Chapter 22
‘Thank you so much,’ I said to the waiter who brought a third chair to the table for my afternoon tea with Pim.
Pim had yet to descend from her suite upstairs, mostly because she and her dog, Gerald, were catching up on the Love is Blind reunion and were not going to turn it off for anything, not even for me.
It was probably a good thing, since I still had to set up for Alison’s arrival for our secret rendezvous and introduction. Alison was aware that Pim did not know about her being there, but she didn’t seem flustered at all on the phone.
‘If you think this is the best way, then I’ll follow your lead,’ she said, and I appreciated her so much in that moment that I didn’t hesitate further.
This was the best, and only, way to get Pim to sit down and accept that I was leaving, and Alison was taking over.
For the third time I re-arranged the cutlery on the table, adjusting it just a millimetre this way and a millimetre that.
Disrupting the perfection that the staff had already achieved hours before.
My hands continued to fidget, itching for something to do to alleviate the anxiety of waiting.
Eventually I gave in to it, reaching for my phone and opening my TikTok app to continue editing some drafts of short videos I had made, introducing my followers to the team at the Savoy and some of the staff backstage at the Southbank.
I added some music from Encanto – the song about the grandkids’ round-up – and began to adjust the clips to fit the timing. But still my anxiety continued to rise.
I was sure that something was going to go wrong.
Pim was going to hate Alison or Alison was going to think this job was too much and I would have to spend Christmas hunting out yet another assistant, nowhere near capable.
I couldn’t start my new job having left Pim at a loss, even if it was due to her actions.
I needed this Christmas miracle to pay off.
‘Evie?’ Alison’s voice stood out for being unwavering, with no anxiety. I looked up and quickly replaced my phone face-down on the table.
Alison was dressed casually but smartly, with a chunky necklace that naturally drew the eye. Her smile was her second-biggest feature and immediately put me at ease.
‘Alison! How are you?’ I stood to greet her, enveloping her slightly unusually in a tight hug, grateful for her appearance.
‘I’m good. How about you? How are you feeling?’ she asked, releasing me but still holding my arms, her expression clearly showing that she had sensed my nervousness. ‘Is Pim coming down?’
‘Yeah, she’ll be down soon,’ I laughed, exhaling and pulling out her chair for her. ‘She just wanted to finish something off.’
‘Good, gives us a chance to catch up,’ she said, sitting down with a comfortable sigh.
I wanted to get straight down to business, especially before Pim sat down.
‘I’m assuming you’ve heard about the drama with Pim and Michael Holland?’
Alison sucked her teeth. ‘I did see it. I was surprised the BBC ran an article about it, given they’ve hired the two stars.’
‘No such thing as bad publicity,’ I parroted Denise and Bob. ‘It’s done wonders for her sales.’
‘And his documentaries?’ Alison queried, but I shrugged. I didn’t know, but I would assume the viewing figures would be up. He did seem to be appearing on my television a lot more than he had done weeks prior, but perhaps that was purely due to my sudden focus on him.
‘It’s been a bit of a week. But it’s starting to die down.’
‘Typical news churn,’ she agreed. ‘How is Pim with it all?’
‘Delighted,’ I said honestly. ‘She got to say her piece and now she’s famous again. It’s been a real boost for her.’
Alison smiled. ‘I’m relieved for you. That wouldn’t have been easy to deal with had it gone another way, but I’m glad.’ I smiled appreciatively, glad that she recognised my discomfort before she lifted her menu to peruse the many tea options available. ‘What’s good?’
‘Oh, everything,’ I said, taking my seat. ‘I don’t think I’ve had a bad meal here, and everyone’s so lovely and caring. Though a tip every now and then does help.’
‘I bet!’ Alison said with a light chuckle. ‘I’m guilty, or rather not guilty but very happy, to offer tips to grease the skids to get a job done.’
‘It certainly helps to cut corners every now and then, especially when clients aren’t known for their patience.’
‘And staff need a bit of…’ She paused and chewed her lip. ‘How to put this politely… a bit of compensation?’
I began to laugh – she got it.
‘All things we can discuss together, but not with our clients,’ I said, a light-hearted warning in my tone, though she was definitely accurate.
‘Oh, of course,’ she agreed, tapping my wrist lightly. ‘I would never.’
We both took a moment to review the menu, my eyes glazed over the flavours I preferred for the ones Pim would usually request, unable to switch off from putting her needs first. Though this meeting was partly for me, a chance to turn off my Pim mode and focus on myself and my wants.
My phone buzzed on the table, an email alert flashing.
‘Excuse me,’ I said, putting down the menu and reviewing the message.
It was from Elijah.
‘Hey, Evelyn,’ it began. ‘I just wanted to check if you received the treatments we sent over for the new shows. Any feedback or ideas? Eager to hear your thoughts. E.’
Well, that was a chase if ever I read one. And on 22 December!
I put my phone face-down on the table without replying.
Leaning on my elbows, I decided to focus on Alison.
‘How are things with you? Have you finished your notice period?’
She nodded happily. ‘Yes, last week. I can’t believe I get a break this Christmas, that’s the first in a while.’
‘I’m glad. I’ll be honest, you won’t get much of a break with Pim next Christmas.’
She shrugged. ‘It’s not all it’s made out to be.
It’s nice to do something different as, for the last however many years, I’ve just been stuck in the same office over the festive period and getting Christmas and Boxing Day off to spend with my partner’s siblings and their family.
My family are all spread out. If I get to spend Christmas in Nepal one year and then Christmas in Sydney the next, it will be brilliant. I just want something different.’
I smiled. ‘It certainly is that. We don’t realise how pigeonholed we are in the UK, we forget how amazing Christmases can be in different cultures, and sometimes not even Christmas, just winter.’
Alison grinned, her eyes glazing over with imaginings about her future. A future I used to find so exciting but now find draining.
‘Be sure to find time for you, though. Have a break and enjoy what each location has to offer. Pim’s pretty good at allocating time for me, I mean you, to experience the culture. It gives her a chance to enjoy herself with friends or just on her own.’
‘She doesn’t want you to live in her pocket.’
‘Maybe on occasion, but mostly she wants you to get her from A to B without her needing to think about any of it.’
Alison nodded, taking it all in.
It felt stranger than I’d expected, talking through the role – my life – like this.
My stomach felt knotted but as if it were unravelling, even if it was a little painful.
I didn’t realise how much of my life was reading the room and staying one step ahead at all times until I was passing the baton and sitting still for the first time in years.
I wasn’t walking away from something important; I was choosing to stop and reflect. It was nostalgic to realise how much I was the person who others relied on before they even knew it. But that pressure was gone.
It was Alison’s turn to hold the baton now.
She reached for her bag and pulled out a brand-new notebook and stylish fountain pen. She waved it between her fingers.
‘A leaving gift,’ she sniggered. ‘You’d think after twelve years they would have monogrammed it. But I think that would mean remembering how to spell my surname.’
I tutted on her behalf. ‘I doubt I’ll get anything as fine from Pim,’ I said, but Alison shook her head.
‘Yes, you will. I’ll probably be buying it.’ She winked.
Suddenly, from behind us, I heard the yapping of a familiar dog and the clicking of two high heels on the black-and-white marble floors.
‘Would you mind?’ Pim’s voice rang out grandly, not for the sake of the person she was talking to but so everyone else in the Savoy restaurant heard her coming. ‘He prefers bottled water. Thank you.’
‘Here she comes,’ I muttered to Alison as I rose from my seat, butterflies fluttering in my stomach as I moved to head Pim off before she spotted Alison and me together. Alison didn’t even shuffle in her seat, she was so calm and confident. I fed off her energy.
‘Pim!’ I waved my arm so that she spotted me and began to walk towards me. ‘We have someone joining us today.’
Pim frowned. ‘Who? I didn’t ask you to invite anyone?’
‘Her name is Alison, and she’s interviewing to be your new assistant.’
Pim froze as she reached me, less than five metres from the table. She said nothing. I could see her tongue working its way across her teeth in consideration while she stared me hard in the eyes with her own owl-like gaze.
‘Alison?’ she repeated quietly. Tasting each syllable.
‘Alison.’
Another pause.
Without warning, she clicked her cheeks and sighed, walking around me to the table, and speaking a hundred miles an hour as she did so.
‘Do they have that jasmine tea I ordered last time? I would like that again, but not in that cup they used before. It was too close to a mug. No, I’d like a teacup and saucer, preferably china.
And no biscuits, too many crumbs. They get in my pleats and then Gerald sniffs them out and it’s most unbecoming to have a dog sniffing around your lady garden.
So unrefined. You’re Alison?’ Pim sat down without extending a hand and Alison nodded politely.
‘Lovely to meet you, Pim.’
‘So,’ Pim began, putting her small clutch, which only contained her phone and a single tissue, heavily on the table. ‘Evie tells me you’re going to be my new assistant.’