Read Nobody but Him for Free Online Page A

good as he did back then, although all those years in the sun have made him a little … er … leathery.’
    Their eyes met and they erupted into belly laughs.
    ‘Some things around here haven’t changed. He’ll be so impressed with what you do.’ Lizzie looked suddenly sheepish. ‘Look, I know your job is important and everything, but I just can’t see why people need to hire a crisis management consultant.’
    ‘Let me explain. When people are so far up shit creek without a paddle that they don’t know which way to turn, they call me. I tell them how to fix things and, if they’re smart, they do what I say.’
    ‘People pay you for telling them what to do?’
    ‘Yes, they certainly do.’
    ‘Mmm, impressive. Any juicy sex scandals?’
    ‘A few, but I was so good they never made the papers.’
    ‘Tell!’
    ‘If I told you, I’d have to kill you. State secrets and all that.’ Julia could feel a smug smile about to emerge but she didn’t care. ‘And you know what the best thing is?’
    Lizzie leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, her eyes wide.
    ‘The same kind of people who wouldn’t have looked me in the eyewhen I was the girl from Middle Point are now the ones paying me the big bucks to fix up their ‘inconveniences’. All those corporate types with pinstriped suits and fancy cars? They eat out of my hand.’
    Lizzie leaned back in her chair. ‘And you love that, I can see.’
    ‘As a matter of fact, I do.’ The two friends clinked their coffee cups together once more in mock celebration. Julia knew Lizzie would get why the situation was so amusing for her. While Julia had been behind the counter at the general store in their teens, Lizzie had earned extra money as a cleaner at the local caravan park. They’d both been at the receiving end of shabby treatment from snobby city teenagers and their parents.
    The trill of Lizzie’s phone interrupted them and she reached into her jeans pocket.
    ‘Oh, hi Ry.’
    Julia suddenly found the view from Lizzie’s balcony intensely interesting, although she pricked up her ears to try to make out what was being said on the other end of the line.
    ‘Uh huh.’ Lizzie mouthed to Julia, I have to work .
    Julia rolled her eyes and said loudly with the express purpose of making sure Ry Blackburn heard it, ‘Tell him you’ll be on to the union if he makes you work today.’
    Lizzie frowned. ‘No Ry, it’s Julia. We’re just catching up for a coffee. She says hi.’ Lizzie grinned and poked her tongue out at Julia. ‘Yeah, okay, I can do it, no probs. See you soon.’
    Lizzie tucked her phone away in her pocket and stood to collect the empty mugs. ‘He said hello back.’
    ‘I bet he did. Haven’t you been covering shifts during the week too? Why didn’t you tell him you can’t work? That you’re busy with an important interstate visitor.’
    ‘Because, one, he is my boss, and, two, he asked nicely.’
    ‘I’ve seen how nice he is to his staff. The phrase “unfair dismissal” springs to mind.’
    ‘I know he’s pissed at you, but he’s actually an okay guy, for a big-city property developer turned small-town publican. When I had to drop everything and head up to Adelaide when my aunty died, he didn’t think twice about it. He let me leave in the middle of a shift.’
    ‘That hardly makes him Employer of the Year.’
    ‘And, when he bought the pub a month ago, he discovered all the staff were being paid below the hourly rate. He fixed it straightaway and sorted out the back pay.’
    ‘A regular Prince Charming.’
    ‘Correct me if I’ve got the wrong end of the pineapple here, but I sense that you’re still pissed at him. What a great couple you two make. Maybe I can orchestrate a meeting so I can watch you fight. It’ll be better than reality TV. Now, I have to get ready for work and you’re leaving. Can we take a raincheck on the spag bol?’
    ‘Of course.’ They hugged each other tight. Lizzie looked her in the eye and grinned.