Page 28 of Never Gonna Happen

‘Be super-careful with the red silk dress,’ said Catherine, unveiling a microscopic silver bikini that barely covered the world’s most gym-honed body. ‘It’s Dior.’

‘Ooh,’ said Tanya, ‘that reminds me. There’s a green Versace shirt on the back of the chair in my room, it has a lipstick mark on it. Can you see if you can get it out? Anna might have some ideas, I’m sure you’ll think of something.’

Squirt of hairspray and some warm water, thought Emily, biting back a thousand versions of ‘Fuck you, I’m not your servant.’ She grabbed her bag and hurried back to the house, figuring she could get this job done then avoid being the Cinderella to their Ugly Sisters until they’d left the country tomorrow. It was tempting to complain to Mr Hunter, but he had enough on his plate and she didn’t want to bother him. She could pack a suitcase and clean a shirt in half an hour, it was hardly a huge ask.

She dumped her swimming stuff in her room, then jogged down to the second floor. She wandered the corridors for a minute, realising she had no idea which rooms belonged to Tanya and Catherine.

‘Emily?’ said a male voice. ‘Is everything OK?’

She turned to find Mr Hunter standing outside one of the rooms, holding a pile of clean laundry that was clearly destined for a suitcase.

‘Oh,’ she said, frantically trying to come up with a legitimate reason why she might be loitering outside the family bedrooms at 7 p.m., ‘I’m looking for your daughter’s room. And Mrs Hunter’s.’

Mr Hunter’s eyes narrowed. ‘And why might you be doing that?’

Emily hesitated, wishing the carpet would swallow her up.

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake,’ said Mr Hunter, rolling his eyes. ‘What have they asked you to do?’

Emily sighed. ‘Catherine would like me to pack her suitcase, and Mrs Hunter needs a stain removing from a shirt.’

‘Hmm,’ said Mr Hunter. ‘And where did they find you, exactly? Did they come up to your room?’

‘No,’ she said emphatically. ‘I was in the pool.’

Mr Hunter nodded, his lips clamped together and his nostrils flared. She’d seen Jamie doing the same thing, and it struck her how alike they looked. ‘And were you already on your way out of the pool, or did they ask you to leave?’

Uh oh, thought Emily, clearing her throat awkwardly. ‘It was implied that I should leave.’

Mr Hunter exhaled through his nose, his mouth set into a furious line. ‘Just so I’m clear, my ex-wife kicked you out of my swimming pool and asked you to do my daughter’s packing and her laundry?’

‘Technically Catherine requested the packing herself,’ said Emily, ‘but yes to everything else.’ She couldn’t help but smile at the ridiculousness of it all, which made Mr Hunter start to laugh.

‘Honestly, the bare-faced cheek of those two,’ he said. ‘Sorry about your swim. Go and dry off and I’ll deal with it. Could you pop into my office in an hour?’

Emily nodded and scurried back to her attic room, marvelling for the millionth time how a man like Mr Hunter could have ended up with so many awful relations. Every family had a bad egg, but you could make a rancid omelette out of the Hunters.

‘Apologies for earlier,’ said Mr Hunter, smiling at Emily over his desk. ‘I’ve had a word.’

‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t sure on the boundaries.’

‘Hmm,’ said Mr Hunter. ‘Sadly, boundaries are a concept my ex-wife and my daughter don’t really understand.’ He smiled and steepled his hands under his chin, and suddenly Emily wondered if she’d read this all wrong and she was in trouble.

‘I just thought it was a good time for us to have a catch-up,’ he said. ‘You’ve been here over a month now, so I wanted to check you’re happy with everything before you head home for a break. Make sure you’re planning to come back.’

‘I’m really happy,’ she said. ‘I love the job, and I really love working here.’ The words took her by surprise; she’d never consciously thought about how attached she’d become to the house and the estate.

‘I hear my son is teaching you to ride,’ he said with a smile.

‘Yes.’ Emily hoped that was all Jamie had told him. ‘I love it.’

‘He says you’re a natural,’ said Mr Hunter. ‘If you’re planning to keep it up, get yourself some proper cold weather riding gear. You’ll be glad of it in the dead of winter.’

Emily nodded, already looking forward to shopping for all the right clothes. Maybe Jamie would help her make a list.

‘Anyway, I’m glad you’re happy here,’ continued Mr Hunter. ‘You’ve made my life considerably easier. And I’ve got you a Christmas present.’ He opened the top drawer of his desk and picked out a flat box wrapped in silver paper.

‘Oh,’ said Emily in surprise, ‘that’s really kind.’ She turned the box round in her hands, not sure if she was supposed to open it now or take it home for Christmas.