Page 67 of All the Right Words
Harper hesitated. ‘She let them break contract and watch them forced to pay back the advance and then sued them for the cut she should have gotten.’
Gina was shocked. ‘That’scutthroat.’
‘I’d like to argue with you, but I can’t.’ She glanced nervously at Gina. ‘I wouldn’t take a page from her playbook if you were wondering.’
Gina half smiled at her and looked back up at the window. ‘I wasn’t. That’s not your style.’
Despite the situation, Harper appreciated the compliment. More than she wanted to. ‘Thanks.’
‘Come on. Let’s do this,’ Gina said and walked out from under the umbrella, jogging across the road to the building. Harper followed her.
‘Which flat?’
‘Three.’
Gina hit the buzzer for three. ‘Hello?’ came a crackly noise.
Harper opened her mouth, and Gina held a hand up. ‘Package for Sarah Fletcher?’ she said in a ridiculously deep voice.
The door buzzed, and Gina pushed it open. Harper looked at Gina with some surprise. ‘I just want to get the door open. I feel like she’s less likely to tell us to fuck off if she has to look us in the eye while she says it.’
‘But why the voice?’
‘That part was panic,’ Gina said.
Harper followed Gina up the stairs. The door to Sarah’s flat was already open and a middle-aged woman who looked like she could do with a shower, a good night’s sleep, and a clean cardigan peeped her head out. ‘Harper?’ she goggled.
Harper gave her an apologetic smile. ‘Sorry for the fib, Sarah. I just wanted to talk to you, and I haven’t been able to get hold of you for ages. We need a chat.’
Sarah looked like a deer in the headlights. ‘Who’s this?’ she asked of Gina.
Gina didn’t wait for an intro. ‘I’m Gina. I talk to writers sometimes when they’re stuck. Harper was hoping I could lend a hand.’
Sarah’s eyes widened. ‘So you’re not here to tell me I’m gonna have to give the money back?’
Harper didn’t want to say that until she had to. ‘Sarah, it doesn’t have to come to that. We can work it out.’
Sarah broke down crying. ‘I thought I was fucked.’ Harper put a hand on her shoulder. She wiped her tears and gave an enormous soggy sigh. ‘OK, come in. I’ve got cake.’
***
‘You werenotkidding about the cake,’ Harper said quietly, looking around Sarah’s kitchen. Cakes, scones and cupcakes were stacked around the kitchen in Tupperware. It looked like a bakery that was in serious need of customers.
‘I’ve been baking a lot lately,’ Sarah sighed. ‘Well, obviously.’
Harper knew a coping mechanism when she saw one. ‘Well... Hobbies are good.’
‘Let me put some out. What do you guys like? No, don’t tell me. I’ll put out a selection. Grab some towels from the bathroom and sit down while I put the kettle on,’ she said skittishly, moving around the kitchen.
Harper and Gina did as they were told and sat down in the dingy living room to wait for Sarah, dabbing at themselves with towels. ‘She’s a mess,’ Gina said quietly.
‘Yeah,’ Harper agreed.
‘But I wouldn’t count her out yet,’ Gina added.
Harper was pleasantly surprised by the optimism. ‘Really?’
‘She went into a panic and then denial, as you thought. I think she just needed someone to tell her she wasn’t in trouble.’
