Page 48 of Broken Beyond Repair
She could see how it would be easier to move on and leave Beatrice believing there was something wrong with her rather than dealing with the issue, but it didn’t make it right. Yes, her employer was difficult, yet she was nothing a good PA couldn’t handle. Her own words to Beatrice, suggesting she drove her PAs away, taunted her. This was wrong, all wrong. She could feel her body vibrating at the injustice of it. Poor Beatrice. She couldn’t be the one to stand by and do nothing. Beatrice deserved more than that.
CHAPTER19
“This bloody cast. It makes me feel old and pathetic.” Beatrice exhaled, relaxing back into her chair as she marvelled at the sparkling chandeliers and marble columns in one of the most stylish dining rooms in the world. The Ritz was her top choice when it came to eating out.
“I suggested a wheelchair,” Alison said with atold you sotilt of the head.
“That would have been a winner at the audition; a woman over fifty in a wheelchair. It was bad enough on crutches. You know what these directors are like—one whiff of a lame duck and they might as well have you taken out and shot. I think it went well; they made the right noises anyway.”
“Well, I think you’re looking fabulous, even with the cast,” Alison said, taking a sip of champagne the instant the waiter finished pouring it into her glass.
Beatrice flashed her a smile of thinly veiled gratitude.
It took a lot of effort to make herself ‘audience ready’, and this morning was no different. She’d lowered herself to the floor in front of the bath and kneeled on a cushion to use the shower attachment to wash her hair. With a blow dry and hairspray, she’d whipped it into shape. It took well over an hour sitting at her dressing table to achieve it and then to apply her makeup. From the glimpse of Sydney’s mouth opening when she’d walked into her bedroom that morning, she approved too.
Beatrice wasn’t going to let her leg hold her back from pulling out all the stops for the audition, an audition that frankly shouldn’t have been necessary for an actress of her calibre. There was a time when parts were written for her, and no one would have dared ask her to audition. Now it was a case of seeing if they could get away with using her for roles younger than she was.
“How are you and Sydney rubbing along?” Alison asked. “She seems nice.”
“You only said hello on the ride over; it’s hardly enough to judge fairly.”
“Is she not nice then?”
Beatrice pondered her agent’s question as she sipped her drink.Nice. The worst word in the dictionary. Was that a word to describe Sydney? No. It was way off. Sydney was honest, caring, reliable, and hardworking. Her empathy and compassion could use some work, considering how she’d thrown accusations at Beatrice about her lifestyle. As for Sydney’s insinuations regarding her behaviour, yes, she was demanding. Could Beatrice go about voicing her demands differently? Perhaps. Did she find her PAs that little more efficient when she was barking orders? Also yes. If the only thing she could rely upon from a PA was that they would up and leave, wasn’t it better to make them as efficient as possible in the time she had? This nonsense about her driving them away, did Sydney not think she’d tried to be pleasant? They left anyway. Niceties proved to be fruitless.
“Bea?” Alison shot her a quizzical look, still waiting for an answer. “If her PA skills match her writing skills, I think you’re onto a winner. She doesn’t strike me as the usual airhead.”
Beatrice sighed, tilting her head as she rolled her eyes. “I’ve come to realise that.”
“What’s happened?”
“We’ve had a falling-out of sorts.”
“I thought I sensed some tension on the way here,” Alison said, her lips tightened in amusement. “Is it normal PA tension or something else?”
She wasn’t about to reveal Sydney’s thoughts on her behaviour; Alison would laugh and agree with the younger woman.
“Nothing I can’t sort. It happened shortly after Peter left.”
“I told you not to let him wind you up!” Alison chided. “He does it on purpose, you know.”
“I’m well aware. It doesn’t make it any easier to prevent. He’s heard about the book. The publishers announced it, which I would have known if my PA dared to follow social media. You know he has an alert on his phone to tell him whenever my name is mentioned. Now he’s demanding royalties.”
“The bastard. The amount of money he’s wasted of yours. He should have cut and run ages ago.”
Beatrice sighed and took a sip from her glass. “He’s like a noose around my neck, Ali, and he’s not going to stop until he’s squeezed everything from me, including my last breath.”
“You don’t need the money, do you?”
“No,” Beatrice said with a shake of the head.
“So give the royalties away. Give them to someone he wouldn’t dare take it from — put them in trust for Alex.”
With a glint in her eye, Beatrice grinned. “Checkmate. I doubt it will move me any closer to a signed divorce paper, though. He’ll find another reason to delay.”
As their food arrived, discussions of Peter ended; she didn’t want to waste another breath on him.
“I arranged for a clearance company to deal with your father’s house,” Alison said, stuffing a forkful of sea bass into her mouth.
