Page 44 of Broken Beyond Repair

“No denial there then,” Rosie muttered under her breath, loud enough for Sydney to scowl at her.

“I met her husband today,” she offered up. “What a sleazy arsehole he was. He came to pick up her son, who is a delight and surprisingly not as damaged as he probably should be. He and Beatrice started arguing — loudly enough that we could hear them outside. I think she took it out on me… and a bottle of Talisker 25.”

“Ooh nice! The whisky, not her being mean to my best friend. Won’t she sack you for leaving?”

Sydney laughed. “No, she can’t do without me. I’m rewriting her autobiography for her. I best not be out too long, though; she was in quite a state when I left. I expect she’ll be in a worse state when I return.”

“That’s amazing. Congratulations.” Rosie, ever one to find the silver lining, reached across the table and squeezed Sydney’s arm.

“Thanks. I hope it means I’m irreplaceable, especially with her deadline. I imagine that’s what gets to her the most; I’m her first competent PA, and she doesn’t know how to handle it. She needs me and she knows it. When I first met her son, he made a bet with me that I’d quit before she went back to the States.”

“Ouch. Maybe if she was a little politer to her PAs, they’d stick around longer.”

Sydney pursed her lips. “Mmm. Something is a bit off with her. I don’t know, she seems paranoid. When she boiled over this evening about me leaving, she was vicious; she told me not to come back.”

“Is she controlling?”

“No, she doesn’t micromanage me as some do. It was like she didn’t want me to have a break, go out and enjoy myself.”

“If she can’t, maybe she’s jealous you could.” Rosie shrugged. “Maybe she’s just lonely.”

“Hmm. There’s been no sign of any friends. She has her agent, whom she seems close to. Other than that there’s the housekeeper she speaks to with the sweetest of tones. It’s just me she has a problem with.”

“And the ex.”

Sydney nodded.

“No one should treat anyone else poorly; she must have a reason.”

“Yeah, she’s wealthy and famous.”

Rosie frowned. “You’re better than that, Syd. Find her reasons.”

Rosie was right. She was going to have to prise Beatrice open and knock down her defences if she was going to find out what made her heart so icy. The chances of that happening after pointing out a few home truths were about as probable as Beatrice saying thank you. Sydney would be amazed if she still had a job in the morning. Although Beatrice needed her, she wouldn’t put it past the woman to cut her nose off to spite her face.

“How’s she getting on with the cast?” Rosie asked, sipping her wine. “Is she itchy?”

“Yep.” Sydney’s eyes widened. “The only bit of pleasure I get is watching her try and scratch at it.”

Rosie smirked. “You’re mean.”

“I know.”

“Don’t let her stick anything down the cast to scratch it. Youcanuse a hairdryer on the cool setting to ease it,” Rosie said, calling on her wealth of medical experience to make the suggestion.

“Great idea. Though I’ll make her suffer a bit longer.”

“Is she keeping up with physio on her other leg?”

“No, she complains it’s restless. I think she doesn’t want anyone near her. She’s probably paranoid she smells, which in all honesty the cast is beginning to.”

“Understandable. This heat isn’t helping. She must exercise her other leg or it will waste, and she’ll end up with twice the amount of work to recover. Does she not have a physiotherapist?”

Sydney shook her head. “Not that I know of. The only thing she has coming up is an appointment with a private hospital in a couple of weeks. That’s for an X-ray and cast removal if everything is okay.”

Rosie hummed. “She should be undergoing some form of physio or at least doing some exercises. I’m happy to see her if you like.”

“I didn’t know you did house calls.”