My job in Chichester was with an existing four-person research team. This was very much an ‘on the quiet’ part of Sally’s group of companies. My task was to add a wider perspective of views to reports that the others were compiling for her. She’d told me that once I’d gotten my feet under the table so to speak, I’d be given my own projects to work on. This made me feel both proud and slightly scared at the same time. Sally had put a lot of faith in me so it was now up to me to not let her down.

On the way down to Sussex, Sally briefed me about the other members of the team. They had all been poached from large financial institutions in London or from Academia. They were enticed by London sized salaries and being able to live in the Sussex countryside.

Sally made the introductions once we’d arrived in Chichester.

“This is Maxine. She will be joining the team for an initial three months. I have high hopes for Maxine within the company so treat her gently. She is to add her point of view to your work bit don’t think of her as my ‘pet’, she isn’t. She will have her own projects and you are to add your thoughts to them. Think of it as adding some fresh perspective to your work.”

Sally looked at the others. They didn’t seem that pleased to see me. Their body language was clear on that subject.

“Before anyone asks, Maxine is Transgendered. She is just starting her RLT, Real Life Test.”

“Any questions?”

One of the two women in the team spoke up.
“Where will Maxine be staying? I don’t have any room at my place.”

“Don’t worry Marta, she will be using my apartment. There are two bedrooms and I only use it when I’m here to visit my Mother and to work with all of you.”

There were a few other questions before Sally called a halt.

“I’ll take Maxine to get settled in at my place. She’ll be here tomorrow morning to start work. Bill Adams will be around later to setup her desk and other things. Please give her every support and assistance she needs.”

When we were walking back to where we’d parked Sally’s car, I said,

“Marta does not like me.”

“She’ll come around. Marta does not like anyone at first. She may give you a bit of a hard time because she is a Lesbian. So am I but I don’t go broadcasting it like she does.”

Sally’s statement shocked me.

“I had no idea,” I said quietly.

“That’s the point. We don’t have to shout loudly, ‘hey, I’m LGBTQ’ to the world at every opportunity. You don’t have to either. I think that with Marta, her German upbringing of conformality is partly to blame. After a while she mellows a bit and she is about the best in the business at what she does.”

“Which is?”

“She is a financial wizard. Most days, she can spot a set of cooked books a mile off. She’s saved me literally millions since she came to work for me. If she says walk away from a deal then I do it. I generally don’t even question it. If one member of the team says something then all of the team have bought into what they are saying. That is why I value them so much.”

“Sounds like I have a mountain to climb then?”

Sally chuckled as we reached her car.

“I think you are going to reach the top. I am that confident in you but it won’t be as easy as getting me to offer you a job you know. The hard bit starts tomorrow.”

I knew it did and as we passed near the Cathedral, I said to myself, “Don’t fuck this up girl”.

---

Sally’s apartment turned out to be just a few miles away in Bognor Regis. Bognor, famed for its Butlin’s Holiday Camp is an otherwise fairly sleepy place. I could take the train or bus to work and even with one or at most two changes of trains, I could get home to see my family.

“You should plan on going home every other weekend. It will give you a break from work,” suggested Sally as we sat down to eat that evening.

“Mum sort of laid down the law on that,” I replied with a wry smile on my face.

“The more I get to know you, the more I see the influence of a good mother in you. Unlike so many young women these days, you have a good head on your young shoulders.”

“It is a good job that my sister never made it to your interview then. She can be a bit of a loose cannon at times.”

Sally laughed.
“I was probably like that when I was her age.”

“Excuse me for asking but what happened to make you… grow up?”

She didn’t answer for more than a second.

“I fell in love, twice. Firstly, with a man which for a variety of reasons didn’t last then with another woman. My family are a bit conservative. Only my mother accepted me as a ‘gay woman’ as she calls me. The rest are so far up their backside with their church that… well they won’t sneeze unless they can find a passage in the bible that allows it.”

I knew exactly what she meant. My uncle Jonathan was just like that.

The following morning, Sally took me into work and got me settled before leaving me… well to get on with things.

---

[three months later on a Wednesday afternoon]

“Maxine, can you look at these figures. I know that they are a pile of shit but there is just something that I’m not seeing behind them?” asked Marta.

I could see that she’d been struggling with the figures. Several times already that day she’d gotten up and gone out for a walk to clear her minds. In the time since I’d started working there, she’d mellowed quite a bit in her opinion of me. I hoped that this request was a turning point in my relationship with her.

“Sure,” I said smiling.
“Can I just finish this paragraph before I forget what I’m trying to say?”

“No rush,” replied Marta.

After a period of coolness from the others I’d gradually been accepted into the team. Even Marta had accepted that I’d made their reports a little less dry and unemotional. This in turn had been well received by Sally.

I finished the bit of my report I was compiling for Sally and went over to Marta’s desk.

“What is it that you can’t see?”

“There is something behind this falsification of figures. They are obviously wrong but why?”

I looked at the sheet of figures that Marta was puzzling over.

At first, there was nothing obvious. Then it hit me.

“There is a third party involved. That is messing up the flow of money in and out. My guess that is where the money is being Laundered. It looks to me that it is a new take on the ‘Double Dutch’ situation.”

Marta looked at the column I was pointing to and a smile broke out on her face.

“Oh! Of course. Thank you, Maxine. I was just looking at it too closely.”

“No problem Marta,”

---

Two days later, I finished my latest report and sent it to Sally. I attached a note to it questioning how relevant the company I’d investigated was to her organisation. It just didn’t make sense to me. The subject matter was totally outside any of the business areas that we normally covered. The others thought so as well which made me happy.

With the email delivered, I sat back and looked at the clock. It was time for me to go. This was one of the weekends that I went home. It was also the late August Bank Holiday Weekend so it would be Tuesday morning before I returned.

I shut down my computer and removed the hard drive. This was duly locked in my safe. Each of us had their own safe. None of us copied things around between systems. This was all part of the way we worked. It had become second nature to me now although I had found it strange at first but once I understood the reasons why it made perfect sense.

I said ‘goodbye and have a good weekend’ to the four others and picked up my bag and carried it downstairs. I was in good time for the train to Portsmouth where I’d change for the Bristol service. If the connection worked, it would be less than 90 minutes from door to door.

Everything went according to plan and I arrived home just in time to see my sister disappearing out for the evening.

“If you want the Bristol Train then you have just missed it,” I said slightly gleefully.

“I’m being picked up, I’ll have you know,” she grunted and slammed the door behind her.

“Come into the Kitchen dear,” called Mum.

I left my bag in the hall and went into the kitchen. Mum was cooking something but it smelt good whatever it was. She did this every time I went home. She was under the impression that I could not look after myself. I could but I always skipped lunch on Fridays just so that I didn’t disappoint her.

Something was different this particular Friday. Then I clocked it, the table was set for two and there was a bottle of wine open. Mum only did this when she wanted to talk to me. A glass or two of Merlot helped her in these occasions.

Mum’s cooking was as good as ever and a glass of wine helped it all go down. When we’d finished eating, I said to Mum,

“Ok Mum, what is it that you to talk to me about?”

She gave me the ‘am I that obvious look’ before speaking,
“Your three months job trial is almost up. Have you given any thought to what you want to do next?”

I’d guessed that this subject would have to be addressed sooner or later.

“Mum, Maxine is who I am now. I’m not going back. Thomas is no more.”

I reached down and picked up my handbag. I opened it and pulled out my purse. I showed her my new driving license.

“There, it is official. I changed my name last week and this came yesterday. A new passport will be coming whenever the passport people can get their act together.”

“Oh!”

“Mum, I am happy. For the first time in my life I am doing good work and with people who appreciate that. They don’t care about my sexuality and besides, I feel good about myself. I've never felt that way before. At first, I wondered if it would go away or simply stop but it hasn't. If anything, these past two weeks, it has become even clearer that I am doing the right thing.”

Mum reached over and took my hand.

“Are you really, really sure about this?”

I smiled.

“Mum, I am. I have thought long and hard about this. One of the others Marta is a Lesbian. She didn’t like me at first but now she regards me as an equal. Thomas could never have done the work I’m doing. It is as if I’m a totally different person. Think of it as a beautiful butterfly emerging from a cocoon.”

“Oh!” she said again.

I squeezed her hand a bit.

“Don’t worry Mum, I’ll tell you in advance if I go to the next step,”

“Just be careful my love,” said Mum in that voice that only mothers have.

“I will Mum, I promise.”

I decided to change the subject a bit.

“Did I see right or was that a Tattoo that Sis had on her wrist?”

Mum sighed.

“That’s down to her new boyfriend, Jason. A right creep if ever there was one. Dawn has had some dodgy boyfriends over the years but this one is clearly up to no good.”

“I take it that she’s passed on University again?”

Mum nodded.

“She spends all she earns on clothes and makeup. She was supposed to be saving up. Fat chance of that,” said Mum with a huge sigh of disappointment in her voice.

“Mum, I’m not going to go crazy like her. Her spraining her ankle and me going to work in Chichester has opened up doors for me that I never knew existed but I’m not going to rush into anything so don’t worry about me.”

“It is a Mothers job to worry about her children. You won’t stop me from doing that so don’t even try…”

That put me in my place but I was glad to have cleared the air.

---

Saturday mornings when I was back at home had evolved into bit of a pattern. My first task was to get my washing done so that it would be dry to take back with me on Monday. Sally had a Washer/Dryer but there really wasn’t anywhere to hang things to air in her apartment. I guess that Mum had ‘brung me up right’ in that I didn’t like wet things hanging in the bathroom unlike my dear sister. Her room always smelled damp even in summer.

I was in the middle of hanging my freshly washed clothes out to dry when Mum called out,
“Maxine, you have a visitor.”

I tried to guess who would be calling here on a Saturday morning and asking for me but failed miserably.

“I’ll be in when I’ve finished hanging these out,” I called back.

“Maxine, get yourself in here this instant,” replied Mum with that ‘do not mess with me voice’ that mothers seem to be able to call upon at will.

I put down the blouse that I was hanging up and after sighing to myself, I went back inside my home.

When I saw who it was, I got a bit of a shock.

“Ms Jameson, I wasn’t expecting to see you before the middle of next week?”

“Sally please. We aren’t in the office at the moment, now are we?”

“Sally?”

“I know that this is a bit unannounced but that report you sent in yesterday has caused a bit of a stir.”

“Eh? Did I do something wrong?”

Sally smiled.

“Far from it. The note you added to the report was perfect. That note reminded me just how far you have come in such a short time. The report you did, did indeed have nothing to do with my business. Your note to that effect was right on the nail. As a result, I made some calls last night and there is someone I want you to meet tonight if you are free.”

“Eh? I don’t get it?”

“Maxine, Ms Jameson has clearly given up her weekend off to come here and invite you out to meet someone tonight. What about that don’t you understand?” said Mum.

“It is all right Mrs Saunders. I think a little more context would help here,” said Sally.

“Maxine wrote a report as part of her work for me. How the task got sent to you I don’t know but it did and you completed the task perfectly. What was the icing on the cake was the note about the business you investigated not being one that I would normally have any interest in. You again are perfectly correct. When I read the report and your note, I realised that the request for the report must have gotten mixed up with some other papers I recently received from an old friend of mine. I sent your report and notes to him last night.”

“All clear so far?”

“I think so.”

“Good. Less than an hour later, my friend phoned me and said to quote, ’I must meet this person’, end quote. We talked about when and where and that is why I am here now. If you are interested in really being yourself and by that, I mean Maxine and really making something of your life then this is as good an opportunity as anything I can give you.”

“Ms Jameson, I get the impression that you know a lot more than you are letting on?” remarked Mum.

“I do, but if think it only fair for Maxine to hear it directly from the horse’s mouth so to speak. Then there can’t be any mistakes or presumptions.”

“Mrs Jameson, I like you. I like your straight talking,” said Mum.

“Sally, please and thanks for the compliment. I’m afraid that my straight talking does sometimes get me into trouble but more often than not, I get through when the bull shitters stumble and fall. As the saying on that old BBC sitcom, ‘Reggie Perrin’ said, ‘I didn’t get where I am today by…”

Sally smiled at both of us.

“I can see where Maxine gets her common sense from. You did a great job in bringing her up,” added Sally.

Mum went a bit red in the face.

“So, you know why I’m here and yes there is a meeting for tonight all setup in Bath. I thought that it might be nice for Maxine to have a makeover and her hair done and get something nice to wear, all on me, I might add.”

There was a stunned silence around the kitchen. I looked at mum who after a few seconds nodded her head.

Before I could say anything, Sally said,

“The person you are meeting is named Adrian Forsythe. He and I go back a long way. We met at University and became good friends. I lost track of him after we graduated but a few years ago, I looked him up. I was getting nowhere with my business. Don't get me wrong, it was successful but I needed to expand and for that, I needed capital. The problem was that since the financial meltdown of a few years ago no bank or legitimate financial institution would even consider lending money to a single mother who is both gay and blonde. There were just too many stereotypes against me in traditional institutions. Then I remembered a small piece in the Times about Adrian changing his family business to become a more ethical investor. I contacted him and he invested in my company. He still owns around 10% and is there for me should I need funds in the future. I could pay him off but he is a good person to have on your side.”

“I didn’t know that you were a Mother?” I asked.

“Not many people do. You do know my daughter, Jasmine though…”

“Mum, she’s Sally’s Secretary. I’ve spoken with her on the phone many times.”

“She’s in the car waiting for us. She is a bit off the wall when it comes to how she looks and dresses but she has a good mind so I tend to let her do her own thing.”

Then Sally added.

“Adrian is a perfect Gentleman. He is Gay but not one of those who’s every action shouts it. He is a very astute person and I would not have set this up if I didn’t see a good future for you working with him. I won’t say anymore apart from if you are going to look stunning for tonight then we had better get a move on?”

“Well Darling?” asked Mum.

“I’d better get ready then.”

“Better pack a bag for overnight. Adrian has booked you a room in the Royal Hotel in Bath.”

I was stunned. There I was expecting a lazy weekend and suddenly I’m off for the job interview of my life.

“Go on dear, don’t keep Sally waiting,” said Mum smiling.

---

I broke all records for Maxine to get ready to go out. I threw a few clothes into a holdall and after starting to put on some makeup, I stopped. If I was going to have a makeover then it would all come off anyway. I just put some lippy on, brushed out my hair and headed downstairs.

When I came into the Kitchen, Sally and Mum were in deep conversation. I guessed that it was about me but something inside me said it would not be prudent at this time to raise the issue.

“I’m ready as I’ll ever be,” I said from the door into the kitchen.

After a quick goodbye, I left home with Sally. Her car was nowhere to be seen.

“I couldn’t find a parking spot here so I parked at the station,” she explained.

“Yeah, Saturday’s is the worst day. People park here and go into town to do their shopping. That way, they don’t have to pay to park.”

“That’s what I thought,” said Sally.

We reached Sally’s X5 and she said,
“Why don’t you sit in back with Jasmine? I am sure that you two will have lots to talk about.”

I didn’t argue so I opened the rear door climbed in.

“You must be Maxine? I’m Jasmine,” said the other passenger.

“Jasmine? You… you look so different to what I’d imagined.”

“Yeah, I have that effect on people even though Mum makes me tone it down for work.”

‘It’ was her total goth look. She was all dressed in black and purple. Her makeup was dramatic especially her eyebrows which were well… unique.

Then I noticed her lips. Instead of the usual black or purple ones she had a blue cupids bow. Her cheeks were also pierced.

“Wow, that is some look,” I said totally lost for words.

“Thanks,” said Jasmine smiling.
“Most people react a lot differently.”

Then I noticed her chest. It was flat. It wasn’t that she wasn’t wearing a bra but it was dead flat.

She saw that I had seen her boobs or the lack of them.

“I had them removed last year. I have the same gene thing as Angelina Jolie. I wear falsies in the week. It is no big deal but Mum gave me some grief for not having reconstructive surgery but I kind of like not carrying all that weight around for a change. I had DD’s. I got that from my Father’s side. Gran is big in the boob front.”

She made it all sound so matter of fact for something that is so life changing for most women.

“It is nice to meet you after all this time,” said Jasmine.

“Mum said that you are meeting Adrian tonight. I think you will like him. He’s one of the good guys.”

“I hope so,” I replied.

---

More than three hours later I emerged from the makeover feeling… well a lot better and looking like… a different person. My hair was now a very nice chestnut colour and styled in a way that made me look a lot older which wasn’t such a bad thing. My makeup was done so professionally that it made my efforts seem rather pathetic.

Sally had left Jasmine to hold my hand through my first makeover. She was an interesting person despite her looks. I had to think that Sally was hoping that that she’d grow out of the Goth phase. I had my doubts but I needed to spend some more time with her to be able to come to a sensible conclusion.

When I realised how logical I’d been, I chuckled internally to myself. A few short months ago, I would have probably not been so circumspect and jumped to a conclusion and got a bit uppity if I’d been challenged on it. Perhaps I was growing up?

“Wow!” said Sally when she saw me coming out of the beauty salon.
“What a transformation!”

“Yeah, she scrubs up quite well,” added Jasmine.

We all laughed as we got into the BMW.

“Pleased with the results?” asked Sally.

“Yes but… There is no way I can put all this on every day,” I complained.

The other two laughed.

“That’s what I said to myself the first time I went Goth. But you soon get used to it.

Sally drove us into Bath and after parking the car the three of us went shopping.

Despite our best efforts, nothing suitable for the evening leapt out at any of us. In desperation, we retreated to a Coffee shop. We were about to order when Jasmine said,

“There is a little place down the next street that might have something. They do lots of second-hand and retro clothes.”

I looked at Sally who rolled her eyes. I wondered if this was where her daughter got her goth clothes?

“Let’s give it a try. We don’t have any other options at the moment,” I said slightly desperately.

A few minutes later with Coffee’s forgotten, we walked into the shop. For some reason, I knew that we’d find something here as soon as we walked through the door.

“Hello, can I help you?” asked the assistant when we entered the shop.

“Yes, I need something for a dinner tonight. Not quite an LBD but…” I said.

The assistant looked at me and I knew that she’d clocked me. Then she smiled.

“I have something that will be perfect for someone like you,” she said confidently.

That confirmed it, she’d clocked me.

“I’m Saffron by the way. My friends call me Saffy. Please come into the back with me,” she added.

I followed her into the depths of the shop leaving Sally and Jasmine looking a little lost.

“I have a very dear friend of mine who is a special lady like you. Now where are you having this Dinner?”

“A… at the Royal.”

“Then, I think this will be perfect,” said a grinning Saffy as she pulled out a dress.

“Wow!” I said when I saw it.

“And I think that it is your size. Go and try it on?”

I didn’t waste any time and disappeared behind a curtain.

“What shoe size are you?” asked Saffy from the other side of the curtain.

“Eight and a half,” I replied.

“I’ll get you some shoes. Don’t come out until you have the shoes on.”

The dress was perfect. I’d never worn anything with petticoats before. There were three but I only put on two. I felt like a million pounds.

“Here, put these on,” came the voice of Saffy from outside the cubicle.

A hand appeared holding some heels.

I stripped off my socks and put the shoes on. I noticed an immediate difference to my posture.

“Well?” asked the voice.

“I think I am going to need a wrap or something,” I said hesitantly.

“I have one here. Don’t be shy.”

I pulled back the curtain and Saffy just grinned.

“Didn’t I say that we had just the thing for special ladies such as yourself?” she said as she handed me a mahogany coloured wrap.

I couldn’t argue.

“Going to show your friends?”

“I think I’d better.”

I walked back to the main part of the shop. Sally gasped. Jasmine grinned.

“I told you that you’d find something here,” said Jasmine trying not to say the wrong thing.

“I like it,” I said trying to be modest.

“You will need some decent stockings or tights. The sheerer the better I think,” said Saffy from behind me.”

“She’s right,” echoed Jasmine.

“I’ll go and get changed,” I said before I started crying from happiness.

“Hold on,” said Jasmine.

Suddenly there was a flash and she’d taken my picture with her phone.

“Please don’t post that on Social Media,” I said.

“Yes darling. This is for us and no one else,” echoed Sally.

“Ok, Mum,” said Jasmine sadly.

I disappeared back into the depths of the shop to get changed feeling good.

---

My phone burbled just before 7:00pm. I saw that I had a message from Adrian.

“I will be waiting in the bar. Adrian.”

I checked my hair, makeup and everything for the umpteenth time. I even checked that my seams were straight. Jasmine had insisted on them and even paid for the stockings herself. I’d never worn stockings let alone seamed fully fashioned ones before so it was all a bit new to me. Walking in heels and wearing a dress with a petticoat and a full skirt was also a new experience. I savoured every step as I preened myself in the full-length mirror.

I left my room and walked towards the lift. I felt good in myself but I had to keep repeating the words that mum had said to me before I went to the original interview with Sally and that was ‘be yourself’.

As I exited the lift, I had a sudden feeling of panic. Instead of turning towards the Bar, I walked out of the Hotel and into the street. A gust of wind made the petticoats of my dress move. I had all sorts of thoughts such as, ‘what am I doing?’, ‘I must be crazy’ and worse. Then I got my brain into gear and walked back into the Hotel.

Adrian was waiting for me in the bar. Sally had described him to me but she needed not have worried. There was no mistaking him. He was very handsome.

“Adrian, pleased to meet you,” I said as I walked up to him.

He grinned.

“I should be the one saying that,” he chuckled.
“Shall we have an aperitif?”

I nodded.

“Two Kir Royal’s please,” said Adrian to the barman.

“Shall we sit down?”

I sat down remembering to sort my skirt out and to sit ladylike. God, how I hated that thing men do with their legs wide open. Ugh. Then I realised what I’d said. Then I smiled inwardly at how much I’d changed since I’d been working for Sally.

The barman brought over our drinks.

“Cheers and to a long and lasting relationship,” said Adrian.

“Cheers,” I said nervously.

Ten minutes later, a waiter came up to Adrian and whispered something in his ear.

“Dinner is ready. I took the liberty of arranging for it to be served in a side room. We can talk business in there without being overheard by other diners”

Adrian stood up and offered me his hand. I needed it as I’d never sat down so low wearing such high heels. Still, they felt good, I felt good and that is what it is all about…

---

Adrian escorted me to a side room off of the main dining room. As Sally said, he was the perfect gentleman. He even held my chair as I sat down at the table. I could get used to this…

Once we’d chosen our meal, Adrian poured some wine.

“I took the liberty of selecting this. I have an interest in the Vineyard,” he said as he poured me a glass.

I took a sip and it tasted ok. I’m not the best judge of wine by any means but this was drinkable, very drinkable.

“I expect that you have a million questions for me but if I may, I’d like to tell you a story about me and my company. Then we can talk about you and everything else. Does that seem fair enough?”

“It does.”

“As you probably know from what Sally has told you, I am an investor in companies. My business was not always like that but I saw the writing on the wall in late 2006. In 2007 and the financial crisis, the Banks suddenly stopped lending to just about everyone and everything. A lot of good companies went to the wall just because they could not get the finance they needed to carry on let alone expand even if they had full order books. The Banks got scared and withdrew almost all company overdrafts pretty well overnight. This was where I saw a niche. I stepped in and invested in companies. You might think that this is like Venture Capitalists or as I describe then ‘Vulture Capitalists’. But, unlike them, I’m in it for the long term and want the companies I invest in to succeed not to load them up with mountains of debt. So, I take a stake in the company thus giving the management much needed capital. Then over time, the profits are used to buy back the stake in the company.”

“Does this make sense?”

“Sort of a cross between a ‘fairy godmother and a dragon?’”

Adrian laughed.

“Very much. I usually keep a stake in the company and in most cases, I’m very much part of their business for the long term. And my terms are probably better than any of the more well-known dragons out there.”

Adrian spent the next fifteen minutes going into more detail about how he sizes up a business.

Over our food, he told me about himself. I started to understand what made him tick and why Sally liked him.

Then came the crunch time.

“Sally showed me the report that you did for her. Well, it was really for me as your note suggested. What do you think I should do? With the opportunity that is?”

I hadn’t expected that sudden change of tack. He’d put me right on the spot.

I thought for a moment before replying.

“As I said in my report summary, there is a clear window of opportunity. If it passes then it will be gone for ever. What I could not work out was why you are interested in this place?”

Adrian laughed.

“I would not normally be interested but I was in the area earlier this year and happened to stay there and found that I liked the way that they do business. The management have a great attention to detail and customer satisfaction is totally about what they do.”

Then he hesitated for half a second.

“They are very LGBT friendly and the managers appear to a lesbian couple but the manager is a male to female transsexual.”

That last statement hit me right between the eyes. I began to understand Adrian a little more.

“Your forecast for the profitability of the hotel with another sixteen rooms is impressive. I agree with it and so does Sally.”

“What I’m trying to say Maxine is that I want you to work alongside me as a partner and eventually to take over from me provided that a few things happen.”

“Eh? A partner?”
Then I heard the last part.
“What things?”

“This is the hard part,” said Adrian.

“Yes, I’ll do it,” I said.

“But you don’t know the conditions?”

“I am ready to step up to the challenge and if that means me transitioning and shacking up with you to appear as a viable couple then I’ll do it. What I don’t understand is why you want to give up?”

As I said it, I wondered if the excellent wine had gone to my head but I’d only had half a glass. Then I remembered the two glasses of Kir Royale we’d had before dinner. Even so, I didn’t think that I was drunk or even tipsy.

Adrian sat there a bit stunned.

Then he shook his head.

“Sally said that you were impressive. That was an understatement if ever there was one.”

Then he sighed and opened his jacket and removed an envelope.

“You had better read this tonight. It explains everything in ways that I can’t even begin too.”

I took the envelope.

“It sounds serious?”

“It is and that is why I want you as my partner. I think that we can work well together.”

“What about benefits?” I asked remembering something that Jasmine said to me earlier.

Adrian chuckled.

He pulled back the envelope and after retrieving what looked like a vintage fountain pen from his jacket pocket, he wrote a number on it. Then he pushed it back to me.

“That would be for starters plus benefits.”

I looked at the figure. I tried my hardest not to react but I failed miserably. The sum was more than double what my mother and father paid for their house.

“That is impressive. Where would we be based?”

“I live south of London in a small town called Reigate. The house has six bedrooms. You can choose one from the five that are free.”

I didn’t know what to say. Before I could ask anything else, our coffees arrived.

I decided that I needed to try to digest the huge amount of information that Adrian had given me during the evening.

“I think I’ll pass on the Coffee. I have a lot thinking to do before I can make a considered decision.”

Adrian smiled.
“It is a bit daunting but I think you are more than up to this opportunity.”

“Thanks for your confidence in me.”

Adrian smiled.

Then I remembered something that I didn’t put in the report so I said,
“Oh, and it might be worth checking where the key players in my report are going to be this coming week. I got the impression that things were about to move. It wasn’t in the report because I didn’t have any real evidence but it all points towards sooner rather than later.”

I left him sitting alone in the room. He was looking at me and smiling.

When I got back to my room, I found that I was shaking. I wasn’t drunk but it was as if I’d hit the jackpot.

When I’d calmed down, I sat in the chair and knew what I had to do. It came to me very easily. If truth be told, I had been thinking about what was next for several weeks. Adrian had given me an opening and therefore a way forward.

The only worry was the subtext of what Adrian was hinting at. Then I remembered the envelope he’d given me at Dinner. I picked up the envelope and saw the figure he’d written on it. I smiled as I thought back to the supermarket where I’d been working six months ago and earning little more than minimum wage and then to what I could be earning very shortly. Part of me thought that I didn’t deserve it but at least two people thought I did.

I opened the envelope and read the enclosed leaflet.

It was very educational, informative yet sad, very sad. It answered a lot of questions that had and more not been asked. I saw where Adrian was coming from and importantly the chance he was going to give me if I was up for it. Instead of putting me off, it made me more determined.

But it left me wondering why he was working rather than living lifer to the full.

---

The cold light of a Sunday morning hadn’t changed my mind in the slightest. If anything, I was more resolute about what I should do. My problem was going to be my family. Mum might not be so difficult but Dawn would be another kettle of fish entirely.

I looked back on the period since Maxine had appeared full time. Before that, the odd outing as Maxine was more of a lark than anything to my sister and her friends but since Thomas had left the building, she’d been really bitchy towards me. For so long she’d been ‘top bitch’ she now resented that I was on the scene and making something of my life. This next step could be the straw that broke her back.

I decided to face things sooner rather than later so I forgo breakfast and left the Hotel. I felt relieved when the front desk said that my room was all taken care of and that I was ‘good to go’ so, I went. Less than an hour later, I arrived home.

“Hi Mum,” I said as I breezed into the kitchen.

Mum was peeling some potatoes. She looked up and saw me. Like mothers do, she read my mood in a flash.

“Hello darling. Last night went well then? I do like your hair and …”, she laughed.

“How are you getting on with those nails? That colour suits you though.”

How do Mum’s do this? She’d summed up everything from just a single glance at me.

“Is Dawn here?”

Mum shook her head.
“Not a sign. I guess you want to talk about last night?”

“I do.”

“Put the kettle on, there’s a love?”

I did as she asked with a smile on my face.

I went and got my dress from the hallway.

“This is what I wore last night.”

Mum gasped.

“That is beautiful. It must have cost a packet?”

I grinned.
“It was bought from a second-hand shop in Bath so it wasn’t that bad.”

“What else did you wear with it?”

“I had this wrap, and heels.”

“I hope you had something on your legs?”

I grinned.
“Seamed stockings.”

“You she-devil, you!” exclaimed Mum with a huge grin on her face.

“I felt good and I think I looked good.”

“I should hope so. Sally thinks the world of you. She and I had a long talk while you were dining in Bath.”

The smile that was on my face disappeared in a flash. Mum noticed this.

“Look darling, Sally explained some of the options you are going to face to me. One mother to another. If you tell me today that you are going to really become my second daughter then I am here for you. I don’t care what Dawn will say and do. You are making something of your life and life is full of sacrifices. We all have to make them at one time or another.”

She looked at me and I could see a small tear forming in the corner of her eye.

“Don’t cry Mum!”

“These are tears of joy my darling. I really am happy for you, you know.”

“But this is a big step,” I said.

“I know it is darling but knowing you, you have been thinking about this possibility for weeks.”

She was right. That’s what Mum’s do.

She took my hand in hers but before anything could be said, the kettle started to whistle.

“Cut off at the pass!” I said using a phrase that had been used in this kitchen many times over the years.

“I’ll make the tea if you finish the spuds? I’m not sure I could with these nails. They are going to take a lot of getting used to.”

Mum sniffled her approval.

“You will make someone a great wife one of these days,”

I stopped in mid pour when I heard those words. I quickly carried on. I was now in no doubt that Adrian’s description of a partner was really that of a wife. That was the only way he could guarantee that I could carry on his business after… I shuddered and didn’t want to think about it but I was determined to do what was needed when I needed to.

“Mum, enough of that!”

“Just stating the obvious my dear. You have a great mind and with a little bit of work, you’d be as attractive as Dawn and you won’t need so much makeup.”

“Mum, it wasn’t Dawn’s fault that she got Teenage Acne and I didn’t.”

That subject was a sore point in this household. I decided to change the subject.

“What else did Sally say?”

Mum smiled and tapped her nose.

“Mum?”

“Don’t worry darling, I didn’t betray any of your little secrets.”

The word secrets hit home. I remembered something.

“Be back in a minute,” I said to Mum.

I literally ran upstairs and into my old bedroom. Dawn had taken it over within a couple of days of me starting work for Sally. I moved her bed a few inches and pulled back the carpet. The loose floorboard came away and I pulled out the plastic bag that was inside.

It was empty.

I swore several times.

“Guess what Dawn has been using to party with?” came Mum’s voice from behind me.

“Mum, I am going to kill her. There was more than two thousand pounds in there and now it is all gone.”

Mum smiled.
“Not all of it. She got through almost half before I discovered your stash.”

“It is all my own fault. I should have known that she’d find it once she took over my bedroom.”

Mum shook her head.

“She’s known about it for years.”

“That was my redundancy from Hallett’s.”

“I know. I put the rest in the bank.”

“She has gone too far this time Mum!”

“And speak of the missing person, I do believe that is her coming up the garden path.”

I moved to go towards the bedroom door.

“Just leave this to me,” said Mum.
“And put everything back as you found it.”

Then she disappeared downstairs.
I did as she instructed and then went downstairs.

Mum was verbally laying into my Sister in the kitchen.

“This is all your fault Thomas,” said Dawn as she saw me.
“You took my job so I took your money.”

“Well darling,” said Mum.
“From now on, you have to pay me for room and board. Why don’t we start at two hundred a week?”

“Mum?” wailed Dawn.
“I don’t have a job. How can I pay that much?”

I was having trouble keeping a straight face.

Dawn turned to me.
“Don’t even think of laughing. I saw you last night in Bath. All dolled up with nowhere to go. it was so pathetic,” said Dawn gleefully.

“If you must know, I landed a job that will pay me more than a hundred grand a year. Not bad for an impostor, and a pathetic impostor at that who was all dolled up with no place to go?” I replied.

The smirk disappeared from Dawns face in a flash.

“That’s my job. I should have it.”

“No Dawn it is not your job. I got it due to the work that I’ve been doing these past few months. That means it is my job and yes, my new boss knows all about me and that was one of the reasons why I was employed. Perhaps you should think about getting a job so that you can pay Mum and also me for the money that you stole from me.”

Then I added,
“I’m sorry Sis, it is you who is rather pathetic. You have a brain but you can’t even be bothered to get it into first gear. Oh, and by the way, you will need all the money you can earn with a baby on the way.”

Mum looked at me with alarm.

“There is a pregnancy test with a positive result sitting on the floor under Dawn’s bed.”

Dawn was very red in the face.

“Well, young lady,” said a very angry Mum to Dawn.
“I’m not having your baby living here. I know you and you will leave it to me to look after and I’m not doing it understand.”

“I don’t care,” said a defiant Dawn.
Then she stormed out of the house.

“Sorry Mum,” I said after the front door slammed shut.

“It is all right darling. That has been coming for a long time. Dawn… My eldest daughter seems to be having her period of teenage angst in her mid-twenties. You, my newest daughter is certainly not to blame for that so don’t get all het up about it. She will calm down now that… that her pregnancy is out in the open. Then we can talk about it.”

“Should I give you and her some space? Me being around seems like a red rag to a bull with her.”

“It might be wise.”

I looked at the kitchen clock.

“If I hurry then I can catch the next Portsmouth train. It is due in twenty minutes.”

Mum gave me a big hug as I left home.

“Don’t make any final decisions without talking to me first you hear.”

“Don’t worry Mum. I won’t but my mind is made up but I think you know that.”

“You might be an adult and a girl but I can still tan your hide!”

A few minutes later, I walked away from home with a smile on my face.

[to be continued in ‘Forsythe Saga – Doing Business’]

[Authors Note]
I was writing this part when I got the idea of 'The Forsythe Saga' and including the two other stories in the canon. This part and the preceding part are written in the First Person. This won't work for the rest of the piece which will be written in the Third Person.
Sorry for any confusion this may cause.