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‘What would you do if you were me?’ she asked. ‘If I wanted to update my look but still be Hannah, where would you start?’
‘OK, wow, this is HUGE,’ said Sam, holding his palms up.
Hannah rolled her eyes. ‘This isn’t huge, Sam. It’s just a casual enquiry.’
Sam analysed her for a minute, taking in every inch from her curly hair to her sensible shoes, making her feel weirdly naked and vulnerable. ‘Can I think about it? Do you a mood board? I don’t want to say the first thing that comes into my head.’
‘Sure. Take your time.’
‘Will you actually let me see it through?’ he asked excitedly. ‘Take you shopping, get your hair cut, show you some make-up tips?’
‘Maybe,’ said Hannah. ‘But only if you promise to keep it simple. I don’t want some kind of extreme makeover, I’m not a doll. And you can’t tell anyone.’
‘Ooh, a secret project,’ said Sam, clapping his hands. ‘My favourite kind.’
‘Well, we’ll see.’
‘Can I ask what’s brought this on?’
Hannah looked at the genuine concern and affection on Sam’s face and wondered if she should tell him. Sam wasn’t a gossip, and he’d get a huge kick out of the Graham saga.
‘One episode at a time, I think,’ she said with a smile. ‘Like TV shows in the old days.’
‘Oh, come on,’ pouted Sam. ‘Let me binge the box set.’
Hannah shook her head. ‘That wouldn’t be any fun, so let’s check the May staffing rotas instead.’
‘Ugh,’ said Sam in disgust, but he already had the file off the shelf.
‘Hello, you two,’ said Janice cheerfully, her heels clacking on the marbled floor. She and her husband Roger ran Upton Country Club on behalf of some foreign investors, and most of the staff assumed it was a front for money laundering; the place was always undergoing renovation or expansion and seemed to have an unlimited amount of cash.
Sam and Hannah both smiled, glad they’d been caught looking busy. In Janice’s world there was never time to sit around doing nothing.
‘I got your message,’ she said to Hannah. ‘Come on through.’ She disappeared into the back office without breaking her stride, so Hannah wiped her clammy hands on her skirt and followed, ignoring Sam’s questioning look.
‘I wanted to talk to you about my ten-year sabbatical,’ said Hannah, once she was settled opposite Janice and it was clear that there would be no casual chit-chat. ‘It’s booked in for August.’
Janice sighed. ‘I know we owe you, but that’s an awful time for you to be away.’ She was a good boss and paid her staff well, but she had an air of being permanently stressed and overburdened.
‘I know. So I was wondering how you felt about May instead.’
‘What, this May? That’s two weeks away.’
Hannah nodded. ‘I know it’s short notice, but it would mean I could work the whole summer.’
Janice’s eyes widened. ‘You’ll do the whole of July and August? Full time, no holidays?’
‘Yes,’ said Hannah, before pulling out her trump card. ‘I’ll even supervise junior tennis if you can’t find anyone else.’
‘Really?’ gasped Janice. Upton ran a very expensive school holiday club for members’ children, including tennis coaching for spoiled brats who would much rather be in the pool or playing video games. It was a nightmare assignment that Hannah had only previously agreed to do in exchange for danger money.
‘Yes,’ she said, praying that there’d be an apocalypse before July. Maybe a meteor, or an alien invasion, or the Rapture. Anything that would get her off the hook.
‘Well, in that case,’ said Janice thoughtfully, ‘have a lovely sabbatical. My daughter Steph has reception experience and isn’t working right now, so she might be interested in covering for you.’
‘Great,’ said Hannah, feeling a buzz of excitement for the first time in what felt like months. ‘If she pops in next week I’ll talk her through everything.’
‘You’re amazing,’ said Janice. ‘Where are you going?’
