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‘Devin’s grandma died last night,’ she says, taking a beat to let this land.

Oh. What a relief.

‘Thank fuck for that,’ I say, exhaling too loudly.

Nidi’s eyebrows shoot up.

‘Sorry… sorry. I meant it’s such a shock.’

Now she is frowning.

‘Not that I’ve ever met your husband or his grandma, I mean. And I’m so sorry to hear that she died so tragically,’ I say, unable to stop. ‘Or however she went.’

‘Thanks,’ says Nidi, giving me an odd look. ‘She died peacefully in her sleep.’ She pulls me round to face her and gets straight to the point, ‘I know you’ve only been here for five minutes, but⁠—’

‘I see,’ I interrupt, my whole body sinking. This is familiar territory. I’m being let go. And this time, it’s my own stupid fault. I can’t even blame my sister. Well, I can, but… actually, yes, this all started with Ava. She’s to blame for this whole web of lies in the first place. A ball of misery stirs deep within.

Nidi snaps me out of my bitter trance with a sharp click of her fingers. ‘I need to ask a huge favour. We’re going back to England to organise the funeral. Hindu funerals can be as big as the weddings. A couple of weeks long – and Nani was very popular. It’s terribly short notice, I know, but can you hold the fort here for a few weeks or so?’

Oh. I was not expecting this.

‘When will you be going?’ I say, relief flooding through me.

‘We’re hoping to leave today.’

Alcohol fumes are billowing out from my every pore in celebration.

‘What about the day-to-day running of the business?’ I ask, trying not to sound too overjoyed. ‘Is there anything you need me to do while the office is closed?’ I look around at the awful knick-knacks. ‘Decluttering perhaps?’

Or two weeks of sunbathing and scrolling through TikTok?

Nidi beams at me. ‘There’s no need to close. It’s such a relief to know that you’ve already had experience of running and growing a business like this already. I bet you can’t wait to be in charge.’

I stare at her through a panicked haze, barely listening, as she talks me through her client to-do list and diary.

‘Can you call each individual client and explain for me, please? It’s a real shame that we didn’t get your observation done or the mentoring, otherwise you could have done my sessions while I’m away. That would have been so good for you.’

I nod my head politely. I’d rather walk over burning hot coals.

‘Still, you and Maria-José-Inmaculada-Carmen can arrange the business singles event between you and pre-assess any new clients ready for my return. That should keep you busy. Such a relief you used to be an events manager, isn’t it?’

I gulp. Another white lie.

‘Contact all the local businesses to come along and do as much PR through our socials as you can manage. I’ll leave you details of the budget. Tell me the date as soon as you can so that I can be back in time.’

I am literally going to have a heart attack.

This is the best and worst possible timing. Both a blessing and a curse. Part of me is ecstatic at not having to tell her about Oliver being from the ICF and consequential exposure as a fraud. Nor do I need to reveal that the sister I said I didn’t have is arriving forthwith. The joy is immediately cancelled out by the sheer and horrific weight of being left in charge in my current state.

I take her hand in mine. ‘Nidi, there’s something I need to…’

‘I can’t tell you how grateful I am. Especially in my condition. Devin’s so worried that the stress of running the business from the UK will harm the baby.’ I watch her rub her belly and look at me with those glorious, warm, kind eyes. ‘Thank you, Nell. It’s a huge relief.’

Well, that’s that then. I manage to keep a lid on the simmering meltdown until Nidi has finished telling me everything that she needs me to do in her absence, to basically save the baby’s life and increase our client portfolio exponentially, and has gone back to her office. Before I decide on how to silence Maria-José-Inmaculada-Carmen, it’s crucial that nothing upsets Nidi or causes her to worry.

* * *

Maria-José-Inmaculada-Carmen is the only fly in the ointment. I figure, after yesterday’s disastrous radio interview where she clearly let us both down, she owes me one. I’ve also caught her smoking and reading Hola! magazine several times instead of working. Ditto chatting with her mother. She is going to have to severely up her game while Nidi is gone, otherwise we will run this business into the ground, which is precisely the opposite of what Nidi is expecting. She was very clear about this. We need to be at our most professional, treat clients with respect and keep them happy until she returns. We have to run the bookings, manage the website efficiently and keep track of the finances and payments. But above all, Nidi says, uphold the ethos of life coaching, which is to aim for where we want to be in the future and always be kind to ourselves and others.