Page 3 of Persuading Penny
“Indeed, I am. That is...” I put my arm around Abbie. “We are. We both worked on that, and we will be working together again on this one.”
“That’s amazing.”
“What is it that you do here in Bath?”Abbie said.
“Oh, nothing as exciting and glamourous as you. I’m a financial advisor.”
“Really?”I said with increased interest in the girl. “Do you work full time?”
“No, actually. I’ve recently been reduced to working only twenty hours a week,” she lamented. “And the timing couldn’t be worse.” Rolling her eyes back, she waved her lamentation away. “Never mind that. Things will get on course again, I’m certain of it.”
“Well,” I said, “things just may geton course againsooner than you think. We need someone with accounting skills for our administration department. Would you be interested?”
Her eyes went wide with surprise, her jaw fell, and her breathing was suddenly shallow, almost non-existent. “Please tell me that you are not toying with me.”
“I am quite serious,” I said. “And if we can have another Jane Austen fan on board, well, that’s all the better.”
She held her hand out to me. “Then I’m in. I’m all in.”
ONE
Penny
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Thrilled by Keely’soffer, I’d walked home on a pleasurable cloud of pride. It’d been painful to share with my parents the greatly diminished salary I would, from now on, be bringing home.
Mum had cried, her fears of losing her beloved home fully expressed. And Dad...more conservative with his displays of emotion...he’d merely walked out, without a word.
And the subject of my salary was never again discussed.
But on arriving at Copperfield House, I was reluctant to share the good news with my father. What if the job offer didn’t come through? What if I raised his hopes only to disappoint him again. And Mum...no. It was unthinkable. I had to ensure that I’d secured the job before saying a word to either of them.
Keely and I hadn’t even discussed my wages. Would it be enough to cover the hours I no longer worked at the firm? Or would it still leave me with a considerable deficit?
No. Only once I’d begun to work for Keely Lee would I make the announcement to my father and mother.
