they didn’t see her enter.
‘Morning,’ she said brightly and tried not to notice the shock on Tash’s face and the superciliously raised eyebrows on the stranger’s. Flinging her bag onto her desk, she switched on her computer and went into the little kitchen behind the office space to make coffee. ‘I will never dye my hair again,’ she vowed.
‘I’m very glad to hear it.’ Tash stood in the doorway, grinning. ‘It’s certainly a bold statement. Come and meet Leona, our new recruit.’
Emma groaned. She’d forgotten the new member of their team was due to start today. The blonde with the patrician features and superior air must be the new estate agent and not a client. ‘Be right out, Tash. How does Leona like her coffee?’
Tash looked blank. ‘Think she said she preferred mint tea. We’ll have to get some in.’ She ducked out and Emma could hear a muted conversation. Tash reappeared. ‘Just some hot water.’
Emma muttered, ‘Who, in their right mind, drinks plain hot water?’ to herself while she waited for the kettle to boil. Finding the packet of chocolate digestives, she crammed one in her mouth and carried the tray of mugs through.
Tash had set three chairs around her desk and she and Leona were already sitting down and peering at the computer monitor. Emma could see the agent’s website being displayed. She put the tray down and slid onto the third chair. It was slightly away from the others and made her feel excluded.
‘Hi Leona,’ she said, through a mouthful of digestive crumbs. ‘Welcome to the team.’ She wiped her chocolate-smudged hand on her trousers and held it out.
The woman eyed her coolly. ‘So, you’re Emma,’ she drawled, in Sloaney-tones. She offered a fingertip handshake. ‘I’ve heard so much about you from Tash. I would have said hello when you walked in but I took you to be a cl—’
‘Who? The cleaner?’ Emma grinned but the joke misfired.
Leona stared back at her blankly. ‘No, I meant I thought you might be a client.’
‘No probs,’ Emma went on genially. ‘Most folk in Berecombe can’t believe I’m an estate agent either.’ No response. Not much of a sense of humour, then. Shame. She and Tash got through most days having a bit of banter or a laugh. It cut through the stress sometimes. Having someone so po-faced in the office would change things. Still, maybe Leona was just nervous. Understandable on her first day. She picked up another biscuit and crunched into it. ‘In Berecombe you’ll find everyone says good morning to everyone. In fact, sometimes it’s hard to walk down the high street without someone striking up a conversation – whether you want it or not. We’re friendly like that in this town.’
‘I’m sure I have much to learn.’ Leona smiled without it reaching her eyes. She half-turned so that Emma was given the cold shoulder. Literally.
Whoops. From the sour look on Leona’s face, that hadn’t gone down well. Emma didn’t want to start out on the wrong foot. They’d be working in a small team and it helped to get on together but it seemed whatever she said to the woman got misconstrued. Without thinking, she launched into a jokey apology. ‘Oops. Soz. Me and my big mouth. I didn’t mean to imply you’re unfriendly. It’s just that a small town is different from a big city.’ It couldn’t have been a worse thing to say.
‘In so many ways,’ Leona replied, without turning.
Stop talking now, Emma said to herself. You’re just digging that hole even deeper, girlfriend. She sucked her lips shut and made a mute appeal to Tash.
Tash glanced between the two. ‘I’m sure there’s no offence taken, Em.’
Leona shrugged her thin shoulders ever so slightly. ‘Of course not.’
‘You’ve been handpicked by our ex-manager Pete, haven’t you?’ Tash added, pointedly changing the subject. ‘And you’re on the fast-track programme? That’s fantastic. And a degree as well?’
Leona preened. ‘That’s right, Tash. In Business Studies from Plymouth uni. A first, actually.’ She gave Emma a look from under immaculate mink-shaded eyelashes. ‘Can I ask your backgrounds?’
Tash explained she’d come straight into the job from A levels. ‘It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do,’ she added. ‘And I really wanted to learn on the job. ‘Made it to become the youngest branch manager in the company a year ago.’
‘How marvellous,’ Leona said. ‘And what about you, Erin?’
Emma refused to rise to the bait. In truth, she didn’t know how to. She got on with most people she met and was fairly easy-going. This immediate and undeserved antagonism was new to her. ‘It’s Emma,’ she answered, equably. ‘And I never really knew what I wanted to do.’ She shrugged. ‘Did a few dead-end jobs, pubs and waitressing mostly, and then joined here when I was twenty-two. Liked it, so I stayed.’
‘Emma’s skill is her ability to hone in on what people want,’ Tash said, loyally. ‘I’ve yet to meet anyone she couldn’t charm. In this business it’s people skills as well as qualifications that get the job done.’ She smiled. ‘That, and the ability to stay calm when all around you is chaos.’
‘And that is my real talent,’ Emma put in, laughing. ‘If you live with a family like mine, it’s a developed survival tactic.’
‘Fascinating,’ Leona said, making it clear it was anything but. ‘So neither of you have any qualifications beyond school?’
Tash and Emma’s eyes met. ‘Nope,’ they said in unison.
‘Oh.’
The phone rang, piercing the frozen silence and making them jump. Emma rose to answer it. ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to manage this,’ she muttered. ‘What with only my GCSEs and all.’
Tash shot her a look. ‘Let’s go into the back office, shall we, Leona? I can fill you in a bit more and we can agree on your workload for this week.’ They got up and disappeared through the kitchen.
Emma watched them. She and Tash got on well and had done so ever since they’d begun working together. Despite Tash being her boss, they were more like friends. She hoped the arrival of Leona, who had the makings of being a prize A bitch, wouldn’t change that. Fervently praying that it was just first day nerves that had made the woman so unlikeable, she picked up the phone. She put on her best estate agent’s voice and answered it.
The creamy evening September sunshine, shining through the vast, double-height windows of the reading area in Millie’s bookshop, turned everyone a mellow autumnal shade. Since its launch, the previous month, the bookshop had turned into a roaring success. Much to the relief of owners, married couple Millie and Jed, and manager Amy. Even at this late hour there were people downstairs in the main shop, browsing the bookshelves and enjoying its unique, chilled atmosphere.
Emma looked around at the mezzanine reading area with admiration. ‘Another book group.’ She rubbed her hands together. ‘I love it! Millie and Jed have made a real success of this place – and in such a short space of time too. It’s a fabby extension to their café.’
