Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (4 page)

6

‘
He
y
,
lon
g
time no see
,’
Grace said to the barista at her favourite café.

‘
I
t
’
s great to see you again
,
pretty lady.
’

‘
JJ
,
you
’
re such a sweet talker. How
’
s your lovely dovely?
’
An expression they
’
d used over the years when asking about the special someone in each other
’
s lives. JJ
’
s had turned out to be the one.

‘
Fabulous. Ain
’
t love grand?
’

‘
I wouldn
’
t know
,
now would I? However
,
I do know I desperately need a cappuccino and a chicken salad sandwich
,
please?
’
Grace feigned weakness.

‘
You got it
,
gorgeous
,’
he said laughing.

Grace smiled at his endless compliments and accepted them graciously even though she knew this was the way he talked to all his female clients.

Grace found a booth and then rang Kate.
‘
It
’
s me. Coming for lunch?
’

Kate looked around the office.
‘
Sure
,
Nick
’
s in a meeting which means I won
’
t get any grief for taking a lunch break
,
as if I should. He
’
s such a grub. Meet you in five.
’
She hung up.

Grace called out to JJ and ordered Kate
’
s drink and lunch.

‘
Of course
,
be right there
,’
he winked.

As soon as Kate arrived
,
the best friends became embroiled in work talk and the surprising result of the de Silva case.

‘
Turns out something happened in the judge
’
s chamber and the trial has been adjourned
,’
Grace told Kate.

‘
You
’
re kidding. I thought it was a done deal?
’

‘
We all did. The dilemma is whether it
’
s front page worthy or not now. It
’
s a surprise outcome so it could be
,
although
,
there
’
s no other information to include in the story as to why it was adjourned. It leaves the story hanging for all of us.
’

‘
You do get the juicy ones
,
don
’
t you? I can see you
’
re annoyed. Grace
,
you can
’
t permanently have the front page
,’
Kate raised one eyebrow.
‘
What about the radio and television stations? Surely
,
they
’
ll be breaking the news
,
what there is of it
,
as we speak.
’

‘
I had my tablet
,’
she patted her handbag twice
,
‘
and just wrote the story for our online site. It should be out there already. At least it will get top billing for a few minutes until the next news story breaks. You know how competitive Nick is with other forms of media. He wants to be everywhere.
’

‘
Oh
,
I
’
m away next week in Tahiti
,’
Kate changed the subject.

‘
Oh
,
finally
,
that
’
s great. You
’
ve been waiting for this island-hopping pleasure trip for how long? Six months?
’

‘
Exactly. I won
’
t be here for the staff meetings for a week. Make sure you tell Nick I
’
ve put my name down for the Africa trip when he talks travel stories. I still can
’
t get over how he let Jacqueline go two years ago. Completely unfair
,’
Kate sipped at her drink.

‘
Isn
’
t the dinner thing tonight with the Tahiti Tourism Board?
’

‘
Yes
,
it is
,’
Kate said.

‘
I saw your sideways look. What
’
s up?
’
Grace knew her friend too well.

‘
Jules rang me earlier and –
’

‘
S
pit it out. She wants something
,
right?
’

‘
Well
,
she asked me to go out with a new work colleague of hers
,
although
,
like you said
,
I have to go to the tourism dinner.
’

Grace put her hand out with palm up in the universal sign of
‘
stop
’
.

‘
Hear me out.
’

‘
There
’
s more chance I
’
d attend an all-day sporting event in monsoonal weather than go on a blind date
,’
Grace said.

‘
He
’
s a new guy from America
,’
Kate ignored her friend
’
s ranting.
‘
Apparently
,
he
’
s handsome
,
successful and lonely. He
’
s newly landed and they need to keep him happy. Jules was supposed to go then hubby was riled about it so she asked me. You know how long I
’
ve been waiting for this trip and I have to go to the dinner. I was hoping you would go out with this guy for me?
’
She smiled and fluttered her eyelids.

Grace shook her head and stared past Kate.
‘
You obviously missed my earlier point. I
’
ll be real clear. I would rather stick pins in my eyes while watching the grass grow and pulling out my eyelashes one by one than go on a blind date. You know they don
’
t work out. Why can
’
t Jules find someone within her own company?
’

‘
I don
’
t know. No-one
’
s available I guess. She
’
s getting desperate. He
’
s booked Aria by the Opera House
,’
Kate tried to sound enthusiastic.
‘
I need a date more than you do
,
I wish I could go.
’

‘
That
’
s because you go out with the wrong ones
,
Katie.
’
Grace leaned her head back into the cushioned booth. It would be easier to squeeze a camel through the eye of a needle than say no to Kate. It looked like this was going to be a busy week and who knew how many early morning meetings The Voice had planned for her.

‘
I
’
m not dating at the moment
,
remember?
’
Grace offered.

‘
Look at it as a night out on the town
,
all expenses paid.
’

Grace paused then nodded her head.

‘
You
’
re the best. I love you so much
,’
Kate squeezed her friend
’
s hand.

‘
You owe me
,
girlfriend.
’
Big time.

Grace loved Kate
’
s sister
,
Jules
,
almost as much as she loved Kate. Growing up the girls had nicknamed themselves The Three Musketeers. They had spent such an extraordinary amount of time together that their parents would joke they needed to be surgically separated from each other.

‘
Why am I doing this?
’
Grace asked
,
now shaking her head instead of nodding it. Then after a pause
,
‘
He better be hot.
’

The two newspaper girls laughed as they strolled out of the café and crossed the threshold. Grace ran straight into the chest of a tall
,
thick-set man who looked like he was nearing retirement age. She apologised immediately
,
recognising the collision as her fault for checking her mobile while walking.

‘
My fault
,
I
’
m sorry
,’
she said and looked straight into the man
’
s eyes. She took a step back and hoped the shock she felt on the inside didn
’
t show on the outside.

‘
No
,
no
,
not at all. I should have waited for you both to leave before barrelling in through such a small door. The apology belongs to me. I
’
m sorry
,’
the man replied.

‘
Oh
,
thank you. Minister Sleen
,
isn
’
t it?
’
Grace asked.

‘
Yes. Hopefully it doesn
’
t mean this is going to be even more awkward
,’
he said.

‘
No. Though perhaps we could reconcile this uncomfortable situation and you could give me an interview sometime about your policies now you
’
re the new Minister for the Environment.
’

‘
Ah
,
what are the chances of running into a journalist?
’

‘
My good fortune
,’
Grace said.

He pulled a card from inside his suit jacket pocket and handed it to Grace.
‘
Give my office a call and set up an appointment. I
’
ll let them know you
’
re calling
,
otherwise you
’
ll be given the run around. Your name?
’

‘
Grace Rose
,
News Journalist
,
The Sydney Star.
’

‘
Ah
,
yes. I
’
d be happy to help
The Star
. I look forward to the call.
’

As Grace took his card
,
it dropped to the floor. It was one of those situations where she wasn
’
t sure if he
’
d let it go too soon or she didn
’
t take it early enough. She bent down and picked it up. When she looked back at him he had a smile on his face. His friendly look surprised her.
‘
Thank you.
’
She turned to Kate
,
placed her hand on her back and mumbled into her ear.
‘
L
et
’
s go.
’
She pushed Kate through the door and onto the street.

‘
What was that?
’
Kate asked.
‘
I
’
ve never see
n
you look uncomfortable around a politician before.
’