He looks away at last and clears his throat. ‘I understand. And if Olivia is happy for us to go ahead, then…’ Edward’sAdam’s apple bobs lightly. ‘… then yes, of course. I’m sure I can move some things around.’
I stare at him. This can’t be happening. ‘Both of you, just hold on a minute.’ I jab at the phone’s loudspeaker button, taking Fabian out into the hallway with me – away from Edward.
‘Fabian, you cannot be serious,’ I hiss into the receiver once we’re alone.
‘Okay, John McEnroe,’ he snorts.
‘I’m too young for that reference,’ I murmur as he continues now, speaking over me.
‘Look, Liv, I’m not kidding, darling. Your options are very limited. You have a few sessions with that hot-sounding therapist over there, who you say you’re already working with anyway. Or you throw your toys out of the pram completely, lose your job and everything you’ve worked so hard for.’ He sighs. ‘And you know what’s happening with the book, of course…’ he continues blithely.
‘Wait, no, what?’ I interrupt, suddenly very, very afraid. ‘What’s happening with the book? I’m working on it right now, it’s all in hand. I have chapter headings and everything.’
‘Oh, babe.’ His voice is full of pity. ‘You didn’t listen to my voicemail? And you haven’t read my email?’
I remove the phone from my ear and quickly pull up his email. I hadn’t read any further than the first line; the one scolding me for ignoring his calls. I scroll down. There’s another paragraph, and a forwarded message from my publisher. I hold my breath as I scan it.
They say – very nicely and with lots of enthusiastic energy – that they’re ‘pausing announcement’ ofOrange Flagsfor now. They’re still ‘hugely excited’ about publication but there have been ‘a few scheduling conflicts’ that mean they need to ‘hold fire’ for now. Fabian has generously translated it for me:
‘Babe, this means they’re probably binning the whole project and you’re unlikely to get the rest of your advance. They may even come after you to repay the money they’ve given you so far. That scheduling thing is bullshit, it’s all about Tiramisu Girl going viral, soz.’
‘No,’ I whisper, reading and re-reading the email. ‘No.’
‘You see,’ Fabian calls cheerfully from down the phone. ‘There really isn’t any option. Going to therapy is the only chance you have of saving everything you’ve worked for.’
‘Can I think about it some more?’ I whisper into the phone at last, my brain blinking on and off. ‘I need to process this a bit.’
‘Nope,’ he says with even more apparent joy. ‘I’m working up a press release right now. I’ll have to get it okayed by odious little Spencer – do we know if he’s gay by the way, because I would probably go there and yes, I know I also need therapy – then I’ll send it out by lunchtime. Time is of the essence here, snookums.’ He pauses. ‘Anything else you want to add before I hang up on you?’
‘Only that I hate you and I’m glad Mike bought you the shit coffee machine. I wish you’d gone to France and I wish I hadn’t called you back.’
‘Can’t hide out forever, babe,’ he sings and then the line goes dead.
I stare at the phone in my hand, then at my office door, where Edward sits just a few feet away.
Whycan’tI hide out forever?
[LIVE] EXPLORE FOLLOWING FRIENDS FOR YOU
MorningTeaVids
13 weeks ago
RELATIONSHIP EXPERT LIV CARPENTER ON MORNING TEA TELLS WOMAN TO STOP BEING A WUSS!!!
Liv:Hiya, Asha, can you tell us a little bit about your problem?
Caller:Okay, yes… [silence]
Liv:You still with us, Asha?
Caller:Yeah it’s just… it’s hard for me to…
Liv:Take your time.
Caller:[swallows] So… [long pause]
Liv:Would you like me to explain? My producer’s given me your notes.
