Page 38 of A French Adventure
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Natalie rang Vivienne early one evening to finalise her holiday details and to tell her how much she was looking forward to seeing her.
‘I’m booked to fly home on the same flight as you, so I can drive you home and spend the night with you. And head back to my flat the next day.’
Before they hung up, Vivienne tentatively broached the possibility of her moving to the Riviera.
‘Maxine asked me if I’d thought about moving down here. To be honest, until she mentioned it, I hadn’t. But I do like it down here. I’ve looked at a few houses online and Maxine has already taken me to see two that weren’t right for me, but I must admit I’m seriously tempted. Would it bother you if I moved so far away?’
‘Gosh, no. I’d be a regular visitor,’ Natalie replied instantly. ‘Especially if you buy a villa with a swimming pool. I know Tim would visit often too.’
‘It’s just that after the divorce I can’t bear the thought of staying in the neighbourhood and bumping into themunexpectedly, especially in a few months when they’re pushing a pram,’ she explained.
‘They’re having a baby?’ Natalie sounded stunned down the phone and Vivienne caught her breath. Damn. Jeremy obviously hadn’t told the children about the baby yet.
‘Yes. Dad hadn’t told you?’
‘No, and he hasn’t even told us her name yet, but she’s clearly younger than him. It sounds like a classic case of a male midlife crisis and I hate them both for what they’re doing to you. Is she somebody he met through work? Do we know her?’
‘We do know her yes.’
‘I know you said Dad had to tell us himself, but come on, Mum, now I know about the baby, there is no point in you not telling me the woman’s name.’
Vivienne took a deep breath, knowing that Natalie would be upset by what she was about to tell her. ‘It’s Sadie,’ Vivienne said and waited for the explosion that was sure to come.
Instead, there was a short silence before Natalie said, ‘Your agent, Sadie Murphy?’
‘Yes.’
‘That’s great. Your so-called friend is stabbing you in the back. Twice. Once by having an affair with Dad, breaking up your marriage and making you give up your home, and secondly, by forcing you to change agents because there is no way she can continue to represent you now, is there?’
‘The problem is that even when I get a new agent, Sadie will still be dealing with, and taking her percentage from the books she has already been involved with,’ Vivienne said quietly. She knew that Jeremy’s affair with Sadie had broken more than their marriage. It was also going to have a huge impact on her professional life.
‘So that’s a third stab in the back – you’ll partly be financing her and Dad’s new life together. Mum, I don’t know what to say. Have you tackled her about it? Has she contacted you?’
‘No, I haven’t spoken to her and I have no intention of ever speaking to her again. I blocked her the day I arrived down here and I’ve tried to put her out of my mind until I’m home and then I know I’ve got to deal with it. But it’s certainly going to make life complicated.’ Vivienne sighed, knowing and dreading the fallout from Jeremy’s affair that would start landing in her lap the moment she arrived home.
‘Well, I just hope neither she nor Dad expect me to play happy families with them when the baby arrives.’
‘It’s not the baby’s fault,’ Vivienne said gently. ‘Your dad was never a hands-on father and this time round at his age, it’s going to be even harder.’
‘Good. A bit of karma being dished out then.’
The call ended shortly afterwards, a subdued Natalie leaving Vivienne feeling cross with herself for being the one to tell her the name of Jeremy’s new woman. He should have told the children himself, both about Sadie and the baby.
She and Sadie had first met at a publishers party about eight years ago. Sadie, in her late twenties at the time, had recently joined a prestigious agency and was being hailed as a rising star. She’d bounded over to Vivienne, all shiny hair and trendy clothes, congratulating her on her latest bestseller before saying that she’d heard Vivienne was looking for an agent and that they should talk. ‘I’ll phone you tomorrow and we’ll talk.’
Forty-eight hours later, Vivienne had signed with the agency, delighted to have Sadie as her new agent. For eight years as Sadie’s star had indeed risen and she became a well-respected agent, Vivienne’s own life had changed alongside Sadie’s as her books became increasingly popular.
Never for one moment had Vivienne ever thought it would all end like this.
When Thierry told Maxine he would be out for the evening so not to worry about supper for him, she rang Olivia and Vivienne and invited them both over. Leonie had not yet replied to her email and Maxine knew that if she was alone for the evening, she’d drink too much wine and upset herself with depressing thoughts and worry about what the future would hold.
It was a typical balmy summer evening on the French Riviera as Olivia and Vivienne walked to Maxine’s together.
‘I’m going to miss this weather when I return home,’ Vivienne said. ‘The evenings are rarely as balmy at home as they are here. Sitting out on your roof terrace at eleven o’clock at night has been so lovely.’
‘Has Maxine showed you any interesting properties yet? She did mention that you were thinking of relocating down here and she was looking around for something suitable for you.’
