Can You Keep A Secret?

'It was quite touching, really. It was all about how the Panther Corporation felt like his family,

and how he knew we would all support him through this difficult time. And you, of course,'

she adds as an afterthought. 'Although since you were the one who broke it off, Co

really the wounded party.' She leans forward confidentially. 'I have to say, a lot of the girls

were saying you must have a screw loose!'

I ca

quiet. And now everyone's on his side.

'Right,' I say at last. 'Well, I'd better get on-'

'It just seems such a shame.' Nancy eyes me inquisitively. 'You two seemed so perfect!'

'I know we did.' I force a smile. 'Anyway. See you later.'

I head for the new coffee machine and am staring into space, trying to get my head round this,

when a tremulous voice interrupts me.

'Emma?' I look up and my heart sinks. It's Katie, staring at me as though I've grown three

heads.

'Oh hi!' I say, trying to sound breezy.

'Is it true?' she whispers. 'Is it true? Because I won't believe it's true until I hear you say it with

your own lips.'

'Yes,' I say reluctantly. 'It's true. Co

'Oh God.' Katie's breathing becomes quicker and quicker. 'Oh my God. It's true. Oh my God,

oh my God, I really can't cope with this…'

Shit. She's hyperventilating. I grab an empty sugar bag and shove it over her mouth.

'Katie, calm down!' I say helplessly. 'Breathe in… and out…'

'I've been having panic attacks all weekend,' she manages, between breaths. 'I woke up last

night in a cold sweat and I just thought to myself, if this is true, the world doesn't make sense

any more. It simply makes no sense.'

'Katie, we broke up! That's all. People break up all the time.'

'But you and Co

why should any of the rest of us bother even trying?'

'Katie, we weren't the couple!' I say, trying to keep my temper. 'We were a couple. And it

went wrong, and… and these things happen.'

'But-'

'And to be honest, I'd rather not talk about it.'

'Oh,' she says, and stares at me over the bag. 'Oh God, of course. Sorry, Emma. I didn't… I

just… you know, it was such a shock!'

'Come on, you haven't told me how your date with Phillip went yet,' I say firmly. 'Cheer me

up with some good news.'

Katie's breathing has gradually calmed, and she removes the bag from her face.

'Actually, it went really well,' she says. 'We're going to see each other again!'

'Well there you go,' I say encouragingly.

'He's so charming. And gentle. And we have the same sense of humour, and we like the same

things.' A bashful smile spreads across Katie's face. 'In fact, he's lovely!'

'He sounds wonderful! You see?' I squeeze her arm. 'You and Phillip will probably be a far

better couple than Co

'No thanks, I've got to go. We've got a meeting with Jack Harper about perso

'OK, see you,' I say absently.

About five seconds later, my brain clicks into gear.

'Wait a second.' I hurry down the corridor and grab her shoulder. 'Did you just say Jack

Harper?'

'Yes.'

'But… but he's gone. He left on Friday.'

'No he didn't. He changed his mind.'

I stare at her in disbelief.

'He changed his mind?'

'Yes.'

'So…' I swallow. 'So he's here?'

'Of course he's here!' says Katie with a laugh. 'He's upstairs.'

Suddenly my legs won't work properly.

'Why…' I clear my throat, which has gone a little husky. 'Why did he change his mind?'

'Who knows?' Katie shrugs. 'He's the boss. He can do what he likes, can't he? Mind you, he

seems very down to earth.' She reaches into her pocket for a packet of gum, and offers it to

me. 'He was really nice to Co

I feel a fresh jolt.

'Jack Harper heard Co

'Yes! He was standing right next to him.' Katie unwraps her gum. 'And afterwards he said

something really nice like he could just imagine how Co

I need to sit down. I need to think. I need to…

'Emma, are you OK?' says Katie in dismay. 'God, I'm so insensitive-'

'No. It's fine,' I say dazedly. 'I'm fine. I'll see you later.'

My mind is whirling as I walk into the marketing department.

This is not the way it was supposed to happen. Jack Harper was supposed to be back in

America. He was supposed to have no idea that I went straight home from our conversation

and chucked Co

I feel a smart of humiliation. He'll think I chucked Co

the lift, won't he? He'll think it was all because of him. Which it wasn't. It so wasn't.

At least, not completely…

Maybe that's why…

No. It's ridiculous to think that his staying has anything to do with me. Ridiculous. I don't

know why I'm so jumpy.

As I near my desk, Artemis looks up from a copy of Marketing Week.

'Oh Emma. I was sorry to hear about you and Co

'Thanks,' I say. 'But I don't really want to talk about it if that's OK.'

'Fine,' says Artemis. 'Whatever. I was just being polite.' She looks at a Post-It on her desk.

'There's a message for you from Jack Harper, by the way.'

'What?' I start.

Shit. I didn't mean to sound so rattled. 'I mean, what is it?' I add more calmly.

'Could you please take the -' She squints at the paper. '— the Leopold file to his office. He said

you'd know what it was. But if you can't find it, it doesn't matter.'

I stare at her, my heart hammering in my chest.

The Leopold file.

It was just an excuse to get away from our desks…

It's a secret code. He wants to see me.

Oh my God. Oh my God.

I have never been more excited and thrilled and petrified. All at once.

I sit down and stare at my blank screen for a minute. Then with trembling fingers I take out a

blank file. I wait until Artemis has turned away, then write 'Leopold' on the side of it, trying to

disguise my handwriting.

Now what do I do?

Well, it's obvious. I take it upstairs to his office.

Unless… Oh fuck. Am I being really, really stupid here? Is there a real Leopold file?

Hastily I go into the company database and do a quick search for 'Leopold'. But nothing

comes up.

OK. I was right first time.

I'm about to push my chair back when I suddenly have a paranoid thought. What if someone

stops me and asks what the Leopold file is? Or what if I drop it on the floor and everyone sees

it's empty?

Quickly, I open a new document, invent a fancy letterhead and type a letter from a Mr Ernest

P. Leopold to the Panther Corporation. I send it over to print, stroll over to the printer and

whisk it out before anyone else can see what it is. Not that anyone else is remotely interested.

'Right,' I say casually, tucking it into the cardboard folder. 'Well, I'll just take that file up, then

…'

Artemis doesn't even raise her head.

As I walk along the corridors my stomach is churning, and I feel all prickly and self-conscious,

as though everyone in the building must know what I'm doing. There's a lift waiting to go up,

but I head for the stairs, firstly so I won't have to talk to anyone and secondly because my

heart's beating so fast, I feel like I need to use up a bit of nervous energy.

Why does Jack Harper want to see me? Because if it's to tell me he was right all along about