unconvinced, then suddenly stifles a yawn. ‘Anyway, it’s all good. Just the hours are pretty gruelling.’
I look at my sister closely. Beyond the power suit and immaculately groomed bob, there are dark circles under her eyes and the crease between her eyebrows is so sharply etched it’s turning into a furrow.
‘You look shattered,’ I observe. ‘You need a holiday.’
Kate looks at me like I just told her she needs to grow another head. ‘A holiday?’ she snorts, as if the very idea is completely ludicrous.
‘When did you last go away?’ I persist.
She falters momentarily and I can feel her brain whirring backwards. ‘We went to Mum and Dad’s,’ she says, with a flash of triumph.
‘For Christmas last year,’ I point out. ‘Anyway, that was Mum and Dad. That’s not exactly a holiday.’
‘Luce, I don’t think you understand,’ she gasps impatiently. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she rubs her nose agitatedly. ‘I can’t go anywhere right now. I’m far too busy.’
‘But you look like you need a break,’ I say, squeezing her arm.
‘No, what I need is to be partner,’ she says determinedly, moving her arm away. ‘And if I continue at this pace, there’s a very good chance of being recommended at the next annual meeting.’
But can you continue at this pace? I ask myself silently, looking at her pinched expression and feeling uneasy. My sister has always been a crazy workaholic – ‘over-achiever’ is scribbled across her school reports – but she seems to be overdoing it, even by her standards.
‘What does Jeff say?’
Her face clouds. ‘Jeff understands. He knows how important this is to me.’ Opening her menu, she says briskly, ‘Anyway, we should order. It’s getting late,’ which is her way of saying the subject is closed.
She beckons over the waiter and orders for both of us. I’m not sure exactly what, as she does most of it in Japanese. ‘Oh, and an extra miso soup to take away when we’re done,’ she says in English. ‘For Jeff,’ she adds, turning to me. ‘I promised to bring him back some soup as he’s a bit under the weather.’
‘What’s wrong?’ I ask, feeling a beat of concern.
‘Oh, nothing. Probably one of those seventy-two-hour bugs.’ She shrugs, taking a sip of sake.
‘He should go and see Robyn – she’s got Chinese herbs for everything,’ I suggest, thinking about the dozens of bottles that are randomly scattered around the flat. I’m forŒ fl"Pla
‘You have got to be kidding me!’ gasps Kate.
‘No, really. I know you don’t believe in all that stuff, but she swears by them.’ I stop as I see her making googly eyes at me.
‘Are you OK? Is something in your eye?’
Now she’s jabbing chopsticks at me and pulling this weird sort of strangled face. Suddenly it registers and I feel a flash of panic.
‘Oh my God, are you choking?’
An image of me having to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre in the middle of the restaurant flashes across my brain. Shit. Why didn’t I watch more episodes of ER? I got bored when George Clooney left.
‘No, behind you,’ she hisses, like a pantomime dame.
‘What?’ Bewildered, I frown, wondering what she’s going on about, then turn sideways.
I don’t believe it.
Because there, sitting right next to me, at the sushi counter, is Nate. He’s with another man in a business suit and they’ve obviously just arrived, as they’re ordering a couple of drinks. I stare at him in disbelief.
‘Are you following me?’ I accuse, finding my tongue, which had been held hostage by shock.
Hearing my voice, he turns and sees me. His face darkens. ‘Are you following me?’ he accuses back.
I can feel my hackles rise. ‘I was here first,’ I point out stiffly.
‘Well, I made the reservation for the sushi bar last week,’ he replies, as if to say, Told you so.
Not to be outdone, Kate fires back over my shoulder, ‘We made ours the week before. You can check with my assistant.’
‘Hello, Kate.’ He nods in her direction.
‘Nathaniel.’ She gives him one of her scary looks.
For a moment there’s a standoff and I can see Nate’s business contact glancing uncertainly‚€ng uncert»inl between us, like someone who just stumbled into a gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
‘Well, this is a coincidence,’ says Nate evenly, for his benefit.
‘Well, that’s one way of putting it,’ quips Kate dryly.
‘Come on, let’s move,’ I say, turning back to Kate. ‘There must be a free table.’ Just then I glance around me and realise with dismay that the whole place has now filled up. There’s