‘Ah, you know what I mean,’ Frankie laughed. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted, but she can’t stay at work. She’s as sick as a dog. She keeps having to go into hospital so they can put her on IV fluids.’

‘Gosh, that’s terrible, Frankie. Poor Dee.’

‘Fancy taking charge of the post-production end?’ he asked hopefully.

‘Really?’ Marie-Claire felt a frisson of excitement.

‘You bet. When I heard you were back, there was no one else I wanted. We were a good team together, you and me.’

‘We were,’ Marie-Claire grinned, remembering some of their college escapades. ‘Look I’m going to Scotland for a few days. How about we hook up when I get back and have a chat?’

‘Great stuff,’ Frankie agreed.

‘Give my love to Dee.’

I will. Great talking to ya, MC. Looking forward to catching up.’

‘Me too. See you soon,’ Marie-Claire smiled.

Things are looking up at last, she thought, cruising through the Whitehall, Griffith Avenue junction, which usually took an age. An opportunity to get back into post-production was exactly what she needed, she realized. She was back in her own house, not quite sorted out yet, but getting used to it again. And now this. Maybe Dublin was where she would settle, after all.

Marc had called several times, urging her to come to New York to take charge of his new business there: ‘Marie-Claire I know you’d make a fantastic success of it. I trust you implicitly,’ he’d implored. ‘Please come back. I miss you, babe.’

But I don’t trust you! she’d thought, enjoying his grovelling. He wanted her in New York because she was excellent at her job, but he wouldn’t pay her the salary he was going to have to pay to get someone as qualified and experienced as she was. She knew Marc of old.

She’d thought about it. Working and living in New York would be a whole new experience, even if she weren’t romantically involved with Marc anymore. New York moved at a much faster pace than Toronto. There’d be a lot of schmoozing and networking required to attract new clients. Did she really want to put in all that effort for someone else’s business? Did she also want the upheaval of uprooting again, when she’d got her house back and was beginning to settle?

The unexpected offer of a job from Frankie, right when she felt she couldn’t stick Chloe and Inez for another minute, was a sign from the universe. Frankie was highly thought of in the business. They’d worked well together in college and she had a lot to bring to his company. They would be working as equals, with genuine mutual respect. That very much appealed to her.