The Cinderella Reflex by Johanna Buchanan Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Johanna Buchanan
shut and their salaries coming into their accounts every month.
One of the results of her agony aunt search made her smile though.
Are you suffering from the Agony of unrequited love?
Are you uncertain of what the future holds?
Let Grandma Rosa read your fortune.
Tealeaves (cup of tea free!), Cards and Crystal.
Seventh Daughter of a Seventh Daughter!
Tess read on, her interest piqued. The address was quite near to where Tess lived. She’d never had her fortune told, but she was definitely uncertain about the future. If Grandma Rosa could foresee anything on the horizon that wasn’t doom and gloom, Tess would love to hear it. In fact, the woman might even give her a few tips about answering people’s problems. It could be a research trip!
She could ask her about the station getting taken over. And tell her about how worried she was about being forced to become Agony Aunt of the Airwaves. Tess was sick of the tension in this office. She needed distraction. She needed gossip. She needed Grandma Rosa.
She turned over her spiral jotter, filled with the doodles and sketches she’d made of people she’d spotted around Killty, picked up the phone and dialled the number.
CHAPTER FOUR
Helene hunched over her desk, frowning at the piles of paper in front of her. She was having a very bad day. It had been a series of bad days really, ever since the announcement that the station might be taken over. She stretched and yawned, her eyes straying to the clock. She had let herself into an empty building, clutching her skinny latte and determined to make headway with the mountain of tasks ahead of her. Now, two hours later, it was still only nine a.m.
She felt wrecked and hadn’t made any real progress. Ever since Richard had heard about the possible takeover he had changed into one hell of a taskmaster. Overnight, it seemed, she had gone from being a big fish, albeit in a very small pond, to a minnow, darting this way and that as she tried to respond to Richard’s ever-escalating demands. This latest thing she was working on was “a full appraisal of the Ollie Andrews’s show” – who were the anchors, who were the contributors, who were the advertisers, blah blah blah.
“Don’t you know all that already?” she’d asked crossly when Richard had given her the assignment. But apparently it was all for the benefit of the mysterious Jack McCabe. Helene had been furious that Sara, the most junior staff member, had found out about him at precisely the same time as she had.
“Do you know how that made me feel?” She had railed at Richard that evening when he’d dropped by her apartment.
“Truthfully? No.” He took off his tortoiseshell glasses and polished them with a cloth he unfolded from his pocket. “But I know how we’ll both feel if this takeover doesn’t happen.”
A nerve was twitching in his right temple and Helene noticed the deep lines etching his forehead, the vague look in his eyes. He seemed unusually stressed, and she couldn’t help feeling he knew more than he was telling her.
“But are you still in charge?” she cajoled.
He gave her a half-smile. “I am at the moment. Helene, I’ve told you all I’m prepared to tell you for now. All of this is deeply confidential. You need to make sure the staff keep these rumours to themselves.” HeleHh
Helene laughed out loud. “They’re
journalists
, Richard! There’s no way this will be kept secret. Just tell me this – is my job safe?”
But Richard had refused to talk about the takeover any more and Helene had had to leave it at that. They had opened a bottle of wine, and watched a DVD, but Richard had left early, saying he needed an early night.
The phone on her desk jangled loudly, interrupting her thoughts. She sighed. She knew who it would be even before she lifted the receiver.
“Yes, Paulina, what is it this time?”
“Ah ... Helene, there are a few more things I need to know ...”
There would be, Helene thought wearily, pressing
One of the results of her agony aunt search made her smile though.
Are you suffering from the Agony of unrequited love?
Are you uncertain of what the future holds?
Let Grandma Rosa read your fortune.
Tealeaves (cup of tea free!), Cards and Crystal.
Seventh Daughter of a Seventh Daughter!
Tess read on, her interest piqued. The address was quite near to where Tess lived. She’d never had her fortune told, but she was definitely uncertain about the future. If Grandma Rosa could foresee anything on the horizon that wasn’t doom and gloom, Tess would love to hear it. In fact, the woman might even give her a few tips about answering people’s problems. It could be a research trip!
She could ask her about the station getting taken over. And tell her about how worried she was about being forced to become Agony Aunt of the Airwaves. Tess was sick of the tension in this office. She needed distraction. She needed gossip. She needed Grandma Rosa.
She turned over her spiral jotter, filled with the doodles and sketches she’d made of people she’d spotted around Killty, picked up the phone and dialled the number.
CHAPTER FOUR
Helene hunched over her desk, frowning at the piles of paper in front of her. She was having a very bad day. It had been a series of bad days really, ever since the announcement that the station might be taken over. She stretched and yawned, her eyes straying to the clock. She had let herself into an empty building, clutching her skinny latte and determined to make headway with the mountain of tasks ahead of her. Now, two hours later, it was still only nine a.m.
She felt wrecked and hadn’t made any real progress. Ever since Richard had heard about the possible takeover he had changed into one hell of a taskmaster. Overnight, it seemed, she had gone from being a big fish, albeit in a very small pond, to a minnow, darting this way and that as she tried to respond to Richard’s ever-escalating demands. This latest thing she was working on was “a full appraisal of the Ollie Andrews’s show” – who were the anchors, who were the contributors, who were the advertisers, blah blah blah.
“Don’t you know all that already?” she’d asked crossly when Richard had given her the assignment. But apparently it was all for the benefit of the mysterious Jack McCabe. Helene had been furious that Sara, the most junior staff member, had found out about him at precisely the same time as she had.
“Do you know how that made me feel?” She had railed at Richard that evening when he’d dropped by her apartment.
“Truthfully? No.” He took off his tortoiseshell glasses and polished them with a cloth he unfolded from his pocket. “But I know how we’ll both feel if this takeover doesn’t happen.”
A nerve was twitching in his right temple and Helene noticed the deep lines etching his forehead, the vague look in his eyes. He seemed unusually stressed, and she couldn’t help feeling he knew more than he was telling her.
“But are you still in charge?” she cajoled.
He gave her a half-smile. “I am at the moment. Helene, I’ve told you all I’m prepared to tell you for now. All of this is deeply confidential. You need to make sure the staff keep these rumours to themselves.” HeleHh
Helene laughed out loud. “They’re
journalists
, Richard! There’s no way this will be kept secret. Just tell me this – is my job safe?”
But Richard had refused to talk about the takeover any more and Helene had had to leave it at that. They had opened a bottle of wine, and watched a DVD, but Richard had left early, saying he needed an early night.
The phone on her desk jangled loudly, interrupting her thoughts. She sighed. She knew who it would be even before she lifted the receiver.
“Yes, Paulina, what is it this time?”
“Ah ... Helene, there are a few more things I need to know ...”
There would be, Helene thought wearily, pressing