Fishing For A Dream [Book Three]

Chapter 41 (ii) - Guilty Party

Rose was furious. No, she was apoplectic. I told her a couple of days into January, when all the New Year's parties were done and our quietest month of the year began, and when I could no longer pretend there was nothing wrong.

I'd been as normal with Vicky as I could stand. I could tell that for the first day back at work after the wedding that she was waiting for me to reveal that I knew what she had done - telling her to fuck off and that her P45 was in the post - because there was no doubt that Mia must have given her a heads up that Will was on to them. However, when I said nothing and was perfectly polite, Vicky must have figured Will had bought the lie that Mia had given him. The sight of her turned my stomach; having to sit and bite my tongue in meetings with her - or as she helped Rose look through a list of possible venues for our belated staff Christmas party - took a strength I didn't know I possessed.

Asking Rose to stay late one night so we could talk, I waited for everyone else to leave and broke the news to her.

"How long have you known?" she asked, wiping her eyes after she'd finished crying. Seeing my best friend cry was like a dagger to the heart, and it only made me hate Vicky and Mia even more than I thought was possible.

"Joel and Will came to my room the morning after the wedding."

Rose frowned, "Layla! Why didn't you tell me before now?!"

I'd prepared myself for her to be cross with me for not telling her soon, so it didn't upset me as much, but, of course, I still felt guilty. "I wasn't about to ruin how happy you were over this, Ro! They caused enough damage without it spoiling yours and Dee's day."

"I know, but..." She shook her head in disbelief. "Absolute cunts, the three of them."

Nodding my head in agreement, I sighed, "Yep."

I could see the sadness and hurt in Rose's expression begin to fade; there would be time for that once we dealt with the situation. Fury started to replace it. "Well, she's fucking sacked. I don't care if it's unfair dismissal."

"Okay, I'm glad we're on the same page on that." I thought about telling our team that Vicky was leaving and I wanted to cry. Do we tell them the truth? Or do we let her leave with very much undeserved dignity? We'd have to cross that bridge when we came to it.

"Maybe we just suggest that she seeks other employment. She doesn't deserve that kindness from us, but for the sake of our team, and so we don't get sued... Fuck, I hate this!" Rose put her head in her hands, and I gently stroked her back. After a few minutes, she lifted her head back up, sighing, "I'm sure our Violet and Jen will be more than willing to step up to the plate and help cover Vic- her responsibilities."

"Listen, please don't lose your shit over me asking this, but..." I hesitated, watching her prepare to not only lose her shit but propel it into the fucking sun. "Did you have any idea?"