Page 38 of Don't Believe A Word

Seeming to understand that, Meena stared into the flames as she said, ‘Harry and I had dinner with him last night.’

Surprised, Cristy said, ‘That’s nice. How was he?’

‘Complex and conflicted,’ Meena quoted. ‘Clearly in a horrible dilemma over his new son, and worried about the older one …’

‘Why is he worried about Aiden?’

Meena shrugged. ‘Apparently he’s spending more time on building bands than he is on his studies, but, as we know, that’s typical of your lad. He’s always got something going on somewhere, and his schoolwork seems like a side issue until it comes time for exams – and he sails them.’

In spite of knowing this to be true, Cristy said, ‘He shouldn’t take it for granted that everything will just fall into place because he wants it to. One of these days he’ll get a rude awakening and I fear it’ll be when it comes to his A levels and getting into the university of his choice.’

‘If he goes to uni at all.’

Stalled by that, Cristy shook her head in despair, and said, ‘I guess we won’t know until the time comes. You never do with him. Anyway, back to Matthew …’

‘Actually, I was hoping we could talk about David.’

Cristy’s heart flipped as she frowned. ‘Why? There’s nothing to say apart from apparently it’s over, and, to paraphrase you, better sooner than later.’

Meena simply looked at her.

Cristy threw out her hands. ‘Sure it hurts,’ she admitted, ‘and I’m … disappointed. But we weren’t together for long, and I’ve dealt with worse, so let’s move on, shall we?’

Meena began shaking her head. ‘I’m still not convinced …’

‘Please, Meena. I don’t want to talk about him now …’

‘You struck up a lovely bond with his family.’

Not enjoying the reminder given how she was feeling the loss of them too, Cristy said, ‘I daresay I’ll stay in touch with them, for a while, but I’m certainly not going to use any attachment I might have to them to keep one going with him. Now, if it’s OK with you, why don’t we talk about the new series and Iz’s involvement …’

Meena’s hand shot up. ‘I know, I know, she’s driving you mad,she has the same effect on me, but I urge you to think of the money and everything else she’s bringing to the table. We’ve never had exposure like it before, and you guys deserve full recognition for the brilliant podcasters you are. You were hitting the top spot at the end of the last series, and there’s a lot of buzz out there already forWho’s That Girl. So, you have to admit, annoyingness aside, she’s good at what she does.’

With a smile, Cristy said, ‘She’s certainly that – although I have to say dubbing us the Dream Team during yesterday’s photoshoot made us all cringe.’

Laughing Mia said, ‘But you loved it really and the shots were fantastic. All four of you at work in the office, walking along the harbourside – I especially loved the one of you laughing at only you know what. She staged it really well, and she’ll have umpteen possibilities up her sleeve of where to run them and when.’

‘All with the logos of First Family Bank, Rapid Retail Initiative and Open Destiny Holidays in the background …’

‘What’s wrong with that?’

‘Nothing. I’m happy for it.’ Cristy gave herself a moment to choose her next words carefully. ‘It’s no one’s fault but mine,’ she continued, ‘that we weren’t properly prepared for this series. I should have been firmer about needing to know more about the story before we committed to the proposed timeline.’

‘But it’s shaping up to be a terrific—’

‘It’s shaping up, yes, but when it comes to execution and delivery … I’m worried about where we could end up – and I’m not only thinking egg-on-face, and public humiliation if the story comes to nothing … Actually I don’t think that’ll happen … I just keep getting the feeling we’re being played in some way.’

Clearly confused, Meena said, ‘By whom? Surely not Sadie?’

Cristy shook her head. ‘The dead aunt was once suggested to me.’

Meena’s eyes widened in astonishment. ‘You mean from the grave?’ she exclaimed.

Understanding how ridiculous it sounded, Cristy said, ‘I’m not saying she’s controlling us, our production, but Sadie, yes, and even her sister, although I’m sure Mia knows a lot more than she’s letting on.’

After sitting with that for a moment, Meena said, ‘Hasn’t Mia agreed to talk to you?’

‘She’s yet to commit and she doesn’t want to answer anything we send by email.’