Clara Bounces Back

by Lacey London

  ‘It’s gorgeous!’ I admit, taking my phone out of my pocket and snapping a quick photograph. ‘It reminds me of something. It’s so bohemian and deliciously purple! It’s so… Ianthe.’ Silently groaning, I force myself to smile. ‘So, Hugh told you about Stelios.’

  ‘He most certainly did!’ Dawn says excitedly, clapping her hands together. ‘Isn’t this amazing?’

  ‘It’s certainly interesting.’ I reply, trying my hardest to show enthusiasm.

  ‘Interesting? It’s incredible! This is a fantastic opportunity for you to turn this whole disaster around…’ Her voice trails off as she leans over the counter and frowns. ‘Why aren’t you smiling?’

  Realising that she’s the second person to point out how miserable I look, I pull my lips into something that resembles a smile. ‘I just don’t think we should be pinning all of our hopes and dreams on this, that’s all.’

  Adjusting her display, Dawn adds another stem of lavender to the presentation. ‘Well, I think you’re wrong. This is fate. You need to grasp it with both hands and run with it. Now, I know you’re sceptical about these things, but I went to see my psychic last week…’

  Unable to stop myself, I let out a whimper at the word psychic and roll my eyes.

  ‘You can laugh, but just you wait until you hear what she had to say!’ Dawn says confidently, clearing away the stem cuttings from the counter.

  ‘Did she say that the old man in the Giulia Romano tape is Stelios Christopoulos?’ I ask half-heartedly. ‘Because unless she did, I’m not buying it.’

  Wiping her hands on her heart-print apron, Dawn tosses her auburn hair over her shoulder. ‘She told me that a Greek influence was going to come flooding into my life and I would be powerless to stop it.’

  ‘Couldn’t that be the stuffed vine leaves you order every Friday from Margaret’s Mezze?’ I tease, wandering around the florist and admiring the new items in the gift aisle.

  ‘She also said she could see essences of Mykonos in my aura and it would be the answer to all of my problems!’ Dawn’s eyes light up as she speaks, making me feel incredibly guilty for belittling her beliefs.

  ‘Is Stelios from Mykonos?’ I ask, trying to inject some enthusiasm into my words.

  ‘He certainly is!’ She gushes, wandering into the storeroom and motioning for me to follow her. ‘Hugh and I always get lumbered with him at the Vision Christmas parties. Apart from food and wine, his love for Mykonos is the only thing he talks about.’

  ‘So, you know Stelios, too?’ I reply, suddenly intrigued to hear more.

  ‘I do, but I’ve only met him a few times.’ Flicking on the kettle, Dawn grabs a couple of mugs from the cabinet. ‘Do you want one?’

  ‘Go on then.’ Hopping onto a stool, I shake off my jacket and get comfortable. ‘I have to admit, you don’t seem particularly shocked to hear about Stelios’s extracurricular activities.’

  ‘Are you kidding me?’ Dawn scoffs, rubbing her hands together for warmth. ‘When it comes to that man, nothing would shock me. He’s so flamboyant and eccentric that you could tell me he’s a secret porn star and it wouldn’t surprise me.’

  ‘He kind of is a porn star.’ Accepting a steaming mug from her, I blow into it carefully. ‘Have you seen the tape?’

  ‘No and I don’t intend to.’ Dawn fires back, a look of disgust on her face. ‘I have absolutely no desire to see Stelios Christopoulos in the nude, thank you very much.’

  Laughing into my mug, I lick my lips greedily as Dawn reaches for the biscuit tin.

  ‘Custard cream?’ She asks, holding out a plate of the classic treats.

  Before I can stop it, an image from the dreaded tape jumps into my mind and I feel a wave of nausea. Politely declining, I make a stab at changing the subject before I hurl over Dawn’s new display.

  ‘I went to see Eve yesterday.’ I mumble, flipping through a magazine on the table. ‘How are you coping without her?’

  ‘Fine, but I do have Lily. Without her, I don’t think I could have done it. She’s been an absolute lifesaver.’ Taking a biscuit, Dawn dunks it into her coffee cup and chews happily. ‘By the way, I invited her along to Artemis on Friday. I hope that’s okay?’

  ‘Of course! The more the merrier.’ I reply, closing the magazine and yawning. ‘While we are on the subject, I may have invited Janie to join us, too…’

  Holding my breath as I wait for her to respond, I notice a glint of fury in her eyes. Dawn’s hatred of Janie is something that has intensified over recent months and I can’t say I’m surprised. They’re as different as Giulia Romano’s tape and Mary Berry.

  ‘How is the delightful Janie, anyway?’ Dawn asks, in the monotone voice she always uses when discussing my mother-in-law. ‘Been arrested yet?’

  ‘Believe it or not, she’s been pretty well-behaved.’ Deciding to leave out the stationery cupboard incident, I finish my coffee and push the cup away. ‘She’s been a huge help with Noah these past few months. With the majority of our time being taken up with Suave, Janie has really stepped up to the plate.’

  ‘That’s great!’ Dawn replies breezily. ‘Just don’t be surprised when he ends up with an ASBO.’

  ‘In Janie’s defence, she’s calmed down a lot lately…’ Following Dawn out onto the shop floor, I zip up my jacket.

  ‘Clara, I saw her stumbling out of Lightning last week.’ Giving me a stern stare, she flips the sign over to show open. ‘She had a portion of chips in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.’

  ‘Exactly!’ I giggle, picking up a stem cutting and throwing it at Dawn playfully. ‘A year ago, she would have had the bouncer in one hand and the barman in the other!’

  Expertly swerving the stem, Dawn picks it up and fires it back at me.

  ‘Well, I suppose I can’t argue with progress…’

  Chapter 7

  Stepping out of the lift, I clutch a tray of coffees tightly and make my way along the lobby. Laughter floats out of the office as I throw open the door and walk into the lively room.

  ‘Hey!’ Lianna sings, dropping her pile of paperwork. ‘What took you so long?’

  ‘Traffic was a nightmare.’ I fib, handing her a paper cup and proceeding to pass the rest around the office.

  Knowing that we live just a short drive away, Lianna squints at me suspiciously. ‘At least you’re here now. We have a lot to fill you in on!’

  ‘Really?’ I reply curiously, frowning at the stash of folders that are cluttering my desk. ‘How much could possibly have happened at this early hour?’

  ‘It’s not so early in Mykonos…’ She teases, shoving the many folders to the floor and hopping onto my desk. ‘Hugh and the guys have been on the phone to Greece all morning.’

  So, that explains Oliver’s sudden disappearance at dawn. Taking a quick look over at the boardroom, I try to eavesdrop on their conversation. Regardless of not being able to hear a single word they’re saying, I can gather from the look of joy on Marc’s face that things are going well.

  ‘To cut a long story short, Hugh is an absolute hero.’ Taking a sip of coffee, Li swears when she discovers it’s too hot to drink. ‘Apparently, the mere mention of Giulia Romano was enough to grab Stelios’s attention and he agreed to meet with us on Friday…’

  ‘Friday?’ I repeat, my skin prickling with adrenaline. ‘That’s so soon!’

  ‘I know. Stelios was already due to arrive tomorrow to visit his brother.’ Lianna crosses her legs and flicks a piece of fluff off her skirt. ‘Hugh has been talking to him for hours and it seems that Stelios and Giulia are most certainly not friendly.’

  ‘They sure seemed pretty friendly in that tape.’ I mumble, pulling out my chair and turning on the computer.

  ‘That’s the thing, Hugh didn’t even have to mention the sex tape. Stelios revealed everything himself.’ Taking the lid off her coffee, Lianna blows into the cup. ‘Until now, Stelios had no idea that Hugh had invested in Suave. As far as he was concerned, Hugh was an old Vision employee and n
othing more.’

  ‘Had Stelios already heard of Suave?’ I ask, trying to keep up with the conversation.

  Nodding vigorously, Lianna takes a tin of Vaseline from my handbag and applies a thin layer to her lips. ‘Stelios didn’t hold back in revealing Giulia’s feelings towards Suave. It seems that she hates us more than she hates him! It’s well-known that the whole Romano family are big on superstitions and they blame the collaboration with us for her fall from grace.’

  ‘I think she will find that her fall from grace has more to do with her extraordinary flexibility and fondness for custard-smothered billionaires.’ Scrolling through my emails, I randomly hit delete on various messages in my junk folder.

  ‘Exactly!’ Lianna agrees, fishing a compact mirror out of my desk drawers. ‘But Giulia pinpoints signing the contract with Suave as the moment that her life started to go downhill and that is where Hugh managed to find a common ground with Stelios.’

  Li pauses and looks at me expectantly. ‘Are you following me? Giulia hates Suave and Stelios hates Giulia!’

  ‘Right…’ I reply uncertainly, taking the mirror from Li and combing my tangled mane. ‘And how does this help us?’

  Jumping to her feet, Li wobbles on her high-heels before steadying herself. ‘Don’t you see? As far as Stelios is concerned, an enemy of Giulia’s is a friend of his! This could totally tempt him into working with us.’

  Not being convinced, I try to bring some order back to the stationery on my desk. ‘Do we really want to put ourselves in the middle of such a messy relationship? Personally, I don’t think it’s wise that we allow the company to become a pawn in their absurd situation.’

  ‘It’s not going to go up there with our best ideas of all time, but we don’t really have much choice.’ Lianna tips her head to one side and swirls the remnants of her coffee around the cup. ‘After months of incessant brainstorming, we have finally stumbled across something that might just pull us out of this mess. The least we can do is see it through.’

  Before I can reassure her that I will get behind the project, the guys stride out of the boardroom confidently.

  ‘Have you brought her up to date?’ Hugh asks Lianna, smiling as she nods back at him. ‘Great stuff!’

  ‘As you are all now aware, Stelios is meeting with Hugh on Friday.’ Marc announces, walking over to the whiteboard and making red scribbles in the blank space. ‘If all goes well, we should aim to have him in the office as soon as Monday.’

  Walking up to the whiteboard, Hugh stands next to Marc. ‘Stelios only spends a few days in the country at a time. Every second is crucial if we have any hope of pulling this off.’

  ‘Has anyone informed Owen?’ I ask, twirling a strand of hair around my finger as I listen intently.

  ‘We thought it would be best to keep this to ourselves until we know for sure it is happening.’ Marc says firmly, looking around the group. ‘Owen has made his feelings towards Giulia quite clear. I don’t think it would be a wise move to involve him at this early stage.’

  ‘However, once he sees an Ianthe contract, he won’t even remember Giulia’s name.’ Hugh adds, causing the others to laugh gently.

  Not wanting to admit that I believe we’re wandering further and further down the wrong path, I keep quiet and simply nod in response.

  ‘So, Stelios arrives on Friday. Today is Wednesday. What do we do for the next couple of days?’ Lianna asks, as the rest of us automatically look at Marc for a reply.

  ‘We do exactly what we’ve been doing for the past six months. We keep our heads down and we try to secure new leads.’ Marc says seriously. ‘At this early stage, an Ianthe collaboration is nothing more than a fantasy. Until we have a signed contract in our hands, we continue to explore other avenues and leave Ianthe to Hugh.’

  My eyes flit to Hugh and I notice him wince at the mention of his name. Giving him an encouraging thumbs-up, I smile as the others offer some words of encouragement.

  ‘This is Hugh’s deal.’ Marc continues, giving him a tight squeeze. ‘Let’s leave him to work his magic…’

  Chapter 8

  ‘Why don’t you spend some time with Noah this evening?’ I say to Oliver, as we come to a stop outside our apartment block. ‘You could go to the cinema and watch that movie he’s been begging to see?’

  ‘That would be nice.’ Grabbing his leather jacket from the back seat, Oliver locks the car and throws his arm around my shoulders. ‘I’ve been neglecting our time together with work being so heavy lately, but if Hugh pulls this off, we should be back in the black in no time at all. This financial nightmare could be a distant memory sooner than we think.’

  ‘Hopefully.’ I reply, frowning at my chipped manicure. ‘We can but hope…’

  As Oliver presses the button on the lift, I rest my head on his chest and allow my eyes to close. I’ve made no secret of my lack of confidence in this plan, but right now is not the time to voice my opinion.

  Since we took control of the business, we have been on a roller coaster of ups and downs. I don’t think I’ve ever felt such a conflicting bunch of emotions before. The utter joy of securing Suave was quickly followed by immense disappointment. Knowing that we’re failing miserably is both mentally and physically draining.

  Before I can change the subject to something more uplifting, the doors spring open and we simultaneously step into the lift. Our reflections stare back at us as we lean against the metal railing wearily. Even after all these years, I still get that delicious tingly feeling when Oliver looks at me. While I spend most evenings masking the signs of ageing with various lotions, Oliver owns his grey streaks and peppered stubble in style. Although this evening, I must admit that he does look a little tired. His blue eyes have lost their usual sparkle and I have a sneaky feeling that Suave is the reason why.

  ‘Why don’t you go straight back home and run yourself a bath?’ I offer, reaching up and planting a kiss on his cheek. ‘I’ll collect Noah and meet you back at the apartment.’

  Smiling gratefully, he grabs his backpack as the lift comes to an abrupt stop. ‘Thank you. You’re a superstar.’

  He shoots me a grateful wink before stepping out into the lobby, leaving me in the lift alone. Quickly blowing him a kiss before the doors close, I fix my hair in the mirror as I am fired up another level. Within a few seconds, the doors spring open once more and I force myself to put one foot in front of the other until I arrive at Gina’s door.

  Rapping on the knocker, I smile to myself as I hear the usual chaos unfolding inside.

  ‘Come in!’ Gina yells in the distance. ‘Well, only if it’s someone I know. Otherwise, go away! I’m busy right now!’

  Letting out a giggle, I open the door and wander into the living room. Trying to follow the sound of Gina’s flustered voice, I eventually find her in Madison’s bedroom.

  ‘Hello! What’s going on in…’ My words come to an abrupt stop as I take in the scene in front of me.

  Four children, each one messier than the last, are stood sheepishly behind a frantic-looking Gina. With a rainbow of paint splodges covering them from head to toe, Madison, MJ, Melrose and Noah look as though they’ve been caught up in a Holi festival.

  Turning around to face me, Gina shakes her head in disbelief. ‘Madison has been learning about Pop Art in school and she wanted to paint some pictures. Of course, these three little munchkins had to get in on the action, too.’ Reaching for a schoolbook, Gina flips through the pages and shows me a variety of retro images. ‘What they failed to tell me, was that they were painting these pictures on one another.’

  Taking another look behind her at the spotty children, I suddenly see the resemblance to Andy Warhol’s famous work.

  ‘Madison has already been in trouble for doing this to MJ a couple of days ago.’ Gina fumes, folding her arms angrily.

  ‘It’s no big deal.’ I say casually, trying to lighten the mood. ‘We’ll laugh about this tomorrow.’

  All four children grin mischievously
and I can’t help but beam back at them.

  ‘I don’t think so.’ Motioning to MJ’s paint-splattered cheeks, Gina picks up a wet cloth and slides it across his face. ‘I’ve been scrubbing this paint for the last ten minutes and as you can see, it isn’t going anywhere.’

  Taking the cloth from her, I kneel down in front of Noah and try to tackle the huge blue dot on his forehead. After a few unsuccessful rubs, I finally give up and look over at Gina helplessly.

  ‘What are we going to do?’ I groan, staring at the four kids in front of me.

  Motioning for them to strip off, Gina heads into the bathroom and sets the water running. ‘Maybe a long soak in the bath will do the trick.’

  ‘Yes, that’s probably our best bet at removing it.’ Looking at Noah’s spotty face dubiously, I take his hand in mine. ‘Come on. Let’s get you home.’

  ‘My neck is prickly.’ He whines, trying to rub his neck on my sleeve. ‘Wait! It’s really tingly!’

  ‘Tingly?’ I repeat, leading him over to the window for a clearer look at his neck. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I’m itchy, too!’ Pulling up his shorts, MJ scratches his leg furiously. ‘I feel like I have ants crawling on me.’

  ‘So do I!’ Madison cries, taking a brush from her dressing table and roughly scratching her arm.

  Looking at the children in confusion, I start to worry when Melrose throws herself onto the carpet and wriggles around like a fish out of water in an attempt to scratch her back.

  ‘Gina!’ I yell, my voice shrill with panic. ‘I think the paint might be causing an allergic reaction!’

  A look of alarm washes across Gina’s face as she pokes her head out of the bathroom. Right on cue, all four of them start scratching uncontrollably.

  ‘Oh, no!’ She shouts, throwing Melrose over her shoulder and racing back into the bathroom. ‘You go. I’ll call you later!’

  With a quick wave, I grab Noah by the hand and take the stairs as fast as possible. Not stopping until we reach the apartment, I let myself in and tear through our bedroom to the en-suite bathroom. Oblivious to my panic, Pumpkin jumps up from her resting place at the foot of the tub and greets us with a happy wag of the tail.