A Year of Taking Chances

by Jennifer Bohnet

  Chapter Fourteen

  Travelling into work on the bus, Tina relished the thought that her daily commute would soon be a thing of the past. Today was the day. Her resignation letter in its creamy white envelope was currently in her bag ready to be handed over first thing. She’d gone over and over the little speech she intended to make as she handed the letter to Kirsty. Would Kirsty even be bothered she was leaving?

  They’d been friends before Tina had joined the agency; not best, best friends but close enough. Kirsty had been full of enthusiasm, promises, muttering about partnerships, bonuses, growing the agency together. Eight years of working side by side had changed the dynamics of their relationship though.

  These days the annual bonus was the only constant out of those promises, and that had decreased in value over the last few years because, as Kirsty put it, ‘book buying ain’t what it was’. She’d even gone on to point out last year that few of the authors Tina handled had been bestsellers. Tina had retaliated by pointing out the bonus was based on the agency’s overall figures, not just hers alone, and not one of Kirsty’s authors had written a runaway bestseller either. Kirsty had turned on her heels and stalked off without another word. Thinking about it now, Tina realised things had never really recovered from that conversation.

  As the bus pulled up outside a furniture shop, through the window Tina glimpsed a designer-created bedroom, all creamy carpets and top-of-the-range furniture. She smiled to herself. Maybe in about ten years she’d have a bedroom like that but right now her home office was already taking shape in the corner of her bedroom and it was more shabby chic, without the chic, than designer.

  Calling the space she’d cleared by the window her ‘office’ was a bit presumptuous really. It lacked even the basic necessities like a desk and a chair, but she was confident she could find those down at the weekly flea market in the next few weeks before she launched her agency on the world. She didn’t need anything fancy, just something to put her laptop on, a set of drawers and a filing cabinet, and her office would be set to go.

  She’d work on her laptop in the sitting room while she set everything up and worked out her notice with Kirsty, but she was determined to be as professional as possible from the very beginning and that meant having a dedicated workspace for her business as soon as possible. Any meetings with clients would have to take place over coffee or lunch in a convenient restaurant.

  Remembering Kirsty’s remark about book buying, Tina sighed. Was she doing the right thing going solo in the current market? Everybody knew publishing was in a state of flux at the moment. Maybe she should just stay put or look for a job with another agency. Even with a loan from Jodie things would be tight for the first year. And that was always supposing Jodie had been serious about her offer. She hadn’t even managed to speak to her about it yet.

  Stepping off the bus for the short walk to the office, Tina squared her shoulders. Starting a new business was always going to be a risk – whatever the state of the economy. If she didn’t go for it now, that rut she was in would just get deeper and deeper until it swallowed her.

  Both Kirsty and Leah were in the office when she arrived. ‘Good morning,’ she said, walking past them to her office. Placing her bag on the desk she took out the envelope and walked back to them.

  ‘Kirsty, I need to give you this. It’s a month’s notice,’ she said, holding out the envelope. ‘You know I’ve always wanted to run my own agency – well, I’ve decided to go for it.’ She saw the shock register on Kirsty’s face before she pulled herself together, accepted the envelope and shrugged.

  ‘OK. I accept.’ Turning on her heel, Kirsty walked away with the unopened letter.

  Tina made her way to her own office, unsure of how she felt about Kirsty’s non-reaction. Had she expected her to protest, to ask her to stay? To wish her luck? No, but the complete indifference shown to her news hurt. A lot. The next month was going to be difficult.

  She sat down at her desk, switched on the computer and began to read her emails. Barely five minutes later, Kirsty appeared in front of her.

  ‘I’ve been thinking. I don’t want you here for a month. I think it’s better if you go today. Take some gardening leave.’

  Before Tina could reply, Kirsty continued.

  ‘I’ll tell accounts to pay you to the end of the month and any holiday money you’re owed.’

  ‘What about notifying my clients?’

  ‘We’ll do that – and don’t think you can take any of them with you. Which reminds me. That time-slip? Hand the details over to Leah. She can handle that one from now.’ And Kirsty left.

  Stunned, Tina sat for a few moments before slowly gathering her things together. She knew there had never been a realistic chance of her signing the time-slip author for her new agency but it hurt that Leah was going to be dealing with her. The only good thing to come out of being told to leave immediately was the fact she was due some holiday pay. She’d completely forgotten about that. It could go in the bank and give her a little bit more of a cushion while she established her new agency.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Walking hand in hand with Ben around Cannes Marina admiring the boats, Jodie felt ridiculously happy. Ever since he’d finished his book, life with Ben had been good and this weekend down on the Riviera had been magical. How could she ever have thought she’d made a mistake in marrying Ben?

  ‘How about we buy a boat to live on rather than a house?’ Ben said now as they stopped in front of a yacht with a for sale notice attached to the chain stretched across its gangplank. ‘We could travel the world. Go wherever and whenever we felt like it.’

  Jodie shook her head. ‘I’m the world’s worst sailor, I’m afraid. I prefer terra firma. Travelling does sound fun, though.’

  ‘A camper van then,’ Ben said as they walked on.

  ‘Maybe but I think we need a house first. Somewhere to put down roots.’

  ‘Tomorrow we’ll start house-hunting seriously,’ Ben said. ‘Do you like the thought of staying up in the country or would you prefer to move down here?’

  Jodie didn’t have to think twice. ‘I love where we are. And you won’t want to move too far from Annette, will you? Although she does have lots of friends – and Thierry,’ she added, watching Ben’s face darken as she mentioned Thierry’s name.

  ‘Least said about that man the better,’ Ben said.

  ‘That’s a bit OTT,’ Jodie said. ‘He’s a perfectly respectable man and your mum likes him a lot.’ Remembering the conversation with Annette she said, ‘You should be pleased she has a friend like him. She must have been lonely after your dad died.’

  Ben sighed. ‘I know. But it just seems too convenient. Dad dies and, within a year, Thierry moves back. Why didn’t he return when his wife died a few years ago? Why the sudden need to find his roots again?’

  ‘Maybe because he’s getting older, or maybe it wasn’t the right time then to return. What did he do down in Toulouse?’

  Ben shrugged. ‘Not sure. Something to do with aviation, I think. It’s a big centre down there for technology and planes.’

  ‘Anyway, your mum likes him a lot. She wants everyone to be friends,’ Jodie said, choosing her words with care.

  ‘Being friends is fine. It’s what he might do next that worries me. Mum can be pretty naive.’

  Jodie smothered a laugh. ‘Annette is so not naive. She’s one of the most savvy people I’ve ever met. Besides, naive or not, if it’s a mistake for her to be friends with Thierry, it’s her mistake to make – not yours. Personally, I don’t believe it is a mistake. If she were my mum I’d be happy for her.’

  She fingered the pendant chain around her neck. ‘For years I wanted my mum to meet someone, to have someone special in her life other than me. We’ve got each other now to spend the rest of our lives with. Why would you want to condemn Annette to living a lonely existence for the rest of her life?’

  Ben had the grace to look ashamed and squeezed her hand before say
ing, ‘You’re right. I’m being selfish. Thierry and Papa were best friends from school so he can’t be all bad if Papa liked him at one time.’ He hesitated. ‘I can’t tell you why they fell out but I suppose, as it was so long ago, it’s best forgotten. I promise to be nicer to Thierry next time I see him. Now, I think we’d better start to make our way home before the autoroute gets clogged with afternoon traffic.’

  Two hours later, as they approached the turnoff for the village, Ben said, ‘Are you coming to Mum’s with me to collect Tess? Or do you want me to drop you home first?’

  ‘Can you drop me at The Taste of the Countryside, please? I need a couple of things for supper. I’ll walk up afterwards.’

  ‘Sure. Invite Nicola and Gilles up for supper one night next week?’

  Nicola, talking to a tall, fair-haired man as she packed his purchases in a bag, called out ‘Bonjour’ as Jodie pushed the door open.

  Not wanting to interrupt, she took a basket and began to place the few things she wanted in it. Local apple juice, honey and a bottle of tomato sauce for the spaghetti Bolognese she intended to make for supper later.

  As she approached the counter to pay, the man was asking Nicola the way to a village up in the higher mountains and scribbling down the directions as she gave them to him.

  ‘I thought my French was pretty good,’ he said. ‘But nobody around here seems to understand me.’ He laughed. ‘My Aussie twang must confuse them.’

  ‘You need a sat nav,’ Jodie said.

  ‘Sure do. The hire car was supposed to have one but…’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Still, it’s not like the Outback here – plenty of people to ask. Hope I can pick up the road to Calais and the tunnel easier, though, when I make tracks for London next week.’

  ‘It’ll be better once you’re back on the bigger roads,’ Nicola said. ‘Mind you, it’s a long drive up to the Eurotunnel.’ She handed him back his credit card.

  ‘Yeah, it would have been quicker to go direct to London but I couldn’t come to Europe and not check up on my old mate and his new French wife.’ He picked up his box of goods and moved towards the door. Jodie quickly went and opened it for him.

  ‘Merci beaucoup,’ he said. ‘There, you understood that, didn’t you? G’day to you both.’

  Jodie closed the door behind him. ‘Do you get many Australians up here?’

  ‘A few. Hope he finds his friend’s place before dark. He said he didn’t like our narrow roads and there’s a real horseshoe pass on the way to their village.’

  ‘I’m sure he’ll be fine. He looked like a competent sort of guy,’ Jodie said, placing her basket on the counter. ‘Would you and Gilles like to come for supper one evening? Preferably next week and definitely before Ben gets too involved in his next book.’

  ‘That would be great. I’ll check with Gilles which evening and let you know.’

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ben placed half a dozen house brochures on the breakfast table. ‘Voilà! Today we start. We have an appointment with Herve at eleven o’clock. We’re looking at these three this morning.’ And he handed her a handful of brochures.

  ‘I like the look of this one,’ he said, pointing to the top brochure.

  ‘Oh, so do I,’ Jodie said, looking at the long mas with its terracotta roof and bougainvillea trailing along the front of the building. ‘It’s beautiful.’ She looked at the price. ‘Can we afford it?’

  Ben nodded. ‘Yes – with a large mortgage.’

  Fleetingly, Jodie thought of Jacqueline’s insurance money. ‘I have some savings and my mum’s money. We can put that towards it too.’

  ‘Merci, ma cherie, mais non. I will buy our home,’ Ben said. ‘Your money is yours.’

  ‘But I want – need – to contribute,’ Jodie protested. ‘We’re married. Couples share things. There’s an English saying: what’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine. My money is ours.’

  ‘And we will, and do, share things,’ Ben said. ‘But I provide a home for my wife.’

  Jodie smiled at him. ‘D’accord. I’m not going to argue about it today. Just remember the money is there if it’s ever needed.’

  Half an hour later they were on their way to meet Herve at the first house. To Jodie’s surprise as she got out of the car, he was all smiles and bonhomie with Ben and even flashed her something that might have passed as a smile as they shook hands.

  The house was as beautiful as the brochure had shown. In fact, the photographs hadn’t done it justice. Wandering from room to room, Jodie could imagine herself living here with Ben. It would be a lovely house for children to grow up in.

  While Herve took a call on his mobile, they wandered hand in hand around the first floor, looking at the four large bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms.

  ‘Which room would you use as a study?’ Jodie asked as they stood on the large, open-plan landing looking out over the front garden.

  ‘The small one overlooking the woods,’ he replied instantly before turning to her. ‘What do you think? Could you live here?’

  ‘It’s perfect. Do you like it?’

  Ben nodded.

  ‘But we can’t buy the very first house we’ve looked at – can we?’

  Ben laughed. ‘If we both love it – yes, of course we can, but we’d better have a look at some others too, just to make sure.’

  The next house Herve took them to, Ben vetoed before they’d even set foot inside. ‘Désolé, Herve – I can’t live that close to pylons.’

  Herve sighed and drove them on to the third and final house of the morning, an old, partly renovated farmhouse. Looking at the price, it was €50,000 cheaper than the house she’d fallen in love with and could, Jodie knew, be just as beautiful. But it would probably take more than the difference in price to complete the renovations. Several of the rooms, she could tell, needed more than amateur DIY skills.

  She glanced at Ben. ‘It could be rather wonderful but it would take living in the middle of a building site for months – maybe even years. And expensive too, employing someone to do the major work needed.’

  Ben nodded and turned to Herve. ‘Could we have another visit to the first house sometime this week? We think that’s the one for us.’

  As Ben drove them back to the cottage, Jodie looked at the brochure photos again, mentally furnishing the rooms, imagining cooking in the kitchen with its views out over the distant mountains, tucking her children into bed.

  ‘Would you mind awfully if I did some work this afternoon?’ Ben’s voice broke into her thoughts. ‘There’s a couple of things I need to sort before I settle back down into my normal writing routine.’

  ‘Don’t forget it’s tonight Nicola and Gilles are coming to supper,’ Jodie said. ‘If you’re going to be working, I’ll take Tess for a walk, and then come back and start preparing the food. I made chocolate mousses yesterday so dessert is done. Main course is salmon fillets, salad and tiny new potatoes. I hope that’s all right,’ she added anxiously, glancing at Ben.

  ‘Sounds delicious.’

  Back home, Jodie quickly changed into some comfortable walking clothes and shoes, hooked Tess up to her lead and made for the path that threaded its way above the village. Next week when Ben started his writing routine proper she’d begin one of her own. Cooking, walking the dog and seriously trying to find some freelance work instead of surfing the net and becoming distracted.

  Her mobile rang as she reached the track that led up to La Prouveresse Ferme where she knew Nicola’s son Olivier lived with his great-aunt, Giselle. Leaning against the stone wall at the bottom of the track, Jodie looked at the name on the screen before guiltily pressing the button.

  ‘Tina. How are you?’

  ‘Hi. I’m fine but I was beginning to think you’d been abducted,’ Tina said, smothering her sigh of relief that Jodie had finally answered her phone. ‘I’ve been trying to contact you for days.’

  ‘Sorry about that,’ Jodie said. ‘Been a bit busy. I’m not at home at the moment e
ither.’

  ‘So, life across the Channel is good?’

  ‘It’s wonderful,’ Jodie said. ‘Ben’s finished his book and taken time off so we’ve been doing things together. Even been down to the coast and, since we got back, we’ve been house-hunting.’

  ‘I’m beginning to be really jealous of your new life. Seen anywhere you like?’

  ‘One absolutely beautiful place. We’re going back for a second look later in the week. I’m pretty sure Ben will put in an offer then. Oh, Tina, I wish you could see it. I’ll email you a picture as soon as I can. Ben will be starting his next book at the end of the week so hopefully we’ll have a decision before then and can start things rolling. Then it will be down to me to handle things.’

  ‘Thanks. Where are you if you’re not at home?’

  ‘I’m just walking the dog around the lanes,’ Jodie said.

  Tina could hear the happiness and excitement in Jodie’s voice. She forced down a tiny shiver of jealousy. Jodie’s life sounded idyllic. The kind of life she’d always dreamt of living.

  ‘You sound really happy. I’m so pleased,’ she said.

  ‘I am,’ Jodie said. ‘How’s life in London? Recovered from the Book Fair? How’s Maisie?’

  ‘Maisie’s fine. Settled in well. London is the same as ever,’ Tina said. ‘The Book Fair was exhausting and…’ She took a deep breath. ‘I’ve come to a decision and given in my notice.’

  ‘It’s about time. Kirsty was using you. Have you got another job lined up?’

  There was a short silence before Tina said. ‘No – I’m going to start my own agency.’

  ‘Brilliant news. What are you going to call it?’

  ‘I’m going for the simple option of using my name: Tina Matthews Literary Agency. Easy for people to remember and find.’

  ‘It’s perfect,’ Jodie said. ‘I know it will be a huge success. How soon will you start?’