Gut Feeling Read Online Free PDF

behind.
    ‘Ash darling, hello.’ Rachel’s voice filled the pub as she bent down to kiss the air on either side of Ash’s face.
    ‘Hello Rachel, hi Leon… Jules. How are you?’
    Ash gestured for Jules to sit down next to her while Leon rushed to get the drinks, leaving them to ponder over the lunch menu. Jules hadn’t changed much. She still looked a million dollars, dressed in the latest fashion, thick long blonde hair pushed back by Gucci sunglasses.
    ‘So…’ Ash said as Jules sat down in the chair next to her. ‘How was Milan then?’
    ‘Fun but glad to be home if I’m honest.’ Ash caught a hint of relief in her voice. ‘And after that party and the model OD’ing, I couldn’t have stayed another day longer.’
    Rachel and Leon both perked up like meerkats as they had both forgotten.
    ‘Oh yeah, what happened?’ they said in unison.
    ‘It was just awful.’ Jules shook her head. ‘She was dancing like a banshee one minute and then just collapsed in a heap, nearly falling of the eight foot podium she was on. I ran over and her eyes were in the top of her head. It was well scary—all you could see was the whites of her eyes. Anyway, one of the security guards picked her up and just threw her over his shoulder and ran to his car.’
    Ash was horrified. ‘Why didn’t you call for an ambulance?’
    ‘He said that they would take too long. I think he was the one who got her the stuff.’
    ‘What stuff?’
    ‘Oh Ash, sweetie, the drugs. Anyway, me and another model jumped in his car with them. Her head was on my lap and I swear to God I thought she was dead. They gave her some drug to reverse the effect of the cocaine and she seemed to be responding but then her heart stopped. Oh God, it was awful. We all got pushed out of the room but we could hear the heart machine screaming.’
    ‘She died then?’ Leon said as Jules had stopped talking and seemed to be in a trancelike state, remembering the events.
    ‘No, she pulled through, no thanks to the cocktail of drugs they found in her blood. She had taken everything but the kitchen sink. They put her in intensive care and I’m going to sack her the minute she’s back in London.’
    ‘Harsh.’
    ‘Nothing harsh about it, Leon. She was at work and took drugs.’
    ‘Well, affectively she was not at work. She was at a party and her boss was there.’
    ‘Don’t defend her, Leon, or me and you will fall out. She was at work and being paid to work, party or no party, and her job was to look pretty and not collapse on a goddamn podium in front of every major name in the magazine industry, not to mention my boss. The girl is getting fired.’
    ‘You’re right, Jules.’ Ash rubbed her shoulder and shot a sharp look at Leon.
    ‘How’s Lee?’ Jules asked, unaware of past events.
    Rachel quickly jumped in, telling the whole story while Ash sat back and listened, slightly relieved that she didn’t have to do the explaining. Jules looked back and forth from Rachel to Leon as they delivered the full story, shocked that no one had told her before.
    ‘Why didn’t you say something? It’s not like we haven’t spoken,’ Jules addressed the whole group.
    ‘Sorry, it’s my fault,’ said Ash. ‘I didn’t want to bore you with my problems. You sounded so busy whenever we spoke and if I’m honest, it was nice to talk about something else. I should have told you sooner.’
    ‘You should have, yes, but anyway you’ve told me now.’
    One by one they gave their orders to the waitress and carried on filling Jules in with the gossip.
    ‘It’s been five months since I left him but I’m OK now,’ Ash said, moving her drink out of the way so the waitress could put their cutlery down.
    ‘She’s met a new man though, haven’t you, Ash?’ Leon announced proudly.
    ‘Yeah, he’s lovely. I met him last week. He came to fix a window at work. He’s a window glazer, and then he asked me out.’ Ash smiled like the cat that had got the cream, thinking of the