sneered at the carry case. ‘No animals in the office,’ he said. ‘Clause 13.5b on our lease. He’ll need to be removed immediately.’
Mandi waved Dominic away. ‘Oh, get a life,’ she said. ‘It’s not as though he’s running wild, chewing the table legs and weeing up your trousers. Besides, it’s essential Ellie is present at this meeting.’
Dominic’s jaw tensed before he followed Mandi, Rupert and I into the meeting room.
Once we were all seated, Mandi flipped open her laptop. I smiled at her, quietly hoping she was about to unveil an e-petition for which she had solicited a hundred thousand client signatures objecting to my relocation.
She stood up and cleared her throat. ‘Eighty per cent of our matchmaking workforce is women,’ she began.
Dominic sighed and checked his watch.
‘Forty-three per cent of those are mothers,’ she continued.
Dominic rolled his eyes.
‘Our maternity package is grim.’ She looked down and started rubbing her tummy. ‘We offer little more than statutory pay, no child-care benefits and no additional support to mothers at all.’
Dominic sat back in his chair and stretched his arms above his head. He let out an extended sigh. ‘Have you got something to tell us, Mandi?’
She ignored him. ‘If our business is about bringing couples together, then surely our business should also be about preventing couples from separating.’
I leaned forward.
Mandi continued. ‘If we don’t support the family unit, then how can we say we are supporting the couple?’
Dominic sighed again. ‘So let’s cut to the chase, what do you propose?’
Mandi smoothed down her blonde flicks and pressed some keys on her laptop. ‘I’ll email you my full proposal, but, in short, I would like us to provide on-site childcare, flexi-working hours, extended holidays, extra sick pay when children are poorly, priority parking for pregnant women and breast-feeding stations in the office.’
He laughed again. ‘How about prenatal yoga while we’re at it? Or nappy bins in the meeting rooms. A jungle gym in the lobby?’
Mandi scowled at him.
‘What about paternity rights too?’ I interrupted. ‘One of my closest friends is a house husband.’
Dominic rolled his eyes. ‘Men shouldn’t be looking after babies.’
Mandi and I both stared at him.
Dominic shrugged his shoulders. ‘We’re not built for it,’ he said. ‘We don’t have the hormones or the attributes.’ He nodded to my chest and raised his eyebrows. ‘We were meant for world domination, not bottle feeding and nose wiping,’ he said.
I glanced at Mandi, whose mouth was wide open, then back at Dominic.
Dominic smirked. ‘Although the breast-feeding station sounds intriguing.’
I shook my head and stood up to leave.
Dominic followed me. ‘Oh, by the way, Ellie,’ he said, ‘the investors rejected your request.’
I turned to face him. ‘What request?’
‘The request to conduct your research from the UK.’
I stepped back. ‘I wasn’t aware I had formally requested that yet. I didn’t even know a meeting had been scheduled.’
He leaned forward and squeezed my shoulder. ‘I sent you an email. The meeting was this morning,’ he said. ‘You missed it, while you were tending to—’ he glanced down at Rupert, who was now sleeping in his carry case ‘—your dependant.’
That night Nick and I sat in bed together with Rupert nestled between us. Nick had insisted Rupert not be left alone with the weird heartbeat toy on his first night with us.
‘Dogs are pack animals,’ he’d said, seemingly trying to justify his sentimental side. ‘They feel insecure unless the alpha dog is there to protect them.’
A lengthy debate as to whether Rupert would view me or Nick as his pack leader followed, before our conversation moved on to the topic of New York. It wasn’t long until my arms were folded. ‘How many times do I have to say this? I’m not leaving my clients,’ I said.
Nick raised his eyebrows. ‘You don’t have any clients any more. When was the last time you actually did any matchmaking?’
‘The business needs me.’
‘You can work from New York.’
‘Well, I’m not leaving Rupert.’
‘Oh, come on, Ellie. You’re not going to let the perceived needs of a nine-week-old canine come between us and our future happiness.’
I stared at Nick. ‘Sorry, whose future happiness?’
He stared back at me.
‘Besides,’ I continued, ‘he’s our responsibility now. There’s no way I would consider rehoming him. He’s been through enough turmoil in his little life already.’
Nick smirked. ‘I wasn’t suggesting that for a second. We would take him with us.’
I glanced at Rupert, then back at Nick. ‘What sort of life would he have in Manhattan?’
Nick laughed. ‘Ellie, we have a Brooklyn budget. I was thinking Park Slope.’ He picked up his iPad and showed me an image on the screen. It looked nice enough, but there seemed to be lots of traffic.
‘What about the pollution?’ I asked.
‘We live hundred metres from the South Circular. I suspect there is a higher concentration of sulphur dioxide on Battersea Rise than there is on Broadway.’
I glanced down at Rupert. ‘I just want to give him the best life we can.’
Nick rolled his eyes. ‘Are you going to fret about his schooling now? Or the cultural clash he might face when integrating with native American breeds?’ He laughed again, though louder this time. ‘Do you think the Brooklyn street dogs are going to back him into a corner, mug him of his grain-free puppy snacks, and say, “Hey, Stan, we’ve got us a Sporting Lucas here. He says he’s from Engerland.”’
I folded my arms more tightly across my chest. ‘What about my friends?’
‘You’ve seen Cordelia once in the past year.’
‘It’s not my fault she chose to move to Woldingham.’
Nick rolled his eyes. ‘You hardly ever see Kat because she lives north of the river. And when was the last time you saw Matthew?’
‘Last Friday actually.’
Nick
