Page 27 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
Daisy shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Was she implying that James would fire people so he could hang on to his job? Laura rarely mentioned James but, sometimes, she noticed, she could be quite dismissive of him. It was strange, she thought. Laura didn’t know James that well, and he’d certainly never done anything to hurt her. Better to change the subject.
“Mum was asking after you at lunch yesterday.”
Laura visibly brightened. “How is she? I love your mum!”
“Yeah, she’s great.” Daisy sighed. “Until that second glass of homemade wine, when she’ll start lecturing you about the perils of early menopause and the wisdom of freezing your eggs.”
Laura shot her a slightly odd look, and Daisy wondered if she’d overshared. Probably! It was one of the downsides of having parents who overshared – sometimes it was a bit hard to establish boundaries. She cleared her throat, and added hurriedly, “They’re planning this massive anniversary party in early June for their fortieth wedding anniversary. Rosie has already started planning it. The woman loves a project!”
“Good for them,” Laura said vaguely, peering towards the door.
“What about you? How was your weekend?”
Laura sighed. “I saw my own mum. She asked if I wanted to go out for lunch with her on Sunday.”
“Um, just you, or ...?” Daisy had always got the feeling that Laura’s mother wasn’t Brian’s biggest fan, but what mother invited her daughter to lunch on Sunday without inviting her son-in-law? Although even Laura had a tricky relationship with her, Daisy knew.
“Just the two of us,” Laura said. “It was her birthday, so we went out to her favourite French restaurant.” She glanced towards the door again. “Where’s Fionn? I was going to ask him to get me a decaf.”
“He’s at the dentist. I’ll get the coffees.”
Daisy stood. Laura yawned.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t be better off with the real thing?” Daisy said.
Laura shook her head. “I’ve started to train for the marathon. So I’m changing my diet a bit, and cutting out caffeine.”
Daisy stared at her. “You’re running a marathon? Like, the big one? That’s twenty-six miles!”
“I know how long it is.” Laura smoothed back her hair. “Brian’s been training since last year, and he asked me to do it with him. Anyway, I’ve been doing the park run for ages. I’ll be ready.”
“Okay.” Daisy frowned. “I’d no idea.”
Laura shrugged. “Sorry I didn’t mention it.”
“No, no – I’m just a bit surprised.” That was definitely the sort of thing you mentioned to a friend, Daisy thought, trying not to feel annoyed.
She was coming back with the coffees when she bumped into Fionn.
“Hey, Fionn, I can get you one of these if you like.”
He put a hand over one side of his mouth and shook his head.
Daisy grinned. “Okay, maybe let the anaesthetic wear off first.”
They walked up the double flight of stairs to the office, just as Laura was coming out of the bathroom, her eyes noticeably puffy.
Daisy said nothing as she placed the decaf on Laura’s desk.
“So, a bit of news,” Laura said, sitting back down. “I’ve been asked to do a job for a friend of mine – Stephanie.”
Daisy looked up. “Have I met her?”
“Nope. She used to do the park run – it’s how we met. Unfortunately, she’s now expecting triplets, so her life is about to come to an end. And I’ve got to pull off some miracle on their teensy budget. To be honest, I don’t know why they’re even hiring me.”
“Why are they?” Daisy noticed Laura’s expression. “No, I get it that you guys are friends but, if they’re that stuck for money, why aren’t they saving it for baby stuff?”
“Because her parents are giving her the money, with the promise that she uses it on the house.” Laura raised an eyebrow. “They also seem to think that we work for the love of it and don’t actually need to be paid properly.’
