‘Yamas!’
‘Yamas!’ her friends chorused back, as they all downed in one.
Sofia put her glass back on the table and stared out of the window to calm herself. The setting sun threw its orange rays back into the restaurant and covered her friends with a strange glow, lighting up their anxious faces.
The tears threatened to come even before she’d managed to get a word out.
‘There’s no easy way to say this…’
Chapter Ten
Sofia took a deep breath.
‘I’ve lost my job. I’ve been made redundant.’
Maddie’s arms went round her.
‘Is that all? Oh, thank God, I thought you were dying.’
Charlotte got up from her seat and knelt down beside Sofia’s chair to hug her too.
Something between a cry and a laugh came out of Sofia’s mouth.
‘But I told you I wasn’t ill.’
Maddie stroked the bits of her back and arms that weren’t being stroked by Charlotte.
‘We thought you were lying to protect us.’
‘Nope. Telling it like it is. I’ve been royally tossed aside by the company I’ve spent more than half my life helping to build. It’s nothing really, don’t mind me.’
The tears had beaten the strange laughter, and Sofia rested her head on the table and let them come.
Maddie’s hand in hers gently pulled her up to a seated position.
‘Oh, you poor baby. We know how much your work means to you. We’re not saying it’s nothing. We’re just relieved you’re OK.’
Charlotte wiped away her friend’s tears with another serviette, which came away streaked with mascara. The black goo was also on the tablecloth. The staff were going to love them.
‘It must seem like the end of the world today, but you’ll find another job.’
Sofia tried not to let her lip buckle.
‘I’m not sure I will… at my age.’
Charlotte banged her fist on the table.
‘Rubbish! We won’t have any of this ageist talk.’
‘Char, I’m just being realistic. Taking on a new senior partner in a law firm would be very unusual at my age. It’s different if you’re already working there. No one’s going to be bothered about your age.’ She realised what she’d said. ‘Well… until they are.’
Her friends waited until the next bout of crying was over. Charlotte was about to speak again. Her inquisition technique in such situations was well known. There was no point trying to shut her down.
‘What excuse did they give for getting rid of you?’
‘They’re “restructuring”. We’ve got a new top dog, a guy in his forties who wants to clear out the dead wood and bring inhis own team.’
‘What rubbish. You’re very much live wood.’
