Chapter 42
CHAPTER 42
Juliet was sitting with Gwen in her cramped basement office, having their weekly tea and cake catch-up to go over the figures. It was the only time Juliet ate cake. It was homemade, which made it acceptable somehow.
‘I think this is my happy place,’ said Juliet, looking round at the Beautiful Wales calendar and the dried flowers arrangement on top of the filing cabinet. There were pictures of a ginger cat pinned up on the notice board.
‘Oh, that’s nice,’ said Gwen. ‘I like to make it homely.’
‘Well, you do spend a lot of time down here. When we move to the new premises, you’re going to have a lovely office next to mine.’
‘About that,’ said Gwen. ‘The architect has sent some new plans with the costs breakdown. Would you like to look at them now?’
‘Ooh, yes,’ said Juliet, pulling her chair round to Gwen’s side of the desk.
The plans had just loaded when someone walked into the room. It was Luiza.
‘Who’s in the shop?’ asked Juliet.
‘Octavia,’ said Luiza, her head to one side.
‘Well, I would like you to go back up there now, please, Luiza, and whatever it is you want to talk about, we can do it another time.’
‘Now is good.’
Juliet looked back at her, wondering what on earth it was about. ‘Alright then. Let’s get on with it, but I’m busy here with Gwen, and I need you back in the shop as soon as possible. What’s going on?’
‘The thing is,’ said Luiza, looking down at her nails and then back up at Juliet, ‘now that Bob has gone and you are not planning to hire anyone else yet, that is a lot for me...’
Juliet said nothing, waiting to see what was going to come next.
‘So I think you will agree that my commission should be raised to reflect what I contribute to the business.’ She smiled again.
It’s like a cloud going across the sun that smile , Juliet thought. ‘Your review is in six months,’ she said firmly. ‘We’ll talk about it then, okay? Because I’m making a big investment in the company this year, which will be great for all of us, but that means I have to really watch the budget at the moment. That’s why I had to let, er, Bob go.’
‘Are you sure that’s his name?’ said Luiza, looking Juliet right in the eye. ‘I heard your little hesitation there...’
Juliet glanced at Gwen. Had she told her? Gwen imperceptibly shook her head. They’d worked together so long and so closely they could communicate a lot without words.
‘Of course it’s his name,’ said Juliet.
‘Really?’ said Luiza. ‘Because I know it is actually Beau. I read the papers and I know who his dad is. Was. So sad.’
She paused and Juliet had to stop herself swallowing hard. Where on earth was Luiza going with this?
‘And, of course, you knew the father, didn’t you?’ said Luiza. ‘So it must be extra sad for you.’
Juliet began to feel Luiza was enjoying this little performance, but she was determined to keep her cool. ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked in a measured tone.
‘One of my best friends works at Sotheby’s. He’s on the jewellery sales, that’s how I know him, but he likes to go to all the big auctions... you know, to see what’s going on, to see who’s there, who they are with and where they go afterwards. It’s a little sideline for him.’
Now Juliet did swallow.
‘So, because of what he tells me, I think it must be very sad for you that Beau’s father has died and, of course, for your poor little girls. Once you know – well, Cassady and Beau look so alike, don’t they?’ She laughed. A tinkly little giggle. ‘And you said in that interview in Her magazine they have the same father, so Hettie too.’
Juliet had to restrain herself from jumping to her feet and physically pushing her out of the office. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she said, making a huge effort to control her volume. ‘You know I go to Sotheby’s auctions, a lot of people do.’
Luiza looked at her straight, no smile now. ‘Let’s just keep this simple, shall we? I want twenty per cent more commission starting today and then this will go no further.’ She paused for a moment and then added: ‘My friend has photographs, so it’s up to you.’
Juliet looked back at her, trying to put her racing thoughts into some kind of order. It was blackmail. But she couldn’t just tell Luiza to get the hell out of her building and never come back, not with that threat hanging over her. What she needed was time. Time to think and plan a response.
‘As you can see, Luiza,’ she said. ‘I’m having a budget meeting with Gwen, going over all the figures. How about you go back to the shop now and we’ll carry on here, so I will know where I am with everything and what I can spare and then I will speak to you about your request tomorrow? Alone.’
Luiza nodded. ‘You have twenty-four hours,’ she said. ‘Enjoy your cake.’
She left the room and Juliet got up and closed the door behind her. Quietly, although she would have liked to have slammed it.
‘Shall I make a fresh pot of tea?’ asked Gwen.
‘I think I would rather have another slice of your delicious cake, please.’
‘Are you alright?’
‘Not really. She’s blackmailing me.’
‘Yes,’ said Gwen, passing her the plate. ‘There’s no other word for it.’
‘What do you think I should do?’
Gwen said nothing. She was fingering the little gold crucifix she wore around her neck. ‘I’ve got to be honest,’ she said, finally. ‘Those things Luiza said, I have wondered about them myself. When I found out Bob’s real name and I connected it with the surname, I did wonder if he might be the son of Matt Crommelin. I’ve read about him in the Daily Mail, things he did in the name of art, like filming his own mother-in-law dying.’
Juliet said nothing. How extreme he’d been .
‘And then the way you suddenly let Beau go when you found out his real name, that was so out of character for you and then – oh, I can’t lie to you, Juliet. I looked at Beau’s Instagram and there was a picture of him before he cut his hair short and he’s the absolute image of Cassady, and the way those two get on...’
Gwen looked straight at her, with an expression of sincere concern. No judgement, just caring.
‘Thank you, Gwen,’ she said. ‘Thank you for being, well, for being you. Tell me one more thing. What would you do now if you were me?’
Gwen looked thoughtful again. ‘Of course, I don’t know all the details and I’m not asking you to tell me – and you know I will support you whatever happens – but I always think that in difficult situations involving several people, although it’s hard, it’s better just to get everything out into the open, so everyone knows what’s what. Then you can’t be vulnerable to people like Luiza.’
Juliet rubbed her cheeks with her hands. She knew what Gwen was saying was probably right, but she just didn’t think she had the courage to do it. Not yet. She’d just had a baby, for heaven’s sake!
She decided she’d give Luiza the raise – for now – to buy herself more time.