Read Online A French Affair by Susan Lewis - Free Book Online Page B

you’re not giving Jessica a job.’
    â€˜Oh dear,’ Melissa commented, sounding suitably bothered. ‘Well, that’s Frances’s employment at an end. Now, what to do about Jessica. Has Nikki told her?’
    â€˜She has.’
    â€˜Oh. Definitely not good. I was going to pop along and see her this morning anyway – obviously I still will, but I’m glad you told me she already knows. How did she take it?’
    â€˜She was upset, as you might expect. Naturally, she wants to know why you’re turning her down when you’ve been actively trying to persuade her to join the channel.’
    â€˜Yes, well, of course she wants to know. So maybe you’d like to help me out here, Charlie. Tell me why I don’t want her to join us, and please don’t give me all that bullshit about her not being ready yet, because she’s not going to swallow it any more than I do. So I’d like the truth, Charlie, whatever it is.’
    Charlie remained silent, his face taut with anguish.
    There was a note of reassurance in Melissa’s voice as she said, ‘Don’t worry, it’ll stay between us, but if I’m going to lie, my friend, I’d like to hear from you why I should.’
    â€˜OK,’ he said abruptly, ‘the long and short of it is I have to get away from her sometimes. She’s suffering so badly I can hardly bear to see it, and I think it’s the same for her, so it won’t do us any good to be in each other’s pockets.’
    â€˜Mm,’ Melissa responded, not sounding fully convinced. ‘So what do you want her to do?’
    Charlie felt a tight band closing around his head ashe said, ‘I wish I knew, but thank you for supporting me over this. I won’t forget it.’
    â€˜Then let’s hope you won’t regret it either,’ Melissa retorted, and a moment later she was gone.
    Having performed her scheduled carpool duty, Jessica was back at home and still not entirely sure what she was going to do with her day – apart from finish the DVD reviews which she sorely wished she’d never agreed to now. She had a pile of books in her study too, all of which she’d have to take a pass on, because it simply wasn’t fair to the authors to assess their work when she was finding it all but impossible to stay focused. Unfortunately there was still the mountain of sympathy letters to be got through, but since she was more inclined to throw them away than read them, there wasn’t much chance of her filling the time with that.
    What she’d really like to do was spend the day with Lilian, just talking and being together, the way they always used to, but she couldn’t even call her friend – at least she wouldn’t – because Lilian’s job as chief auctioneer at Summerville’s Paris salerooms meant that she was almost never available, and right now Jessica wasn’t even sure what she wanted to say.
    Were she of a mind to, she could try sorting through Natalie’s room, but she knew very well she didn’t have the heart for that. She’d have to get round to it sooner or later, of course, but she still couldn’t bear even the thought of going through her daughter’s cherished possessions, never mind parting with a single one of them. So for now the room remained as it had always been, pink and lavender covers and curtains, with shelves crammed full of Care Bears, a hopelesslycluttered dressing table, an overstuffed wardrobe and all kinds of perfumed candles, dancing mobiles and books numerous enough to stock the children’s section of WH Smith. There were her diaries too, with pretty padded covers and tiny little locks, and somewhere, presumably, their keys. Jessica hadn’t even looked. She didn’t want to read them, but nor would she ever part with them.
    By ten o’clock the temperature outside was rising fast. It seemed summer was finally with them,