurred more than twenty five years ago, entitled him to feel depressed, morose and oh so full of self pity; demanding sympathy and justification for his behaviour.
    Not in this office. No sympathy was ever dished out here. But that didn’t stop them trying. It was all she could do not to yell at him, but he came regularly every week; never late, never cancelled, and she decided she was grateful to him for the regular income. He was just a little bit confused and needed straightening out. She sighed then looked at the clock. Thank god it was time to bring the session to a close. It had gone reasonably quickly with half an hour before the next one. God she was starving. With any luck Jane would have been to the bakers next door.
    After showing him out the door she turned to her assistant sitting at the reception desk.
    ‘Any calls?’ she asked as she walked towards Jane.
    ‘Uh, yes, but he wouldn’t give his name, and Mr. Cannery has cancelled for this afternoon, so you’ve only got the one left.’ Jane replied.
    ‘Great. An early finish.’ Stephanie pulled the diary towards her and flipped the pages. ‘What did the other caller want?’
    ‘He didn’t say. Just asked to speak to Steph.’
    Stephanie stood up straight and looked at her.
    ‘Steph? Not Stephanie, or Ms. Powell? Did you manage to get sandwiches?’
    ‘No and yes. I assumed you’d know who he was because he said he’d try your mobile. Tuna or steak?’
    Jane placed two packets of sandwiches on the desk. Stephanie picked each packet up in turn, inspecting them,
    ‘Ok if I have the steak? Don’t want to be smelling of fish.’
    Jane nodded and took both packets away to the bathroom, which they also used as their kitchen. Stephanie pulled her mobile from her pocket and walked back into her office while studying the number. Who on earth would call her Steph? And how would he get her mobile number? She nearly dropped it as it started to vibrate again, but she recognised the number immediately this time. It was Robert and flipped the phone open.
    ‘So?’ She sat in her chair, placing her ankles on the desk so her shoes would not soil the papers she had not yet put away. She listened while Robert informed her he had arranged a dinner with Sarah for the following Thursday.
    ‘And where are you going to pick her up? You are going to pick her up?’ Stephanie asked before he could answer the first question.
    ‘Of course! I suggested I pick her up at her place, as you told me to. But she insisted we meet at the car park. It’s in Ferndown somewhere. She gave me instructions. And then I’ll drive us both to the restaurant.’
    ‘Good man. It’ll be worth it. And don’t start drinking. Sarah’s not the same as the others. You’ll see, and this is too good an opportunity to mess up.’
    ‘What d’you mean?’
    Stephanie laughed and replied,
    ‘You’ll have to wait and see.’ She hung up, not waiting for his response, and then looked at the unknown number again before listening to her message.
    ‘Hi Steph, I’ll call you later, when you’ve finished work.’ Whose voice was that?
    She pressed redial. An answer machine.
    ‘Leave a message and I’ll get back to you.’ She vaguely recognised it, but was that because she had just heard it on her own phone? Or was it someone she knew? And how the hell had he got hold of her mobile number? Her work number was public knowledge, but her mobile was known to very few people.
    She had learnt the hard way about phone numbers and clients. In her naiveté as a new therapist, she had advertised her mobile number alongside her home number when she started her business from home. It wasn’t long before she invested in a very good answer machine and a second telephone line as well as changing her mobile number. She recalled being woken on a bank holiday at a quarter to seven in the morning by a client in crisis. They thought she was theirs to call at any time of day or