Page 7 of The Next Chapter

‘We just need someone famous. Or better yet, someone rich. What did Kitty say?’

Seb’s looking at me now and there’s this feeling that the world is tilting. That things are coming to a head.

‘She said there’s a potential client.’

‘Well, that’s great!’

‘But that it’s all very hush, hush.’

‘Did you tell them we’re discreet? Did you mention our cast-iron GDPR policies?’

‘Mm-hm.’

He’s back to not looking at me.

‘It would be huge, if we got the gig. It would solve all of our problems.’

‘Okay, well, this sounds perfect. Why the stress?’ I ask.

‘It’s Lola,’ he says.

And for a second, his words don’t register.

‘Come again?’

‘The person who wants their memoirs ghost-written. It’s Lola Starr.’

Chapter Two

‘Eh,’ I say. Profound.

‘Sorry.’ Seb pushes a finger across the bridge of his nose. ‘Shit, I didn’t want to say anything especially not today.’

He means, I guess, because it’s been a year since Dad died.

I just blink at him while he keeps talking to himself.

‘It’s just that Kitty said she thought there would be lots of competition… and business has been tough… I thought I might have to let Clementine go even.’

That jolts me out of my daze.

‘No, you can’t let her go. Where else would she work while she waits for her TikTok career to take off?’

Seb is frowning. There’s an actual line between his eyebrows. And kudos to that line, for breaking through the Botox.

‘Hang on a second,’ I say, trying to still my now whirling brain. ‘What exactly has Kitty said?’

Seb twists his hands together.

‘That’s the thing, I don’t even know for sure that it is Lola.’

He takes a deep breath. There’s a weird buzzing in my ears.

‘Kitty just said that she’d heard that there was someone super famous, who was maybe thinking about getting her memoirs ghost-written. Said it would be the book deal of the year and there’d be a major payout for whoever got the contract to write them. Apparently, Lola, or whoever it is, wants to pick the ghostwriter herself. She didn’t say that it was Lola exactly, but then she started humming the tune to “Eyes Full of Wonder”. You know their last song, it’s catchy as fuck.’

The song that Mum used to sing to me nudges through the ear buzzing that I have going on.

It’s all quite stressful, I won’t lie.