Page 7 of Broken Beyond Repair

“She’s so talented… and gorgeous,” Will continued. “And, oh my, her dresses.”

“I’ve never heard of her,” Sydney muttered as she turned Gertie over and pulled away from the church.

“It’s quaint that you avoid mainstream media, Syd, but you should acquaint yourself more with the people you work amongst.”

“Youneed to know them,” Sydney replied pointedly. “I prefer not to know them, not the mainstream media’s image of them anyway. Then I won’t be biased. I form my own opinions of people; it allows me to serve them better.”

“God, you are good, aren’t you?” James hissed cattily.

“As you said — I’m your best!”

James turned his attention to the view from his window, cracking open the smoker’s flap. Sydney hoped that was an end to the pleading.

It wasn’t.

“I’ve been trying to get her on to my books for ages,” James said, “though it was an inevitability when you’ve worked your way through every other agency in the city.”

That set off an alarm bell for Sydney. “What’s wrong with her?” she asked.

“Oh, er… nothing. She has a bit of a reputation with PAs, that’s all. I’m sure she’s nothing you can’t handle. Here, turn left.”

Gertie bumbled her way along the winding, oak-lined road towards a grand Georgian house.

“Anyway, I’m busy,” Sydney said.

“Doing what? She doesn’t fly in until Tuesday, and she’s only here for the summer. It’s for six weeks max. You should see how much she’s paying.”

“Sorry. I have an important week this week.”

“Who with?”

“No one you know.”

James sighed. “Come on, Syd, no one can trump Beatrice Russell. She’s the biggest profile I’ve had at the agency. If I can get her on my books, it will attract more of her ilk.”

Sydney winced at his use of the word ‘ilk’. James’s appreciation for his clients only extended as far as the depth of their pockets.

“Will you fire me if I don’t?” Sydney knew the answer to that question, but it was worth asking to bring an end to his pestering. She was the best PA on his books.

James folded his arms in defeat. “No.”

“Then find someone else.”

CHAPTER3

Sydney pulled Gertie into a parking space outside the imposing hotel and drank it in.

“How did we spend three years living here and not know this was on the outskirts of the city?”

“We were students.” James sighed. “We knew our way to the best pubs blindfolded. It was all we needed in life back then.”

A much-needed glass of Pimm’s was awaiting them as they entered the hotel for Rosie and Greg’s wedding reception. They made their way through to a secluded garden on one side of the hotel to await the other guests.

“James said you’ve come down from Scotland, Sydney,” Will said as they settled themselves at one of the more sheltered tables.

“Yep, from the top of the country to the bottom. Shame for Gertie it wasn’t downhill all the way.”

“Do you live up there then?”