Victoria tapped the tip of her Montblanc fountain pen against her lip. She’d finally signed off on the final draft of Arrival, and it had been sent to the printers. It was usually a time for quiet rejoicing, but now it just cracked open enough of her schedule to allow her to dwell on what was happening outside of work.
She’d never been exactly close to any of her employees, but she was now finding that she trusted none of them. Holly’s conspiracy theory mindset had completely pervaded her usually balanced view. Now, every single word or action was overthought to maddening levels.
It was only the second day of the subterfuge, and already Victoria found herself driven insane by the situation.
Her thoughts were firmly set on Louise. Upon arriving at the office, Victoria had ordered Louise to get the key to the townhouse from Holly. Louise had quickly assured her that she’d take care of everything. She’d followed Victoria into her office and told her that she would manage the situation; she also informed her that she had found a gap in her schedule for a quick shoulder massage.
It was a gesture Victoria was unused to seeing in Louise, and the kindness she found in her eyes made Victoria pause. Was Holly right? Was her first assistant a prime suspect? And if she was, what was her goal?
She tossed the heavy pen down onto her notepad and clutched her head in frustration. She took a couple of deep breaths; she’d not find out anything concrete by running her brain in circles.
She lowered her hands and wiggled her shoulders a little to relieve some of the pressure. She had a job to do. Not producing the next issue of Arrival, no, that could wait a little while longer. Instead, a major suspect on Holly’s master list was photographer Phoebe Wheeler.
Phoebe had the skillset required to manipulate images. She also had a wealth of stock images of both Victoria and Ashley from which to create such images. A motive wasn’t clear, but Holly had already explained that motive wasn’t always entirely clear from the outset.
Oh, how Victoria missed Holly and their discussions. Victoria loved her children, but being a single parent meant that she was rarely challenged during conversations. Her opinion had been the only one that mattered until Holly had arrived on the scene, with her own way of seeing the world and her endless supply of patience in explaining things to Victoria.
She’d never admit it, but Holly made her a better person. She’d opened her eyes to other people, cultures, ways of life, politics, and more. She wasn’t changing fundamentally as a person, but she was able to see the broader picture.
The house was quiet without Holly. Especially with the children walking on eggshells around her.
Victoria reached over to her phone and pressed the intercom button.
“Ask Phoebe Wheeler to come and see me,” she instructed.
As chance would have it, Victoria had a perfectly valid reason to speak with Phoebe. Now she needed to try to fathom a way to question her without seeming like she was doing so.
Holly had eluded to some details in her journals that had her suspecting Phoebe of possible involvement. She wouldn’t clarify why, which led Victoria to fear the worst. Had they been an item? Had Phoebe made a move on Holly?
Just like that, Phoebe had gone from a talented and loyal photographer to a potential snake in the grass overnight. Victoria fought to not grind her teeth in frustration at the images her mind conjured.
“She’s on her way up now,” Claudia replied.
Victoria refreshed her email, hoping for information on her next meeting with Holly. She’d been steadily refreshing the application every few minutes for the last four hours.
So far, there was nothing.
It was frustrating, to say the least, that she wasn’t able to contact Holly, or even know where she was at that moment in time. Life without Holly was a strange feeling, and Victoria found it disagreed with her immensely. It dawned on her that her relationship wasn’t as stable as she’d thought. That was something she was determined to fix.
“You wanted to see me?” Phoebe asked, standing in the doorway.
Unlike most of the other Arrival minions, Phoebe was confident and collected. She didn’t shy away under Victoria’s stern gaze. She was good at her job, and she knew it.
“Yes, come in, close the door.” Victoria gestured to the seat in front of her desk. She passed over an open copy of a competitor magazine and waited for Phoebe to pick it up.
When she did, she laughed. “This is blatant copying.”
“It is,” Victoria agreed. “Still, it’s supposed to be flattering, isn’t it?”
“Having your ideas stolen?” Phoebe asked, her eyes still roaming over the two-page spread. “I suppose. I’d just like to be the one stealing ideas for once, rather than having to come up with all the ideas.”
Victoria chuckled. “It occurs to me, if they want to copy us, let’s make them pay for it. I want you to come up with something big for the Dolce spread. Something that will cost them money to replicate, a huge splash.”
She looked out of the office door and tracked Louise’s movements. Her first assistant was wearing a knockoff Chanel suit that some might consider similar to the original she had worn two weeks ago.
“They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” Victoria said. “So, let’s make imitation an expensive business.”
She could see the cogs turning in Phoebe’s mind. Victoria was aware that it was dangerous to give a creative personality free range with the company credit card, but she knew she’d make it back and more if Phoebe pulled it off. The competitors wouldn’t be able to stomach the loss.
It was cutthroat, and she liked it.
“I’ll come up with something,” Phoebe promised.
“Wonderful. Also, I was wondering if you’d have time to speak with the toddlers who run the social media department? We get a lot of traction on Instagram, but some of the compositions they come up with make my skin crawl. They need an artistic lesson, if you have time?”
“I’d love to. I’ve seen a few posts that could use some work. I’ll get in touch with Meghan.”
Victoria nodded. “I’d like to be a part of that meeting; I need to know more about that platform. Holly had said she’d show me, but…”
She trailed off, pursed her lips, and looked at the paperwork on her desk.
“But?” Phoebe ventured, confusion clear in her tone.
Victoria looked at her. “Oh, you’ve not heard? I would have assumed tales of my status would have travelled like a Millennial towards a smashed avocado on rye. Holly and I are no more.”
Phoebe’s expression was unreadable. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
She lightly shrugged a shoulder. “She was young and naïve, I should never have gotten into a relationship with someone so… flighty.”
“I agree,” Phoebe said.
Victoria clenched her fist in her lap, willing the anger to die down quickly.
“You’re better off without her, honestly. Some of these youngsters are so entitled and impossible. Holly was a nice girl, but you can do so much better.”
Victoria hoped that she was managing to keep the surprise from her face. Phoebe hadn’t hesitated; she’d immediately been happy about their separation. Victoria hadn’t said why they had broken up or what her feelings were towards the matter. She’d had a whole speech prepared, but it was unnecessary as Phoebe had rushed in with her thoughts.
Victoria was admittedly terrible at reading people, but even she could tell that this was unusual behaviour. Surely?
“Quite,” she managed to say. “Anyway, I won’t keep you.”
Phoebe stood up. “I’ll liaise with Claudia and Meghan to find a suitable time for this meeting. And I’ll get back to you about Dolce first thing Monday morning.”
Victoria simply nodded, finding words difficult to come by. Phoebe didn’t seem to notice her confusion as she left the office.
Victoria watched her leave. She snatched up her notepad and started jotting down some notes on the surreal conversation. Why would anyone think that she and Holly were not the perfect match? In fact, why were people not surprised that they had broken up? It was as if they had simply been awaiting the time when everything fell apart.
It angered Victoria that her relationship with Holly was viewed as temporary or ill-advised. As soon as they were back together, Victoria would ensure that people knew how committed they were to one another. There would never be a question in their minds as to how well they fit together as a couple.
How she’d do that, she had no idea.