64. Helen
HELEN
‘Helen?’
‘Sorry, Mark. I was miles away.’
He looked sympathetic. ‘In New York, by any chance?’
‘Sort of.’ Wondering how Nigel was getting on with the deposition, which would be starting any time now. And whether there was an alternative explanation for what she was now thinking of as “the other meeting”.
‘Let’s not talk about Nigel,’ she said. ‘I’d prefer to concentrate on today’s launch.’
‘Yeah, let’s do that. Do you think that lamp would be better over by the television?’
‘No, it really is in the correct place. We’re just tinkering now,’ she said, picking up a cushion and changing its angle slightly.
‘I’m sure the journalists won’t care where the lamp is.
They’re going to be more interested in the treehouses’ eco credentials, and Adrian’s got that information printed off ready for them to take away.
All the work I’ve done is just trivial set dressing. ’
‘It’s a lot more than that. These places would look like not-so-glorified sheds on stilts if I’d had to furnish them.’
She gave him a half-hearted smile.
Lucy walked into the room. ‘They’re here!’
‘Come on, Helen,’ Mark said, putting his arm around her. ‘Let’s show them what we’re made of.’