Даниэла Стил - All That Glitters

“It sounds like fun,” Coco said, thinking about the plan, but disappointed that Leslie was leaving Time . She liked working for her, and she liked her job, although she knew her internship would end sooner or later. She had already been there for ten months.

“That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I think you’d be great at it. Now that you’re a permanent resident here, would you consider coming to work for me? I’d love to have you.” Coco’s eyes lit up. It sounded like a good idea, and she wanted a long-term job.

“I’d love it!” She beamed at her.

“You would? Fantastic!”

“When are you starting?”

“The end of this month. I plan to open up the business at the end of July. I’m giving them four weeks’ notice tomorrow. You could give them two weeks’ notice, as an intern. I’d rather they not know that I’m stealing interns from them. And I’d pay you a proper salary. You’ll be legal doing that now, since you’re married to Nigel.”

They talked about the business for a while. It sounded exciting. Leslie was going to work out of her house at first, to keep the overhead down. She only lived ten minutes from Coco’s mews house by cab, and not too far from their new one. The offer of a job was the best news she’d had in months. The four and a half months since her wedding had been rocky, and expensive.

“What are you going to do about Nigel?” Leslie asked Coco gently before she left.

“Kill him if he buys another house.”

“Hopefully, he’ll behave now. If not, you should get out. I never realized how irresponsible he could be.”

Or how greedy, Coco thought. He wanted everything, a city house, a country estate, and God only knew what else he had in mind, and he wanted it all right now, at her expense. He knew too well that she could afford it.

Leslie hugged her before she left, Coco was excited about the job offer, and Leslie had suggested a decent wage.

Coco was in better spirits when she let herself into her house. Nigel was at the kitchen table with a ferocious hangover.

“Where were you?” he asked her.

“I went to see Leslie Thomas,” she said.

“What about?” She didn’t tell him about the job. It was none of his business.

“Something to do with work.” He nodded, which made him wince, and she went upstairs and showered and changed. When he came upstairs and lay down on the bed, she asked him a direct question. “How were you planning to pay your friend for the house in Sussex?”

“I told him you would. We’d been drinking a lot by then. I said you would pay in three installments, by wire transfer. It was his suggestion. He needs the cash.” She nodded and didn’t respond. She went out after that, and spent the day walking and thinking, and didn’t come back until six o’clock that evening. Nigel was out, and hadn’t left a note for her. He knew that he had gone a giant step too far.

She called Ed Easton the next day on her cellphone from work, and told him about the house in Sussex. Nigel was right. He had gotten it at a very low price, but he still shouldn’t have done it without consulting her.

“Your new husband is spending your money like water,” Ed commented. “As your trustee, I have to warn you that’s not wise.”

“Am I broke yet?” she asked with a sigh.

“Far from it. But you will be one day if he keeps this up.”

“I’m planning to shut him down.” She asked him to transfer the price of the house to her bank account in London, and he said he’d take care of it. He couldn’t resist adding a comment, maybe because she had ended it with him, or maybe because he believed it.

“I’m glad we got the prenup we did. I felt a little guilty about making it so tough on him, but now I’m glad I did.”

“So am I,” she said clearly. “Thanks, Ed.” And then she hung up. Even if things weren’t going smoothly with Nigel, she had no regrets about Ed, and knew she never would.

Chapter 8

Leslie gave the magazine notice on Monday and told them that she would be leaving at the end of June. Starting her own business had always been her dream and she wanted to pursue it. She had just turned thirty-nine, without a husband or children, and she figured it was the right time to give it a try. She had no encumbrances, and thanks to her late aunt, she had the money now to do it.

Coco told Nigel that night that she was going to pay for the house in Sussex, but if he did anything like that again, she would leave him. She wasn’t going to let him ruin her financially so he could show off to his friends. He thanked her profusely, and swore he wouldn’t buy any more houses or make any more financial commitments without consulting her. He acted almost like a child who had been punished, and she realized that even though he was ten years older than she was, he was immature and irresponsible. It wasn’t a happy discovery, but it was what she had to deal with. Nigel was a charming child as long as he got his way, and a very nasty one when he didn’t. He manipulated her by withholding love.

He was supervising the contractors at both houses, so at least Coco didn’t have to worry about it. She was planning to give notice at the magazine two weeks after Leslie had, so they could leave at the same time. She hadn’t told Nigel about her new job yet. Communication between them was still strained, and they hadn’t made love since he bought the house in Sussex. She was too upset about it. The day before she was planning to give notice, he came home looking as though the world had come to an end. He poured himself a stiff drink, sat down on the couch, and glanced at her with a miserable look on his face.

“Is something wrong?” She wondered if he was sick.

“You could say that. They announced some departmental changes in advertising and marketing today. Cutbacks. I got fired, Coco. I’m out of a job, after five years.” He was taking it hard, and she felt sorry for him. His ego had taken a big hit. He didn’t earn a big salary, but it paid for all his expenses, so he didn’t need to ask her for money.

“I’m sorry,” she said gently. “You’ll find another job.” He nodded, and then halfway through his scotch, he cheered up a little.

“I guess it’ll give me more time to stay on top of what the contractors are doing at both houses.” The city house was supposed to be ready in August, and Sussex in September. But overseeing the renovations wasn’t meant to be a full-time occupation in lieu of a real job. She didn’t like the idea of his staying out of work to check on the houses. That should have been in addition to his regular employment.

“I think you ought to look for another job,” she said as politely as she could. “We have a lot of expenses with the two houses. It’s nice if you contribute where you can.”

“Does it really make a difference? What point is there to my working, with everything you have?” She didn’t like his referring to her inheritance that bluntly, or thinking of it that way. And this was what Sam had been worried about, that Nigel might decide she had so much money he didn’t need to work.

“I work. I think you should too,” Coco said quietly.

“Yours is just a token job,” he said dismissively.

“Actually, I’m starting a new job in July,” she said. He looked surprised, since she hadn’t told him yet. “Leslie is starting a business, relocating people moving to London, finding them a place to live, decorating, and setting it all up so they have nothing to do when they get here. It will be both corporate and personal. She asked me to come and work for her. I’m giving notice tomorrow and I’ll start with her in two weeks.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He looked hurt, and turned from attacker into victim.