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not how it works.’ Felicia’s voice was stern, unwavering.

      Lucas drained the rest of his beer. ‘It is now.’ Getting to his feet, he headed for the door. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see if Duncan’s hiding any more of this in the fridge before I get changed for dinner.’

      ‘This conversation isn’t over,’ Felicia said, following him.

      ‘Yes.’ Lucas turned to her, quick enough that she had to take a step back. ‘It is.’ Then, he made his way to the kitchen. Clearly this weekend was going to need a lot of beer. He just hoped that Duncan had stocked up.

      ***

      ‘Am I presentable?’ Dory asked, giving Tyler a little twirl as he came out of the bathroom, decked out in a shirt, tie and jacket.

      He flashed her a smile. ‘Ravishing.’

      She didn’t feel it. In fact, she felt kind of frumpy, but she had a feeling that the pearls and boring dress were probably what the Alexanders were looking for in Tyler’s girlfriend, anyway. Silently, she thanked the last-minute impulse that had made her pack them.

      ‘Guess we’d better go face the music, then,’ she said.

      Tyler took her arm. ‘Don’t worry. They’ll love you.’

      Dory couldn’t help the burst of laughter that came out at that. ‘Tyler, they’re going to hate me. They were always going to hate me. There is pretty much nothing I can do to change that, and the only thing that could make it worse is if they found out I’m actually your assistant.’

      ‘Good job you’re not actually dating me then, huh?’

      Dory shuddered. ‘A very good job.’ Just the thought of a future of Christmases spent at Midfield House made her feel faintly sick.

      ‘They’re not so bad, you know,’ Tyler said, more seriously.

      ‘To you, no,’ Dory replied. ‘But I don’t belong here, and they know it. That’s all.’

      Tyler opened the door. ‘Come on. At least the food should make up for everything else.’

      ‘And the wine?’

      ‘The wine, I promise you, will be superb.’

      It was, too. Dory took a sip, and reminded herself to go slow with it. The last thing they needed was her getting tipsy and saying something she shouldn’t.

      ‘So, Dory, I trust you’ve recovered from your motion sickness?’ Felicia looked pointedly at Dory’s empty plate and she realised, too late, that everyone apart from Lucas was still only halfway through their starters.

      ‘I’m feeling much better, thank you,’ she said, giving Tyler’s mother a tight smile. She took another tiny sip of her wine. Felicia’s frown deepened, and Dory thought, Screw it, and took a bigger gulp. As she put the glass down, Lucas reached across the table and topped up her wine. The smile she gave him, at least, was genuine. Anyone who took care of her wine needs without judgement was definitely on her side.

      As the maid cleared their starter plates, Patrick leant back in his seat at the head of the table. Feeling his eyes on her, Dory looked up. Tyler’s father made her a little uncomfortable, she had to admit. Maybe it was just that while Felicia’s disdain was evident from a mile away, Patrick tried to exude more of a friendly vibe – but she still got the feeling he was just waiting for her to trip up.

      ‘So, Dory,’ he said, lifting his own wine glass. ‘Where would you be spending Christmas this year if my son hadn’t brought you home to share the season with us?’

      A wave of homesickness hit Dory in the chest. Except she wouldn’t have been at home, would she? And Tyler’s girlfriend certainly wouldn’t have been abandoning Manhattan for Liverpool. ‘Oh, I’d still be in New York,’ she said, hoping her bright smile didn’t look as fake as it felt. ‘Probably spending the day with my girlfriends, I suppose. Drinking champagne and eating truffles.’ Or, in reality, shivering under her duvet with a cup of tea and a turkey ready-meal for one, watching the Doctor Who Christmas Special and listening to Cliff Richard.

      Across the table, Lucas gave her a disbelieving look. Apparently he thought her taste in Christmas music had given him some sort of insight into her real festive plans. Damn. She was going to have to be careful with Lucas.

      ‘Not with your family?’ Felicia asked, and Dory tried to quickly figure out exactly what she was being disapproved of for now. Was it for not spending Christmas with her family? Or for having a family who didn’t demand she spend the holidays with them or that she didn’t want to be with over the festive season? If only they knew the truth…

      ‘I’m going home to visit over New Year,’ Dory explained, as the maid brought their main courses out. Some sort of fancy duck dish with a berry sauce. It smelled wonderful. ‘It worked out better with my work commitments, and I can stay longer then.’ The total truth. She intended to make sure Tyler honoured his promise to give her a full two weeks off with her family, starting with her flight out on the 27th December. It was only when she saw Lucas wince across the table that she realised what she’d done.

      ‘So, you work, then?’ Felicia asked. Dory took a large bite of duck to help resist the urge to reply that, yes, of course she worked! Almost everybody did, these days. Except, of course, in Felicia Alexander’s world. ‘What is it that you do?’

      Dory glanced at Tyler before she answered. Lie, he mouthed. Dory took a breath. She could do that. She’d been lying to her parents about it for six months, after all.

      ‘I’m in PR,’ she said, and watched Lucas’s eyebrows rise. ‘I was brought over from the UK to work on a number of very high-profile campaigns.’ That much was true, anyway. When she’d told her boss that her fiancé was moving to New York and wanted her to go with him, Melanie had been thrilled. Apparently she’d been trying to decide between Dory and two of her colleagues to go on a secondment over at the Manhattan office of their company anyway. Dory had been her first choice, but she’d been uncertain whether she’d want to go, having just got engaged. This way, Dory could make her mark in the States and then, hopefully, secure a permanent role over there once the secondment was up. In one fell swoop, Dory had fixed Melanie’s problem and changed her whole life.

      Of course, neither of them could have predicted that, by the time the three-month secondment ended, the company would have restructured and there wouldn’t be a job left for Dory, or Melanie, in the US or UK offices.

      ‘That sounds very interesting,’ Patrick said, between mouthfuls, although he didn’t sound particularly interested. ‘We have an excellent PR team at the Alexander Corporation, you know.’

      ‘So I understand,’ Dory said. In fact, she knew first-hand. She knew exactly how much effort went into making sure that Tyler appeared at the right events, with the right person, doing the right things.

      She wondered how much the PR team would scream if they knew what she and Tyler were doing this weekend. Who would cry, if and when, they found out.

      ‘You should see if Tyler can get you a job there,’ Lucas said, and Dory narrowed her eyes at his smirk. Wasn’t he supposed to be on her side?

      ‘Oh, I don’t think that would be very appropriate,’ Felicia said, which Dory interpreted as meaning ‘she’ll be so much harder to get rid of then.’ ‘After all, what would the press make of Tyler dating a colleague?’

      Tyler choked on his wine.

      ‘This duck is delicious, Mrs Alexander,’ Dory said, in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

      ‘Well, thank you, Dory. How nice of you to say.’ She made it sound as if she’d been slaving over a hot stove all afternoon cooking it, when everyone around the table knew full well that their chef was responsible. Dory supposed it was one of those pretensions the rich liked to keep up. ‘I can see you’re certainly enjoying it.’

      Dory

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