Secrets of a Career Girl by Carol Marinelli Read Free Book Online Page A

go home and sign off from this place occasionally, and I’m signing off now. Good night, Ethan!’
    Penny closed the door on him and promptly burst into tears. And because Jasmine knew her well, or rather better than anyone else knew Penny, she didn’t try to comfort her at first. Instead, she undid her sister’s skirt as Penny stood there and sobbed. Jasmine looked at her bruised stomach and, finding a suitable spot, swabbed her skin and then stuck in the needle. Penny continued to sob and then, having disposed of the needle, Jasmine went over and gave her sister a hug.
    ‘It’s done.’
    ‘It’s not just that,’ Penny said.
    ‘I know.’
    ‘I made a right fool of myself just then. Ethan thinks that I’m jealous because I didn’t get the job. I know that’s what he’s been thinking and I’ve just gone and proved it to him.’
    ‘You’re not jealous, though, Penny.’ Jasmine tried to get her sister to see reason. ‘He doesn’t know what’s going on. You turned down the job so that you could concentrate on your IVF.’
    ‘No! I turned down the consultant’s position so that I could have a baby.’ Penny gulped. ‘But the way things are going, I don’t think that I’m going to get one.’

CHAPTER FIVE
    E THAN PAID THE taxi and let himself into his apartment.
    A celebratory drink on an empty stomach, the way he was feeling right now, possibly hadn’t been the best idea and it hadn’t been just the one.
    Given it had only been him with Gordon, he hadn’t exactly been able to get up and leave after one, so instead he’d had to sit there and listen as Gordon had gone into spectacular detail about his day, or rather his wife’s day.
    Ethan had been hoping that now that the baby had been born, Gordon would come back to work.
    He’d had no idea how it all worked.
    As it turned out, Gordon was now on paternity leave and would be juggling toddler twins and a six-year-old’s school run.
    ‘Not a problem,’ he had said to Gordon.
    It was, though, a huge one.
    Ethan had gone through everyone to cover for him in the morning and the only person who might possibly have been able to help had an appointment .
    Well, Ethan had his cousin’s funeral to attend.
    He’d been dreading it, but he would far rather be there than not.
    He would love to just ring in sick tomorrow, to let someone else sort it out, to just sign off on the place, as Penny had tonight.
    Still, he had expected more from her.
    She was senior too.
    Ethan loaded some toast into the toaster and some tinned spaghetti into the microwave and tried not to think about Justin and how he’d be feeling tonight. Though, he consoled himself, Gina would surely be handling things better than his own mother had, given they had broken up a couple of years ago.
    He couldn’t not be there tomorrow and not just for appearances’ sake—Ethan wanted to see for himself that Justin was okay.
    Ethan thought about Phil and the black game they’d played and, sorry, mate, he said to his cousin, because even if he didn’t fancy Penny, he was going to have to play the sympathy card.
    He was scrolling through his phone to find her number when it rang.
    ‘Ethan?’ He didn’t answer her straight away; instead, he frowned at the sound of her voice. ‘It’s Penny. Penny Masters from work.’
    ‘Hi, Penny.’
    ‘I’m sorry to call you so late. I meant to tell you before I left for home—it just slipped my mind. I changed my appointment. I can get into work by nine tomorrow, if you still need me to.’
    ‘I do.’ The words just jumped out of him. ‘Thank you.’ Ethan closed his eyes in relief and it took a second to realise that she was still talking.
    ‘I’d also like to apologise for my words before.’ She sounded very prim and formal. ‘I really wasn’t in a position to go out tonight, but I didn’t explain myself very well.’
    Penny had explained things perfectly, Ethan thought privately, but he was so relieved that he would be able to get the