As soon as Ellie had got the contact numbers for Dan and his mum she hurried back to the office. Some of the staff would have left already, but she needed to collect some of her things, and she hoped that she might be able to make sure that Sophie was okay. Had she got into terrible trouble with Angel for bringing Ferdinand back so late? And would Ellie be in trouble too, for not arriving back with him at all?

On top of that, if Francesca was there, Ellie wanted to let her know about Charlie Daniels. They would need to arrange a photo shoot with Joe as soon as possible, and she hoped they might even be able to make it for the following day.

As she went in through the main door, the first people she saw in the reception area were Sophie and Flynn. Sophie was carrying a huge bouquet of flowers, and Flynn had his arm around her. They looked blissfully happy.

“Ellie!”

“What gorgeous flowers!” said Ellie, admiring them hugely.

Sophie was beaming. “Aren’t they?” She smiled at Flynn. “Flynn had them delivered. It was so romantic. And…” She looked questioningly at him. “We’re definitely friends again, aren’t we?”

Flynn leaned in and gave her a kiss. “And I promise not to interfere again. Or at least, I’ll do my very best. Throw some wet clay at me if I do.”

Everyone laughed.

“It’s a promise,” said Sophie.

Sophie turned to Ellie. “Don’t worry about Angel. I gave Ferdinand to Debbie and she put him back in his basket. She texted me later to say that Angel didn’t say a word.”

“Phew!” Ellie felt very relieved. “What about the official at the Boat Show?”

“He was fine about it. He just told me not to flout rules in future, and saw me out. I gave him a little wave as I walked away.”

Ellie giggled. “Trust you!”

“But what about you?” said Sophie. “Were the people on the boat helpful?”

“They certainly were!” said Ellie. “And now I must go and see Francesca. I hope she’s still in the office.”

“Okay,” said Sophie. “Go on then. I must take these flowers home. See you tomorrow, Ellie.”

“See you tomorrow.”

In the lift on the way up to the office Ellie rehearsed what she would say to Francesca. She knew she’d love to appear cool about her success, but that probably she’d rush straight in and tell the Deputy Editor all about it. However, when she arrived in the office it seemed that Francesca already knew.

“Well,” she greeted Ellie, “I’ve just had a call from Charlie Daniels’s publicist. It seems you’ve got yourself an interview! Amazing!”

Piano was closing down her laptop, but her hands stopped moving, and hovered above the computer while she listened to Francesca.

“Angel wants to see you in her office right away. Congratulations, Ellie!”

“Thanks, Francesca!” Ellie smoothed down her hair and made her way towards Angel’s office. Piano’s face was a picture of mingled astonishment, fury and jealousy, but Ellie didn’t care one bit.

“Come in, Ellie,” said Angel, when Ellie knocked at the door. “Have a seat. Would you like a drink?”

The Editor in Chief had never treated her so graciously and Ellie was shocked. She perched on the edge of one of the powder blue chairs and wondered about asking for a cup of tea. But she knew Piano would be asked to get it again and that Piano would hate her for it. Besides, it was the end of the day. She didn’t need to be unkind to Piano.

“No thank you,” she said.

“So. This interview,” said Angel, all professional crispness. “We’re told by Charlie Daniels’s publicist that we can publish an article by you about the author in the next issue if we want. That’s quite a scoop.” She looked at Ellie. “In fact, with the Pop Lowther story as well, you’ve actually got us two scoops in one week. Is it your ambition to provide the entire content of our magazine in future?”

Ellie wasn’t sure what to say. Was Angel pleased with her work, or not? It almost sounded as if she was angry. “Umm…well no…I’m sorry if…”

Angel raised one immaculately manicured finger to stop her. “That was a joke,” she informed Ellie. “I am, of course, very pleased with you. If I have any complaint at all it’s that I would wish for scoops to be more spaced out, instead of like buses, several arriving at the same time. Scoops sell magazines, but two at the same time don’t sell twice as many copies.” She paused, and smiled at Ellie. “However, I recognize that these things can’t always be planned. Well done. Very well done indeed.”

“Thank you,” said Ellie, hoping that the Editor in Chief didn’t intend to crack any more jokes.

Ellie got up to go, but as she reached the door Angel spoke again. “Ellie.”

“Yes?”

“You had an almost impossible assignment and yet you pulled it off. I know there was a large element of luck involved, but that depended on you being alert and tenacious enough to take advantage of it when it came. It’s not really my place to tell you this, but I believe your father would have been very proud of you. I’m certainly very pleased and proud to have you as a member of our team.”

As Ellie made her way back to her desk Angel’s words echoed in her mind. She could almost feel her father’s presence, standing by her. And Ellie had never been more certain that this was the life for her.