Life Or Something Like It

‘Well, he sort of bellowed and I sort of listened with the phone at quite a distance from my ear,’ admitted Jesse.

‘I’m sorry, Jesse,’ said Cat quietly. ‘This is all my fault.’

Jesse noticed her worried face and reached out his hand. ‘No no, Kit Kat. I don’t think you could have changed anything even if you’d been there.’

‘I could have taken Alvarro back to his hotel and chained him to the bed,’ asserted Cat.

‘To be honest, I think he would have enjoyed that,’ observed Jesse, raising one eyebrow suggestively.

Cat gave him a weak smile. ‘I’m guessing Donald wants a scalp,’ sighed Cat, staring at her hands. ‘I’ll step down.’

‘I can’t ask you to do that,’ said Jesse quietly.

Cat shrugged. ‘I know Dan being fired won’t be enough for Donald or Will and I should have been there.’ She felt tears prick her eyes and brushed them away angrily. Cat Nightingale did not cry.

‘Hey,’ said Jesse taking hold of her hands. ‘It’s okay, Kit Kat. What do we always say? Shit happens and we turn up with a shovel and chuck it over next door’s fence. This will be old news soon.’

She nodded and he took hold of her hands and looked into her eyes. ‘I’m going to tell Donald that you’ve stepped down but only temporarily. It will show him that we’re taking a stand but he knows how good you are. He’s no fool. He won’t want to lose someone with your reputation to the competition so we’ll call it a temporary suspension. On full pay, of course.’

Suspended on full pay. Cat felt sick at the thought. ‘Do you think he’ll agree to it?’

Jesse put a hand on his heart. ‘Trust me, I’ll make him agree.’ He was full of confidence. Cat had no choice but to believe him. He’d never let her down before.

As they said goodbye, he kissed her on the cheek and hugged her. It wasn’t a PR affectation but an affectionate embrace. She held on to him for a moment, taking comfort from his warmth. After he left, she looked around at the busy, buzzing coffee shop – the people moving with purpose through their lives. She felt the panic rise up. Cat was never idle; she was always busy. She quickly gathered her things and hurried to the Tube; got to keep moving, don’t stop to think about it.

For the rest of the day, she was glued to her iPad. Social media had underpinned her existence for so long, she didn’t know what else to do. Of course every newsfeed was taken over by Alvarro but only the PR insiders knew of her involvement in the debacle. She tried to skirt around it, to join in tweet-chats with her usual PR clique but it soon became clear that she had been frozen out as they either gave cursory replies or failed to respond. Only Ava sent her a Direct Message later that afternoon.

Ava Jackson @avamwah Just Now

Hey sweetie, tough deal. Drinks soon? Ax

This was typical Ava and Cat was grateful; it was a crumb of comfort in an otherwise shit day. Her phone rang continuously, mostly journalists wanting a comment. She ignored them, tiring quickly of its incessant buzzing. She knew she was in trouble when by eight o’clock that evening she had shut her phone in a drawer, was lying on her bed in her pyjamas, nursing her third glass of wine and watching reruns of America’s Next Top Model.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone knocking loudly on her front door. She considered pulling the duvet over her head and hiding under the covers but the sight of the empty wine bottle on the bedside cabinet gave her a much-needed reality check. Cat was not about to fall apart. She had to pull herself together. The events of yesterday were a mere blip and she would not wallow in self-pity or drink herself into a stupor. The knocking grew louder and more persistent, so she threw on her dressing gown, smoothed her hair and prayed that her breath smelt better than it tasted. She was surprised but not disappointed to find Andrew peering through the glass in the front door, a worried frown on his face. She opened the door.

‘Don’t say a word about my appearance,’ she warned as she stood back to let him in.

‘I’m a bloke. We don’t notice stuff like that. Mind you, you do look like shit,’ he joked.

‘Thank you. Blame Alvarro Diaz.’

‘Want me to go and kick him in the ankles?’ asked Andrew, his eyes twinkling. ‘Because no-one messes with my big sis.’

Cat laughed in spite of herself. ‘Would it help?’

‘Probably not but the offer’s there and I do feel partly to blame.’

‘So you should,’ joked Cat. ‘Don’t worry about it. It was going to happen regardless. Anyway, where are your children? Have you sold them into slavery?’

‘Tempting but no. They’re at a friend’s.’

‘Oh well it’s nice that you came to check on your sister.’

‘Actually I have an ulterior motive,’ admitted Andrew.

‘Just as long as you don’t want me to look after your children during my “career break”,’ said Cat making air quotes.

Andrew bit his lip and tried not to make eye contact with his sister. Cat stared at him in horror. ‘Was that the real reason you came to see me?’

Andrew pretended to be offended. ‘No-o. I wanted to check you were okay but I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t occurred to me.’

‘Well you can banish that thought right now.’

‘Why?’

‘Do I need to spell it out? Your children don’t like me and I don’t have the first clue how to look after kids. Do you really want to risk leaving them with me?’

‘Yes.’ Cat shook her head in exasperation as Andrew continued. ‘I think it would be good for all of you. It’s about time my children got to know their aunt and I think it would be good for you too.’

‘What do you mean?’

Andrew was silent for a moment as if choosing his words carefully. ‘Well it’s not as if you’ve got a lot on at the moment and it would really help me out.’

‘Oh no, don’t start that tugging at my heartstrings. You’ll be dragging Bear out and asking me to sing you to sleep next.’

‘I’ve got him in the car actually.’ Andrew grinned. ‘Seriously, Cat, where’s the harm? You’ll be helping me out and you might even enjoy it.’

‘I wouldn’t say that our sleepover was a resounding success.’

‘But that was only one night and it was all very last-minute. You were stressed with work and the kids were wound-up and tired. This will be different.’

Cat stared at the ceiling. He’d got her. She was at a loose end and her brother needed her; there was nothing she could do.

‘Fine,’ she said, getting up from her chair. ‘I’ll go and dig out my body armour now.’

Andrew grinned. ‘Don’t forget your helmet and shield,’ he joked, receiving a punch on the arm as Cat walked past. ‘Ow and thank you,’ he added.

‘Whatever,’ said Cat, climbing the stairs. ‘On your head be it when it all goes pear-shaped.’

‘It won’t.’ Andrew smiled. ‘I have great faith in you.

‘I’m glad someone does,’ muttered Cat.

Three hours later Cat was feeling more positive about the world. Her brother was cooking dinner and the children were occupied with various electronic devices whilst she remained glued to her iPad. Jesse had been right; the Alvarro story was starting to slide away and her phone hadn’t rung in the past hour. One of Cat’s strongest qualities was her resourcefulness and she could feel a plan emerging in her mind. She would look after the children until Melissa came back and use that time to maintain her contacts and ease her way back into the PR world. It was a very immediate world with a short memory and Cat had enough credibility to ride this storm. Everything would be fine; she just needed to be patient.

Charlie and Ellie had taken the news that Cat was to be their new nanny with relative indifference. Cat also had a plan in that regard. She would show the children the best summer, take them to the most fabulous places, let them experience a little of what her world had to offer. It would be educational and fun. She counted her blessings that she didn’t need to deal with nappies or toddler tantrums too. The children were bright and Cat would work on them and make them see what a good aunt she was. After all, she had dealt with some of the trickiest divas and most demanding celebrities in the past. She just needed to channel what she knew and apply it to the world of the child. How difficult could it be?

At dinner time, her question was answered. Having been told to stop playing his game, Charlie sloped into the dining room, his face clouded with irritation. He frowned at his plate.