United States of Love. Sue Fortin

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СКАЧАТЬ had chosen to return to Chichester, where she had grown up, needing to feel she belonged somewhere, getting comfort from familiar places and people.

      It was only a two-minute walk from the centre of Chichester to her little, two-up two-down, mews cottage. No matter whatever the weather – be it a bright April morning like today or a cold, dark winter's afternoon – the sight of her blue wooden door at 2 Coach House Cottages always made her feel happy.

      She approached her front door, and as usual her neighbour Mrs Meekham twitched her net curtain. Anna waved and smiled, thinking if you looked up the expression Neighbourhood Watch in the dictionary, it would simply say ‘Mrs Meekham’. She put the key in the lock and turned it gently before creeping in. The front door opened straight into the living room and she didn't want to disturb Mark.

      Much to her surprise, he was actually up, showered and dressed, judging by the two wet towels tossed idly on the back of the sofa, and was now in the kitchen, talking on his mobile.

      ‘Yes that would be great. I'll give you a call when it's convenient to come round. I just need to make sure…’ He stopped in mid-flow as he turned and saw Anna. ‘Err, look, can I give you a call back? … No everything's fine … not at the moment… Yep … Yep … that's right… Okay, cheers then. Bye.’ He slid his phone shut and thrust it into his pocket.

      ‘You didn't need to hang up on my account,’ said Anna as she picked up the towels.

      ‘I didn't.’

      ‘Really?’

      ‘Yes. Really.’ The slight irritation in his voice didn't go unnoticed. ‘Just business. Nothing for you to worry about.’

      Famous last words, thought Anna suspiciously. He was definitely being shifty. Perhaps he was planning to dash off back to America, something that she would be most happy about, but on the flip side, Luke would be crushed.

      ‘How long are you here for?’ she asked.

      ‘Not sure, a couple of weeks,’ responded Mark vaguely. ‘Thought I'd go and see my parents at the weekend.’

      ‘That'll be nice. You could take Luke with you.’

      Mark looked slightly startled at the suggestion. It was obvious the thought hadn't actually crossed his mind.

      ‘Yeah, I was just about to suggest that myself,’ he said rather too brightly.

      ‘Good, that's that sorted,’ smiled Anna. Then changing the subject before Mark could think of an excuse to wriggle out of it, she said, ‘I have an appointment in Surrey tomorrow, so you and Luke will have to look after yourselves. I just need to sort out a few things about work.’

      ‘Okay, no problem.’

      Towels put away, Anna sat down at the kitchen table and typed Jamie's website address into the laptop. The company logo appeared, a fancy hand drawn with wavy lines reaching out across an image of the world. She skimmed over the homepage, speed-reading. Relocation packages, various different levels of service – Silver, Gold, Platinum. Specialising in international relocations and assistance.

      Anna flicked around the website, jotting down some things she thought she should remember. It might help to impress at tomorrow's interview. Then she clicked on ‘About Us’. There was a picture of Jamie smiling easily at the camera, his fair hair cut short with a slight side parting. Scrolling down, there was a picture of a footballer in a red and white kit standing next to Jamie. She read the caption underneath it. Patrick Ardoin, Arsenal FC. Anna assumed that Jamie had links with football clubs; it would make sense, as there were so many foreign players these days. She vaguely remembered Mark talking about Ardoin, saying what a good defender he was.

      As a pro-footballer in his younger days, Mark had always been appreciative of Arsenal's 'rock solid back line'. Unfortunately, Mark's premiership career had only consisted of six first team starts.

      Anna felt that familiar pang she always experienced when she thought of the accident that had not only brought about the end of Mark's playing career, but had also caused her to miscarry what would have been their second child. Another little boy. She closed her eyes and tried to shake the thoughts out of her head. She hated thinking about the last few years of their marriage; it was too painful. She turned her attention back to Jamie's website and clicked on ‘Testimonials and Clients’.

      ‘What you looking at?’ asked Mark, peering over Anna's shoulder.

      Anna jumped, unaware that Mark was there. She snapped the lid down on the laptop.

      ‘Trunky want a bun?’ she teased, well, half-teased.

      ‘That's a pretty impressive CV,’ said Jamie, putting down the printout of Anna's résumé she had emailed the day before. ‘I was particularly impressed by the fact that you completed your Modern Languages degree through the Open University. That couldn't have been easy with a young child.’

      ‘No, it wasn't at times,’ acknowledged Anna. ‘But going to a brick uni wasn't an option.’

      ‘Work with the tour company is definitely over then?’

      ‘Well, put it like this. My P45 landed on the doormat within twenty-four hours of the meeting. So I think it's pretty safe to say I no longer work for them.’

      Jamie leant back in his chair, his fingers steepled. ‘I can't guarantee work day in, day out initially. It quite often depends on whom you're assigned to, where they are located, whether it's a one-off assignment or an ongoing working arrangement. For example, you could be assigned to a family who are relocating from abroad and need lots of things sorting – moving home, schools, bank arrangements and so on – in which case you would be with them for several weeks or even months. On the other hand, it may be a one-off business meeting, or you may be needed to translate or help interview a live-in nanny or gardener. Something like that could be one day or a few days.’

      ‘It sounds fine. I’ve still got the couple of mornings I do at the tea rooms midweek.’

      ‘The work here doesn’t always involve translating. Sometimes it’s a bit more like PA work. Are you okay with that too?’

      She nodded. ‘Absolutely. It sounds great.’ She genuinely liked the sound of it. She may even be able to give up the two mornings at the tea rooms.

      ‘Okay, let's give it a go, shall we?’ Jamie sat forward and tapped at the keyboard on his laptop. Then he paused, as if struck by a thought. ‘The PA work I mentioned, you all right working for Tex?’

      Anna felt a little flutter in her stomach. Working for Tex? Could she work for him? Then again, could she say no to Jamie? Would that jeopardise her chances of getting this job? She realised Jamie was waiting for an answer.

      ‘Err… yes, that’s okay by me.’

      ‘You sure?’

      ‘Absolutely. He seems nice enough, I’m certain we can work together well.’ She wasn’t sure if Jamie was convinced.

      ‘I can always assign you to someone else, it’s just that Tex thought someone with local knowledge would be ideal.’

      ‘What, he asked for me?’

      ‘Pretty much. I told him I was interviewing you СКАЧАТЬ