Page 2 of Second Chance Summer
‘Donotcallanyoneabout this. I’ll speak to Étienne myself … when I’ve got up off the floor. By the way, can youhave a word with the cleaning team, please? There’s a mouldy muffin under the desk and the skirting board is thick with dust.’
Richie rolled his eyes. ‘Glad to see you’re feeling more like yourself.’
He held out his hand to her, which Lily accepted. She still felt weak and woozy. Her blood sugar must be low. The last thing she’d eaten was a chocolate bar that she’d grabbed as she’d dashed out of her Shoreditch penthouse at six that morning. Since then, she’d been glued to her computer.
As she lowered herself gingerly into her chair, Lily spotted the empty mug on her desk: one thing shehadhad a lot of was espresso …
‘I just need something to eat. Would you mind having a takeout sent in, please?’
‘I’ve got some dried fruit and nuts in my drawer. I’ll fetch them and a glass of water. As for a takeout, you’re surely not thinking of carrying on working here after your funny turn?’
‘I didnothave a funny turn. I’m not ninety.’
‘It looked like a funny turn – my nanna has them sometimes.’
I’m not your nanna, Lily was about to reply before guilt wormed its way in. Richie was only trying to help. He was a fusspot, a bit of a young fogey, but had a quality that Lily prized more than gold: fierce loyalty. She probably – certainly – didn’t deserve it. Any CEO would kill to have him and she knew he’d had several approaches but had stayed with her. She needed to make sure it stayed that way.
Richie folded his arms defensively. ‘I’m just lookingout for you and the company. I’m your PA – I’m paid to assist you personally, and if you won’t look after yourself, I will!’
‘Wow, who knew you could be so fierce?’ Lily smiled. ‘OK, I’ll have the water and nuts, thank you, and then I’llthinkabout going home.’
Richie went to fetch her supplies while she rested her head on the back of the chair, secretly grateful for the support. She blinked: the bookshelf opposite her desk still looked a little fuzzy but she wasn’t going to let on to her PA. She’d hardly glanced up from her screen all day, she’d been so focused on weighing up the pros and cons of the business opportunity that had been presented to her.
A supermarket chain was interested in teaming up with the Lily Loves brand; it was the biggest thing yet to have happened to her precious business, which had grown in ways she could never have imagined when she’d first started selling her own handmade jewellery and accessories from a market stall as a teenager.
Soon, her arty friends were asking her to sell their products too because they didn’t have the time, the confidence or the skills. Lily, however, loved talking to customers and helping her friends, and gained a small commission every time she sold an item.
Gradually, she’d realised that curating and selling other people’s pieces was where her real strength lay so she’d moved her business online and sales had exploded. Now she had a London office, a team of staff and scores of talented craftspeople under her Lily Loves banner.
The business had grown steadily, but she was faced with a dilemma.
The supermarket chain that was interested in featuring her branded gifts in their stores wanted thousands of items, from mugs and placemats to tea towels and trinket boxes. There was no way the individual craftspeople she worked with could meet the demand, which meant the supermarket would have to stock mass-produced items.
On the other hand, they were offering a lot of money to use the Lily Loves brand on the products, with the promise of much more if the venture took off. Who knew? If it was a success, Lily Loves might be stocked in other retailers, increasing profits and enabling her to invest in and help the artisans who’d originally inspired her to set up the company.
It would mean Lily Loves could expand and secure its future. However, it also meant she’d have to make compromises on what the brand stood for: high quality gifts, individually made with love.
Lily was torn in two over whether to accept the offer – and she didn’t have long to decide, as they wanted an answer soon. Whilst she deliberated, she was certain of one thing: the supermarket could not find out the CEO of Lily Loves was prone to fainting at inopportune moments. And after her recent TV fiasco, she couldn’t afford any more negative PR.
‘Here’s your snack!’
Though she could feel the stress pulsing through her veins, Lily forced a smile as Richie put the glass of water anda bowl of trail mix in front of her. He insisted on watching over her like a mother hen.
‘The colour’s coming back into your cheeks,’ he said with satisfaction a couple of minutes later, making Lily smile. She reallydidfeel better. The earlier episode had only been a blip after all.
When he left the room to call his boyfriend and say he’d be late – again – Lily took her chance. She turned back to her desktop, determined to get a bit more work done before she finally went home.
‘Oh, God … not again …’
What she hadn’t admitted to Richie was that her memory of the minute or so before she’d fainted had been completely wiped out. She’d only recalled that something unpleasant had happened that had caused her to leap from her chair and shout out.
Now she knew exactly what it was. The social media site she’d been looking at was still open on her Windows tab and her name was fifth on the list of trending stories.
#LilyHarper
A news story about something completely unrelated had reignited an X thread about her. She’d thought it was old news and the harpies had moved on to trash someone else’s reputation, but no, there she was again. Trending. Public Enemy number one. ‘Ruthless bitch’ and ‘spiteful cow’ were among the least awful phrases used to describe her. Some of the abuse was unprintable, including threats and language that made her feel physically sick again.
And all because of a momentary lapse of judgement six months previously.
