“It was.”
Sofia struck Faith as a woman who needed to be the centre of attention, who had to have the ideal life. Testing the theory, she said, “Lara’s doing well at pony club. She’s a natural at barrel racing.”
“Is she? Horse-riding never appealed to me, though some of my friends loved it.”
Faith waited for a follow up question about Lara, but it didn’t come.
“What do you do in Melbourne?”
“I used to be a receptionist, but Josh earns the money now. I play tennis and organise a book club.”
Maybe they had something in common. “What do you read?”
“We’re working our way through the Stella shortlist at the moment.”
Faith preferred a good romance to literary fiction.
They sat in silence watching the antics in the water and Faith relaxed, breathing in the fresh, salty air. She enjoyed the more laid-back lifestyle in Retribution Bay. She hadn’t realised how the long work weeks had drained her until she didn’t have to face them anymore. Caring for her mother had had other challenges, but she liked having time for her own interests.
The idea of staying here equally thrilled and scared her. It was so like her father, embracing a new life without considering the practicalities it involved. She’d worked hard to become a lawyer at one of the top law firms in Perth. She’d be able to slot back in when she returned.
Whenever that was.
Back to starting work at seven and not getting home until way after dark, as well as working from home most weekends. She sighed.
Her mother went on the boat every second day now, and when she was at home, she visited her friends. She still couldn’t drive, might not ever be able to, but it was a short walk from their house to the shopping area and Faith was happy to drive her around.
Was Faith needed as a carer any longer? Faith had a sneaky suspicion she was actually glad her father still insisted on it, because it gave her a chance to delay making the decision about returning to Perth.
When she’d first arrived, she’d been so caught up in her mother’s rehabilitation she hadn’t had a moment to think, but when she had, she’d realised she hadn’t missed the city. She’d missed the challenge of writing a well-structured contract, but since she’d started volunteering at the pony club, and working on the occasional legal matter for people in town, even that had faded.
Her phone rang and when she saw the caller, she excused herself to answer it. Walking away from the table she said, “Hey, Donna. What have you got for me?” She’d called in a favour with one of her colleagues who had access to a couple of databases Faith couldn’t access from here.
“Stonefish is huge, Faith. I wouldn’t go up against them without a hefty legal team behind you.”
Not the news she wanted to hear, but she’d been expecting it.
“Based in Singapore but with links in China and all over south-east Asia and the south Pacific,” Donna continued. “I’ve emailed you the details I could find. You want to send the initial letter to the subsidiary company I’ve highlighted but if you get no response, take it up the chain.”
She knew how it worked. “Thanks.”
“Henry says if you want to use the firm’s letterhead, you have to charge our rates. Without a law firm behind you, you won’t have much clout.”
Her boss, Henry was ruthless. “Yeah. I know. Not much I can do about it. The family can’t afford it.”
“You always were a bleeding heart, chicky. I’ve missed you at our boozy Friday drinks.”
Faith felt a twinge of guilt. She hadn’t missed those at all. Her colleagues had used Friday night to blow off steam and get plastered, while Faith stayed sober so she didn’t feel like crap if she went riding Saturday morning.
“When are you coming back?”
Faith grimaced. “Not sure yet. Mum’s getting better, but it’s still early days.”
“It’s been eight months.”
“Yeah, well rehabilitation takes time.”
Donna lowered her voice. “Just so you know, Henry’s making noises about hiring someone new. You might want to get your butt back here sooner rather than later, or you might not have a job to come back to.”
