Save Her by Abigail Osborne (novel books to read .txt) 📗

the room, as soon as her back was turned, paperwork would appear from nowhere. It didn’t help that she was dyslexic which put her at a disadvantage when it came to anything related to literacy.

When Charlotte, who used to be a student at the centre, approached her a year ago looking for work, Flora had hired her on the spot. Until then she had been reluctant to employ anyone because she didn’t feel that there was someone out there who would match her passion for what they did at the centre. But she’d known Charlotte since she was eleven years old, had seen her grow from an angry and uncommunicative child into a polite, intelligent young lady. Her angry meltdowns that had been driving her family apart were a distant memory. She could still be a little too blunt at times but she had a penchant for numbers that Flora would never have.

She was now as much the business’s lifeblood as Flora was. She kept control of the finances and the day-to-day administration and also helped with the children on occasion. After all, she could relate to how they were feeling. Charlotte also had a superpower: she made the most incredible cup of tea.

‘Thanks, Charlotte!’ Flora beamed as Charlotte, studiously staring at the cup in front of her, focused on making sure not a drop was spilled. It was not until Charlotte’s first day that Flora realised she had been making tea wrong her whole life. No matter what she tried, she was unable to replicate the magic formula that Charlotte must use to make normal Tetley tea taste like liquid heaven. She would just have to ensure that Charlotte was always in her life. Taking a sip, Flora made appreciative noises as it slid down, warming her insides and brightening her mood.

‘I keep telling you, Char, you should be running your own café. You are so talented.’ Charlotte’s cheeks reddened and she looked down, examining the floor. After the class ended, they moved into the office together. Charlotte took the seat next to Flora and began flicking from screen to screen on the computer. It was always strange watching her symbiotic relationship with the computer considering every time Flora tried to use it, she was treated to a cacophony of error beeps and warnings.

‘Flora, there is a woman staring at us across the road. I think she has been there all day.’ Charlotte said this in a level tone, as if she had just told Flora the sun was yellow.

Flora went over to the window. It was an unsettled day, the sun was sharing the sky with dark clouds casting an array of dark and light patches across the street. Linda was standing directly opposite the centre, staring in through the windows. The busy road meant that Flora was only seeing Linda in snatches between cars. But Sophie had talked to her. Questions flooded her mind. Why is she here? Why wouldn’t she come inside? How long has she been there?

‘Is she homeless?’ Charlotte moved next to her. It was obvious why Charlotte would think that. Linda looked more unkempt than the last time Flora had seen her. Her short black hair was pointing in various directions, and even from this distance her clothes looked shabby and dirty. Flora could see people arcing around her, some walked into the road, so strong was their desire to avoid getting too close to the dishevelled woman.

‘No, I don’t think she is. How long did you say she’s been there?’

‘I can’t be sure exactly. I saw her this morning, I thought she was waiting for a bus or taxi. Then I saw she was still there a while ago and meant to say something to you as she was staring in at the window. It wasn’t till I saw her again just now that I remembered to tell you.’

The intensity of Linda’s unwavering stare unsettled Flora. Her instinct was to run and hide, pretend she had never seen her. But she knew she had to deal with this. Obviously, Sophie’s chat with Linda had not had the desired effect. She turned to Charlotte. ‘You stay here. I’m going to talk to her.’

Flora put on her coat and taking a deep breath opened the door. She was about to cross the road when she realised Linda was no longer there. There was no sign of her anywhere. It was a good job Charlotte had seen her or Flora would have thought she was going insane.

18

The man quailed in his chair. Sophie suppressed a groan. Duncan Lockwood was her client and he was making her look bad. She knew his business was solid and was going to be extremely profitable. Whilst she had benefitted from his lack of confidence when she negotiated a sizeable equity stake, she was embarrassed at the beads of sweat running from his bald head down his face. To most people, sitting in front of a board of directors was terrifying, but Duncan looked like he was sitting opposite his executioner.

Alistair may as well have been a vulture circling the poor man, never one to pass up a chance to make Sophie appear incompetent. Cecelia would be devastated that she had missed it.

‘You have still not explained why exactly you have not delivered on the forecasts that you made, Mr Lockwood. As you can understand, I am a busy man. I do not have time for excuses.’

‘Well… The thing is… What you have to understand…’ Duncan trailed off under Alistair’s glacial stare. Greg was lounging back in his chair looking at Duncan but not really seeing him. Unless it was his investments that they were discussing he was as inanimate as stone.

Duncan looked at Sophie with desperation in his eyes. Sophie sighed inwardly. She despised men without a backbone but not as much she despised being made to look a fool.

‘Mr Lockwood, weren’t you telling me just yesterday that Tesco was ready to place a big order. Over 60,000