Don't Tell Eve Read Free Page A

hand. ‘Wait, I’m not finished.’
    Daisy studied her agenda.
    ‘You won’t find it there,’ Eve said, patronisingly.
    They were all nervous about unscheduled announcements from Eve, with good reason. It wasn’t just that she filled them with fresh paradigms, new matrices and exciting synergies. That would have been bad enough. The problem was that these fresh paradigms, new matrices and exciting synergies actually meant something. Generally they meant that Eve had been speaking to the Finance department, and everyone knew that nothing good could ever come of that.
    ‘As y’all know, I’ve been working hard to get Papyrus back on track, and I have already made a number of important changes.’
    From somewhere to her left Jess heard a snort – or more likely a snore. The source was Noel, the contracts director, a man who hated the place, with the sort of concentrated hate that put a spring in his step and a twinkle in his eye. He’d hated the place since he’d arrived at Papyrus twenty-five years ago, long before MaxMedia existed, let alone had mastered the art of the hostile takeover.
    Eve ignored the interruption. ‘But more changes are needed, and that’s where y’all come in.’ Here she stopped momentarily, giving the team time to imagine the worst. ‘We value your input and believe y’all have something special to give, so, to that end, we’re going to give you the chance to make a real difference to the company. I don’t just mean doin’ your job, I mean thinkin’ bigger than that. What we’re gonna do is hold a competition. They’ll be a prize for the best money-saving idea – submit as many as you like and be as creative as you like. No need to limit yourself to your department or area. Think laterally, be ambitious. The new Papyrus rewards ambition and what we want is blue-sky thinkin’.’
    She let Hilary explain the rules, then stood up and sashayed out, fuchsia ra-ra skirt swishing, parrot earrings swinging. The rest of the team scurried after her, Jess hiding her sketches, Phil attempting to peer over her shoulder.
    Hilary waited until the room was empty before pulling on the cord of a pistachio-coloured blind to reveal the end less, irritatingly clear skies and a glaring harbour fringed with green and dotted with lazy ferries, busy fishing boats and glossy maxi-yachts. She understood exactly why Eve loathed the place.

Chapter 2
    Although Eve liked to imagine that her husband, Todd, spent his time lying in their waterside residence on their ponyskin chaise longue watching daytime television while she kept him in Coke, this wasn’t the case. For a start, the chaise was the wrong shape. While perfect for a siesta it certainly didn’t lend itself to the sprawling position Todd favoured for serious viewing; the lime-green beanbag was better for this. Not that Todd spent many hours in front of the wall-mounted screen. He only watched a few programs regularly – Oprah , Ugly Betty and Mad Men were among them. Food porn was sanctioned, but unlike most adult males he didn’t drool over Nigella’s sensual spoon-licking, he preferred Delia’s bossy, school-marmish approach. He also had a soft spot for Jamie’s tousle-haired enthusiasm.
    Eve would have been surprised to learn that Todd had activities other than daytime television to occupy his time. A recent exercise, for instance, had involved painstakingly replacing the hundreds of pieces of paper surrounding the lampshade that hung large and low over their dining-room table. Like most things in Eve’s new house it had been acquired by her decorator, the one also responsible forthe Papyrus boardroom, and, like the boardroom, it was designed to make a statement. Everything was about statement with Eve: big, bold, but not necessarily beautiful. Big and bold was enough. Todd, who had a certain aesthetic sensibility himself, had spent two months staring at the white pieces of paper before it occurred to him – Todd was not a man to hurry –