‘Thank you for letting me know. Now, Nigel here has something to say.’
Here we go.
I sip my coffee, looking into the coffee shop, hoping to find Sam; I could use his moral support right now. But there are so many people at the counter, waiting to be served. It’s impossible to spot him in the crowd.
‘Will? Hi. Nigel, here.’
‘Hi, Nigel.’
‘You haven’t been around for a while.’
‘No, that’s right. I’ve been sick, and… um…’
‘Oh, I don’t need to know about that,’ Nigel says. ‘Hope you get better soon. No, I’m calling about Willow. I found it in your desk drawer.’
My heart skips a beat. Has Willow died?
‘Is she okay?’
‘Sorry?’
‘Sorry?’
There’s a silence. Oh God, what’s happening?
‘I’ve found illustrations of a spider called Willow,’ Nigel clarifies. ‘Is it yours?’
Oh,those.How embarrassing. I thought I’d hidden my Willow adventures well, under printed Excel sheets that would never be read, let alone found.
‘Yes, they’re mine,’ I say. ‘How come you’re asking? How did you find them?’
I know I’m being shady, but after all, they were inmydesk.
‘Oh, Clive said we had fired you,’ Nigel says, delivering the blow I knew was coming. ‘And I needed the desk. But you hadn’t been back to get your stuff.’
Clive fired me after all? My hands shook.
I thought of Willow on her web, and how I would never see her again.
She’s been my only work mate.
How sad is that?
‘He didn’t tell me that.’
‘That’s interesting. Note that down, Rachel. Failure to dismiss staff effectively,’ Nigel says. ‘Anyway, you’re telling me you drew these?’
‘I did.’
‘And did you write the story?’
‘That’s right.’
‘How would you feel about it being turned into a children’s programme?’
I almost spill my iced latte onto the cobbled street.
‘Sorry?’
