Read Online The Cinderella Reflex by Joan Brady - Free Book Online

no harm in going ahead with all that for now. But I have to say that if Jack does buy in he will be looking towards a complete shake-up. He will be looking for someone to take the station on to the national stage. Someone with the X-factor, y’know? And, so far, I am not sure if Ollie Andrews is that person. Are you?”
    “Well, we’re working on Ollie,” Helene said quickly. If Ollie were to get the boot, then she would suffer the fallout as well because she had been the one who had brought him into Atlantic 1FM in the first place. “So – what exactly do you mean by the X-factor?” She hoped she didn’t sound sarcastic. But seriously? The X-factor ?
    “I’m not sure,” Paulina said vaguely. “It’s more I know what I don’t want.”
    “Male, female, young, old, serious, zany?” Helene prompted, trying to catch Paulina’s eye for clues.
    But Paulina simply shrugged. “I really can’t say. But I’d know if I saw it – or in this case heard it. Let’s call it instinct.”
    Helene tried to keep her face expressionless as Paulina ate the last crumbs of her cake. She couldn’t help feeling annoyed that Paulina could sit there and be so bloody casual about it all. There were people’s livelihoods at stake here.
    “Anyway, it doesn’t really matter what I think,” Paulina said, “because it’s Jack who will have the final say.”
    “And does he make his decisions in the same way – on instinct?” Helene was finding it more and more difficult to sound neutral. To her mind, it was beyond bizarre that Jack and Paulina would make such important decisions on the basis of their own, very vague feelings. Where was their business plan, their strategy, their lists , for heaven’s sake?
    “Well, Jack will own the place so I suppose he’s entitled to make his decisions in whatever way he chooses,” Paulina pointed out cheerily.
    Helene flushed but pushed on. “There’s something I need to ask you about. I’m sure this is all just rumour, but we have heard that he may want new staff … who are … er … younger?”
    “I’m not sure about young ,” Paulina said pensively. “But if Jack feels that someone’s face doesn’t fit he wouldn’t be long in telling them. Although, he’d be pretty generous with severance payments,” she added reassuringly.
    She glanced down at her phone just before it bleeped.
    “That’s my next meeting, I’m afraid.” She raised her eyebrows in mock panic. “It’s all go these days. But it’s been good to meet you, Helene. And thanks for this.” She waved Helene’s report in the air.
    “It’s been good to meet you too,” Helene said automatically. She watched while Paulina gathered her things and got up to leave, and she kept her composure intact until the blonde head had finally disappeared from sight.
    Then she slumped in her chair, a feeling of foreboding flooding through her. ‘ If someone’s face doesn’t fit, Jack wouldn’t be long in telling them .’ That’s what Paulina had said. Suddenly Helene was gripped by panic that it would be her face that didn’t fit into Jack McCabe’s vision for Atlantic 1 FM. What if she ended up unemployed? And alone, after Richard dumped her because she was a visible failure ? And homeless because she wouldn’t be able to afford the mortgage? What if she ended up on the streets with all her stuff on a supermarket trolley, like a bag lady? What if …
    Stop! A small, saner part of her mind intervened. She tried hard to obey it. She took deep slow breaths, trying to stop her thoughts from careering out of control. She would be okay. Of course she would. But she couldn’t stop herself from comparing her circumstances to Paulina’s. While the other woman had appeared to be sure of herself, and contented – fulfilled at work, financially secure, and able to eat huge chunks of cake without giving one thought to its calorie count – she, Helene, was looking at life through a much different lens. Up until now, she