as politely as she could. “We have a lot of expenses with the two houses. It’s nice if you contribute where you can.”
“Does it really make a difference? What point is there to my working, with everything you have?” She didn’t like his referring to her inheritance that bluntly, or thinking of it that way. And this was what Sam had been worried about, that Nigel might decide she had so much money he didn’t need to work.
“I work. I think you should too,” Coco said quietly.
“Yours is just a token job,” he said dismissively.
“Actually, I’m starting a new job in July,” she said. He looked surprised, since she hadn’t told him yet. “Leslie is starting a business, relocating people moving to London, finding them a place to live, decorating, and setting it all up so they have nothing to do when they get here. It will be both corporate and personal. She asked me to come and work for her. I’m giving notice tomorrow and I’ll start with her in two weeks.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He looked hurt, and turned from attacker into victim.
“We haven’t exactly been speaking to each other much. She asked me the day after you told me about Sussex.”
“Well, I think I’ll wait to look for a job until September. There’s no point job-hunting in the summer, anyway. There’s no one around,” he said, as he poured himself another scotch.
“I think you should get your CV out there now,” she said, wondering how long he would be out of work, with the excuse of the two houses they were remodeling, and how hard he would look for a new job. It worried her. She didn’t want him viewing her as the supplier of all benefits, and to become totally dependent on her. She wanted him to work too, on principle. Their situation seemed to have degenerated rapidly since they’d gotten married five months before. He stayed downstairs drinking that night after she went to bed, and he was dead to the world when she left for work the next morning. They had let him go on the spot the day before. He had cleared his desk and been escorted out of the building. That was company policy when you got fired. She knew it must have been humiliating and felt sorry for him.
Coco gave notice herself that day, and they were very nice about it. They were grateful she had stayed that long in a minor job and had been diligent.
Sam texted her that night. As he had promised, he wanted to come over. He could take some time off in the last week of June. His father was back at work, and in good shape again. Sam wanted to see her, he hadn’t been to London in nine months, which seemed like a long time to both of them.
So much had happened since then. She had married Nigel. They had bought two houses. She was changing jobs. Sam’s life was moving more slowly. He had run his father’s business on his own for the past six months. He said he had learned a lot from it. But now his father was back, doing things his way again. Sam sounded discouraged about it. He had been dating Tamar for just over a year now.
Coco picked him up at the airport when he arrived, as she had before. They hugged each other so hard, she was afraid they would break something. He looked thinner, tired, and pale, but he was thrilled to see her. She had had her last day at Time the day before, so she was free to be with him the whole time, and didn’t have to go to work.
She drove him to the city house they had bought on the way to her place. The contractor and his men were working at full speed when they got there. They had a large crew working on it to meet the deadline. Sam was amazed when he saw it.
“This place is huge. Why do you need this much space? Are you having quadruplets?”
“Apparently Nigel thinks we are.” She didn’t look happy about it. She was still uneasy about how much they had taken on, and how many people it would take to maintain it. By her calculation, at least three, and Nigel thought one of them should be a butler, which made her even more uncomfortable.
There was no question, the house was beautiful, but they didn’t need it, and it