‘The very same,’ Anna replied, smiling. She looked at Mark — his face was puce, but he quickly rallied himself.
‘Well, you won’t last two minutes with him,’ he said. ‘He changes his assistants more often than most people change their socks.’
‘We’ll have to see,’ Anna said as Mark turned on his heel and slammed his office door behind him.
For a moment both women stared after him, then Jemima glared at Anna before following Mark into the office.
Chapter Five
The first day of her new job dawned bright and sunny. Anna dressed carefully, not wanting to appear either too smart or too casual. She’d been fretting all weekend about what to wear and had eventually settled on a shirt, black jeans and boots. It wasn’t exactly a corporate position, so a suit probably wasn’t appropriate, but she didn’t want to look as though she hadn’t made an effort.
She’d woken early with butterflies in her stomach. She couldn’t sleep and, when she’d got up, she’d been too nervous to eat. Instead, she’d made herself a sandwich for later and shoved it in her bag, unsure what her lunch arrangements would be.
The last two weeks working at the gallery had been almost unbearable. Both Mark and Jemima had gone out of their way to make life difficult for her. Considering that Mark still supposedly had feelings for her, he hadn’t even acknowledged her birthday, halfway through her notice period. But then why should that surprise her? Mark usually only did things to serve himself. Her dad and Harry had made a fuss of her and she’d gone out on a girl’s night with Daisy on the Saturday, so she’d enjoyed it without any contribution from him. During the last few weeks, the thought of her new job had kept her going, but now that the day had arrived, she wasn’t quite so confident. In fact, walking into the unknown terrified her.
She left for the Tube station in plenty of time. The journey passed without hazard and she was on Daniel’s doorstep half an hour early. She wondered whether she should bide her time and find a coffee shop somewhere. But half-afraid she would get lost and end up being late again, she rang Daniel’s doorbell with a trembling finger.
He took a while to answer the door and when he did he was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, with a towel wrapped around his neck, as though he’d just got out of the shower.
‘I’m sorry, I’m early.’ Anna wondered if he was going to be as cross with her for being early too.
‘Well, it’s better than being late, I suppose,’ he said somewhat gruffly. ‘Go through to the kitchen and I’ll be in with you when I’ve finished getting ready.’
Inside the gleaming white kitchen, with stainless-steel appliances and black granite worktops, Anna put her bag down and perched on a stool beside a huge island in the centre of the room. Five minutes later Daniel arrived, looking more composed.
‘Sorry again about being early. One day I’ll get it right,’ she said.
‘Let’s hope so.’ He wasn’t smiling at her attempt to joke.
There was a silence until he said, ‘Sorry. I’m not a morning person — not at least until I’ve had my first cup of coffee.’
Anna jumped off her stool immediately. ‘Then let me make you one.’
‘No, it’s okay, I’ll do it,’ he replied quickly and then, as if he’d spoken too hastily, added, ‘At least on your first day. I can show you where everything is and then you can do it in future. I need plenty of coffee in the mornings.’
She nodded. ‘Noted. Happy to be chief coffee maker.’
When the coffees were made he said, ‘Come on then, let’s take these upstairs.’
‘Upstairs?’ she asked, panicked.
‘Yes, of course,’ he replied. ‘My studio is in the attic.’
‘Oh, right, yes, of course.’ She felt foolish at her overactive imagination.
* * *
Daniel led Anna back through the house and up the sumptuous stairway. The whole house looked like something out of an interior-design magazine and everything was white — the walls, the woodwork, the curtains and the plush carpets. Anna tried to imagine her lot living here and almost burst out laughing. The place would be grubby as soon as they walked through the door. The house was enormous for just one person. What was so amazing about it was how high the ceilings were, each containing intricate ceiling roses with hanging chandeliers. This was definitely how the other half lived. As they made their way up the second flight of stairs to the attic, Anna was tempted to pinch herself to make sure that her new workplace was actually real.
At the top of the stairs, Daniel opened the door into a large, open-plan area. The loft was the length of the house, with large roof windows that let in an abundance of light. Anna gasped at the sheer size and splendour of the studio. Again, it was all white, with blonde-coloured flooring. At one end was a huge desk with a large-screen iMac. At the other, an area where portrait photos could be taken. This was interspersed with comfortable sofas, racks for clothing and built-in wall cupboards, which Anna presumed would contain Daniel’s equipment.
‘Wow!’ It was all she could say as she moved inside the doorway.
‘Like it?’ Daniel asked, his face beaming with obvious pride.
‘It’s magnificent.’ She gazed around the room.
‘Good, because when we’re not on shoots, this is where you’ll be spending most of your time.’
