Page 4 of The Book of Irish Secrets
‘In Kerry?’ Claire asked.
‘In Dingle, to be precise,’ Finola said, sounding excited. ‘Do you know who Karina Flavin is?’
‘You mean the woman you follow on Facebook?’ Claire asked. ‘The one who posts all those recipes you love to try?’
‘Yes, her. She lives and works from this fabulous house on a hill above Dingle town. That’s where some of those lovely photos on her page are taken. She also runs a catering firm, among other things. In Dingle, as I said.’
‘Oh,’ Claire said. ‘So what about her?’
‘She’s looking for an assistant,’ Finola said. ‘I saw the ad on Facebook just now. She wants someone who is presentable,hard working with a flair for communicating with clients and has good organisational skills and in computers and office administration. Sounds just like you.’
‘In what way?’ Claire asked. ‘Presentable? What does that mean?’
‘Good looking and well groomed,’ Finola said.
Claire burst out laughing. ‘Good looking? Well groomed? Me?’ she asked, glancing at her reflection in the rear-view mirror. Her wild dark curls were ruffled, her face devoid of makeup was pale and freckly and her green sweatshirt with the Guinness logo had a ketchup stain on the front from a hastily consumed hamburger. ‘I can think of a lot of ways to describe the way I look today, but “presentable” isn’t one of them.’
‘Ah, but you scrub up well,’ Finola argued. ‘You just need a little spit and polish and you’ll look like a million bucks. I’ve seen you do it when you were going out with Hugh to one of the fancy dos he used to take you to.’
‘Oh, one of those boring work dinners where he brought me as a prop,’ Claire said. ‘Yeah, I had to do my best to look tidy then.’ She remembered it well. Hugh needed her as ‘arm candy’ and insisted that she had to get her hair done and put on something dressy, usually a little black number with a short skirt and low neckline, not quite a style she would have picked herself. But she had gone along with it, thinking it might help his image and even help him get promoted. She was glad that part of her marriage was over; in fact, she was glad it was all over and she could start afresh. ‘What?’ she asked as Finola kept talking.
‘I said I’ll text you the contact details and you can send her your CV and then perhaps add a letter telling her how much you love her Facebook page and what an amazing woman she is,’ Finola insisted. ‘Also, that you would work hard and be her right-hand woman and are ready take the pressure off her when the going gets tough.’ She drew breath and laughed. ‘Okay, soI’m being a little pushy but I think this would be perfect for you. Because…’ Finola paused. ‘There is another angle to this job.’
‘Another angle?’ Claire sat up. ‘What is that, then?’
‘Wait for it… Karina Flavin caters for all the weddings at Magnolia Manor. I realised this when I looked at her photos.’
It took a moment for this latest fact to sink in. But then Claire saw the significance of it. ‘Oh, wow. Finola, you are a genius. This could be my chance to get to know the Kerry Fleurys without them knowing me, if you see what I mean.’
‘Of course,’ Finola exclaimed. ‘Why do you think I was so excited to see that ad?’
‘It’ll be perfect,’ Claire said as if to herself. ‘If I get the job, that is.’
‘Of course you will,’ Finola reassured her. ‘You just have to be presentable and have the very best computer skills and be the hardest-working woman she has ever met. I’ll email you the link to the ad and then you can take it from there. I suppose you have your CV in a file on your computer?’
‘Yup,’ Claire said, her excitement mounting. ‘I’ll send that off when I’ve seen the ad. And then I just have to write a truly compelling covering letter. Easy peasy, if I was good with words.’ Claire suddenly felt a dart of fear. She wasn’t good at job applications; that’s why she had been stuck in the same boring job for years. She had applied for other jobs and then been turned down, often before she had even been called to an interview. And if she did manage to get to talk to anyone, she was invariably so nervous she couldn’t answer any of the questions sensibly. ‘I’m not sure I can do this,’ she said to Finola. ‘You know how bad I am at applying for any kind of job.’
‘I’ll write the letter for you,’ Finola offered. ‘I think I can string a few words together in a compelling way. I’ll email it to you in about an hour.’
‘You’re a star, Finola,’ Claire said. ‘The best friend I ever had.’
‘And you’re mine,’ Finola said. ‘But enough blather. I have to write that covering letter. Talk soon. Bye for now and… break a leg.’ Finola hung up.
Stunned, Claire sat in the car park for a long time, thinking about what Finola had told her. Karina Flavin had thousands of followers on Facebook and Claire had looked at her page from time to time, admiring the photos. She had known Karina lived somewhere in Kerry, but not the exact location. Finola admired her and often cooked from the recipes Karina posted on her page. Claire hadn’t known that Karina Flavin had a small but thriving catering business and also catered for the weddings at Magnolia Manor. That seemed a big bonus in this scenario.
The very idea of working for Karina Flavin made Claire’s head spin. Could she do it? Well, she would try her best to get that job and then work as hard as was required, even if Karina proved to be a demanding boss, which she probably was. She had no idea what this woman was like in real life but the position as her assistant could provide a foot in the door of Magnolia Manor. The first step was to get that job, if it was even possible. Claire suddenly missed Finola and wondered how she would manage without her best friend, who had been her rock and mentor and confidant all rolled into one. Now she felt suddenly all alone.
It IS possible, she thought, starting the car.I WILL get that job, even if I have to tell a pack of lies. It’s my ticket to Magnolia Manor and my chance to find out more about my family. It’s meant to be, I know it is.Feeling a little more confident, Claire left the car park and made her way down the road to the southwest and very exciting, if nerve-wracking, times ahead.
THREE
As Finola had promised, the covering letter arrived in Claire’s inbox a little over an hour later. Sitting in a cosy pub in the pretty village of Adare with her laptop on the table, Claire first studied the ad for the job.
Are you hard working, presentable with good computer skills and ready to work crazy hours for a demanding boss? Are you also prepared to handle difficult clients? If this is you, send in your CV with a covering letter telling me why I should hire you.
‘This is so me,’ Claire muttered ironically and opened the attachment to Finola’s email with the covering letter Claire was supposed to attach to her application. She started to laugh as she read. ‘Holy moly, this will either sink or swim with that Karina woman,’ she said out loud.
Dear Karina,
