Page 5 of Surprise Me Tonight
I pick up. “Morning.”
“You’re going to love this,” Francesca says, practically fizzing.
“I doubt it,” I mutter, eyeing the stack of course notes like they’ve personally offended me.
“Remember that tattooed bloke from the other day? Opened the door for Little Miss Flawless, shoulder-barged you on the way out?”
“How could I forget?”
“Well,” she says, drawing it out like it’s the village’s hottest scandal, “his name’s Callum Wright. And he’s looking for a PA.”
There’s a pause. I blink. “Right. And this is relevant to me because…?”
“Because,” she says, with the exact tone of someone talking to a slow child, “you’re doing that Executive Assistant course. The one you’ve practically memorised.”
“I haven’t finished it.”
“You’re close. And you’ve got the experience. You did it for, what, ten years before you married Jeremy?”
“Twelve.”
“There you go.”
“I’m not a PA, Fran. I’m an Executive Assistant. There’s a difference.”
“Tell it to his inbox,” she says breezily. “Anyway, he came in this morning asking if there’s a village noticeboard. Apparently, he’s struggling to find anyone who wants to work locally.”
I frown. “Struggling?”
“Yep. Says no one wants to come to Little Hadlow. Can’t imagine why, what with the thrilling nightlife and regular bin collection. He works from home and wants someone nearby who can work from his house but apparently nobody wants to commute to us. Sounds like he’s getting desperate.”
I stare at the kettle, suddenly feeling warmer than the tea I haven’t touched. “He works from home?”
“That’s what he said.”
“And he’s putting an ad in the café window?”
“Only if he can’t find someone by the end of the week. Told him I’d let him know if I thought of anyone.”
“You didnotsuggest me.”
“Well... I said I knew someone whomightfit, if she stopped being so bloody stubborn. So he gave me his current PAs email to pass on.”
“Fran.”
“Don’t Fran me.”
“I’m not throwing my name in for some bloke I don’t know who thinks he can find a PA on a coffee shop noticeboard.”
“Course not,” she says, chipper. “You’re an Executive Assistant.”
I can practically hear her smirking.
“Look, I’m just saying, if you want something with flexibility, nearby, and actuallypaid, you could do worse. And I bet you two would wind each other right up.”
“I don’t know…” The whole point of the course was to get a job. I’d braced myself for a London commute. It never even crossed my mind there would be an Executive Assistant job going in Little Hadlow. But if I’m not commuting, I’ll save on transport, and that should more than cover the pay gap between a PA and an EA. Famous last words.
“Stella, this would be perfect for you. And if he turns out to be not just Mr Wright but alsoMr Right,” Francesca laughs, “you owe me dinner.”
