7. Amanda
Amanda stood outside the office door and took a deep breath. You’re doing this for Theo and for you. You have to salvage the mess your husband and son have made of your lives. It’s up to you to make this move back to Dublin work out and make sure Ross gets to run the agency and pay off that slut.
Amanda knew that if Melanie or Jamie took over the business, Ross could be out of a job.
Jamie tolerated Ross, but they were not close, and Melanie owed him nothing.
Melanie clearly did not like Ross and wasn’t very good at hiding it.
Amanda thought Melanie should be nicer to Ross and a bit more respectful.
After all, he was the eldest and the presumed heir to the agency.
Melanie seemed to think that having a few good writers on her books made her irreplaceable, but if there was one thing Amanda had learnt in life it was that no one was irreplaceable.
Plastering a smile on her face, she walked through the door. Frank was the first person she bumped into. Thank God, he was the nicest of the whole lot of them by miles. A bit useless, but kind, and there was a lot to be said for kind men. Her husband could learn a thing or two from his brother.
‘Hello, Amanda, great to see you,’ he greeted her warmly.
‘Hi, Frank.’
‘What have you got there?’ He pointed to the big box she was carrying.
‘An afternoon treat for you all. Nancy’s favourite lemon cheesecake. And I got a vegan one, so you can enjoy it too.’
Frank beamed at her. ‘That’s so thoughtful of you. Mum will be thrilled.’
Amanda doubted that Nancy was about to backflip around the office, but she hoped she’d crack a smile.
Frank called to the others, who were all in their individual offices, except Ross, who was working from the small conference room.
So he hadn’t got an office yet, Amanda noted.
The problem was, Ross had told her, there were only four, and then some hot-desks in the reception area for the accountant, who worked two days a week, and the admin girl, who worked three days a week, and for the readers who sometimes came in to attend to the slush pile of submissions.
Nancy, Frank, Jamie and Melanie each had an office.
But Ross fully intended to move Frank out of his as he was, in his words, ‘a total fucking dead weight’.
The dead weight announced her arrival. ‘Amanda is here, bearing gifts.’
The others looked up from their desks and came out. Nancy wheeled herself, looking distinctly unhappy with the interruption.
‘What’s going on?’ Ross asked. He didn’t look thrilled at the sight of his wife and her cake either.
‘I brought Nancy’s favourite lemon cheesecake for an afternoon coffee break.’ Amanda kept her voice bright.
‘We’re not a crèche, we don’t have afternoon coffee breaks,’ Nancy huffed.
Amanda was tempted to shove her mother-in-law’s snooty face into the cheesecake.
‘Mum,’ Frank’s voice was calm but firm, ‘Amanda has gone to the trouble of bringing in a delicious cake. It was really thoughtful of her. We can all do with a ten-minute break. It’s good for the brain to switch off and for your body to relax and recharge.’
‘Your body must be very relaxed, Frank,’ Ross said drily.
‘It is, thanks.’ Frank grinned, Ross’s insult washing over him.
How the hell was he so zen? Maybe she should start meditating. It might help with her heightened anxiety and stress-induced insomnia.
‘I could teach you a few relaxing techniques to help you uncoil,’ Frank suggested to his brother.
Ross snorted. ‘No, thanks, Frank. I actually like working hard.’
‘Stress is a killer, Ross. You need to look after your health.’
If stress is a killer, how come she wasn’t dead? She should be ten feet under with all she’d had to deal with lately.
‘I find stress motivating, Frank. You should try it sometime.’
‘No, Frank’s right. We all need a better work–life balance,’ Jamie said, defending his brother.
Although Jamie was four years younger than Frank, he seemed like the older brother. Amanda thought it was sweet the way he always jumped to Frank’s defence. He did so a lot more than Melanie did. She was still in her office, talking on the phone.
‘Rubbish. I’ve worked twelve-hour days all my life. Hard work never killed anyone.’ Nancy wasn’t having any of it.
‘I wouldn’t say you’re the poster girl for work–life balance, Mum.’ Frank smiled at his mother.
‘Success requires dedication, determination and hard graft, Frank.’
Did it require being a cantankerous old witch too?
Melanie finally came out of her office. ‘Oh, cake, right, uhm, thanks.’
Could she have been less enthusiastic?
‘My pleasure.’ Amanda kept smiling, although her cheeks were now beginning to ache. This had not been a good idea. No one wanted the stupid cheesecake. Frank found a knife and Amanda busied herself cutting it into slices.
‘It’s a bit tart,’ was all Nancy said, although she polished off her piece.
‘Lovely,’ Jamie said.
‘Really delicious,’ Frank enthused.
‘Very nice,’ Ross muttered.
‘Tasty.’ Melanie picked at the cake, her mind clearly elsewhere.
‘What’s going on with Peter?’ Nancy asked Melanie.
She put her plate down. ‘I talked him off a ledge and he’s agreed to most of the edits. I think it could be something special if we can just keep him from spiralling.’
‘I knew he’d be tricky the minute I met him. I warned you,’ Nancy reminded her.
Amanda noticed Melanie’s jaw set. So she wasn’t all cosy with Nancy either.
‘A lot of authors are tricky, Nancy, but the gifted ones are worth it. I can manage Peter.’
‘Fine, send me the revised manuscript when it’s ready. I want to read it. Did you give him a deadline?’
‘Yes, a month from today.’
‘Too long.’
Melanie kept her voice steady but Amanda noticed her clenched fists.
‘No, Nancy, it’s what Peter needs. It’s a significant rewrite and it’ll still be ready for the Copenhagen book fair, which is the main goal.’
Amanda was impressed by her sister-in-law’s firm, don’t-mess-with-me attitude. She loved watching Nancy being stood up to. Ross would have to be careful: Melanie was undoubtedly a formidable opponent.
‘How’s Theo?’ Frank pointedly changed the subject.
‘He’s still adapting,’ Amanda said.
‘He’s fine, just needs to get on with it,’ Ross added.
‘It takes time to settle into new schools and surroundings,’ Frank said. ‘Has to be tough for him.’
‘If I had my way, he’d be at boarding school,’ Ross grumbled.
‘But you hated it,’ Jamie reminded him.
‘I didn’t hate it. I was just very young when I was sent there. Nine is … well, young. Theo’s seventeen. It would do him good to have more discipline.’
‘Nine was so young.’ Frank’s voice was full of empathy. ‘It must have been really hard on you.’
Amanda watched her husband bristle. Ross couldn’t handle Frank’s need to analyse everything and empathize with any, and all, difficulties.
‘It was a hundred years ago, Frank. I’ve moved on.’
‘Past traumas stay with you unless you deal with them. They can be toxic.’ Frank was not giving up.
‘I’m fine, Frank.’ Ross turned away from his brother.
‘Everyone handles things differently.’ Jamie jumped in, as ever.
‘If you ever want to talk to someone, Ross, I have the best therapist.’
‘Frank.’ Melanie’s voice was sharp. ‘Ross doesn’t want therapy. Not everyone needs to talk about things all the time.’
Frank nodded. ‘Okay, just offering. It saved my sanity, so I believe in its power.’
Maybe I should try it, Amanda thought. She had a lot to offload and unpack.
She had no good friends, and she couldn’t trust her sisters-in-law because they’d just run back and tell their husbands.
Then Nancy would find out Ross’s dirty little secret and Theo’s very big screw-up, and their car-crash of a life would be known to all.
She couldn’t stand the humiliation. Besides, it might tarnish Ross’s chances of running the agency and that goal was one of the only things Amanda and Ross agreed on.
Amanda had not moved back to Ireland under duress to have her husband be an employee.
She wanted him running the agency and awarding himself a large salary so they could pay off Ruby, buy a house, and she could have the life he had promised her.
The life he had provided until the affair and the subsequent mess that followed.
Living with his mother and being a semi-carer was not what Amanda had signed up for.
There was no way this situation was going to last. Ross was going up that ladder if she had to throw him up it herself.