and I have no intention of leaving either one of them.”
He pointed a finger in my direction, smiled. “This is why you’d make such an excellent partner for my daughter, Carl. You have such integrity, such honour. I’ve always respected that in you.”
“I hope I do make an excellent partner for your daughter. Maybe you should ask her before you come to any conclusions about our situation.”
“Maybe I will,” he said.
“Please do.” I got to my feet. “We have a celebration to attend, if we’re done?”
He waited, staring up at me. “I can’t say I’m alright with this, Carl.”
“So don’t. Don’t say anything until you know what you can say.”
He rose from the table, and I looked at the man I’d come to respect to highly. He was still a strong man, still proud. His grey hair was thinner than it once was, but he was still an attractive man, still a charismatic, dynamic, driven leader. He held out a hand and I took it.
“Please don’t feel this is a reflection on my feelings towards you, Carl. I respect everything you’ve done for me, not least for building bridges between Katie and I. I know that was you, I know what you did for me.”
“I did that for both of you,” I said. “And maybe that’s where you should be putting your attention. We’re really no threat to Katie’s happiness, Rick and I. We’ll do the right thing by her, always.”
“I know,” he said. “I just need some time, to make sense of my outlook.”
“Take all the time you need, David. We’ll all be right here when you want to talk.”
He nodded, and I opened the door.
“Psst,” Katie said. She had a party hat on her head, a golden crown with garish glitter stars. I raised an eyebrow and she smiled. “Ryan brought them in. Mine’s the queen one, isn’t it cool?”
“Very.”
She took a breath. “What did he say? My dad, I mean. What was all that about?”
“He knows,” I said, and her eyes widened.
“And…?”
“And it’s a lot to take in. I was honest, he knows the situation.”
“Shit,” she said.
“No,” I argued. “It’s not shit. It’s a relief.”
She shrugged. “Honesty’s the best policy, right?”
“Always, Katie.” I smiled. “Always.”
“He’s still here.” She looked over at him. “That’s got to be a good sign.”
“He is indeed, and I hope so.” I pulled her close, took her hand in mine. “And a little birdie told me you may well have an envelope to match your crown. Maybe you’ll even appreciate it this time.”
“Maybe I will,” she said.
I handed her a champagne and we raised our glasses to David across the room.
He only hesitated a second before he raised his in return.
We stayed on late to clear up, the least I could do for the cleaners. We’d made quite a mess of the buffet, and someone had been thoughtful enough to bring party poppers, the whole room was covered in coloured strings.
Katie mucked in, and she was giggling, happy on champagne.
“When am I going to spend my vouchers?” she said, casting paper plates into the recycling bin. “I’ll be able to buy a whole winter wardrobe at this rate.”
I gave her a smile. “Whenever you want. Rick will love that.”
“And you,” she said. “Mr Suave.”
I gathered up the last of the streamers, dumped them in the bin. Finally the place looked respectable, respectable enough for a regular clean at the weekend.
“Weekend calling,” I said, and Katie downed the rest of her drink, tossed the plastic flute in the recycling.
She moved back to her old desk, dropped into her seat, and spun around and around as she laughed.
“That’s probably not the wisest move,” I said, and stopped her.
She stared up at me with a grin. “Spoil sport. I’m just saying goodbye.”
“I don’t want a sick-splattered car, thank you very much.” She poked out her tongue and I pinched it. “This isn’t the end,” I said. “You’ll be back on Monday, the marketing suite is only downstairs.”
“But it’s the end of all this.” She gestured to the room. “Of us working together.”
I shook my head. “I’ll still be involved, Katie, this is still my programme.”
“Yeah, but still,” she said. “You know what I mean.”
I did know what she meant, but I didn’t say so.
She reached up for my tie, smoothed it down. “I won’t be able to perv over you anymore.”
“You’ll have to get your fix in the mornings.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Do they have any hot studs in marketing?”