Nemesis by Louise Marley

the little buttons on his shirt. “Wouldn’t you rather stay in? I could order a takeaway, or even cook something. Would you like that?”
    It seemed to take him a moment to register what she was saying. “But the restaurant is already booked and it’s right next to the theatre … ”
    He sounded so disappointed, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She couldn’t even remember the name of the play they were supposed to be going to see. She let a second finger join the first, sliding beneath the fabric and making contact with the warmth of his skin.
    “Are you seriously turning down a night with me in favour of a boring old play?”
    “I’m supposed to be preparing a talk about it for the 6 th form. I can’t cancel.”
    “You would go without me?” And when he didn’t reply immediately, she withdrew her fingers from inside his shirt. “Simon?”
    “It is my job, Natalie. Of course I’d rather spend an evening with you. But if we go to the theatre together we’ll be able to do both.”
    “You’re quite right,” she said, careful to keep her voice light. “Let’s go.”
    He regarded her uncertainly but was wise enough to say nothing more. But as he opened the door there was an unexpected creak behind them, and the door to her study swung slowly ajar in an almost supernatural style.
    Natalie could hardly believe her bad luck. Simon now had an uninterrupted view of her desk.
    He frowned and released the door, letting it close with a soft click.
    “What’s in that box?” he asked.
    “What box?”
    He raised one brow. “The one on your desk?”
    “Is it important?”
    He stared back at her. Evidently it was.
    “It contains china,” she said. “I ordered it online. It’s a new dinner service, in white, with a blue border - ”
    He held up his hand to stop her talking, exactly as though she was one of his students. “Why isn’t it in the kitchen?”
    “Phil brought it up a couple of minutes ago. Maybe you passed him outside? I didn’t want to make him hang about so I asked him to put it on the first available surface. Which was - ” she gestured in the direction of her study, “ - my desk.”
    “You let Phil into your study? Into your apartment? What were you thinking?”
    “I’m thinking he’s a very kind man,” she said evenly. “He carried that heavy box all the way up from the lobby. He didn’t have to do that.”
    “I expect he wanted to ingratiate himself with a famous author,” Simon said. “You can’t invite strangers into your home like that, Natalie. Anything could have happened.”
    And they both knew to which ‘anything’ he was referring.
    She took a deep breath. “Simon, I know you only want to protect me, but perhaps we need to get a few things straight? If I want to wear short skirts, I shall. If I want to invite the staff into my apartment, I shall. If I want to order new china without your approval, I shall. If you want to check it over, go ahead. Unpack it all if it’s bothering you that much. It has to be washed before I can put it away and right now I’m too busy. So if you want to go to the theatre, let’s stop talking about it and go.”
    She took a sideways step around him and through the front door; which slammed, leaving her on the other side of it. A calculated risk or certain disaster? She jabbed the call button on the lift. Any other man could have fallen over the damned box and not realised its significance. Simon, damn him, saw everything.
    Far below she heard machinery whirr as the lift began its ascent. The illuminated numbers above her head counted up from G. She was tapping her foot on the tiled floor, faster and faster, without even realising she was doing it.
    Where was Simon? Unpacking the box? It was what she would have done. What would he say when he saw her book? Despite her protestations to Charles, anyone who knew her well would be able to work out that she’d based the story on her sister’s murder. The similarities were there if