Читать книгу Getting Organised - Carolyn Caterer - Страница 9

‘She’s just perfect for the role, believe me. I have never been so sure of anything in my entire life such as this.’ Mabel delivered these words with such conviction that she knew it would be impossible to argue with her.

Her mouth spread into a broad smile at the response to these words as she held the telephone close to her ear and she punched the air in a manner more reminiscent of John McEnroe than a woman in her seventies.

Now all she had to do was start the ball rolling with Abi and persuade her that what she needed was a nice little job in Basingstoke. Surely this was well within her capabilities and then the rest would all fall into place; of that she was sure. Abi may, on first impressions, be the type of woman that wouldn’t say boo to a goose, but Mabel had immediately sensed that there was far more to this young lady than met the eye and that she was destined to surprise people in ways that they could never imagine to be possible. Mabel wondered if Abi was even aware of this fact herself, but didn’t worry about what was to come. She wanted to see Abi liberated, independent and fully in charge of her own life and she could think of no better way of helping her than by putting her forward for this job and letting fate take its course. She couldn’t wait to see the outcome of her plan and wondered if in a former life she had actually been a witch…..

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Imogen Fraser put the telephone down and replayed the conversation in her head. Mabel had been absolutely sure that she had found the ideal person to work with her and was adamant that her plan was perfect. Imogen, while less convinced, was just relieved that Mabel had found someone suitable.

Imogen was very successful at her job and had built up a business of very satisfied clients. One reason for this was that they felt completely relaxed and at ease in her company. They could come to her to de-stress and unwind and know that she would never reveal their secrets and was the soul of discretion. With a degree in psychology Imogen understood the human mind very well and especially those of men who worked in high pressure jobs and who led stressful and demanding lives. Driven by high levels of testosterone she also knew how difficult they could be to live with and sometimes they needed to get away from it all and just be themselves. Of course some of the surgeons and consultants who came to her most definitely had a God complex when it came to their work, but this fell away from them the minute they walked into her consulting room, rather like a cloak being discarded once they had reached the warmth of a friendly resting place.

Imogen was extremely proud of the business she had built up over the last twenty years. She had no need to advertise as her clients came via recommendation. The gentleman’s club had been perhaps the single most important marketing tool for her and she thanked her lucky stars that this was the case, as she always had a full appointments diary and a waiting list of potential clients practically begging her to take them on.

It helped of course that she was attractive; even at forty-five she could pass for someone in their late thirties. She was very pleased that she kept herself in good shape by working out at the gym, doing yoga, Pilates and body balance as well as playing tennis in summer and squash in winter. She was by no means attracted to the gym but realised the cost of its membership was more than paid for by being so successful in her work and if an alluring appearance could bring in more business she wasn’t going to argue with that.

But now she wanted a change of scene and to go and retire to her home in Cyprus. She had more than enough money to do so and had invested it extremely wisely over the years in a portfolio that was the perfect mix of high, medium and low risk strategies thanks to her rather brilliant financial advisor who also happened to be her brother. Imogen was more than ready to have a change of scene and a life where she could be free to be herself and not have to spend her days keeping the secrets of others and being an emotional crutch for them. She was pretty good at switching off at the end of the day, but now she wanted some time out, to relax, swim and walk, read and write and just take it easy.

The thing was, she had a thriving business and it would be such a shame to throw it all away now. What she wanted was someone to take over from her and keep her clients happy and also keep a percentage of the profits coming into her bank account. After twenty years of hard work it would be madness to just end it all. Finding the right person to take over from her was proving much more difficult than she had imagined and it was over dinner with Mabel a year or so earlier that she had expressed her frustration. Much to her surprise Mabel had offered to help her find the perfect replacement and had set about her task with a dedication which Imogen felt she didn’t really deserve from a former mother-in-law. Maybe it was due to the fact that Mabel felt guilty that she had never realised that Richard was not the type to settle down and that no amount of marriage counselling could change that fact or keep them together. Of course Imogen had always been suspicious but Richard had insisted that he was only interested in her. After three years of marriage and at the age of twenty four years she found herself asking him for a divorce having come home early one day to find him in their bed with one of his work colleagues.

Imogen was neither shocked nor disappointed as it had demonstrated to her that her hunch was right all the time. Mabel was the one that took it badly as she felt that she had failed as a mother. To have him treat Imogen so badly and to then maintain he was a faithful husband had driven Mabel to distraction and it was only Imogen’s intervention that had prevented Mabel from severing all contact with her son.

It had been a surprisingly amicable divorce and, though Richard was now based in San Francisco and came home to visit only occasionally, Imogen’s relationship with Mabel had gone from strength to strength.

Imogen had been completely taken by surprise at Mabel’s support when, a few years later, she had finally discussed the success of her business with her former mother-in-law. Having wondered if this would finally prove to be more of a challenge than even Mabel could handle, Imogen was surprised and not a little astounded that Mabel had given her support to her business and, in complete contrast to Imogen’s expectations, had actually been a constant source of advice and encouragement over the intervening years. Actually Imogen was convinced that Mabel was mainly concerned that she should find a second, more suitable husband than her first and saw Imogen’s business as the perfect opportunity for meeting men who had successful careers and good lifestyles. As Imogen was at pains to point out however, they also had wives and Imogen had never been one to mix business with pleasure after the experience of her first marriage. Instead Imogen worked hard and had the occasional fling (not openly discussed with Mabel, but discretely understood) which she found suited her perfectly.

Imogen was quite a solitary person and she had often wondered if perhaps this was one of the reasons for her less than successful marriage. She hadn’t really cared enough to pay Richard much attention and had probably married too young, as it was the easy thing to do. She didn’t regret the marriage, simply because she had come out of it feeling liberated and with the benefit of a good friend in Mabel.

Now, she was going to benefit yet again from her mother-in-law who had been determined to help her find someone with whom she could entrust her thriving business. Yes it would take time, but Imogen knew it would be worth it and she was intrigued with the woman that Mabel had described, who had recently moved into the area. It seemed that she was ‘A blank canvass’ according to Mabel and offered Imogen the perfect opportunity to train someone up from the start to ensure that there was an almost seamless transition between the two of them. Imogen wondered how her clientele would feel about this; after all many people resist change, but she knew that if it was done carefully and if this Abi lived up to her potential as predicted by Mabel, her clients would soon be coming to the conclusion that change was a very good thing indeed.

Imogen contemplated her new life and hoped that things were going to work out in reality exactly as they were being written in her dreams. She could feel the urge to move on growing stronger and she was in danger of just throwing it all in and moving to Cyprus anyway. She didn’t need any additional revenue from the business, but it would make her life even more comfortable if she could still draw an income from it without having to do any work. In fact she had to admit that this was the perfect solution. After all should she find herself bored with her early retirement in a year or two, she could still return and play an active part in the lives of her clients and give her replacement some time off.

All in all Imogen had to admit that life was extremely rosy at the moment and she was looking forward to meeting Abi, who held the key to making life even rosier for Imogen. Had Abi known all this Imogen wondered if she would have run away without a backward glance, but Mabel had assured her that under her rather fragile external appearance, Abi was as tough and determined as she needed to be.