Page 12 of The Christmas Holiday
Chapter Four
‘How was it?’ Lorelei asked, emerging from her bedroom dressed in a silk kimono as I slid the security chain on the door and kicked off my shoes.
I flopped face down on the sofa, burying my head in the myriad cushions that seemed to multiply the moment I turned my back.
‘Ugh.’
‘That good, huh?’
I added one slow hand flap for emphasis before wriggling around andlying on my back, staring at the ceiling. Lorelei threw a few cushions down and sat on them on the floor beside me. She reached over and held my hand.
‘Want to talk about it?’
I rolled my head from side to side and one of the tears I’d been holding in escaped.
‘Oh, honey,’ Lorelei said, softly, handing me a tissue.
‘He hates me. He did everything he could to get me off the assignmentbecause he thinks I’m not up to the job, and because he doesn’t want to have to spend time with me.’
‘I’m sure that’s not really the case. Did he actually say that?’
‘Yes. Pretty much with those exact words.’
‘Oh.’
I swiped at my eyes and nose with the tissue. ‘Yeah. Maybe he’s right. Tonight was bad enough. How are we going to spend the next two months together, trying to capturethis romantic journey, when all he wants to do is turn his back on me?’
‘OK. That’s it. Sit up.’
I made a protesting sort of noise but once Lorelei decided on something, it tended to happen. I sat up.
‘You listen to me, Mia Walker. Olivia and her fiancé chose you to do this job. She still wants you, right?’
I sniffed. ‘Yeah. She was really nice, actually. Not what I expected atall.’
‘Right. Good. Then that’s all that matters.’
‘But she just reads my wedding coverage pieces. She’s not experienced in the field like…’ I stopped because Lorelei was looking at me like she was thinking of having me committed. ‘What?’
‘Do you think you’d have been allowed anywhere near this job – whatever Olivia said – if Jeremy didn’t think you could do it? Sandeep Singh is nota man to waste money. He’s a really savvy guy and Jeremy doesn’t take shit from anyone. There’s no way you’d be doing this if either of them thought you were as flaky as you’re trying to sound!’
‘I’m not trying to sound flaky! You didn’t see the way he looks at her. She could ask for the moon and he’d have it gift-wrapped and delivered by dinner time! It’s sickeningly adorable! Getting thewriter she wants wouldn’t be something he’d even think twice about, I’m sure.’
‘He’ll have checked you out and spoken to her father. I know these sorts of guys. Hell, I dated one for two years. Believe me, they don’t do anything without checking it out first, especially when it involves money.’
‘I guess.’
‘You guess right. You’re a great writer. Hunter Scott’s just got a stick up hisass because you dumped him. He has no right to try and get you replaced with his girlfriend because of that. It certainly isn’t professional.’
‘I think he makes an exception for me. From everything Jeremy said, professionalism is his middle name.’
‘Was he an ass all evening?’
‘No,’ I said, closing my eyes, ‘not all of it. Mostly he just ignored me if it was possible. And he did stopthe cab driver strangling me…’
‘What!’
My eyes flew open. ‘Oh! No! My scarf. I shut it in the taxi door and he drove off and it was… Hunter caught me and stopped the cab.’
‘Right. There you go then!’
‘What?’
‘Well, he clearly doesn’t want you dead, so that’s a start.’
‘Right.’ I wasn’t sure that the fact he didn’t mind if I was alive was a whole lot to grab on to but Ididn’t have much else. ‘I need to go to bed,’ I said, giving her a hug. ‘Thanks for everything.’ With that I went tramping off in the direction of the bedroom.
I closed the door and heard Lorelei’s close just after. Moments later, sounds began drifting through the flat. Sounds I most definitely recognised the tone of – although unfortunately not from any recent, firsthand experience. I fellon the bed fully clothed and pulled the pillow down over my head. The tension with Hunter aside, at least this assignment, taking in as it did destinations like India, Malaysia and LA, would not only get me away from a grey and cold London for a while, but hopefully might also have the added benefit of affording me a few solid weeks of undisturbed sleep.
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