The Party Season Read Online Free PDF Page A

up behind Gerald and shoves a small tray in my face.
    'Sorry, Gerald. Chef said Izzy should try them now while they're hot.'
    We both smile patiently at him. We're all petrified of the head chef so this is a safe bet. 'Well?' asks Gerald. 'Are you going to try them, Izzy?'
    'Hmm? Oh yes! Of course!' I hastily take one and shove it in my mouth. It's stone cold and tastes vaguely of salmon.
    'Deeelicious!' I spit crumbs at them both and wonder if they would notice if I am quietly sick on their shoes. Gerald opens his mouth to say something else, then thinks better of it and shuts it again. He closes his eyes and rests his head in his hands in a Gawd-help-us kind of way. We have a small interval of silence. Then Gerald obviously decides that he cannot be bothered with us anymore, makes an impatient flapping gesture with his hands and returns to his office. We breathe a sigh of relief.
    'Thanks, Aidan,' I murmur.
    'Sorry about the canapés, at least they're only yesterday's. Coffee?'
    'Please,' I bleat. I slump down at my desk and, without even bothering to take off my jacket, rest my head on a very convenient seat cover some wonderful person has placed there. Probably not for this purpose but I am grateful all the same.
    It is a matter of minutes before Aidan is back bearing the ambrosial brew. I half-heartedly sit up and manage to take a couple of restorative sips. He has been an absolute rock in these last three weeks. He knows that my current state of dishevelment is very out of character. Normally I am extremely organised and efficient.
    'Why are you in such a state? What on earth have you been doing? Was it anything exciting?'
    'Just Dominic and me,' I whisper and pull a face.
    'Darling Dominic,' says Aidan fondly. 'How is he?'
    'Ill, I hope.'
    'Izzy, darling, I know this Rob thing has upset you but when can we have our old Isabel back? The anal, every-thing-has-its-place Isabel?'
    'I thought you hated that Isabel,' I mumble into my seat cover.
    'Oh, she's not so bad. Besides, my figures don't add up.'
    'Leave them on my desk. When I can see again, I'll have a look at them. Who have you got this evening?'
    'Mrs Pritch-Bonnington's Arabian Nights party. More Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen than Lawrence of Arabia, I'm afraid. What about you?'
    'Nothing until Wednesday.' I raise my head from the seat cover. 'If anyone calls tell them I'm dead. It's not too far from the truth.' The only thing that disturbs me for the next half an hour is Dom texting to ask how he can commit suicide with a paperclip and a Post-it note. He's obviously feeling bad too. Good. I smile to myself as my head drops back down to my seat cover.
    Later that morning we gather in the boardroom for our bi-weekly management meeting, where we discuss future projects, assign them to someone if an organiser hasn't been specifically requested and mull over any general problems or ideas. It normally takes all morning; much of it is spent deciding who wants what from the coffee shop next door.
    They start without me as I endure a seemingly never-ending call with a client renowned for her absolute hatred of green food at her events. Not even an olive can remain. When I walk in to the meeting Gerald is in the middle of giving someone a big going-over but as soon as he claps eyes on me he's distracted.
    'ANYWAY,' he says loudly, 'since the mother ship has finally beamed Isabel back down let's move on to new projects. Does the name Monkwell mean anything to you, Isabel?'
    I frown. It does mean an awful lot to me. Great chunks of my childhood are tied up with that name.
    'Er, Isabel?'
    'Yes?'
    'The name Monkwell?'
    'Well, of course I know the name Monkwell! Doesn't everybody?'
    'I mean personally.'
    I pause slightly. Gerald is looking very sternly at me. He must have got hold of the fact that I used to be on quite intimate terms with the Monkwell family. I've never mentioned this and contacts are everything in this business. And the name Monkwell would mean BIG business. 'I