Eliza’s gaze softened. “I know enough.”
CHAPTER 5
“It’s honestly my worst nightmare come true.”
London’s Victoria Park was showing off this April: tulips blooming in violent pinks along the pathways, a group of young men putting on batting pads for their cricket game, and the morning sun painting the lake with a glittering sheen.
Even at half-past nine, the place hummed with joggers like us, dog walkers with their overexcited charges, and cyclists who clearly thought they owned the tarmac. I dodged a particularly determined golden retriever who seemed convinced I had treats hidden in my running shorts.
Amina flicked her long black hair over her shoulder with the kind of dramatic flair that made her lethal in courtrooms. Even while jogging, she managed to look effortlessly put-together in her matching navy running gear. “Seriously? Your worst nightmare? There’s a cost-of-living crisis, climate change, a reality TV star running a country, but this tops your list?”
I scowled at her, then nearly tripped over a tree root that jutted up through the path. I stumbled, but managed to get back on track. A metaphor for life.
“Your aunt could’ve stuck you with some 50-year-old mansplainer who’d critique your breathing technique. Or someone who eats apples all day and crunches in your ear 24/7. But Eliza Carpenter — successful business operator by your own admission — and someone you actually know? What a bitch.”
“At least with Captain Mansplain, I wouldn’t have my teenage humiliations thrown back at me every five minutes.”
Amina slowed to an on-the-spot jog beside a cluster of cherry trees that were spilling over with pink blossoms. A gentle breeze sent a few petals spiralling like confetti. “Eliza makes you feel like a failure?”
“She’s been showing me up since we were kids.”
“You mean you’ve been letting her live rent-free in your head since then.”
The truth in that statement made my toes curl. “You didn’t watch her ace everything while I tripped over my own shoelaces. She got too cool for me years ago, and now when we do cross paths, she’s still the same. You’d think shared queerness would create some solidarity, but apparently not.”
We started off again, and rounded the corner past the ornamental gardens where an elderly man was already setting up his easel to paint the fountain. Morning joggers streamed past us in both directions: some grim-faced and determined, others chatting easily. A woman with a pushchair jogged by, her toddler giggling at something only he could see.
“Maybe you need to buck up, because it’s an ultimatum. Prove it or lose it. Plus, maybe Eliza actually wants to help? And perhaps,just perhaps, spending time with someone with more experience than you is something you can learn from.” Amina raised an eyebrow, her breathing still perfectly controlled despite our pace. “When’s the dreaded second meeting?”
“Next week.”
“What about your job?”
“I told them to go fuck themselves and walked out.”
Amina snorted. “About time.”
“There was no time to be polite and work my notice. Margot wants us both up to speed as soon as possible, and acquainted with the main production facility in the Highlands. We’re taking the overnight sleeper to Goldloch to meet all the staff properly. The people who make Voss Watches tick. Literally.”
“Wait.” Amina sidestepped a particularly aggressive cyclist, who rang his bell like he was announcing the apocalypse. “Your watches are made here? I thought your mum was always jetting off to Switzerland, where all luxury watches come from?”
“That’s the problem. Everyone assumes we’re just another European brand. But we’re British: have been since Great-Gran started the company. Mum used to visit Europe to keep tabs on competitors, and some of our parts came from there, but our actual production is in the Highlands. Offices in London, but they’re made in Goldloch. Mum always said Scotland was her spiritual home, but she needed to be in London for business.”
We’d reached the part of the path that curved around the lake, where ducks paddled importantly between the reeds and a heron stood motionless like a grey statue.
The reality of it all hit me suddenly. This was it, the start of something big. There were no second-chances, this was make or break. I had to do this right for me, Katy, Aunt Margot, and my nieces, Lily and Vivien.
I slowed down and put my hands on my thighs, gasping. Somewhere across the park a dog barked frantically.
Two days. A full 48 hours trapped with Eliza Carpenter. And ithadto work.
“Maybe you could go instead?” I straightened up, watching Amina stretch her calf against a nearby bench. “Be my corporate stand-in? You’re brilliant at arguing, and you could definitelymatch her word for word. When she starts showing off, you could shut her down properly.”
“Or you could realise her cleverness might actually help you. Plus, last I checked, you’re pretty smart yourself. If she needs to be brought down a peg or two, bring up something embarrassing from her childhood.” She grinned at me, her dark skin glowing with the faintest sheen of sweat.
“That cuts both ways.”
Amina smacked my arm and picked up the pace again. We were approaching the home stretch now, where the path wound back towards the main entrance through an avenue of plane trees.
