‘Which wedo nottalk aboutat allto anyone, because it’s top secret,’ Hayley said sternly.
‘How are things going with that?’ Cynthia asked Angel, looking at her with sincere eyes.
‘I love Rabbit Nation.’
‘But will it be as addictive as Candy Crush Saga?’ Cynthia asked seriously.
‘Encouraging children to love their rabbits is better than encouraging them to look at sweets.’
‘That’s a very good point,’ Cynthia agreed.
Hayley looked again at the family photo in her hand. Happy, smiling faces at the beach. Cynthia was there in jeans and a T-shirt, long hair loose, her husband, a tall, well-built man with a widesmile and sparkling eyes, was on one side of a surfboard stuck in the sand and the two boys were knelt in front. Oliver’s brother was dark-haired like his father and, even as a youth, was archetypally handsome. Oliver had his arm around his brother and he was grinning like this moment was the happiest of his life. Hayley raised her eyes to look at Cynthia. Had she really given up on Oliver? Maybe she should send Angel on an errand to find lemonade and come clean that she knew him, tell Cynthia how he felt about the Regis Software merger… how he felt about Andrew Regis. The words weren’t coming. It wasn’t her place.
Cynthia smiled at Hayley. ‘I bought a hound’s-tooth scarf yesterday.’
Hayley put the photo back on the mantelpiece. ‘You did?’
‘I did. And you were right. It does go beautifully with my coat.’
‘Well, I?—’
‘Mum’s great at fashion tips,’ Angel jumped in. ‘She works at a dry-cleaners and she plans parties for people.’
‘Angel…’ Hayley felt her cheeks glowing.
‘Parties. I’m so pleased to hear that.’ Cynthia clasped her hands together. ‘I’ll cut right to the chase.’ The woman took a long breath before continuing. ‘I’d like you to work on a project with me.’
‘A project?’ Hayley asked.
‘Yes. I work with a charitable organisation whose annual fundraiser is in need of pepping up a little. It’s a cause very close to my heart and I really want this year to be extra special. The lady who usually helps me has gone down with glandular fever. She can’t work, she can barely speak and?—’
‘I really don’t think—’ Hayley interrupted.
‘Please, hear me out.’ The plea in Cynthia’s tone tugged at her. ‘It’s one night, at the Crystalline Hotel, three hundred people, a three-course meal and entertainment, plus awards and speeches.’
Cynthia continued. ‘What you did here yesterday… you have an eye for detail and that’s what I need. I need someone to come in and make that ballroom special.’
‘You mean décor? Table settings?’ Hayley asked. Her heart was thumping in her chest. Was it panic or passion being ignited?
‘Yes and party favours. Plus I definitely need something more entertaining than last year’s barber shop quartet.’
‘You want me to organise the whole event?’ Now her stomach was pumping bile and adrenaline in equal measure.
‘I’ll be there to help, but I’d like you to coordinate everything.’
‘It sounds so cool,’ Angel remarked, eyes bright.
‘With any outside companies you decide to use, of course, and a very generous budget,’ Cynthia continued.
‘When Angel said party planning… it’s a small business, local.’ She wet her lips. ‘It isn’t New York,’ Hayley stated.
‘Don’t forget you put on that big fashion show for my school and the fete last summer.’
She was so lucky to have a daughter who remembered everything. However, she could tell this event was in a completely different league to a local fair and juniors wearing Roman costume.
‘I’ll put a team of assistants at your disposal and I’ll be on hand or at the other end of a phone to help you. Plus I’ll pay you twice the going rate for a New York event organiser,’ Cynthia continued.
Hayley shook her head. This was crazy. ‘You could hire any of them. All of them much more capable and experienced. Why me?’
