‘Bad news?’ Nelly asks, leaning towards me.
‘The worst. Betsy wants to see me on Thursday.’
‘I don’t know.’ Nelly slides his chair back. I think I’ve outstayed my welcome. He’s going to want to get back to that model with the dress she can barely breathe in before the poor woman asphyxiates. ‘It might not all be bad,’ he says. ‘You need to talk to the board. You’re not a one-man band anymore. And you do have to get back into that building.’
Don’t I know it. But none of that matters. I don’t care about the business. I know that Fitz will pull it through. She might wear a wacky airhead exterior, but the woman has a heart of gold and a good business head on her shoulders. Betsy probably hasn’t realised it yet, but Fitz never stays in the background for long. Still, that doesn’t solve my problem.
‘I’ve got to find her, Nelly,’ I groan. ‘Do you have an address for her?’
‘Oh, Marco.’ He takes my hands in his. ‘No. No, I have nothing. But…’ Suddenly, his eyes fire up, bright as sparklers. ‘I do have an idea where she might be.’
‘Yeah?’ I’m on my feet.
‘There’s this odd little café, an all-night joint by the looks of it. Smithfield Market. She seemed to be in there with a guy.’ He pauses. ‘Friend guy,’ he adds for clarification.
‘Blond hair? Five ten? On the scrawny side?’
Nelly nods. ‘Got him. It seemed like he was a regular. I’m pretty sure someone will know where she is if you head there.’
It’s worth a try.
CLARA
Evelyn’s looking washed-out. We’ve been practising since seven thirty, ever since she put Thea down.
‘Just put the air behind it. You need a little more support on the notes. It’s breathy, yes, but you don’t want to flip it too far that way. It’s casual. Lift the soft palate less. More relaxed, but clear and strong.’
‘It’s no good.’ I flop down onto her comfy sofa. ‘I just can’t get it. Can we try an easier song? Avoid the high notes?’
Evelyn fans a heap of assorted sheet music out in front of us, spreading it across the floor. The task seems hopeless. There’s almost too much. Where do we even start?
‘It needs to be something easy,’ Evelyn says as she scans the vocal scores. ‘Something you feel comfortable with, but something that shows off your voice.’
Practically all the stuff we do for the choir is religious. Hymns and things. I’m not sure that’s going to cut it for this audition.
‘The problem is…’ Evelyn says, running her eyes anxiously over the notes. ‘The arrangement, the way you sang the original song, it was different. It had that element of originality. A bit of you. That’s what they want. Only now, they’ve heard your demo track. They’re going to need something else.’
‘“Amazing Grace”?’
Evelyn shakes her head. ‘Even I know that’s not going to cut the mustard. It’s got to be something modern. They’re a music production company.’
‘We don’t have time,’ I sob. It would be fine if I were confident, but I don’t like singing in public. It’s never going to work.
‘I think you go in with a Kiri Matalixa.’
‘No way.’ Kiri has been blocking the charts for the past twelve months. She has the golden larynx and an attitude to match. ‘She’s a belter. I can’t do that.’
Evelyn sinks to her knees. ‘Clara, you’re going to have to try. It’s not just about you getting a record deal. If you can’t prove to that Betsy fire-breathing dragon woman that you were staying up all night using the studio’s equipment, Marco’s going to be in big trouble.’
She’s right. ‘Okay, let’s try the Kiri.’
MARCO
I’ve managed to down two breakfast baps and five mugs of tea. It’s nine o’clock at night. I’m sitting in Jack’s, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the mystery guy to turn up. If this doesn’t work, I guess I’ll have to try to sneak into the Towers, although I’m going in on Thursday. Tomorrow’s Wednesday. Instead of taking my lift up to the seventeenth floor, I could stop by the front desk. I’m pretty sure the door guy knows Clara. He could get a message to her. Maybe I should write her a note. I tap my pockets. I have no paper. Why the hell is life so complicated?
‘You sure do like those baps,’ Jack says, lifting the plate from my table.
If I sit here much longer, I’ll be on for a coronary.
