The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella Read Free Book Online Page B

wipe my damp hands on a tissue.
    I bet you havent come down off your high yet! She leans against the filing cabinet. Ive
     got some champagne in the fridge, all ready...
    Er... great! Actually, Maggie, Ive really got to get on...
    Oh. She looks hurt. Well, OK. Ill leave you.
    As she walks out I can see indignation in the set of her shoulders. She probably thinks Im
     a total cow. But every minute is another minute of risk. I have to call the bank.
     Immediately.
    I search through the attached contact sheet and find the name and number of our contact at
     Third Union. Charles Conway.
    This is the man I have to call. This is the man whose day I have to disturb and admit that
     Ive totally messed up. With trembling hands I pick up the phone. I feel as though Im
    psyching myself up to dive into a noxious swamp.
    For a few moments I just sit there, staring at the keypad, willing myself to punch in the
     number. At last, I reach out and dial. As it rings, my heart begins to pound.
    Charles Conway.
    Hi! I say, trying to keep my voice steady. Its Samantha Sweeting from Carter Spink. I dont
     think weve met.
    Hi, Samantha. He sounds friendly enough. How can I help?
    I was phoning on a... a technical matter. Its about... I can hardly bear to say it.
     Glazerbrooks.
    Oh, youve heard about that, says Charles Conway. News travels fast.
    The room seems to shrink.
    Heard... what? My voice is higher than Id like. I havent heard anything.
    Oh! I assumed thats why you were calling. Yes, they called in the receivers today. That
     last-ditch attempt to save themselves obviously didnt work...
    I feel light-headed. Black spots are dancing in front of my eyes. Glazerbrooks is going
     bust. Theyll never draw up the new documentation now. Not in a million years.
    I wont be able to register the charge. I cant put it right. Ive lost Third Union Bank £50
     million.
    I feel like Im hallucinating. I want to gibber in panic. I want to thrust down the phone
     and run.
    Its a good thing you phoned, as it happens, Charles Conway is saying. I can hear him
     tapping at a keyboard in the background, totally unconcerned. You might want to
     double-check that loan security.
    For a few moments I cant speak.
    Yes, I say at last, my voice hoarse. Thank you. I put down the receiver, shaking all over.
    Ive fucked up. I have fucked up so big, I cant even...
    Barely knowing what Im doing, I push back my chair. I have to get out.

The Undomestic Goddess

Chapter Five
    I walk through reception on autopilot. Out onto the sunny lunchtime street, one foot in
     front of the other, just another office worker among the midday crowds.
    Except Im different. Ive just lost my client £50 million.
    Fifty million. The amount is like a drumbeat in my head.
    I dont understand how it happened. I dont understand. My mind keeps turning it over. Over
     and over, obsessively. How could I have not seen... how could I have overlooked... It must
     have been put on my desk, then covered up with something else. A file, a pile of
     contracts, a cup of coffee.
    One mistake. The only mistake Ive ever made. I want to wake up and this will all be a bad
     dream, it happened to someone else, its a story Im listening to in the pub, agog, thanking
     my lucky stars it wasnt me... But it is me.
    My career is over. The last person at Carter Spink who made a mistake like this was Ted
     Stephens, who lost a client
    £10 million in 1983. He was fired on the spot. And Ive lost five times that.
    My chest feels tight; I feel like Im being smothered. I think I could be having a panic
     attack. I sit down on a bench set against some railings and wait to feel better.
    OK, Im not feeling better. Im feeling worse.
    Suddenly I jump in terror as my mobile phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and look
     at the caller ID. Its Guy.
    I cant talk to him. I cant talk to anybody. Not right now.
    A moment later, the phone tells me a message has been left. I lift the phone to my ear and
     press 1 to