Holly’s plan had been to carve out an ordered, calm life for herself. Not to become embroiled in a whole new set of dysfunctional people.
In her experience, everyone had a facade, and around here, she was still to some extent heavily reliant on people’s opinions about each other.
It was difficult to sift through the information and decide who and what to believe.
Patience was the key, she felt. Fresh starts could take some time to come good. That had certainly been the case in Manchester.
* * *
That first morning after surviving the drugs den, she and Markus had stood outside the coffee shop with their bags stacked beside them and waited for his boss, Brendan, to pick them up.
Holly had turned at a screech of brakes and watched as a big black jeep pulled up at the kerb. It parked on double yellow lines, narrowing the lane and causing passing drivers to beep and curse.
‘Wow, a G-Wagen. I love it.’ Markus had given a low whistle.
A tall, broad-shouldered man who Holly guessed was probably in his late thirties had jumped out of the driver’s side and given the middle finger to an openly cursing passing driver. He grinned and grasped Markus’s hand warmly in both of his.
‘Good to see you, man,’ he’d beamed, and then turned to Holly. ‘And this is your lovely friend you told me about, yeah?’
He’d said it without mockery and Holly felt full of confidence.
She’d smiled shyly and shaken his hand.
His face had been deeply tanned in that way you couldn’t get from just the odd week abroad. She’d thought he looked as though he probably went on holiday a lot and topped up his tan regularly. He had a wide smile and even white teeth. She’d felt a stir inside as she noticed his generous mouth… such soft, cushiony lips.
He’d been far too old for her, of course, but there was no harm in looking, was there? She’d felt so glad she’d taken Markus’s advice and freshened up a bit in the café. At least she didn’t look quite as rough any more.
‘OK, so let’s put your bags in the boot before I get into a fight out here.’ Brendan had winked at her and grinned.
He’d opened the back door and she’d ducked under his arm and slipped inside the vehicle, inhaling the scent of the obviously new cream leather. She’d sighed in contentment, at last managing to push the hideous images of last night’s accommodation out of her mind.
This was more like it, she’d thought to herself. This was what she’d come to Manchester for.
How she’d love to see the faces of all those bitchy girls at school right now, the ones who’d looked down on her and treated her like she was nothing, like she’d never achieve anything. What would they think seeing her sitting there in a vehicle that she suspected had probably cost more than a small house?
Markus and Brendan had still been in deep conversation outside. Every now and then, Markus would point to a feature on the car, and Brendan would nod and explain.
The beeps from other drivers hadn’t stopped as traffic was forced to slow and squeeze around the big jeep. Brendan was so good-looking, and Holly had found she liked his arrogant attitude, forcing the traffic to wait until he was ready to go.
They’d eventually set off, and about twenty minutes later, the jeep had turned into a car park just off a busy road, crawling slowly towards an impressive steel-and-glass building. A black-and-gold sign had displayed the words The Panther Bar in fancy scripted letters.
Brendan had steered the jeep around the club and parked up at the rear.
‘Is this your place?’ Holly had asked, staring up at the impressive terrace dotted with lounge furniture and leafy potted palms. Underneath the decked area there appeared to be an entire wall of smoked glass.
‘It certainly is.’ Brendan had nodded, opening the boot and setting their bags on the gravel. ‘One of them, anyhow. But I keep my office here.’
A heavy-set man dressed in a black suit had appeared and picked up their bags without speaking.
Inside, a petite middle-aged woman had greeted them and offered them drinks. ‘A pot of coffee and some biscuits would be great, thanks, Myra,’ Brendan had told her. ‘Bring them through when you’re ready.’
He’d opened a door on the left and they stepped into a large rectangular room featuring an entire glass wall overlooking the car park. Holly guessed this was the wall of smoked glass she’d spotted when they’d first arrived. It was crystal clear this side, whilst looking out, but a completely private screen for anyone trying to see in.
At one end of the room was a large round glass table with ten matching Perspex chairs; at the other end a smaller, individual glass desk and pedestal chair.
Holly was struck by the modern, minimalist look of the place, and it also occurred to her that the desk was probably the tidiest she’d ever seen, with barely a thing on it.
‘This place is amazing,’ Markus had said, slowly turning in a circle to take it all in.
‘Thank you. I like it,’ Brendan replied simply.
He’d pulled out one of the chairs at the conference table and lowered himself into it. ‘Both of you, please, sit down.’
Myra had brought in a tray of coffee and biscuits and set it down before leaving the room again.
‘So, Markus, we can talk about the IT stuff in detail a little later when my business partner gets here, but in the meantime,’ he’d turned to Holly, ‘Markus tells me you might be looking for a job yourself?’
‘Oh, yes!’ she’d managed, a little taken aback. ‘I’ll do anything. Bar work, waitressing… anything you’ve got, really.’
‘That’s what I like, a young person who’s willing to graft.’ Brendan had nodded appreciatively. ‘Actually, I have got something in mind, but it’s a bit different from what you’re suggesting.’
She’d waited, all ears.
‘My wife needs a bit of help in the house. Cleaning, ironing, but mostly companionship. She gets a little lonely at times, with me working so many hours.’
‘That sounds really interesting,’ Holly had said. She could clean and iron, so that was a start, she’d thought to herself.
‘And… what are you like with kids?’
That had taken her aback. She didn’t really know any kids; she was only just past being one herself.
‘Fine,’ she’d heard herself say. ‘I love kids, get on really well with them.’
‘That’s good.’ He’d nodded. ‘Not for us – we haven’t got kids – but some of the team bring them in here and it would help if you could keep them entertained for the odd hour or two, you know?’
‘That sounds… perfect.’ She’d made a great effort to keep her voice level because she’d actually felt like dancing around the office and punching the air. Could it really be this easy?
All the suspicion and dread she’d had about Manchester before that moment completely drained away in an instant.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Holly
The next day at the briefing, Josh informed everyone that Emily would be in an hour later than usual as she’d had to make an emergency dental appointment after losing a filling the previous evening.
‘As discussed, I’ll be discounting the Brooklyn corner suite at some point this morning.’ He hesitated. ‘Bad luck, Holly. Emily told me you were certain you had that sale in the bag yesterday.’
The other sales staff pulled sympathetic faces at her.
Holly shrugged nonchalantly but the back of her neck bristled as she imagined Emily making fun of her to Josh.
‘And don’t forget, folks,’ he added, ‘we need to really push the Lalique vase, as Mr Kellington bought it not realising the new collection will be out in a couple of weeks’ time. Several of our customers are avid collectors, and once they realise, we could get saddled with it and lose some serious money.’
Both Ben and Martyn, the other sales assistants, asked Holly how she was doing and told her to just ask if she needed help at any point.