ButViolet is warming to her subject. ‘To think,’ she snorts. ‘Me taking man advice from you? You shuffle from one shit romance to the next. I’d laugh if I didn’t feel a tiny bit sorry for you.’
Why is she doing this again? It felt like we’d found more of a balance since she was super rude in Italy and there have been times when I’ve actually enjoyed hanging out with Violet lately. I look down at my feet. Things haven’t changed at all. She’s still vicious and I’m still at the brunt of it. I think about Charlie and that moment he realised he had to quit his job and follow his dreams. I wish I had his self-belief.
‘I’m just trying to say that it might help to stop being so focused on your “type”.’
‘Thanks ever so for the pearls of wisdom, but I don’t need any help in this department. Especially not from you.’
Remain calm.
‘I’m sorry you’re going through a tough time. Maybe you could take the morning off? There’s plenty for me to be getting on with.’
‘Great idea, Jasmine,’ Emmy says. ‘There’s that new breakfast place in town that we should totally get to before everyone else!’
Violet’s face softens and my heart starts to pump a little less loudly. I think the situation is diffused. Emmy mouths the words ‘are you okay?’ at me as she steers Violet out of the house and I give her a shrug.
‘Oh, before you go, could you approve that leave I requested please Violet?’ I ask, crossing my fingers behind the back. Not sure why I thought now was a good time to bring this up but I really do need to know.
‘Yes that’s fine,’ she says briskly, swathes of black floating past me.
Asthe front door shuts, I slide across the tiled floor in my socks in celebration. So, sure, my boss is a deranged sack of shit. But mostly there’s a party going on in my head and absolutely everyone brought cocktails. Because HI HELLO THERE, I’ve had my leave request for Denmark granted!
