I mentioned this to Athena. “Trespassing is a criminal offence, as I’m sure you are aware, Athena. Mrs Cruickshank would be well within her rights to make a complaint to the police for breaking and entering too, not to mention that she could sue us for violation of our contract.”

Athena’s hard, green eyes suddenly shone with alarm.

“I think all this is being blown rather out of proportion, don’t you?”

I shook my head. “No, in fact, I don’t.”

Athena’s flat mouth indicated she thought I shouldn’t have said anything to begin with. So, I should just have left them to it?

“I know you worked on a little local paper before coming here and it must all be a bit of a culture shock for you…”

I struggled to contain my incredulity. All right, perhaps The Silver Ness News was a small local paper, but at least the three of us possessed morals!

“But things are done differently here.”

You’re telling me.

Athena bathed me in one of her self-indulgent smiles that didn’t reach her eyes.

“I agree that Esther and Dante shouldn’t have done what they did, but there is every chance we will have to use them again in a future issue and we must maintain good relationships with models like them, who are held in such high regard.”

I wanted to point out that there were other models out there.

“Yes, well, that’s something I’ve been thinking about,” I replied, hovering across from her desk with pent-up frustration. “Why can’t we have a future issue where we use real people as models?”

Athena looked like she had just sat on a pin. “I beg your pardon?”

“Real people,” I reiterated to her pinched expression. “Real readers, not professional models.”

She almost sniggered. “But why on earth would we do that?”

Oh, dear Lord.

“Because it is these women who are actually spending their hard-earned money on our magazine. If they thought there was a chance they could appear between the pages of Goddess…”

“Goddess is an aspiration,” rallied Athena. “It is a way of life. A state of mind. If we start featuring real readers, where will we be? You’ll be telling me we should start including makeovers next!”

That had in fact been my next suggestion. I buttoned my lips together. How I longed for the arguments over gull-droppings on the Silver Ness harbour wall and stories of library books being returned thirty years late.

“But that is precisely my point,” I answered. “We want Goddess readers to feel included—”

Athena rose up snake-like up from her desk and stalked to her office door. She tugged it open in a flash of cranberry nails. “Thank you, Leonie. We’ll consider this matter closed.” She bit her lip. “You do, however, seem to have an unfortunate habit of upsetting people. I don’t want any more complaints of this nature. Understood?”