Chapter 6 #2
Elena tipped the contents of the bags onto the couch.
‘Let me guess, you’re playing the part of the demure Egyptologist, Evelyn.
You have that whole sultry librarian thing going on.
’ She picked up a wide-brimmed hat. ‘A reserved exterior masking a smoking hot body.’ The discovery of a white Victorian blouse and long black skirt confirmed her theory.
‘Who am I? The dead high priest, Imhotep?’
Sofia rummaged through the garments. ‘Like I’d do that to you,’ she said, handing Elena a brown leather gun holster. ‘You’re Rick O’Connell, the swashbuckling hero and slayer of the undead.’
Elena inspected the holster. ‘Cool.’
‘It’s fitting, really, seeing as how you saved our family … even if your behaviour just now was far from heroic.’
Elena tied the man’s scarf around her neck. ‘My reaction was justified. I thought he’d upset my sister.’
‘But he hadn’t. And you don’t normally behave like a crazy person. It was very out of character, which is why I think you like him. He ruffles your feathers.’
‘Nonsense.’ Elena avoided eye-contact with her sister. ‘What did you get for Luisa?’
Sofia picked up the Cleopatra wig. ‘Anck-su-namun, the sexy unhinged priestess.’
‘She’ll love that.’
‘I’ve downloaded the film onto my iPad. We can stop for cinema snacks on the way, Luisa will have a fit if we turn up without popcorn.’
‘True.’ Elena held up the tan-coloured jodhpurs. ‘So, what happened at work?’
Sofia sighed. ‘I was dismissed.’
‘Well, I guessed that, but what happened exactly?’ She kicked off her trainers. ‘I need details.’
‘I was called into Mr Ackroyd’s office and told my position was being terminated with immediate effect for repeated and unauthorised absences.’
‘Just like that? That’s outrageous.’
‘Not really. I’d been given two verbal warnings.
It’s not like I didn’t know the outcome when the hospital called the other night to say Luisa was struggling.
The moment I left work to be with her, I knew I’d be dismissed.
Especially when I arrived at the hospital and saw Luisa on that awful machine. There was no way I was leaving her.’
Elena’s heart pinched at the reminder. ‘Yeah, it wasn’t great.’
It had certainly been a traumatic few days.
The hospital had hooked Luisa up to a machine that blasted air into her lungs to help clear the fluid and mucus build-up, as her body was struggling to do the job itself.
But it was an intense experience and Luisa had become agitated and kept trying to remove the face mask, saying it was making her hot and panicky.
The hospital had called Sofia in the hope that having a loved one with her might ease Luisa’s anxiety.
So they’d dropped everything and headed to the hospital, resigned to a long night ahead.
When it became clear Luisa could be on the machine for several hours, they’d decided to take shifts.
Elena stayed overnight and Sofia took over early the next morning, meaning she hadn’t gone into work.
Elena shimmied into the snug jodhpurs, pulling them up her legs. ‘I wish I’d swapped shifts with you now and covered the day instead.’
‘It wouldn’t have made any difference. You’d have had to cancel your appointments and lost income—either way it meant sacrificing one of our careers.
Better mine than yours. Although I’m not looking forward to my exit interview on Friday, being fired is humiliating enough without being subjected to a post-mortem.
’ She unzipped her skirt and let it fall to the floor. ‘Hopefully I’ll find another job soon.’
‘You shouldn’t have to find another job, it’s outrageous that your employer treated you this way. It’s discrimination. You shouldn’t be punished for being a carer.’
Sofia fastened the long black skirt around her waist. ‘I agree, but what can I do? I didn’t meet their criteria for being a carer.’
Elena dragged her physio tunic over her head and slung it on the couch. ‘Then we challenge their definition of carer.’
‘What’s the point? Being a carer isn’t covered by statutory legislation, it comes under contractual law, which means the company can apply whatever rules they wish. I don’t have any grounds for challenging the decision.’
‘Of course you do.’ Elena slid her arms into the white granddad shirt.
‘Someone has to set the precedent, why not you? You’ve been there five years and have an exemplary employment record.
You need to force them to accept that as Luisa’s carer you’re entitled to the same dispensation as other carers. ’
Sofia tied the polka dot scarf around her neck. ‘And how do I do that?’
Elena squeezed her feet into the brown leather boots. Despite being a size too big, it was still a push to get her swollen ankle inside. ‘I don’t know, but there’s bound to be stuff online.’
‘When I told Danny I’d been dismissed he asked if I was going to raise a grievance and appeal the decision. He said if that failed, I could apply to have the case heard at an Employment Tribunal. A judge would decide whether the employer had acted reasonably or not.’
Elena didn’t like the idea of Daniel Jackson knowing about their business. She got to her feet and reached for the leather gun holster. ‘You told him what happened?’
Sofia buttoned up the Victorian blouse. ‘Not in any detail. I just said I’d been dismissed from my job and he said if I felt I’d been treated unfairly there was action I could take. We didn’t discuss specifics, just the process.’
‘Right.’ Elena was relieved, although why, she wasn’t sure. Perhaps it was because he seemed like the judgemental type, and she could do without his disapproval. She’d had enough of that with Felix.
There was another emotion lurking beneath the surface too: guilt. Elena should have known that further time off would result in her sister’s dismissal and she should have insisted on staying with Luisa herself. She was a bad sister.
Sofia tucked in her blouse. ‘He mentioned an organisation called ACAS.’
‘ACAS?’ Elena typed the details into her phone.
‘Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. They’re an independent body who receive money from the government to help resolve employment disputes.
’ She was begrudgingly grateful to Daniel for pointing them in the right direction. ‘We should give them a call.’
Sofia slid on the waistcoat. ‘Even if I do get my job back, it doesn’t solve the issue of Luisa still needing care.’
‘But if your employer accepts you’re a carer they’ll have to allow you time off. We’ve got nothing to lose by calling them, it’s a free service.’ Elena came over to her sister. ‘You need to fight this, Sofia. Don’t take any crap, your employers are out of order.’
Sofia puffed out her cheeks. ‘Okay, I’ll call them.’
‘Good, now how do I look?’ Elena adopted a manly stance and then karate-kicked the couch, making her ankle twinge. ‘Ouch.’
Sofia laughed. ‘You look perfect. Like an adventurer off to explore the Egyptian desert.’
‘Excellent.’ Elena picked up the wide-brimmed hat and placed it on Sofia’s head. ‘And only you could make this outfit look sexy. Did you bring overcoats?’
Sofia looked puzzled. ‘No, why?’
‘We have to ride the tube dressed like this?’
Her sister’s face fell. ‘I didn’t think of that.’
Rolling her eyes, Elena pocketed her phone and held the door open for Sofia. ‘The things we do for our sister. Come on, let’s get this over with.’
They headed downstairs and into the lobby, stopping to laugh at their reflections in the long wall-mirror. Any hope of escaping without encountering Daniel Jackson disintegrated when his office door swung open and he stopped dead in surprise. ‘Wow, okay. I wasn’t expecting that.’
Elena’s hands went to her hips. ‘Yes, can I help you with something?’
‘No, I’m all good.’ His eyes travelled the length of her body. ‘Nice outfit. I hope that’s not a real gun.’
She patted the plastic revolver. ‘I might feel safer if it was, for next time a man rugby tackles me.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Harsh, considering the man’s actions might not be intentional.’
‘Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?’ Elena met his intense stare head on, she refused to be intimidated. ‘And intentional or not, the result is the same. I could barely get this boot on.’
His gaze travelled lower. ‘I’m not surprised, they look quite …
snug.’ His voice was slightly husky now.
His head was tilted to one side and she wasn’t sure she could interpret the look on his face.
More puzzling still, he’d barely looked at Sofia.
When Sofia was in the room, Elena was used to being invisible.
Far from breaking eye-contact, he continued staring.
Why was he looking at her like that? This was like Felix all over again, wasn’t it? A man disapproving of any behaviour deemed ‘inappropriate’.
So what if they were dressed in ridiculous outfits? Why shouldn’t they be? It was for a good cause, the mental well-being of their beloved sister. What this man thought of her was insignificant. His opinion was irrelevant. She didn’t give two hoots what Daniel-the-Jerk-Jackson thought of her.
With a swish of her hips, she headed for the front door. ‘Come along, Sofia,’ she said, beckoning for her sister to follow. ‘We have men to slay.’
Danny’s eyes grew wide.