Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) Read Free Page A

‘ this guy shows up in every second picture. ’ She recognised him immediately as Richard Sleen , Minister for the Environment. Perhaps this story has something to do with him?
    ‘ I ’ ll have to look at this info later , gotta get to a meeting , Bub. Keep an eye on the house while I ’ m at work. ’ Shadow immediately waddled off with a full tummy over to his bed on the floor and began grooming his coat.
    With the meeting in the greenhouse having ended abruptly , Grace didn ’ t get to ask the man any questions and she had a long list of them. And now she had browsed the contents of the memory stick , she had even more. She closed the files and folders , pulled out the stick and put it in her bag to take to work.
    Grace looked up at the huge , vintage clock her parents had given her as a twenty-fifth birthday present and realised she ’ d be lucky to make it into the office in time for the daily 9 A.M. meeting. She hurried up and changed , applied her make up in few minutes , grabbed her bag and keys , and prepared for the morning commute to the office. As she heard the familiar click of her front door shutting , her mobile phone rang.
    ‘ Have you read everything? ’ The Voice said. As she didn ’ t know his name , she gave him this pseudonym.
    Man , you didn ’ t give me much time , lucky I ’ m on the ball. ‘ Yes ,’ she said , stretching the truth.
    ‘ Good. I ’ ll call you soon to arrange another time to meet. Read everything again. ’
    ‘ Wait. Someone tried to push me into the harbour after our meeting. He was stocky and dressed in a black suit. ’
    ‘ I don ’ t know anything about it. As I said , be careful ,’ and he hung up.
    Pig. Did he usually speak in such a clipped manner? And he sure had a habit of ending his calls gruffly. Who was this man? And what would she call him? He ’ s so serious.
    It was a guessing game , that ’ s what this was. She could not know how long she had to go over all the notes again and figure out what it was all about. She hoped she could make some sense out of what she already saw in the information. Perhaps it would come to her in time , like the way things did in the middle of the night when you suddenly remembered something you had on the tip of your tongue all day.
    She walked to the bus stop with a slight skip in her step and felt her heart beating a little faster than usual.

4
    ‘ Grac e , i s the Antonio de Silva case continuing today? ’
    It was nine o ’ clock Monday morning and the editorial staff at The Sydney Star sat around a large boardroom table for their first meeting of the week. Nick Monaghan , the editor-in-chief , was Grace ’ s boss and he was also a cold-blooded narcissist.
    You know better than anyone the case is continuing.
    Nick ’ s objective in life was to be the biggest selling newspaper in Sydney. The paper went to print on time daily , often at the cost of everyone ’ s frayed nerves and high-anxiety levels. It wasn ’ t that the staff couldn ’ t work to deadline , it was the way they were driven with a rodeo whip to get there. He was renowned for his ruthlessness when it came to interns and junior journalists. If , and it was a big if , you were to make it in the cut-throat media world , you earned it the hard way. If you didn ’ t , and you showed any sign of weakness , simply put , you were ousted.
    ‘ Grace , you with us this morning? ’ Nick bellowed and everyone in the meeting drew in a sharp breath simultaneously.
    ‘ Yes , I ’ ll be there. We should have a verdict today ,’ she sunk lower in her chair. If it was one thing she hated it was a public scolding from Mr Fancy Pants.
    ‘ Great ,’ Nick said , sounding calmer.
    He often pretended to be irritated with Grace to show his staff nobody was exempt from his rules. A seasoned journalist who had long ago paid her dues , everyone knew Nick had a soft spot for her. They saw him ogling her long legs and speaking to her chest. She ignored taunts from