Sapphire (24 page)

Jay scowled, ‘Well, I’ll just say goodnight then, leave you to dream about Mr Perfect.’

Yeah, thought Sapphire bitterly as she tried to get comfortable on the sofa bed after Jay had marched out of the room, Mr Perfect indeed; Ryan hadn’t even bothered to call, he’d just texted her. And when she did fall asleep and dream of Mr Perfect, it wasn’t Ryan . . .

In the morning Sapphire managed to get out of spending another day with Jay’s family by saying that she had to get the boutique ready for the sale that was starting the following day. Really it was only a couple of hours’ work but she couldn’t bear to be around Jay any longer, feeling his disapproval and fearing that he actually disliked her. Ever since Alfie’s massive betrayal Sapphire had thought that nothing a man could do would ever actually hurt her again, but she was beginning to find out it could. She hated the thought that Jay didn’t even like her any more. She felt blue as she opened up the boutique and stepped inside.

She’d had a delivery, which seemed odd as it was Boxing Day. She bent down and picked up the small package addressed to her. She’d seen that handwriting before she was sure, and she ripped open the package to find a jewellery box and a card. She opened the card first, ‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, I hope we can be friends very soon, Happy Christmas love Mx’.

Markov! Why couldn’t he let it drop! She opened the box and a stunning pair of diamond earrings confronted her. This had to stop! She marched into the office and threw the box down on the sofa, alongside the dress and gift-wrapped lingerie that she had yet to put back on the shop floor. Then she reached for her phone – she would get Markov’s address from Ryan and stop this right now. She got straight to the point when Ryan answered but his reply was infuriating, ‘I don’t have his address, babe, and Markov will be well offended if you return them. It’s just his way. Chill. And I’ll see you on New Year’s Eve.’

‘Aren’t you free until then?’ Sapphire asked, in surprise.

‘’Fraid not, babe.’

He didn’t exactly make her feel wanted.

Sapphire had never especially enjoyed the days between Christmas and New Year. It always seemed like a bit a of limbo time – she just wanted the new year to begin, for there to be a fresh start. But this year the economic forecasts continued to be gloomy – in Brighton there were already shops closing down.

‘People are still going to get married,’ Jazz reassured her when she caught Sapphire looking through the books the day before New Year’s Eve. Despite the massive reductions on the lingerie she hadn’t sold as much as usual and the treatment rooms had been quiet. ‘Perhaps it’s karma,’ Sapphire replied. ‘You know, because I’ve always been so negative about marriage.’

‘Yeah right, let’s blame the recession on you having a cynical attitude to relationships! God, Sapphire, you’re supposed to be the logical, clear-headed one. What’s happening to you?’

Sapphire wrapped her black cashmere cardigan more tightly round her body before replying, ‘I think it was seeing Jay and realising that he doesn’t even like me. I
guess I thought it wouldn’t bother me, but it really did, Jazz. It was awful when he was having a go at me. I thought whatever happened at least we’d be friends but he obviously thinks I’m a really bad person.’ She paused. ‘
Am
I a really bad person?’

‘Well, you’re a terrible control freak and you need to accept help from other people, but no of course you’re not a bad person! You’re a brilliant person, a great friend to have, loyal, funny, generous.’ She paused and in the gap Sapphire filled in, ‘Just a rubbish girlfriend.’

But frankly she didn’t have such a great boyfriend right now. She’d hardly spoken to him since Boxing Day, and he’d just called to make sure she was coming to the New Year’s Eve party at the club. ‘Who will be there?’ she asked cautiously; she didn’t want to run into Markov again if she could help it.

‘Only Alfie and his girlfriend, some of our mates, and about two hundred other people. Bring Jazz and Ben if you like and the other one, I can never remember her name.’

‘You mean Sam, I suppose.’

Sapphire hadn’t seen Sam for two weeks and she was absolutely stunned when they met up on New Year’s Eve at Sapphire’s for cocktails before going on to the club. Sam must have lost nearly two stone over the past couple of months and dropped from a size sixteen to a twelve and this was the first time Sapphire had seen her in such body-conscious clothes – normally she went for leggings and tunics, but not tonight. Sam looked incredibly sexy in a vivid green vintage silk dress, her body looked toned and curvaceous. She’d had her auburn hair cut into a sleek long bob with a fringe framing her heart-shaped face. Sapphire, dressed in a black silk shift dress and black tights, felt completely drab by comparison.

‘You look amazing!’ Sapphire exclaimed, hugging her friend.

‘So I bloody well should! I have been running ten miles twice a week and starting next week my running group is upping it to fifteen miles. It’s bloody tough!’ But she had a big smile on her face when she said it.

Sapphire held up the cocktail shaker and asking everyone what they fancied. She felt the need to take the edge off the night. She’d asked Ryan to come over but he said he was too busy getting ready for the party. But drinking just intensified her feeling of loneliness – Jazz and Ben were so loved-up, Sam seemed extremely happy in her skin. Sapphire suddenly felt as if she had nothing to look forward to in the new year. She’d been working so hard and it just looked as if she had more of the same ahead of her, with precious little reward.

‘You must be looking forward to seeing Ryan tonight,’ Sam said, following Sapphire into her bedroom so they could both add final touches to their make-up.

‘I guess,’ Sapphire shrugged, applying another layer of lipgloss, ‘but I expect I’ll hardly see him, he’ll be busy with the club.’

Sam lightly brushed powder over her flawless makeup, then adjusted her gold necklace which had a several pretty gold butterflies hanging from it.

‘That’s nice – is it one of yours?’

‘Yep – d’you want some for the boutique?’

‘Sure,’ Sapphire replied, a little dismissive.

‘I’ll need to know soon, as I’ve got some other orders.’ So Sam not only looked good, but her jewellery designs were taking off. Sapphire suddenly felt slightly jealous, as if she was being left behind.

Her mood was not improved when they arrived at the club. Ryan barely spent any time with her. He just kissed her and patted her on the bum, he didn’t seem to care
how much it infuriated her. ‘Good to see you, babe, I’ve missed you,’ he murmured.

‘Really? I’d never know,’ Sapphire replied slightly bitterly.

Ryan laughed, ‘I thought you liked keeping things light. I thought that was what we both wanted. Oh, don’t look like that!’

Sapphire was aware that she had a sulky expression, but she couldn’t help it – Ryan seemed to have so little regard for her.

‘Babe, I’m working – it’s a big night, but I promise I’ll make it up to you. Got to go now,’ and with that Ryan wove his way through the partygoers.

‘Isn’t Ryan going to join us?’ Jazz asked as the group settled round the table Ryan had reserved for them, and cracked open the complimentary bottle of champagne – Sapphire was surprised he hadn’t charged them for it.

She shrugged. ‘He’s working, I’ll catch up with him later.’

She tried to throw herself into chatting with her friends, even dancing wildly – the club was playing dance anthems from the last ten years. But she couldn’t help feeling slightly depressed. A feeling which was not improved when she saw Alfie and his girlfriend Brooke. In spite of Alfie claiming that he had made a mistake when he was unfaithful, he looked like a man who was very happy with his lot as he stood with his arm round Brooke, as they talked to another good-looking couple. It seemed everyone was happy except her. She was hoping to sneak past them unnoticed, but Alfie saw her and waved her over.

‘Sapphire! Good to see you – has your party got the champagne I sent over?’

‘I thought it was from Ryan,’ Sapphire replied.

‘Oh yeah – it’s from both of us.’ There was an awkward moment when Sapphire and Brooke stood looking at each other.

‘So, you remember Brooke?’ Alfie said, not at all sounding like his usual confident self. Brooke gave a tight little smile, clearly not enjoying the encounter one little bit.

‘Hard to forget,’ Sapphire said drily, an extremely unwelcome image flashing into her head of Brooke and Alfie fucking on her bed. She so did not want to go there again. ‘And you’re wearing the same perfume,’ she added as she got a waft of Poison, a fragrance which she had loathed ever since.

‘Anyway, Happy New Year,’ she said, knowing that she sounded falsely bright and then continued on her way to the ladies’. There was the usual massive queue for the loos and as Sapphire waited her turn she couldn’t help overhearing the conversation of a couple of girls touching up their make-up at the mirror.

‘She says tonight’s the night!’ a redhead said, giggling. ‘She reckons she’s going to have him in the club.’

‘I suppose it’s a step up from the back of a car,’ giggled the brunette, putting another layer of mascara on already thickly coated lashes.

‘He’s well fit though, I’d have him anywhere!’ the redhead again. ‘Whereas she’s supposed to be rank down below!’

Sapphire did a mental eye roll, did the girls realise how slaggy they sounded?

‘Well, he’s loaded,’ the redhead continued. ‘Owns this club.’

Sapphire froze, her feeling of superiority vanished. Were they taking about Alfie? But he hadn’t seemed like a man about to do the dirty? They must mean Ryan? She had to find out.

She left her place in the queue and stormed through the club, trying to find him. Is this why he had hardly seen her lately? He was seeing someone else? What a complete bastard!

There was no sign of him around any of the bars or in the VIP area. She stood by one of the pillars and surveyed the club. By now it was four minutes to midnight – the DJ was winding the crowd up, getting ready to welcome in the new year, playing ‘Hot in Herre’. Where was Ryan? And suddenly she realised where he must be.

She pushed her way back through the crowds to the opposite side of the club, to the door to the office upstairs. She pushed it open and raced up the stairs. At the top she hesitated, in two minds about whether to go any further. Did she really want to put herself through this? She could just finish with Ryan, things had hardly been great lately anyway. If she was honest with herself, they never had been. She could go back to her friends, see in the new year and leave with her dignity intact. But she had to know. She marched forward and opened the door to the office. Ryan and a blonde were on the leather sofa. Ryan’s jeans were round his ankles as he pumped away at the blonde, her legs wrapped round him, still wearing her shoes. ‘Come on, baby, you can do it! Hold on for the big one!’ They were both so lost in the moment that neither was aware of Sapphire.

She had seen more than enough. She turned and swiftly ran back along the corridor. Of all the ways to see in the new year, that surely counted as the worst. Downstairs the clubbers were embracing each other, letting off streamers, and thousands of silver sequins were released from the ceiling. Sapphire couldn’t bear it. She felt sick, hurt, disgusted – not just with Ryan, but with herself for ever having let such an unscrupulous, unfeeling, bastard into her life. How could she ever have found him attractive? He was a sleazeball. She just wanted to get out of the club, away from all the revellers. She was just weaving her way through, trying to avoid getting kissed by various random men, when she ran into Alfie.

‘Happy New Year Sapphire!’ he exclaimed and went to kiss her. Then he registered the expression on her face and stopped in his tracks. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’ve just seen Ryan.’ She couldn’t bring herself to say what he’d been doing, but the look on her face said it all, ‘Why didn’t you tell me what he was up to?’

Alfie looked awkward, ‘I did try to, if you remember.’

‘Well, I’ve just seen him screwing another woman. I mean, is there something about me that says all men have to treat me like complete shit!’ Her eyes were welling up with tears now at the sheer humiliation.

‘No, Sapphire, you just picked the wrong man, it’s nothing to do with you. Let me take you over to your friends and I’ll get you a brandy.’

Sapphire vehemently shook her head. ‘I have to get out of here.’ And before Alfie could stop her she ran out of the club. It was bitterly cold, icy rain was sheeting down, which seemed appropriate under the circumstances. But Sapphire was oblivious to it soaking through her clothes as she ran along the seafront back to her apartment. How had she let herself get into this situation? She had thrown away Jay for a man who treated her like dirt. She was a fool, a complete and utter fool.

‘
SO NOT THE
best New Year’s Eve?’ Cal said sympathetically. He had asked Sapphire to the press launch of one of his football academies in Brighton, three weeks into January. She had vowed not to mention anything about what had happened, the memory was still too raw, but Cal had a way of knowing something was up and she had ended up confiding in him.

Sapphire took a sip of champagne then shook her head. It had been hard to bounce back from Ryan’s spectacular infidelity. When she had found out about Alfie she had been powered by sheer anger, which had somehow got her through, but Ryan had left her feeling so low, had made her question herself and her judgement. Of course he’d tried to win her back, saying it was just a one-off – where had she heard that before? Did all men only ever have a certain number of excuses that they used in such situations? Did they Google I’vefuckedup.com and get a ready-made list? But Sapphire was having absolutely none of it. She wouldn’t take his calls, wouldn’t reply to his texts, except to say ‘It’s over.’ She had told Alfie that she could only do business with him from now on. Ryan persisted for a week, sent flowers and champagne, but after that gave up. Now, all Sapphire could hope was that she never set eyes on him again or Markov.