The Life Daisy Devlin Designed

CHAPTER 12

Daisy was still feeling on edge when she got to the office on Monday. She’d arrived home late Sunday evening, to find James and Alma gaming on the sofa. Neither of them had appeared to notice her as she’d hovered in the door.

“Hi, Alma.” She’d adopted her brightest tone. “How was your weekend?”

Alma had given her a startled look. “Good, thank you, Daisy. Yes, got you! ”

Daisy had stared at her for a moment, before realising the last bit had been meant for James. “Great.” She’d pasted on a smile. “James, could I speak to you for a minute?”

“Sure.” He’d flashed her a quick look. “Can it wait a minute? We’re in the middle of this!”

Daisy had tried to read Alma and James’ body language to decide whether they’d spent the whole weekend having frantic sex, but it didn’t seem any different than usual. She’d closed the door loudly, made herself a mug of green tea and gone to bed.

Laura arrived in. “Fuck, it’s like a sauna in this place.” She walked over to the window and undid the latch to push up the bottom pane. “So, you survived another weekend with your sister’s four hundred kids!” She sat down behind her desk.

Daisy looked over. “They’re kind of fun.”

“If you say so. Did you and James get a break?”

“ Um , not really.” Daisy tried to sound positive. “He had to go home early – things are pretty tough in work right now.”

“He’s the boss, babes. If the company’s struggling, he’ll just do what he has to.”

“He still has to answer to a board, Laura. And what do you think he’ll be able to do?” Daisy frowned. “Because if he knew, I’d say he’d be doing it already.”

Laura shrugged. “If it comes down to it, other employees will be given the push.”

Daisy shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Was she implying that James would fire people so he could hang on to his job? Laura rarely mentioned James but, sometimes, she noticed, she could be quite dismissive of him. It was strange, she thought. Laura didn’t know James that well, and he’d certainly never done anything to hurt her. Better to change the subject.

“Mum was asking after you at lunch yesterday.”

Laura visibly brightened. “How is she? I love your mum!”

“Yeah, she’s great.” Daisy sighed. “Until that second glass of homemade wine, when she’ll start lecturing you about the perils of early menopause and the wisdom of freezing your eggs.”

Laura shot her a slightly odd look, and Daisy wondered if she’d overshared. Probably! It was one of the downsides of having parents who overshared – sometimes it was a bit hard to establish boundaries. She cleared her throat, and added hurriedly, “They’re planning this massive anniversary party in early June for their fortieth wedding anniversary. Rosie has already started planning it. The woman loves a project!”

“Good for them,” Laura said vaguely, peering towards the door.

“What about you? How was your weekend?”

Laura sighed. “I saw my own mum. She asked if I wanted to go out for lunch with her on Sunday.”

“ Um , just you, or ...?” Daisy had always got the feeling that Laura’s mother wasn’t Brian’s biggest fan, but what mother invited her daughter to lunch on Sunday without inviting her son-in-law? Although even Laura had a tricky relationship with her, Daisy knew.

“Just the two of us,” Laura said. “It was her birthday, so we went out to her favourite French restaurant.” She glanced towards the door again. “Where’s Fionn? I was going to ask him to get me a decaf.”

“He’s at the dentist. I’ll get the coffees.”

Daisy stood. Laura yawned.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t be better off with the real thing?” Daisy said.

Laura shook her head. “I’ve started to train for the marathon. So I’m changing my diet a bit, and cutting out caffeine.”

Daisy stared at her. “You’re running a marathon? Like, the big one? That’s twenty-six miles!”

“I know how long it is.” Laura smoothed back her hair. “Brian’s been training since last year, and he asked me to do it with him. Anyway, I’ve been doing the park run for ages. I’ll be ready.”

“Okay.” Daisy frowned. “I’d no idea.”

Laura shrugged. “Sorry I didn’t mention it.”

“No, no – I’m just a bit surprised.” That was definitely the sort of thing you mentioned to a friend, Daisy thought, trying not to feel annoyed.

She was coming back with the coffees when she bumped into Fionn.

“Hey, Fionn, I can get you one of these if you like.”

He put a hand over one side of his mouth and shook his head.

Daisy grinned. “Okay, maybe let the anaesthetic wear off first.”

They walked up the double flight of stairs to the office, just as Laura was coming out of the bathroom, her eyes noticeably puffy.

Daisy said nothing as she placed the decaf on Laura’s desk.

“So, a bit of news,” Laura said, sitting back down. “I’ve been asked to do a job for a friend of mine – Stephanie.”

Daisy looked up. “Have I met her?”

“Nope. She used to do the park run – it’s how we met. Unfortunately, she’s now expecting triplets, so her life is about to come to an end. And I’ve got to pull off some miracle on their teensy budget. To be honest, I don’t know why they’re even hiring me.”

“Why are they?” Daisy noticed Laura’s expression. “No, I get it that you guys are friends but, if they’re that stuck for money, why aren’t they saving it for baby stuff?”

“Because her parents are giving her the money, with the promise that she uses it on the house.” Laura raised an eyebrow. “They also seem to think that we work for the love of it and don’t actually need to be paid properly.’

“They’ve probably already had so much expense,” Daisy mused.

Laura stabbed at her keyboard and glared at something on the screen. “Who? Her parents?”

“No, your friends. Having triplets is usually down to IVF.”

“ Hmm .” Laura swore quietly at the screen. “ Bloody thing! ”

Daisy bit her lip. Laura was frustrated by the projects she’d worked on in the last while. None of them had given her the sort of scope she’d had with Freya’s place, and now with Granary House.

“You do the Clontarf park run, don’t you, Laura?” Fionn asked.

Laura tutted. “How are we still talking about this?”

Fionn looked confused. “ Uh , were we?”

“Never mind.” Laura sighed. “Yes, I do. Why?”

“My auntie and cousin do it – Mam said they started about a month ago. You probably know them.”

“Fionn, have you any idea how many people turn up for the park runs?” Laura spoke with exaggerated patience. “Hundreds! How would I know them?”

“They both have shaved heads, so they’re pretty easy to spot.”

“Why are their heads shaved?” Laura looked a bit bewildered.

Fionn shrugged. “My auntie’s going through chemo, and my cousin shaved her head in solidarity.”

“Oh, sorry.” Laura nodded. “Nice gesture. But I don’t know them.” She turned to Daisy. “Speaking of which, how’s Kenny doing? You know, since his wife ...”

Daisy suppressed a sigh at the mention of Kenny’s wife, whom he’d lost to cancer. She glanced at Fionn who had dropped his gaze. Laura could be a bit thoughtless sometimes.

“I forgot you haven’t been working with him in a while,” she said. “He’s grand. I think he just likes keeping busy. Em , Fionn, you know that Kayley Lynch is kicking off her Irish tour at Granary House on the first of June? If you like, I can ask if you can meet her.”

He brightened. “This is why I love working here!”

“Hey, does anyone feel like drinks on Friday after work?” Laura said. “Fionn?”

“Sorry. One of my housemates is throwing a welcome party for the new people, and I have to go.”

“That sounds brutal,” Laura said. “Daisy?”

“ Uh , can’t do this Friday.” She spent a few minutes searching for her pencil, before remembering she’d stuck it through her hair above her ponytail.

“What about the following one?” Laura said. “Fionn, that suit you?”

“ Arrgh , I can’t.” Fionn pulled a face. “I’m going to a twenty-first back home in Cork.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Laura turned to Daisy. “If it’s just the two of us, we could probably invite the lads.”

“You mean James and Brian?” God, James barely wanted to visit her family. She couldn’t imagine him wanting to go drinking with Laura and Brian.

“Come on, Daisy,” Laura said. “It’s been ages since we’ve all been out together!”

For excellent reasons, Daisy thought. Still, Laura seemed so enthusiastic, and they hardly ever socialised outside the office anymore. “Sure, yeah.” Now all she had to do was to persuade James.

Laura flashed her a smile. “It’ll be like old times.”