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Amy shakes her head, a strand of her red hair coming loose from her clip. ‘Not good, I’m afraid.’ She’s dressed, as usual, in a clashing, overly colourful assortment of garments, none of which seem to quite fit – a flared pink and green floral skirt that looks painful around her waist, and a tight, low-cut tank top in lurid yellow that shows off the top of her scarlet bra. Her clothes reflect her personality – bold and unique – and she doesn’t give a toss what anyone thinks. Amy, the product of a failed care system as a teenager, is as reliable as they come and was my first employee. I wouldn’t survive without her, and I love her to bits.
‘Did they say why?’
She shakes her head again.
‘Great start to the week,’ I say, trying not to show my disappointment. C-Tech was going to be our biggest account yet, a flagship business client on our books and a step up in our customer base – a corporate giant with a green heart. Our new ad campaign was going to include shots at their premises. God knows, we need something to kick-start the business again. Things have been tough lately.
I go into my office and shut the door. These days, we have a suite taking up the top floor of a converted mill warehouse with enviable views of the riverside and the city. A vast improvement on the mobile cabin on an industrial estate we’d been in for a few years previously, and in turn, a far cry from a laptop on my knee on the sofa when I started the business a short while after Belle was born. Now, with forty-five employees out in the field and four office-based staff, Greene & Clean mostly ticks over, though I can’t ever afford to let my guard down. I have no idea how much longer I’ll be able to keep paying the rent here.
At my desk, I boot up my computer and take my phone from my bag. After everything I’d done to win that contract, dropping a casual message with my PA wasn’t the response I’d hoped for.
‘Hi, Jim,’ I say when he answers. ‘It’s Hannah from Greene & Clean. Just got to the office and picked up your message from Amy.’
‘I’ve not got long, Hannah. I’m late for a meeting.’
‘I won’t keep you. But tell me, what can I do to make our offer more appealing? I really do believe we’ll make a big difference to the way you have things set up currently.’
‘Out of my hands, I’m afraid,’ Jim replies. ‘Head office decision. Budgeting issues.’
‘I understand, and we can work around that,’ I say. ‘Look, I’m coming to your side of town on Wednesday. How about I come to your office again and I’ll put together a more attractive proposal? We have options.’
There’s silence on the line for a moment. ‘Sure. If you like. Call my assistant and set something up. Gotta run.’
The line goes dead and I drop my phone onto the desk. I know Jim is keen to use our services, but I also know that we’re seen as more and more of a luxury these days. God knows, we’ve suffered the last couple of years, with everyone working from home and offices shut down. But every home and business premises in the country needs cleaning – and factor in the plant rental and care side of our company, as well as our eco-only cleaning products and methods, and we’re a truly unique outfit.
I check my emails, scrolling through the two hundred or so that have come in since I left the office on Thursday evening. I shudder as I think back to everything that’s happened these last three days.
Rob was up early yesterday morning, though not as early as me. I’d stayed downstairs in the living room on the sofa all night, keeping guard, but I hadn’t slept a wink. I was already sitting in the kitchen, head in hands, laptop and a third cup of espresso in front of me, when Rob came down. As a distraction, I was trying to plan some nice activities with the girls for the day.
‘Not sure I understand the nicey-nicey approach about the jewellery, Han,’ was the first thing he’d said, making a coffee for himself. The kitchen door was shut but we still kept our voices down. ‘We should call the police. It’s bloody theft.’
‘I know, Iknow…but the act was all for Belle,’ I’d replied, though that was only partly true. ‘She’d be heartbroken if she knew what had happened. How can we call the police? She’d hate us.’
‘Well, aside from theft, she now thinks we haven’t got her anything for her birthday,’ Rob said, pacing about. ‘And she has no idea her fiancé is a crook either. There’s no way she’s getting married to him. Over my dead body.’
‘It’s fine, I explained it away to her,’ I’d said, thinking the dead body was likely to be mine.
Truth was, I hadn’t explained anything away to Belle. At the party, I bluffed to her that I must have left her gift at home and, by the time we got back, she’d been so wrapped up in Jack andhissupposed gift to her, plus whatever surprise was being delivered on Monday, that she didn’t mention it again.
‘We could take her shopping for a replacement today,’ I’d suggested. ‘That would give us an excuse to kick him out. Say we’re meeting with family afterwards or something.’
Rob’s face was knotted up with anger. ‘Why bloody should we? And I could have punched him when he said about me not being Belle’s dad.’
‘Me too.’
We’d both shut up then, hearing footsteps on the landing. I know every creak and sound our house makes, every pipe rattle or door closing. We’ve lived here nearly fourteen years now and, until last night, I’ve always believed it to be our safe space.Mysafe space. Our family haven. We’ve worked damned hard to pay for it over the years, to give our girls a good life, and I can’t stand the thought that it now feels…contaminated.
The phone on my desk buzzes. ‘Yes, Amy.’
‘Sorry to bother you, but we’ve got a problem with the Morris house again. They say…well, they’re saying some cash went missing on Friday when Leanne was there.’
‘Oh Christ,’ I say, leaning back in my chair. I feel a headache coming on and it’s not even 10a.m. yet.
‘Apparently they’ve got video proof as they’d suspected something before. Do you want me to email you what they sent?’
‘Yes, of course, thanks,’ I say. It’s not the first time we’ve had trouble with Leanne, but I don’t want to give up on her. Part of Greene & Clean’s ethos is to employ disadvantaged workers who would struggle to find employment otherwise. Even if I only make a small difference to their lives, then it’s worth it. And Leanne got under my skin from the start of our interview.
I click the email and play the recording. It seems that the Morrises have set up a secret camera on a shelf in their bedroom. It’s not uncommon for clients to do this and, while our staff haven’t always had the best start in life, they are all security vetted.
