Mistakes We Make by Jenny Harper Read Free Book Online Page B

they’d worked for at Petronius. She’d heard he’d nicked the contract when he’d gone freelance.
    ‘You haven’t lost your nose, Moll, hiding away in that rotting pile, I’ll say that for you.’
    ‘Hardly a rotting pile. We’ve turned everything round.’
    ‘I’m sure you’ve worked miracles. I have every faith in you – which brings me to why I’m calling.’
    ‘Oh yes? So why are you calling? Not that I’m not pleased to hear from you,’ she added. Just hearing Barnaby’s voice had already made her morning feel brighter.
    ‘You’ve been at Fleming House for – remind me – how long?’
    ‘Almost two years.’
    ‘We all thought it was an odd move.’
    Molly said nothing.
    ‘Your choice, of course. But knowing you, I can’t imagine it’s part of your career plan to stay there for ever.’
    ‘Probably not,’ she conceded.
    ‘I’ve got a proposition for you.’
    ‘And you a married man too!’
    ‘I’ve been doing exceptionally well. This year especially, despite the difficult market conditions. I’m so busy, in fact, that I can’t cope on my own, there’s far too much work. I need a partner. And I’d like it to be you.’
    Molly’s mouth dropped open. She twisted her glasses round and round between her fingers.
    ‘Why me?’
    ‘We have complementary skills. I’m a strategist and a high-level planner. You deliver. You’re an ideas person and a first-class events manager – and you’ve got a magic touch with people. We’re a great team, Molly. I always thought so. I’ve been thinking long and hard about whom I should ask, and I keep coming back to one name – Molly Keir. It feels right. You feel right. I’m just hoping that you’re ready to come out of the hole you’ve been hiding in and take on the world with me. What do you say?’
    ‘I’m stunned.’
    It was true. Her head had begun to spin. She was dazed. Her heart had started to beat faster.
    London?
    As a partner?
    The prospect was almost unimaginably exciting. She’d compete with the big guys, get a pop at the juicy accounts. It would bring out all her skills, demand peak performance, draw out the creativity that had been buried recently.
    ‘It would mean a move to London,’ Barnaby was saying, ‘but you always used to talk about how much you’d love that if it weren’t for Adam being a lawyer in Scotland. And now that you’re divorced—’
    ‘We’re not divorced, actually.’
    ‘No? I thought—’
    ‘Nothing on paper.’
    The latest envelope from Blair King was lying in front of her, still unopened. She dropped her glasses on the desk and picked it up. The first year apart from Adam had been desperately difficult. No-one would have blamed him for filing for divorce immediately once he’d found out about Jamie, yet he’d done nothing more than quibble about things that were quite unimportant. Custody of the cheese grater, the OS map collection, the West Wing box set.
    ‘Never mind that,’ she said, ‘tell me more.’
    ‘I said partnership, but it’s probably time to go limited liability. You’d be a director. There’s more than enough work, so we’ll need to hire staff right away.’
    ‘Wow. Golly.’ She gulped, trying to take it in. ‘Does it have to be London?’
    ‘Follow the money, Moll, you know that. Yes, we have to be in London, but there’s plenty of work in Scotland, ripe for the picking. You could be in charge of anything that comes up there, if you want. It’ll give you some reasonable chunks of time to be at home with your father; I know that would be a concern.’
    ‘You’re right,’ Molly admitted reluctantly, but her duty to her father wasn’t something she could walk away from – nor, despite the excitement of Barnaby’s proposal, did she want to. ‘Dad’s getting on a bit, and he’s beginning to lose his sight. Being so far away would be a worry.’
    ‘You’ve got a brother, right? And it’s only an hour by plane.’
    ‘I guess so.’
    ‘Listen, I