Cal had hung up by the time Gillian made her way back from the bathroom.
"Everything ok?" she asked, referring to Zoe's phone call. She sat back down in the stool next to his and took a sip of her wine. He nodded his head, tipping his glass to his lips.
"Yeah it's fine. She had a go at me about getting Em involved but there was nothing I could do about that."
"No, that wasn't your fault," she agreed, picking up her glass of wine again. Cal said nothing for a moment.
"So what are we going to do about Clara?" he finally said suddenly. She swallowed a mouthful of her wine and shook her head.
"I don't know Cal. I don't see what our alternative is…."
"We could go back to the shoebox, I'm pretty sure it's lying around somewhere…" he smirked and she chuckled back at him.
"If you have any valid ideas…we don't sign until next week so if you do have a brainwave, my ears are open." He pursed his lips in thought, glancing at her face.
"Day or night?" he smirked and she raised an eyebrow at him.
"I think you're forgetting it's not Clara you're talking to. Or Zoe," she added, never on to let an opportunity to mention his unbreakable bond with his ex-wife slip past. She smiled sadly and noticed his face falling slightly. Annoyance? Shame? Disappointment.
"Foster, you do realise that every time you're not looking, I'm staring at your arse, yeah?" He was surprised at the willingness with which he dispensed such provocative information.
"Yes, I do. But I also know that you do it to everyone in the office so it doesn't count." He shook his head in disagreement.
"No. Not true. I don't give anyone else as much attention as I give you. And to answer your earlier remark, I would rather one glance from you than a 'handshake plus' from Clara. Or anyone for that matter." She didn't look up and they sat in silence for a long moment. He wondered if he'd shot his own foot off. Gillian felt insanely uncomfortable. Eventually she stood up.
"Well, this has been an evening of revelations. But I'm tired so I think I'll retire to my bed. Goodnight Cal." She exited quickly, before he got the chance to argue. Standing up to follow her, he dropped a couple of notes on the counter to pay the tab and scurried out the door after her.
OXOXOXOXO
"Oi! Oi! Foster!" he called after her as he spotted her sitting into a taxi at the front of the pub. He ran over to her and slipped into the taxi next to her.
"Come on, budge up," he smirked as she shifted across the seat to let him in. She leaned forward to the taxi-man.
"There's going to be two stops…."
"No there's not. I'll get my own cab after I talk to you," he cut in bluntly. She turned and glared at him before turning back and whispering the second location to the taxi man. Then she sat back as the taxi pulled out of its parking space.
"What do you want to talk to me about Cal? Clara? How we're going to save the company without you losing some pride? Well I've got news for you Cal, we can't. Ok? It's either your pride or our company, there is no other way." Cal swallowed hard at the aggressive stance she had taken. He'd forgotten what he got in here to say.
"I thought you said your ears were open until next week?" She looked at him.
"Have you got an alternative suggestion?"
"No. But I'd hate to see you giving up before even trying to think of something else." He grinned but immediately realised it was a bad idea when he saw her face.
"This is a joke to you isn't it? Do you not think I've spent the last three months trying to find some other way out our financial troubles? Since the day you bought Zoe out I have worried constantly. For god's sake Cal, I was only barely over my divorce when you landed this…huge problem on me…" She was getting wound up, she could tell but now that she had started, she found it very difficult to stop. Maybe it was good to get all this off her chest.
"Well what the bloody hell was I supposed to do Gill? She was going to move to Chicago! She was going to take my daughter to Chicago! What would you have done?" There was a sudden, pointed silence and Cal knew that he had crossed that line that he had worked so hard never to cross. She stared at her hands for a minute before looking up at him. He couldn't see and therefore couldn't read her eyes.
"That's not fair Cal." He nodded his head.
"I know luv. And I'm sorry." He reached his hand across to place on hers, expecting her to flinch but she didn't. Instead she let her hand turn into his and her fingers curl around his. She looked at him.
"You can be a real bastard sometimes." He nodded.
"Yeah, I know luv."
OXOXOXOXO
As they neared Gillian's flat, Cal knew he would have to say what he set out to say.
"You know, I didn't actually sit in here to talk about Clara or the company or anything like that," he said quickly and he felt her hand tense in his. So she knew then. The taxi man suddenly indicated and pulled in outside Gillian's building. She looked at him.
"I know,"
"And?" She took a deep breath, glancing out the window behind him, seeing the safety of her front door.
"Come in." she said finally, turning and letting herself out of the car. Cal slipped the taxi-man the appropriate fee as he climbed out behind Gillian. Together they climbed the steps to her flat.
Ok so I didn't know it was going this direction. Like it, hate it? Tell me how to fix it!
